Epigram #241

Bristol University’s Independent Student Newspaper Issue 241

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Monday 24th October 2011

Tabak faces jury at Bristol Crown Court

Comment The Excess Factor?

14

Kristian Stanley News Reporter

The BBC has announced that it is moving £16m worth of production from Birmingham to Bristol. Already home to the natural history unit, BBC Bristol will now also be responsible for the majority of the corporation’s factual output.

Page 3

MP demands answers on access Stephen Williams MP has demanded answers from the University about its attempts at widening participation after revelations last week that the University had failed to meet its self set access targets for applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Page 4

Bristol Crown Court, where the trial has been taking place

was the end of term’, he said.

During the trial jurors were taken on a tour of Miss Yeates’s last known movements. Escorted by police officers, they visited the Ram pub before walking to upmarket Clifton to view Yeates’s flat in which Christmas decorations still hung.

Bristol unites for first season of events

Culture 20

Marek Allen

The trial of Vincent Tabak, the man accused of murdering his neighbour Joanna Yeates, was currently underway at Bristol Crown Court last week. Whilst Tabak admits manslaughter, he denies murdering Miss Yeates.

Joanna Yeates, a landscape architect who lived at 44 Canynge Road, Clifton, was reported missing on 20th December 2010 by her boyfriend, Greg Reardon. Her body was found by dog walkers on Christmas Day, on Longwood Lane in Failand.

Epigram watched as witnesses gave evidence in court. Darragh Bellew, a colleague of Miss Yeates, described how on Friday 17th December 2010, they left work and walked to the Bristol Ram pub, Park Street, for post-work drinks. Mr Bellew added that she had bought him a pint of cider at the Bristol Ram before leaving for home. She had been ‘jovial, her usual self ’, he told the court.

Joanna Yeates was then captured on CCTV at Waitrose on Queens Road, before buying cider from Bargain Booze and a pizza at 8:40pm from Tesco in Clifton.The court also heard from several witnesses who claimed to have heard screams that evening. Harry Walker, who lives nearby to Miss Yeates’ flat, told the court that at roughly 8.30pm he had been eating dinner with his fiancée when he heard a loud scream over the noise of the television. ‘I would say it was definitely a human noise.

It was definitely not an animal. At the time I thought it must have been students out in the road as it

BBC moves some production to Bristol

The arrest of Vincent Tabak came in the early hours of 20th January when police raided an address on Aberdeen Road in Cotham, roughly a mile from his home on Canynge Road and only a few hundred metres from the University of Bristol precinct.

At the beginning of the trial the 12 jurors sitting at Bristol Crown Court heard Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting, describe how Yeates’s life was ended by Tabak, a Dutch engineer. ‘He held her throat hard enough and for long Continued on page 2

Careers fair protest Students staged a protest opposing arms manufactuer BAE’s attendance at a university careeers fair. The firm has become an object of protest for the third year running due to its alleged corrupt dealings with authoritarian states.

Page 6

Angry boys and talking dogs Why we should look Down Under for the best in television

Film & TV 29

Epigram

24.10.2011

News

Editor: Alice Young

Deputy Editor: Jenny Awford

Deputy Editor: Abigail Van-West

news@epigram.org.uk

jawford@epigram.org.uk

avanwest@epigram.org.uk

Inside Epigram Features 10 Community cohesion An investigation into the real nature of Bristol’s history of diversity

12 School wars Melissa Benn discusses her dreams for a truly comprehensive education system

Music 23 Melancholy jammin’ 24 In:Motion

Dance pioneers Hessle Audio put together an impressive line-up last weekend

Science 30 Skeptics in the pub Dr Bruce Hood on the science of superstition and his fascination with horror film posters

Zaki Dogliani News Reporter The examination board AQA (The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) has announced a radical proposal to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds get into the UK’s top universities.

A paper circulated for discussion by Senior Research Associate Dr Neil Stringer advocates the creation of a national system, which takes into account the educational context in which candidates are taught as well as their academic achievements.

His proposal, which is aimed at helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds, could mean that students from schools with low average grades are favoured over those from high performing schools, where the average grades are higher.

Dr Stringer cited the example of St George’s Medical School in London in support of his idea. St George’s offers places to applicants with lower A-level grades than the standard offer, providing they are at least 60% better than their school average. The school reports

Flickr: katierella

Ghostpoet tells Epigram about the reaction to his Mercury-nominated debut album

Base admissions on schools, not just grades, says AQA

AQA is proposing vast changes to the UCAS admissions sustem

that students from poorly performing schools with lower A-level grades do just as well as their peers with higher grades.

While the proposals have come under fire from some independent schools, Catherine Payne, PR & Media Relations Executive at AQA, told Epigram that the proposal does not in fact refer to type of school: ‘Despite what was reported in some of the press, our paper doesn’t actually refer to school type, because that would be too simplistic a measure.’

Payne added that the paper was ‘intended as a think-piece to stimulate discussion and was not a firm proposal or a plan.’

When asked about the proposal, Angela Milln from Admissions and Recruitment at Bristol told Epigram the scheme was similar to what Bristol already does: ‘We do permit admissions tutors to take account of educational disadvantage, as part of their normal holistic assessment of an applicant’s potential.’

AQA’s idea suggests deprivation indices or free

Tabak’s conduct ‘disgusting’, says QC (cont. from page 1) enough to kill her’, Lickley told the court, insisting that Tabak was guilty of murder. Subsequently Tabak’s lawyer, William Clegg QC, whilst describing Tabak’s conduct after the crime as ‘frankly disgusting’, claimed the killing was not premeditated.

He claimed that Yeates had

invited Tabak into the flat for a drink, where Tabak had misread the situation and leaned in to kiss her. Consequently, Clegg claims, Yeates let out a scream, at which Tabak panicked and covered her mouth to stop her making the noise.

The jury heard how Tabak sent a text message later that

evening to his girlfriend, Tanya Morson, saying ‘I am at Asda buying some crisis. Was bored.

Can’t wait to pick you up.’

Mr Lickley stated that Vincent Tabak had meant ‘crisps’ rather than ‘crisis’ in his text message.

‘It must be that the body of Joanna Yeates was in the boot of his car at the time of his visit

Editor

Editor Tom Flynn Tom Flynn editor@epigram.org.uk editor@epigram.org.uk

33 A fresh perspective

An insight into the trials new students face in order to break into Bristol’s elite teams

35 Bristol Olympians

Epigram talks to hurdles hopeful and Theology graduate, Lawrence Clarke

Deputy Editors Deputy Editors Jon Jon Bauckham Bauckham jon@epigram.org.uk jon@epigram.org.uk Hannah Stubbs hannah@epigram.org.uk Hannah Stubbs

hannah@epigram.org.uk e2 Editor Matthew McCrory e2 Editor e2@epigram.org.uk Matthew McCrory News Editor e2@epigram.org.uk Alice Young News Editor news@epigram.org.uk Alice Young news@epigram.org.uk Deputy News Editors Abigail Van-West Deputy News Editors Abigail Van-West avanwest@epigram.org.uk avanwest@epigram.org.uk Jenny Awford Jenny Awford jawford@epigram.org.uk jawford@epigram.org.uk Features Editor Features Editor Tristan Martin Tristan Martin features@epigram.org.uk features@epigram.org.uk

Deputy Features Editor Deputy Features Editor Andrew White Andrew White deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk

Comment Editor Comment Patrick Editor Baker Patrick Baker comment@epigram.org.uk comment@epigram.org.uk Letters Editor Letters Editor Emma Corfield Emma Corfield letters@epigram.org.uk letters@epigram.org.uk Culture Editor Culture Editor Calum Sherwood Calum Sherwood culture@epigram.org.uk culture@epigram.org.uk Deputy Culture Editor Deputy Culture Editor Zoe Hutton Zoe deputyculture@epigram.org.uk Hutton deputyculture@epigram.org.uk Music Editor Music Editor Nathan Comer Nathan Comer music@epigram.org.uk music@epigram.org.uk Deputy Music Editor Deputy Editor PippaMusic Shawley Pippa Shawley deputymusic@epigram.org.uk deputymusic@epigram.org.uk FIlm & TV Editor FIlmWill & TV EllisEditor Will filmandtv@epigram.org.uk Ellis filmandtv@epigram.org.uk Deputy Film & TV Editor Deputy FilmAdeane & TV Editor Anthony Anthony Adeane deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk

to Asda’, he added.

During testimony given last Tuesday by Lindsay Lennen, a forensic scientist specialising in blood and DNA, the court was told that blood matching that of Joanna Yeates had been discovered in the boot of Tabak’s Renault Megane car.

The trial continues.

Meetings

Editorial team

Sport

school meals data as possible indicators of educational disadvantage rather than the ranking of schools that Bristol bases it on.

Students’ Union President Gus Baker told Epigram he felt the university wasn’t doing enough to widen participation, ‘our admissions tutors must start to recognise that students applying from schools where they have not been spoon-fed their A-levels are often far more talented than those who have equivalent grades.’

Science Editor Science Editor Nick Cork Nickscience@epigram.org.uk Cork science@epigram.org.uk Deputy Science Editor Deputy Science Editor Emma Sackville Emma Sackville deputyscience@epigram.org deputyscience@epigram.org Sport Editor Sport Editor Tom Burrows Tomsport@epigram.org.uk Burrows sport@epigram.org.uk Deputy Sport Editor Deputy DavidSport StoneEditor David Stone deputysport@epigram.org.uk deputysport@epigram.org.uk Puzzles Editor Puzzles Editor Lily Buckmaster Lily Buckmaster Head Sub Editor Head Sub Corfield Editor Emma Emma Corfield Sub Editors Sub Editors Harriet Layhe, Harriet KateLayhe, Moreton, Rosemary Wagg Kate Moreton, Rosemary Wagg Illustrator Illustrator Sophie Sladen Sophie Sladen Designer WebWeb Designer Mackenzie RobRob Mackenzie

News:

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Features:

Thursdays, 1.15pm, The White Bear

Comment:

Tuesday 25th Oct, 1.30pm, The Hill

Culture: Music:

Tuesday 25th Oct, White Bear, 1.10pm

Film & TV:

Thursdays, Union 3rd Floor, 1.15pm

Science:

31st Oct,

Sport:

Weds Oct 26th, White Bear, 1.30pm,

Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. The views expressed in this publication are not those of the University or the Students’ Union.

The design, text and photographs are copyright of Epigram and its individual contributors and may not be reproduced without permission.

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Epigram

24.10.2011

3

BBC to move £16m of production to Bristol Stephanie Linning News Reporter

Speaking to the press. Council Leader Barbara Janke said that the announcement showed that ‘the BBC remains 100% committed to Bristol.’

The move, she claims ‘builds on and is a testament to our strengths in the creative and digital media industries’, something which she says local government prides itself on.

However Bristol has not escaped the cuts completely, with BBC South West set to axe 20 jobs as part of a nationwide streamlining process that will see over 2,000 current BBC employees out of work.

Although these cuts will be seen mainly within local news outlets, other BBC Bristol employees have recently faced unemployment following the corporation’s decision to relocate the filming of popular medical drama Casualty to Cardiff, marking the end of over 20 years of Bristol-based production.

It is thought that the cuts to local jobs could lead to strike action as employees fear that further losses could arise as quality, local output is sacrificed in favor of larger-scale national programming.

Marek Allen

The BBC has announced its decision to relocate over £16mn worth of production from Birmingham to Bristol as part of what is being described as ‘the most far-reaching transformation’ in the history of the corporation.

The plan was included as part of a recently published report, titled Delivering Quality First, which outlines the extensive cuts being made by the BBC as it attempts to slash its costs by 20% over the next 5 years.

Bristol, which is currently home to the world-famous BBC natural history unit, will now also be responsible for the majority of the corporation’s factual output in a move that will cement its position as the nation’s leading city for documentary filmmaking.

The move will see 60 jobs relocated from Birmingham to Bristol, as production for popular programs including Countryfile, Gardeners’ World and Coast is shifted to the South West.

In addition, radio rural affairs programmes, Ramblings and Farming Today will now be based at the BBC’s Whiteladies Road headquarters.

According to the BBC’s controller of factual production Tom Archer, the move to Bristol ‘simply makes sense,’ as the city has already established itself as ‘the largest centre of documentary and factual inhouse programming outside of London,’ noting the extensive network of independent production and post-production houses that has flourished in the city.

The report also suggests that the move will be accompanied by significant economical investment in local economy, as an expanded BBC headquarters is likely to be needed in order to cope with the increase in production output.

One current suggestion is the creation of a ‘Media Village’ as part of a wider ‘Enterprise Zone’ that investors and local government are seeking to develop in the Temple Meads area of the city.

The BBC’s plan to relocate is also being met with enthusiasm by the Bristol City Council.

BBC’s Whiteladies Road headquarters, Bristol

Bristol gets occupied Temp workers gain same rights as full-time staff

Shanice Swales News Reporter

Josephine McConville News Reporter

Protesters on College Green

‘working hard just to put food on the table,’ addressing the economic inequalities which have inspired global action.

The occupation has mainly been a peaceful affair, with no violence and little police intervention.

However on Sunday 16th October, the camp saw some disturbances when several drunken individuals from outside of the protest group attempted to enter into tents whilst people were asleep.

This resulted in the arrival of the police, but the drunk crowd was soon dispersed.

Shanice Swales

The global movement primarily against ‘corporate greed and economic inequality’ has spread closer to home as protestors have set up camp outside at College Green.

Signs and placards around the Occupy Bristol camp read ‘People before Profit’ and ‘We are here in Solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement.’

Patrick Fagan, one of the activists, stated that ‘out of control corporate power and poor democratic representation’ were some of his reasons for being part of the occupation.

He insisted that ‘what unites us is that we feel something is wrong.’

Despite the modest turnout, a member of the Bristol Occupy team stated: ‘We are slowly, steadily building a peaceful, sustainable camp in the city centre to serve as an information, education, and social point for those who are already awoken and those that are in the process.’

Joel Hunziker, an International Development student, gave another reason for why College Green was not filled with avid protestors and tents, suggesting that many who would have liked to be supporting the movement were

Those residing on College Green are adamant that the protests should remain peaceful. Kay, a student who joined the occupation for the day strongly affirmed that a ‘non violent, unified resistance’ was the only real way to get their message across.

Exactly how long the occupation on College Green will last is uncertain. The organisers plan to stay at this location ‘indefinitely’, but with winter approaching many are unsure whether the occupation will continue to grow or slowly fizzle out.

New laws make temporary agency workers eligible for the same employment rights as full time staff.

Due to the AWR (Agency Workers Regulation), brought into force on the 1st October, businesses across the UK including the South West will now have to make changes to how they employ temporary staff.

The legislation is designed to improve the working conditions of agency workers. After 12 weeks of working in the same role, temporary staff will be eligible for the same basic working and employment conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the hiring company. This will include working hours, overtime, holidays and rest periods.

The introduction of the AWR came on the same day as the scrapping of the DRA (Default Retirement Age) and the increase in minimum wage, which some have said is causing uneasiness among already pressurised employers in the South West region.

Some staffing agencies have voiced their belief that the law change will reduce the

number of opportunities for agency workers and damage economic growth. Virginia Mellers, co-founder of public sector staffing agency Axon Resourcing, said ‘With the UK economy fragile, the benefits of being able to mobilise a flexible workforce should be something that companies should be able

9.7% 2009-10 Bristol leavers employed on a temporary basis to make the most of through the recovery – the regulations arguably will do little to aid this.

‘This legislation, which has been introduced to provide increased protection to agency workers, may therefore have a polar opposite effect, in that it may reduce the volume and duration of these opportunities.’

Others, meanwhile, believe that the AWR will have numerous advantages and are encouraging businesses to embrace the changes.

Carmen Watson, managing director of Pertemps Recruitment Partnership, said, ‘A large number of businesses in the South West region rely on

temporary workers due to the cyclical nature of business, as they try to service the peaks and troughs of market demands.

‘Although some companies are not yet comfortable with the legislation, it will introduce added value in a number of areas such as improved retention, increased productivity and job/ skills related training on the back of the fact that we will have a workforce that in many cases will be better rewarded and will have increased job security.’

Data captured by the DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey) reveal that 9.7% of students leaving the University of Bristol between 1st August 2009 and 31st July 2010 were employed on a temporary basis. The data refers to 80% of undergraduates approximately six months after they completed their course. The new laws will apply to graduates employed by agencies as temporary workers.

Watson has urged agency temporary employees to familiarise themselves with the fine print in legislation and how it will affect them. The AWR, for example, will not cover company sick pay or redundancy and a break between assignments of more than six weeks will reset the twelve week employment rights entitlement.

Epigram

24.10.2011

4

Bristol West MP questions university Katie Briefel News Reporter

Flickr: Liberal Democrats

Stephen Williams MP has called for answers from the university

Bristol West MP Stephen Williams has said he wants answers from Bristol University over its failure to meet fair access targets.

Bristol West Lib-Dem MP Stephen Williams has asked for a discussion with the viceChancellor of the University of Bristol concerning the University’s failure to meet its target to offer places to students from poorer backgrounds.

Last month, OFFA (Office for Fair Access) – the public body that helps safeguard and promote fair access to higher education – revealed that the University of Bristol has failed to admit enough disadvantaged students.

Williams, who abstained from voting on fee rises, expressed his disappointment at the University’s failure to meet its Access Agreement commitments by saying,

‘While I am proud to have the University of Bristol, a worldclass academic institution, within my constituency, I am disappointed…that the University has fallen short of the commitments it made to encourage and increase applications and entrants from under-represented groups.’

He went on to say, ‘It is imperative that our higher education institutions open their doors to all sectors of society and make their contribution to improving social mobility; ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their potential.’

The subject is of personal significance for Stephen Williams as he claimed he was ‘the first person in [his] family to attend university’ and ‘know[s] what a life-changing opportunity’ it can be.

The University of Bristol is among 23 institutions – including Cambridge University, Exeter University and Durham University to have missed their targets.

David Willetts, the universities minister, claimed the report is proof that social mobility has ‘stalled’.

Universities and colleges received nearly £474mn from the Higher Education Funding Council to spend on bursaries, scholarships and ‘outreach’ activities, which is given regardless of whether they reach their targets.

Universities intending to charge fees of between £6,000 and £9,000 a year from autumn 2012 have been asked to set themselves tougher targets for widening their pool of students.

For the first time, they will have to set themselves a target to broaden the mix of students who enter the university, not just those who apply.

Chief Executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation – which provides bursaries and mentoring to disadvantaged students - Wes Streeting, expressed his concern, and described the current findings as ‘deeply worrying.’

NUS calls for action over unemployment Lucy Woods News Reporter

Flickr: quixotic54

Job centres across the country have faced cuts

a mixture of training, work experience and guaranteed interviews over the course of the next two years.

The current Prime Minister, David Cameron, has also acknowledged that the figures are ‘very disappointing’, recognising that ‘every job that is lost is a tragedy for that person and their family’.

He has promised the government will do all in its power to help young people find work.

Labour Leader, Ed Miliband, commented ‘It is clear that young people are bearing the brunt of the labour market downturn, and Liam Burns has warned the government that unless proper action is taken soon, further fuel will be poured ‘on the fire of youth unemployment’.

Flickr: Defence Images

Statistics released by the ONS (Office of National Statistics) regarding youth unemployment have resulted in the NUS (National Union of Students) demanding that the government revise its policies or face further damage to Britain’s economy.

The statistics reveal that the number of young people between the ages of 16-24 without a job has reached a record 991,000.

Liam Burns, the newly elected president of the NUS, has accused the government of leaving ‘fewer alternatives to the dole queue’, which results in the ‘wasted potential’ of those

struggling to get a job.

Although Burns acknowledged the government’s recognition of the importance of apprentices in youth employment, he condemned the scrapping of the EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) in January 2011.

Burns commented that ‘Ministers must immediately reinstate EMA, properly fund careers services, and reinvest in education and training if individuals and communities are to avoid the permanent scars of youth unemployment.’

Employment Minister, Chris Grayling, released a statement agreeing that figures released by the ONS were ‘not at all positive’.

In response to the crisis, Grayling has unveiled plans to offer thousands of students

Fox whilst still Secretary of State for Defence, meeting soldiers

North Somerset MP resigns as government minister Lucia Osborne-Crowley News Reporter The Labour Party’s push for further investigation into resigned North Somerset MP Liam Fox’s conduct calls into question his future in politics.

The scandal that has shaken the foundations of the Conservative Party is not yet over, as Labour members call for further investigation into MP Liam Fox’s recent behaviour.

The scandal surrounding

Liam Fox and close friend Adam Werrity has led to Fox’s resignation as Defence Secretary, although he plans to continue in his post as MP for North Somerset.

The scandal began unravelling on October 7th, when Fox’s former flatmate Adam Werrity was accused of acting as an unofficial advisor to Fox and using this false position to attain political donations from various Conservative Party supporters.

Suspicions were aroused when it came to light that Werrity had met Fox on several

business trips as well as at the Ministry of Defence.

Fox announced ‘I accept that it was a mistake to allow distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend’.

Despite his resignation Fox faces further criticism, most notably from Labour MP John Mann, who is specifically requesting that investigations are held as to whether Fox or Werrity – or indeed both – should be facing criminal charges as a result of their actions.

Epigram

24.10.2011

5

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Epigram

24.10.2011

66

University sets out new system of student funding Ellie Pierce Hayley Teretta News Reporters On Tuesday 11th October, the University of Bristol hosted a student funding talk aimed at parents and prospective students in an effort to explain new funding schemes.

The evening consisted of three speakers, including Jane Fitzwalter, the Student Funding Manager, who spoke about the available financial support for eligible students.

Given the introduction

of higher tuition fees, there have been fears that less advantaged pupils will be deterred from applying to further education, and so the University of Bristol is attempting to supply prospective students with adequate support.

The audience was informed about the funding that the university offers. For prospective students from families with a household income of under £25,000, a fee waiver system has been put in place.

Fitzwalter expressed hopes that such measures

would counteract the debt aversion which is typically associated with students of less advantaged backgrounds.

However she acknowledged that for many, money alone is not the only factor in choosing a university, and even if the scholarships offered were high compared to other universities, there remained some reluctance to choose Bristol.

This is consistent with the opinion expressed by Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the University and College Union who said ‘It is over-simplistic to suggest that it is the

size of bursaries alone that determine where students study.’

£3750 The amount Access to Bristol Scheme students could be awarded should they gain a place at Bristol University Given these concerns, the speakers discussed the initiative in place called the

Access to Bristol Scheme, which promotes entry to Bristol, not just financially, but through working closely with local sixth formers.

Participants are invited to attend eight sessions that are designed to emulate university life and so foster interest in further education.

Several of the evening’s attendees were members of the scheme and through it, would be eligible for a bursary of up to £3750 if they decide to apply to Bristol and can meet the entry requirements.

The scheme is part of a wider outreach programme

run by 12 different universities including York, Warwick and Birmingham, which has been shortlisted by the Times Higher Education Awards.

However the scheme has been criticised as it currently only reaches certain areas of the local community and, critics say, therefore only a fraction of disadvantaged pupils will feel the benefits.

It was recently announced that Bristol has failed to meet its targets in attracting students from poorer backgrounds, as identified in this year’s OFFA (Office of Fair Access) report.

Careers fair disrupted by BAE protests Josephine Suherman News Reporter Last Thursday a group of students staged a protest at the Engineering and IT Careers Fair at Wills Memorial Building against the promotion of careers in arms manufacturing.

The students entered the building and performed a series of ‘die-ins’ in front of the BAE stall, intended to symbolise death caused by the sale of weapons. After covering themselves in fake blood and pretending to die, they were removed from the building by security.

The protesters were joined by local campaigners from the group Bristol Against Arms, who erected a stall outside the building distributing anti-

arms literature.

One of the organisers explained that the BAE systems stall was a particular target because of the company’s alleged corrupt dealings with authoritarian states with poor human rights records, ‘Saudi Arabia has used weapons sold to them by BAE Systems to quash dissent against the regime. BAE has been found guilty of violating anti-corruption and export control laws. It should not be given a platform by this university to recruit’.

Max Wakefield, VP Community for the University of Bristol Students’ Union, said, ‘I agree absolutely with their position and their reasons for protesting. I am opposed to the general financial involvement of arms companies in the University of Bristol. I will be proposing

a motion at the Students’ Conference on 29th October to try and establish union policy on this issue.’

Alex Mathews, a third year student of Engineering and Maths who attended the fair, said, ‘I thought the protest was a bit pointless as most of those attending the careers fair weren’t at all sympathetic to their cause. Nobody paid them much attention so I thought it seemed unnecessary, and needlessly increased the levels of security at the fair.’

BAE Systems is the third largest global defence company, a major graduate employer in the UK, and one of the top ten local graduate employers in Bristol. It has suffered protests in the past

by Bristol students, and frequently suffers on-campus protests at careers fairs across the UK.

Scrapping of EMA deters college students Caitlin Fawkes News Reporter

Flickr: nicksarebi

A report released by the AoC (Association of Colleges) reveals that over half of further education colleges have seen a decline in the number of students aged 16-19 this year.

The drop in figures coincides with the government’s decision to scrap EMA (the Education Maintenance Allowance), which many college leaders and headteachers have blamed for the drop, which in some cases is between five and 15%.

EMA (the Education Maintenance Allowance) was introduced by the Labour Government in 2004

to encourage less wealthy students to stay in education post-16.

The current coalition decided to scrap the system in October 2010, saying it failed the poorest families and cost the tax-payer too much money.

The EMA system enabled over 54% of 16-19 years to receive funding, and the current government have yet to fill the hole left behind to support less fortunate families.

Although the government has put £180m into a new scheme, many believe that the governing coalition has failed to breach the gap that the EMA filled. As a result, colleges have seen a sharp drop

in young people continuing into higher education.

The NUS Vice-President for Further Education, Toni Pearce, responded to the findings by commenting, ‘the Government must take full responsibility for the loss of opportunity they have imposed on a generation of young people.’ She continued saying that ‘Ministers were warned over and over again by teachers, students, parents, economists and college leaders that scrapping EMA would harm participation in further education and now they are reaping what they sowed.’

The market analyst firm Caci produced a number of statistics on university student backgrounds. These showed

that over half of Bristol University learners came from families in the top bracket of wage earners in England and a further 20% from the next most affluent category.

These types of statistics reveal that Bristol, along with other prestigious universities, is largely dominated by the middle and upper classes, who are unlikely to have received funding from the EMA. With the scrapping of the EMA, universities may be forced to further reconsider the ways in which they admit applicants.

Critics claim this could result in more positive discrimination disproportionately favouring those from poorer backgrounds.

Epigram

24.10.2011

7

University invests in RAG go barmy Bristol ‘Wow! Gorilla’ Jodie White News Reporter

Sarah Penfold News Reporter

Methadone found in toddler’s body Eliza Dolbey News Reporter Forensics have discovered a high concentration of the drug methadone in the body of a toddler.

Jayden- Lee Green, aged 23 months, was found dead in St George on 21st August; his parents are now both remanded in custody.

Jamie Green, 32, and Sonia Britton, 35, have been charged with manslaughter and allowing the death of their child. Forensic scientists have uncovered that there was a high concentration of the heroin substitute methadone found in his blood and hair. Experts say that the toddler must have ingested the drug.

Green who appeared by video link in court on October 7th has also been charged with willful assault.

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous described

the toddler: ‘He looked cute.

He was just a normal little boy growing up and he was beginning to walk about. It’s a very sad situation.’

The exact details of the case still remain unclear. Green’s defence lawyer Anjali Gohil said to reporters, ‘We have a toxicology report from the Crown and the pathologist is still working on his report. We may need a second.’

Methadone is a soporific drug usually prescribed by doctors to help their patients with heroin addictions. A BBC report conducted earlier this year claimed that only 4 % of addicts emerge from the treatment free from dependency.

Green and Britton are due to appear at Bristol Crown Court on 16th December.

Judge Michael Roach has remanded Green in custody until then.

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact the force.

University of Bristol, Professor David Clarke, commented: ‘We are very pleased to acquire this gorilla as part of our public art commitment to the city and to support this imaginative scheme.’

The gorilla is to take pride of place in the new £50mn Life Sciences building, which is currently being built on the University campus, and is due to be completed in 2013.

Clarke ascertained that ‘Our plan is to position the gorilla within the grounds of the new Life Sciences building or within the building foyer, which enhances our on-going commitment to public art as part of the development of the University’s estate.’

The acquisition of the sculpture underscores the University’s support of public art in Bristol, and the close links between the School of Biological Sciences and Bristol Zoo. Clarke commented that ‘when complete, the new building will represent a significant investment in maintaining our world-leading position for education and research and it is particularly exciting that we can include a work that has really engaged so many local people.’

On 11th October 1500 students took part in the RAG (Raising and Giving) BARMY Bar Crawl, raising over £7500 for local Bristol charities.

The sold-out event saw participants make their way from Roo Bar, through nine different bars, ending with free entry to the 02 Academy.

The event, which occurs on a bi-annual basis, consistently proves popular throughout the student community, with first year students in particular enjoying the opportunity to discover a variety of local venues.

First year History student, Hannah Weldes said ‘It’s a great opportunity to meet loads of different people and to experience what else Bristol has to offer! I haven’t been to half the places on this bar crawl and I’ve met so many people tonight.

‘The fact that it’s all for such a good cause just makes it even better!’ she told Epigram.

This year, RAG recruited 40 volunteers to help supervise and run the event, positioning several marshals in each bar.

Natalie Twaddle, third-year Childhood Studies student, marshalled at Sasparillas and said ‘It was so much fun to be involved in the organisation of BARMY this year.

‘I’ve been involved in lots of charity events in the past but this is by far the biggest and best – the amount of money raised by students on a single night out is incredible.’

RAG is the charitable branch of the Student Union, last year raising £109,573 for a variety of local, national and international charities. This year, the committee hope to break the current record of more than £250,000 set in 2009/10, increasing the number of students involved and organising even more events than in previous years.

RAG President James McDonald, head of the Bristol organisation, said ‘Standing

in O2 Academy with a blue permanent marker mono-brow and seeing 1500 very drunk students in the same t-shirt, having a great time, made all the hard work worth while!’

RAG Rep Co-ordinator Tilda Treverton Jones, is responsible for recruiting people from the student body to get involved.

She said ‘We encourage people to participate in RAG in any way possible. BARMY is simply the first of such a wide variety of events, from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, RAG raid street collections, the infamous RAG Procession and in-hall events such as speed-dating – there really is something for everyone.’

Bristol restaurant awarded by Michelin

Flinty Red on Cotham Hill has been awarded a Bib Gourmand from the prestigious Michelin guide. The award gives special recognition to restaurants offering good food at reasonable prices and there are only 129 restaurants in the UK with a Bib Gourmand award.

The restaurant opened in 2009 and the Chef and proprietor, Matthew Williamson, hopes the award will boost the whole Cotham area.

Flickr: Geckoo 76

An auction of 60 life size gorilla statues has raised over £425,000 for charity, following the display of the statues around Bristol this summer. The ‘Wow! Gorilla’ statues were each hand decorated by local artists, and form a part of the Bristol Zoo’s 175th anniversary celebrations.

The money raised by the auction will go towards both the Bristol Zoo’s Gorilla Conservation Projects and the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The highest selling statue was one modeled on Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which sold to a private buyer for £23,000. . The buyer, Nick Baker, said ‘we were very pleased to raise a bit of money for charity…I was under a bit of domestic pressure to make sure it came home.’

The event helped to bring together schools, artists, residents and visitors, and auctioneer Andrew Morgan said the event was a ‘spectacular

success’.

The University of Bristol participated in the auction, successfully bidding for the statue aptly entitled ‘Going Going Gone’. The statue was created to highlight the threat that the wild gorilla population currently faces from the illegal bushmeat trade, which sees around 800 Gorillas killed per year in Cameroon.

The gorilla’s design enables people to leave handprints upon it that gradually fade and then disappear. This symbolises the threat of extinction facing gorillas in the future, and also forms the rationale behind the name.

T h e Deputy ViceChancellor of the

Epigram

24.10.2011

8

Yeates’s landlord plans to sue police

Flickr: robertomd

Clifton College, where Jefferies was an English

Katy Barney News Reporter

Clifton College - was arrested.

He was questioned for three days and then released on police bail, indicating that he was still under suspicion. During this time, tabloid newspapers were filled with old photos and quotes from sources calling him ‘creepy’, ‘lewd’ and ‘an oddball’.

Jefferies has gained damages from his libel suits against the eight papers who published defamatory articles about him, but wishes to continue his fight against the ‘violation’ with a suit against the Police, who he claims had little or no grounds for his arrest. Thus he is suing them for false imprisonment, breach of human rights and trespass.

A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset police said,

‘In light of the ongoing legal proceedings it would be inappropriate for us to give a view.’

Jefferies has also lashed out at police for the treatment he received whilst on bail.

‘I was entirely unaware of media speculation; they were very much aware of media speculation’, he suggested.

He was oblivious to the flood of so called information about his private life and personality that had filled the tabloids during the short period of his imprisonment, which has fuelled his anger. Vincent Tabak, engineer and neighbour of Yeates and Jefferies, admits manslaughter but denies murder, and his trial at Bristol Crown Court continues.

Bob Pitchford

Chris Jefferies, formerly under suspicion for the murder of Joanna Yeates in December of last year, is now planning to sue Bristol and Avon Police.

Jefferies has claimed, ‘My identity has been violated. My privacy had been intruded upon, I don’t think it would be too strong a word to say it was a kind of rape that had taken place.’

Joanna Yeates was reported missing from her home in Clifton on December 17th, and following the discovery of her body on Christmas Day, Jefferies - a former teacher at

Bristol Zoo celebrates birth of new gorilla ‘Kukena’

Bristol Zoo has welcomed its latest member in the shape of baby gorilla ‘Kukena’. She is a product of the Zoo’s breeding programme for the Western Lowland gorilla, which is currently a critically endangered species. Kukena’s mother has previously received groundbreaking human fertility treatment, but in this case little Kukena was concieved naturally, and came into the world on Tuesday September 27th.

Bristol professor calls for BBC presenter Rowell faces court over sex claims schools to teach evolution Anna Godfrey News Reporter

him as being in a psychologically ‘vulnerable’ state.

Mr Rowell was not forced to face his sexual offence charges until more recently, as his state of mental health saw him unfit to face such allegations. In June he was ordered to surrender his passport and was placed under a curfew. The Counsel for the Defence, Edward Burgess, requested an adjournment of the case, stating that the ‘defence is not able to make meaningful progress until around late November’ due to psychiatric issues.

The Counsel for the Prosecution, Ian Fenny, commented that ‘any trial is likely to take place in the late spring of next year’, likely on or after April 1st, 2012.

Gjeta Gjyshinca News Reporter Former Head of Pathology at Bristol University, Professor Emeritus Sir Anthony Epstein, has recently joined a petition calling on the government to enforce its current guidance that creationism and intelligent design should not be taught in school science lessons.

The e-petition, called Teach evolution, not creationism!, has also been joined by prominent scientists Sir David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins. Altogether, a group of 30 scientists have signed the petition, which claims in its position statement that organisations like Truth in Science are ‘encouraging teachers to incorporate intelligent design into their

science teaching’. However, in an interview with The Guardian, the organisation denied the claim, arguing that the aim of Truth in Science is to ‘highlight the scientific weaknesses of Neo-Darwinism’ and encourage

Dawkins is one of 30 scientists calling for the change

a critical approach to the way evolution is taught in schools.

Currently, free schools and academies are not obliged to teach evolution at all, and nor is this compulsory in primary schools.

Flickr: jurvetson

Former BBC presenter and father-of-one Peter Rowell is currently facing numerous sexual offence charges, many involving underage females.

The 53 year old presenter, originally from Sunderland, presented the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset, after spending ten years working at ITV. Mr Rowell faces a total of 24 sex charges, which currently form two indictments but are soon to be combined into one.

A BBC spokeswoman announced in May that Mr Rowell was no longer engaged by the corporation.

According to Avon and Somerset police forces, Mr Rowell’s charges span from 1990 to 2011, and involving accusations from five different female complainants.

Mr Rowell’s offences include the rape of a female minor, six indecent assaults on the same complainant, ten other indecent assaults, six charges of making indecent images of children and the possession of indecent images of children. Mr Rowell denies all charges.

The inquest concerning Mr Rowell’s sexual offences peaked last April after he failed to turn up to his regular afternoon programme and was subsequently reported missing.

Though Mr Rowell was located the following night in the Lake District, the police described

Epigram

24.10.2011

9

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Epigram

24.10.2011

Features

Editor: Tristan Martin

Deputy Editor: Andrew White

features@epigram.org.uk

deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk

Community cohesion in a divided city As part of Black History Month, Epigram investigates the real nature of Bristol’s diversity and looks back at the city’s unique history

Tristan Martin Features Editor

St Paul’s Carnival is enjoyed every year by people from all walks of life

Carnival: a testament to the enduring spirit of the African Caribbean community there.

It is also thought that there are now around 110 different languages spoken in the city’s primary schools. This is a city changing at an incredible rate.

But the story of diversity in Bristol is not a simple one.

At a conference earlier this month, Annie Hudson, director of Children and Young People’s Services for Bristol, told an audience,

‘We need to be un-defensive about what must be done... The gaps between social groups in this city are unacceptably huge.’

Harris Joshua delivered the findings of a new Institute of Community Cohesion report on the changing nature of Bristol’s communities. As well as increases in segregation and cultural isolation in certain areas, he spoke of the difficulties faced by less wellestablished communities. The

Roma population being the newest ethnic group to settle in the city, there was evidence of their marginalisation by almost all other communities, leading to some of the worst deprivation in the city.

Through an incredibly complex and changing picture of tension, one comment rang clear, that ‘long standing issues of inequalities are still not completely resolved.’

One man intimately involved in the state of equalities in

Photo: Roisin Armstrong

Photo: Jonathan Taphouse

People come to Bristol from all over the world for many different reasons. Most reading this paper have come to Bristol in the hope of getting a good education. Some arrive here in the hope of finding a relaxed yet vibrant city in which to raise a family. Others arrive in the hope of starting new lives entirely, escaping from war or oppression elsewhere. There are many more reasons etched into the city’s past; slavery and the collapse of an empire, to name just two.

Bristol today is a product of that past, and a continuous project in attempting to come to terms with it. In 2007 the city marked the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act with a series of exhibitions, educational projects and community events.

And looking to the future, rather than the past, Bristol was last year named a City of Sanctuary: a place proud to offer refuge for those who are no longer safe in their own country.

What we have now is a city that is by many measures an incredibly diverse place to live. Every summer since 1967 has seen tens of thousands of people turn out for St. Paul’s

Bristol is Public Health Manager Marvin Rees. He grew up ‘essentially in the poor areas of Lawrence Weston and Easton… [as a] kid with brown skin, watching a white mum trying to bring up two brown skinned children… I was very aware of issues of inequality and race, even before I had the language to express it.’

Marvin currently sits on the board of the Bristol Legacy Commission, which was set up to find ways to improve the education, health and cultural representation of Bristol’s black and minority ethnic communities. His experience as both a resident and a health professional have lead him to some fairly stark conclusions, ‘The way I’ve come to term it is that Bristol is a city fractured by race and class. There are very distinct boundaries. Some people can cross them, but on the whole they characterise life in the city… You scratch the surface and you find it’s quite a divided city, and the ultimate expression of that division is the incredibly wide variety of life expectancies across the city.’

The statistics ring clear on this point: life expectancy for men in the most deprived areas of Bristol is 7 years less than in the least deprived areas.

The picture of a superficially cosmopolitan city is also supported by a 2006 Joseph

Rowntree Foundation report that found there to be ‘complex networks of settlements based on income or ethnicity that have little to do with each other. Thus there are a series of different Bristols.’

As Marvin makes clear, the results of such entrenched social boundaries are a serious matter for concern, ‘We have very low levels of social mobility in the city… as long as this situation remains, that people are born with lower life expectancy, a greater likelihood of going to prison and a lower likelihood of going to a good university, just by virtue of where they are born, the legacy and history of inequality is going to stay with us.’

As far as Marvin is concerned, real change will only come from the top, ‘As a city we need to look at diversifying the leadership. If you just come at it from one culture, or a narrow range, you’re going to come up with the same old solutions to the same old problems that have been with us forever. So it’s for the good of the city to diversify the thinking that’s available to it on how it wants to shape the city, and where it wants to go.’

It seems that bold steps must be taken to avoid the entrenchment of what are already sizeable inequalities.

Bristol’s Black History: from sea-faring to music-making According to records, Bristolian black history takes root towards the end of the 1500s in the form of an un-named gardener employed by the lavish residence occupying the site of Bristol’s Colston Hall. He was to be the pioneer for what is now a population of an estimated 16,000 Bristolian inhabitants of African or Caribean heritage.

Although Bristol is somewhat uncomfortably remembered for its prolific participation in the slave trade, slaves themselves were never brought to Bristol in large numbers. As a result, Bristol’s black population remained relatively sparse until 1947 and the advent of post-war reconstruction. The same cannot be said of African influence, which etched itself prominently onto the surface of the city during this period, albeit through a Western medium. Guinea Street, the thoroughfare encircling the Bristol General Hospital in Redcliffe, was so-called after the name given by traders to the western coast of Africa. It was

also these Bristolian traders who later produced gold coins called ‘guineas’, forged from gold mined in this west African region.

So if Bristol represented a major corner of the triangle between Britain, Africa and the West Indies, why did it not take advantage of the situation to import slaves for its own economic enhancement? In truth, it was commodities such as sugar and coffee that Bristol sought, merchandise that could only be produced in the climate of the colonial Caribbean. It was for this reason that over 2,000 slave ships left Bristol to trade for the enslaved Africans that were later to make up the demographic of Caribbean islands such as Barbados, St. Kitts, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

So despite the prominence of modern Bristol’s AfroCaribbean populace, black slaves only featured in 18th and 19th century Bristol as personal servants to wealthy plantation owners or to the

captains commandeering their slave vessels. Merchants such as the DeWolf family, which was responsible for almost half of all slaving voyages originating in Bristol, continued to approve the exchange with Rhode Island state long after the slave trade was outlawed by federal law in 1808.

But it was not just slaves that made up Bristol’s pre20th century black population.

Free blacks, usually in the form of soldiers, servants, actors or seamen frequented or inhabited Bristol during this period but again, their numbers were few and far between.

When the Second World War broke out, blacks from Western colonies arrived in Europe by the thousands to defend their respective ‘motherlands’ – a remarkably sensitive term for the states that had engineered and institutionalised their exploitation. In the aftermath of war, the British government invited their colonised peoples to come and rebuild the fractured settlements of Britain

Photo: Tristan Martin

and help the impoverished economy. Bristol became a focal point of this mass immigration, not just from the Caribbean, but also from places such as Ghana and Nigeria.

By the 1960s, Bristol was one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Britain, but the city’s topography continued to define socio-racial stratification and black and white racial mixing

Dutty Ken, proprietor of the notorious Star & Garter, one of Bristol’s longest running Reggae institutions

was confined to the low-lying districts of St. Pauls, Easton and Southville, seldom gracing the affluence of Redland, Cotham and Clifton. Though poorer by society’s standards, it was these former, Afro-Caribbeaninfluenced areas that were the cradle of Bristol’s musical wealth.

The blending of individuals so far removed in terms of their social backgrounds on a day-

to-day basis in venues such as the Dug Out Club in the 1980s was to ensure the moulding of a unique ‘Bristol Sound’. In this way, artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size were not just pioneers in their respective genres, but also living proof of a black heritage finally celebrated after centuries of repression.

Tom Upton

Epigram

24.10.2011

11

Bridging the gap: Widening Participation Epigram speaks to head teachers and academics about the need for universities to involve themselves with local communities Andrew White Deputy Features Editor

Insight

Somali Women’s Voice Sagal and Mona, who present a weekly show on Bristol Community Radio, tell Epigram about how they use the radio to help new Somalis arriving in the city, and the issues they face trying to bring up their children in a culture so far removed from their own.

Photo: Tristan Martin

Education plays a pivotal role in bringing communities together in any city with high levels of both diversity and inequality.

In Bristol, there are a number of schemes run through both the University of Bristol and the University of West England that see hundreds of students volunteering as mentors. One particular program is UWE’s Schools Link, which involves taking undergraduates from ethnic minority backgrounds to work as role models for year seven and eight secondary school students.

The undergraduates talk about university and their personal journey in getting there.

Through Schools Link, the students would then be invited to come to the university and put into context what the undergraduates had talked to them about. Under UWE’s head of Widening Participation, Dr Marrie-Annick Gournet, numbers of students enrolled in the program have seen substantial rises from 60 to 400. Perhaps projects like this support her claim that despite previous ‘strong divisions among the young people coming from different ethnic groups… [due to] language, culture, and religion…I have seen a lot more integration, a lot more mixing’.

Sir Keith Ajegbo, who has received an OBE and been knighted for his work improving a failing school in Lewisham, feels that education is a key forum for families to communicate together, ‘If you

Children at St Werburgh’s Primary in costume for a cultural performance.

have a segregated community within your school then the school has an absolute duty to work with those parents: to bring those parents into the school and let them see that it is a place for learning and cohesion.’ Equally however, he makes the point that cultural segregation is just one of many problems that can hinder achievement: ‘It’s just that your journey, if you come from an inner city school with working class parents, is inevitably going to be harder’. Perhaps the point is not what divisions there are and why, but how to go about solving them for a more harmonious community.

St Werburgh’s Primary in Bristol is one school where steps are being taken in the

right direction. With around 70% black and ethnic minority pupils and 50% on free school meals, it is truly representative of the diverse communities in its catchment area. One of the school’s initiatives was to

“

If you have a segregated community within your school then there is a duty to let the parents see that it is a place for learning and cohesion.

”

celebrate Pakistan Resolution Day with the performance of a poem set to music, with the children acting out the story in traditional dress. The school

Higher, and the overwhelmingly negative figures, widening participation at the University of Bristol has not yet breathed its last breath. The University has agreed to cover the gap left by Aim Higher this year, allowing the Widening Participation team to continue their work in over 30 local schools.

The Students’ Union also runs a volunteering in schools programme, putting students into the local community as classroom assistants, one-toone mentors and reading aides.

There are also opportunities through societies, such as STAR (Student Action for Refugees), who provide mentors for children who are new to the UK or do not have English as their first language.

It is vital that universities encourage applications from a much wider talent-pool, but Dr. Gournet is careful to point out that this cannot be allowed to veer into positive discrimination.

What is needed, she insists, is more appropriately termed positive action, ‘that the people who have the skills, have the right qualifications, succeed in the process of selection’ and should not be ‘discriminated against, on the basis of their sex, disability or ethnicity.’

Much of the onus lies on the schooling system to provide those qualified applicants from all different backgrounds, but it is equally a responsibility of universities to support that process as best they can. All higher education institutes have a duty to encourage people from all walks of life into their campuses and work continually with the community, as many primary and secondary schools are already doing.

has also organised cookery workshops, with parents coming in to teach the culinary traditions of Bangladesh, China, Somalia, Pakistan and England.

But as well as fostering links within the community, headteacher Claire Smith is conscious of the need to look to the children’s futures, ‘In terms of widening participation, secondary school is often too late. Genuinely intervening to raise attainment has to be at primary level. By secondary school, many pupils just have too much ground to catch up.’

Links with local universities can prove vital in such efforts.

As was revealed by Epigram last fortnight, the University of Bristol has reduced overall spending in widening

participation activities and failed to meet fair access targets for this year. Add to this the fact that government widening participation body Aim Higher has been axed; the situation is looking particularly bleak.

One of the University’s outreach officers, Alex O’Driscoll, admitted that the University has not been as successful as had been hoped.

He suggested that previous targets had been somewhat ambitious.

The Widening Participation office has also made clear that with the ceasing of government spending on widening participation, the University will be more than doubling its own investment in outreach activity for 2012-13.

Despite the loss of Aim

Why did you decide to start a radio show?

Sagal We do have, as Somalians, two big issues to tell you the truth.

We’re black, and we’re Muslim.

None of them are loved by many cultures! So I think that is one thing that makes a big difference to begin with. When I was young, and I went to America, that was the first time I heard “you’re black”. I never heard people call you black, white, or red! So it was shocking when they called me that.

can present difficulties?

Mona I think we are actually very conservative, as Somalis. We don’t let people in. It takes us a while.

But now, I think, it’s getting better.

It’s getting there. Really something I want to tackle with the younger generation, because if you’re never involved in someone else’s life you don’t know what’s going on around you.

Mona We want them to maintain their values, but I know that people can learn a lot from them, and they can learn a lot from other people.

So you have to be open minded; you have to say to your children…

‘Yes, this is who you are, this is your religion, which is very valuable, this is your culture, which is brilliant, now you have to let other people know who you are.’ Not be locked out and isolated.

Sagal It is to improve awareness, talk about education, talk about how the system works. So we invite people who are experts in education, welfare, health. So the listeners can be educated through the radio.

The Somali language has been written not long ago, so we don’t read much. There is a Somali language, but one written just 30 or 40 years ago. So we are a very verbal people, so we listen to the radio. So we thought this would be useful for the community Mona We talk a lot. If you talk through the radio station, they will listen!

How well does the Somali community fit in with other communities in the city?

So education and child-raising

Sagal The most difficult thing for the mother and children is cultural.

They grow up here, they have this culture, but the mother grew up home, and wants her children to behave the way she was taught by here parents, in Somalia. I think the biggest problem is the cultural clash between parents, and the youngsters.

Epigram

24.10.2011

12

Education: the battle for our state schools Melissa Benn talks to Epigram about her fears for the state school, and her dreams for a truly comprehensive education system.

With the creation of free schools and academies, Melissa Benn believes the last two governments have attempted to return to a tiered schooling system, with comprehensive schools getting left out in the cold. Speaking before a talk in Bristol, she made clear that the current overhaul of our education system is not in everyone’s best interests.

What is the state of our education system?

Private schools are clearly a big issue here. Would you get rid of them, given the choice?

You cannot make it illegal for a parent to choose to spend money on educating their children. That is a fundamental human right. I think the Left would be very critical of me not going so far as to say abolish the private schools. All I want to do with this book was to say “they are clearly a big problem”.

And they are a problem at the centre of our educational system. Ideally I’d like to see the state system so good that private schools become like

Photo: Tristan Martin

I think our school system is in something of a mess. I think what the coalition government is doing is intensifying that mess. I think contrary to what they say about eroding inequality, they will intensify it.

The places that are being cut are comprehensives and community schools. Those that are in the local authority family have lost out in particular with the transfer of money to academies, on the grounds that they will need money. But its been pretty well established, by the Financial Times, and others, that they have been given too much money… So in effect government policy is a sort of tax on comprehensives.

Melissa Benn, daughter of former Labour leader Tony Benn, by the Bristol harbourside.

they are in France – marginal institutions.

also avoid having to divide our children too early.

And what would an appropriate system look like?

Surely free schools have the potential to offer this kind of flexibility?

I look to Finland. The systems that look the most sensible have schools that offer a mix of academic and vocational learning up until about 16 – you don’t specialise too early, because if you do that you tend to put your working class children in vocational education, and often the apprenticeships aren’t actually there. Particularly in this economy, you’re sentencing them to no work. And I don’t see why, if you’re very academic, you have to immediately go into Geography, Maths, and Science – how about mixing that with a broader range of skills. If you want to be a plumber why shouldn’t you study philosophy as well? I don’t see why we have to be so intent to categorize everyone. I think that would allow people to follow their natural bent, but

I am a believer in people doing it themselves, so why am I so suspicious of the free school, which is supposed to be parents

“

If you want to be a plumber why shouldn’t you study philosophy as well? I don’t see why we have to be so intent to categorise everyone.

”

doing it for themselves? Its because I don’t think that’s what it’s really about. I think it’s about government opening the doors to private control of our schools. Very few of the first 24 free schools were set up by parents - Bristol was one.

There are problems with the

Bristol model – that it’s in a well-off area, but the building is in a not so well off area, so its not taking local children. The other one is Toby Young in West London, who rejected his local school and has set up what is in effect a sort of pseudo private school. I don’t think the most exciting ideas in education at the moment are in the area of traditional rote-learning curriculum. There are so many different, interesting ideas and approaches to learning, and I would like to see our schools develop in that way.

How do you feel about the prospects for school leavers looking to go to university right now?

I think that rising tuition fees are a huge, huge problem. I say this as a parent. I see a lot of people who don’t want to take on that debt. I don’t know quite when this happened, but when did Oxford and Cambridge, and the Russel group universities, become the only universities in the world? We seem to

have become even more elite than we were. And here’s a government saying it’s all about helping poor children to get better educated. But they’ve cut EMA, they’ve tripled tuition fees, and they’re going to judge every school in the country on whether it sends children to Oxbridge. It doesn’t seem to me to be the way to do it.

So, in a nutshell, what does the government need to do?

Firstly: phasing out of selection.

Secondly: fair admissions in a local area, with all schools striving to be balanced and socially mixed.

There are many successful

comprehensives – sometimes when geography throws up a good mix, or in the case of Mossborne, where the head has just managed to engineer an incredibly successful mix – high attainers, low attainers, and it just brings everyone up.

Thirdly – you do need to have a common educational offer – I don’t think a parent in Bristol wants to send their children to have a completely different education from a parent in Bradford. Fourth thing: given the inequalities we have in society, given the children we really need to focus on are of lower income, I think we need to really concentrate resources on schools in poorer areas.

Melissa Benn’s new book looks back through the history of our school system’s creation, picking out what went wrong along the way.

Highly critical of the tri-partite system of Grammars, Secondary technical schools and secondary moderns which began in 1944, she goes on to heavily criticise the reforms of both present and previous governments. www.melissabenn.com

How to get involved in volunteering.

There are many opportunities for students to get involved in their local community, with projects ranging from education to social support.

To volunteer for one of UBU’s programs you will need to attend an induction session, which are happening on the folowing dates: Wednesday 26th October Friday 28th October Tuesday 1st November Friday 4th November Friday 18th November Wednesday 23rd November Monday 28th November Friday 9th December

2 - 4PM 2 - 4PM 5.15-7.15PM 2 - 4PM 10 - 12AM 2 - 4PM 5.15 - 7.15PM 2 - 4PM

Assisting teachers dealing with recently arrived refugee children who do not have English as their first language.

STAR also campaign for better rights and access to services for refugees.

Looking for students to give 1 - 2 hours a week in local primary schools.

Volunteering in Schools: Students can work in primary, secondary and special educational needs schools in the local community, as classroom assistants, oneto-one mentors and reading aides. They also run a program introducing sixth form students to the world of robotics.

Volunteers needed for mentoring one-to-one and in group situations with young people who are considered ‘at risk’ of commiting crime in Bristol. Working alongside the Youth Offending Team to help facilitate positive development in a young person’s life by working to a set of defined goals.

Contact: ubu-star@bristol.ac.uk

Contact: ubu-schools@bristol.ac.uk

Contact: mentoring@bristol-mates.

The University runs a Widening Participation scheme sending students into schools as tutors, mentors and ambassadors for highter education.

Contact: wpur-office@bristol.ac.uk UBU Volunteering T: 0117 9545888 E: ubu-volunteering@bristol.ac.uk

Comment

Epigram

24.10.2011

Editor: Patrick Baker comment@epigram.org.uk

Somalian catastrophe widely ignored As the Somalian drought kills thousands, the media seem to have turned a blind eye Andrea Valentino

“

We should be mindful that we, as consumers, ultimately decide what is and what isn’t newsworthy

explaining this disconnect. Any two-bit hack worth their salt can get to Apple headquarters in Palo Alto within a few hours; civil war, Islamic zealots and a complete lack of infrastructure makes investigative reporting in Somalia rather more difficult.

But to put the lack of coverage down merely to a lack of ‘access’ does a disservice both to reporters and the people of Somalia. Even in a war-zone, if there’s a will there’s a way, and the constant pictures we have been fed of Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan over recent times suggests that the problem in this

case is a distinct lack of will.

It is easy to lay all the blame on journalists for this lack of interest in what is perhaps the most pressing humanitarian crisis in the world today, but we should be mindful that we, as consumers, ultimately decide what is and what isn’t newsworthy. Just like every other industry, media is competitive; would the papers have made such a fuss about Steve Jobs’ death if we didn’t upgrade our iPhones every six months or didn’t think that our new room in halls would look perfect with the sleekest Apple

laptop? How often do you see Facebook updates linking you to an article about the latest round of murders by Al-Shabab thugs in Mogadishu?

The fact is, we find Somalia boring. It’s just another African basket case, the thousandth we’ve heard about and the thousandth we’ll tut at and rustle back to the Sports section.

It’s striking that in recent weeks the only time that Somalia has been mentioned at all is in connection with a British couple holidaying in Kenya – the husband murdered and the wife kidnapped and taken

over the border. If we really were interested in the lives of Somalis, over the long term, The Times could lead on it every day and survive as a newspaper.

But it hasn’t. Maybe we should consider why.

So, as the world honours the life of Steve Jobs, spare a thought for the newspaper inches not being written and the obituaries not being composed for the dead of Somalia. A little less cynicism and these inches might eventually get written – and Somalis will finally be able to dispense with ‘life’s greatest invention.’

Flickr: UN photo/Stuart Price

”

As anyone with access to Facebook will have found impossible to ignore, the death of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, shook the media world to its foundations. On the day following his passing, my newsfeed was flooded with eulogising comments lamenting the loss of this ‘visionary, generation defining innovator.’ The established media was no less lionising in its commentary. According to a Guardian editorial, Jobs ‘reinvented the role of CEO as messiah.’ A ‘legendary’ speech that Jobs made in 2005 has been particularly picked up upon. His line that ‘death is most likely the best invention of life’ seems destined to accompany him into the pantheon of technology greats.

Now, I’m not trying to rubbish or demean the death of someone who, undoubtedly, did change the world we live in – merely to put it into perspective. For, if Jobs’ assertion is correct, the people of Somalia have clearly got a talent of making the most of life’s greatest invention. Since July of this year, an estimated 29,000 children under the age of five have starved to death in the country. The impact of the drought in the south of the country has been deemed ‘catastrophic.’

If we use the death of Steve Jobs as a yardstick, surely events in East Africa are receiving disproportionately little coverage? Even in the hyperconnected world of 2011, that infamous journalistic word ‘access’ can still go some way to

Cameron’s ‘Fat Tax’ proposal lacks significant weight

Tom Straker once labeling it ‘as big a crisis as climate change,’ October’s Conservative Party Conference seemed like a great opportunity for Prime Minister David Cameron to reassure the public that steps were being taken to tackle the issue, by proposing some fresh, inventive and, most importantly, viable preventative measures.

Unfortunately, we were treated to a mumbled pledge to discuss the merits of a ‘fat

tax’, a half-baked proposal riddled with more holes than a pretzel. Such a scheme would clearly be wholly unreasonable and misguided from both a practical and philosophical standpoint. Given the current economic hardships of the majority of the British people, a tax that would hit the poorest hardest would be foolish. Those unable to buy expensive health foods would suffer - most of the budget foods available on supermarket shelves are, conversely, the richest in the very ingredients that such a tax would target. The Institute for Fiscal Studies investigated the notion of this ‘fat tax’ back in 2004, and it quite rightly argued against it on the basis that it would hit the poor harder than the middle

classes.

This tax would not only fail on a practical level, but would further serve to feed the already bloated ‘nanny state’ culture that Cameron has inherited from New Labour. What the ‘fat tax’ advocates forget is that it is not simply the eating of fatty foods that causes obesity - it’s eating too many fatty foods.

Blanket taxing the entire population is simply punishing the many for the actions of the few, making a mockery of Cameron’s vision of a ‘fairer Britain.’ Dieting should remain a personal choice, exempt from the whims of the government’s attempts at social engineering.

Despite all the concern about losing weight, this proposal should gain a few pounds if it wants to be taken seriously.

Flickr: admanchester LRPS

With the western world’s obesity problem swelling, bashing the bulky is very much in vogue.

Britain’s European neighbours have become increasingly proactive in attempting to counteract what is rightly seen as a major health issue - the Danish government recently placed a surcharge on foods containing more than 2.3% saturated fat, and France is to impose a tax on soft drinks.

The aim of these measures is, of course, to deter junk food fanatics from guzzling their way to a gluttonous grave.

Government statistics reveal that over 60% of the British population is officially classed as overweight or obese, which is fast becoming a huge concern for many. With former Health Secretary Alan Johnson

Epigram

24.10.2011

14

Knox: A victim of her image? The Excess Factor

‘Slutwalk’ feminism is reinforced by the Amanda Knox debacle Jessica McKay The recent Amanda Knox appeal - following the brutal murder of her flatmate Meredith Kercher - has been the subject of much contention, dominating media coverage in the UK and abroad.

Recently acquitted, it is startling to discover how strongly Knox’s culpability was based on her sexual image. Despite concrete DNA evidence of the now convicted Rudy Guede being found inside Meredith’s body and on her clothes, Knox was suspected for ‘how she wiggled her hips,’ suspicions that she had HIV, and an intrusive interrogation in which she was asked ‘with whom I’d done it, how I liked it.’

In tabloid newspapers Knox was labelled ‘Foxy Knoxy’, but when she reappeared in court distinctively dressed down and plainer in appearance, the media attacked her for

cynically trying to manipulate the jurors’ sympathy. It is hard to deny the inconsistency of this attack, first targeted for being ‘too sexy’ and then again for softening her image – it seems she could not shake the ‘slut’ label.

So strong were these accusations that comparisons are often drawn between Knox’s relentless persecution and the merciless witch-hunts of the 18th century; in a supposedly ‘democratic’ system, the role of the media in these instances is highly questionable. Knox’s image escalated from a young, conventional American student to a violent, narcissistic nymph.

Arguably, if Amanda Knox had not been such an attractive young woman, with previous sexual partners, she would not have been persecuted with such fervour and tenacity by the conservative Italian court - 87.8% of Italians identifying

themselves as Roman Catholic.

These more traditional attitudes towards sex unfairly contextualised her case from the outset. If she had been male, the sexual aspect of the murder would surely not have been focused on so closely. This sexual inequality is exemplified in other areas of the law; jurors are often accused of lacking sympathy for female rape victims who were dressed in a suggestive or enticing way.

Indeed, many critics attacked the recent ‘Slutwalk’ in Bristol - where activists marched the streets in skimpy clothing to ridicule this injustice and the shocking 6.7% rape conviction rate - as unnecessary and provocative. Top lawyer Nick Freeman recently commented on the Slutwalk, saying ‘how a woman dresses tells men what’s on her mind.’ A poignant image from the Slutwalk, which challenged this notion was the banner which read ‘a dress

Jessica Wingrad

does not mean yes.’ In a world of supposed sexual freedom and liberation, women are still largely criticised for insinuating any kind of promiscuity through their appearance whilst men are admired and respected for their sexual achievements. Amanda Knox’s defence argued that rather than the ‘she-devil’ the prosecution claimed, she was in fact a ‘Jessica Rabbit’ figure.

She seems inherently attractive and oozing sexuality, yet in reality, she is normal, loving and faithful. Both the Amanda Knox trial, and the arguments of the Slutwalk elucidate society’s inability to see women as distinct from how they dress, how they look and their sexual history. Arguably, until we are able to overcome this desire to label and judge women by their number of sexual partners rather than the content of their characters, social injustice and the victimisation of women will continue.

Flickr: David Shankbone

Attack the block

Naive parents are going too far in trying to protect their children

Charles Scherer

or exploring the possibilities of autoeroticism. If you believe that of your children, you must stop breeding at once.

This is all very much symptomatic of the same fear that has led to the introduction of the ‘.xxx’ domains. It is a voluntary designation, I’ll give it that, but I’m gawking at the idea that someone actually thinks this is necessary – ‘Good news about the .xxx domains.

Without it I would never have known there was anything risqué on this YouPorn thing.

Such an ambiguous name for a website.’

It’s not only out of touch parents who are afraid. Now I am too. I’m getting extremely worried about the creeping censorship we’ve been experiencing of late. You may recall not long ago that the (unelected) British Board of Film Classification refused a rating for The Human Centipede II, de facto banning it from

the UK. After the noble act protecting the poor little minds of the British people from that naughty filmmaker Tom Six, they’re continuing their crusade of gleeful paternalism by joining six other media regulators in backing Parentport, a website soon to be launched

by David Cameron on which parents can lodge complaints about ‘inappropriate’ media content I will reiterate for current parents and my fellow students who will one day be parents – parent your own children, stop expecting the television and little Jack’s Blackberry to raise your progeny. It’s your job and if you don’t or can’t do it, the blame lies with you and you alone. Content filters cannot replace responsible parenting, and if anyone does feel the urge to sew people mouth-to-anus as a result of a horror flick they probably needed help anyway, film or no film.

happy with their lives following their victory over the other contestants. It has simply been forced into the consciousness of the average individual that fame and fortune are the highest possible status anyone can attain. What is so wrong with a ‘normal’ existence? ‘ While most of the British public turn off their TVs and head for bed after a particularly tense episode of The X-Factor, those who have failed are on a plane on the way home from the luxury of Louis Walsh’s villa in Spain or Gary Barlow’s house in Hollywood, filled with a sense of utter failure and dread at the prospect of having to return to the mundane grind of everyday life. It is so easy to forget those whose hopes are shattered by the show. Countless people ignore the measly odds of success and return year after year despite previous rejections.

This screams one thing – desperation. Since society has created a cult of personality when it comes to celebrities, this is understandable.

However, it seems cruel to exploit the misery of those who are unsuccessful all in the name of entertainment.

The X-Factor can provide hours of mindless entertainment for those who watch and there is a huge line of people for whom the show is very lucrative.

But the average Joe and Joanna who audition gain only disappointment, humiliation, and a return to a life which will never be good enough.

ITV photos

It is now confirmed in my mind that there is something about parenthood that warps the perspective of a lot of people.

This goes beyond the archetype of the ‘concerned parent’ who constantly fears for the safety of his or her children. My amazement is that people still believe pre-teens to be in a state of prelapsarian innocence, and that there’s a dire need to prevent children from being ‘sexualised’. TalkTalk, Sky, Virgin and BT are jumping on a their own merry little bandwagon to help parents block adult content from Smartphones and computers. Fans of lazy parenting will rejoice, for no longer must attention be

paid to what your children are doing and you can delay your offspring’s inevitable and necessary discovery of sex.

Now, I can’t imagine there are many parents reading this student newspaper, but if there are any, read very carefully: it is true that your children are being sexualised. Read even more closely: it’s not the fault of porn, the advertising industry, or whatever cultural boogieman you fancy creating at the moment. I’m afraid the enemies are within. Hormones are going to make your child willing and able to engage in sexual acts and thoughts, and the evolutionary tendency for the young of the species to imitate adults has always existed and is not going to go away. They are being sexualised by their own bodies. You are inexcusably kidding yourself if you believe that until they hit the magic age of sixteen, young people have no interest in sex, pornography,

‘I want to be able to stand on a big stage with millions and millions of people screaming at me that loud that I can’t even hear myself sing’, was the reason why Debbie Stevens chose to throw dignity to the wind, don her best outfit and face a merciless panel of judges in 2006 by auditioning for the now world-famous television show The X-Factor.

The highly publicised auditions reel in thousands of budding celebrities praying that they will muster up enough talent to coerce the four stony faced judges into providing them with a chance to ‘live the dream.’ Yet behind Carl Orff’s ‘O Fortuna’ introduction to the show which promises more tears, drama and crushing comments than in the previous episode, it is plain to see that these people are desperately aspiring for an essentially unreachable goal.

Thus far, The X-Factor has produced seven winners, all of whom have released singles which have claimed the number one position on the charts. These seven people have motivated many others to invest their time and emotion into auditioning. Excluding the paltry levels of fame achieved by unsuccessful participants (the likes of which include Stacey Solomon promoting £1 party food on Iceland adverts), the odds of really joining the big dogs of the music industry are not high, and of course there is no guarantee that the winners are particularly

Epigram

24.10.2011

15

The Big Debate: Are the London rioters being punished too harshly?

Yes

No

Stuart Macdonald

Charlotte Endersby

should not be held responsible.

But a glance at the facts suggests the reasoning behind these sentences is rash. The average sentence for violent disorder for August’s rioters is 10.4 months. 2010’s was 5.3.

Last year, less than a quarter of all burglaries brought to court in England and Wales were met with an immediate sentence – the same statistic for rioters brought to court for burglary is over 50%. This means more offenders are being locked up and for longer. If we consider 45% of these defendants are first-timers and the UK’s high rate of re-offending, we could be criminalising hundreds for life. All this for getting caught up in the moment.

If you are one of the ‘it serves them right’ clan, the economic consequence of these sentences should sway you.

Britain’s prisons are nearing maximum capacity.

The taxpayer forfeits £45,000 per prisoner per year. An average sentence of 6 months means the 1400 defendants could cost the U.K £32 million or one year of 1600 teachers’ salaries.

Although these inflated sentences may temporarily subdue a disgruntled society, in the long run they are cultivating more reaction and anger, at a huge cost to the society we are trying to protect.

Flickr: IsmaSan

‘I went in with a Bachelor of marijuana and came out with a doctorate in cocaine.’

The quote from Ted Demme’s 2001 hit film Blow may not be directly relevant to the situation of those sentenced for the summer riots but it does offer a certain analogical quality. Today’s prison system is as much a school for criminals as it is punishment; the 11 year-old who got 18 months for stealing a bin hasn’t got a hope in hell.

Our judiciary system has responded to the social disasters of August chaotically, dishing out retribution at every opportunity.The atmosphere in which many were condemned was almost a perversion of justice in itself. Videos of despicable acts were splashed across our television screens.

Interviews with devastated shop owners were broadcasted nationwide.

Papers were even publishing debates on the death sentence. All this media coverage cultivated an unpleasant atmosphere of vengeance and reprisal, but also grouped the violent, calculated looters with those that simply got caught up in the hysteria. What jury or judge could pass fair judgement under these conditions?

This is not to say that those involved in August’s uprising

In recent years we have seen a decline in discipline across the UK. The accumulation of harsh restrictions on the conduct of teachers, the police and even parents has left a large part of a generation of young people without an idea of the consequences for one’s actions or, perhaps in severe cases, a basic concept of right and wrong. The apotheosis of this took form in the disorder and violence that we saw break out across the country in August of this year.

Of course there are other underlying issues that sparked off the violence, such as unemployment and a lack of opportunities outside of university for young people; a want for discipline was not the sole reason for the riots. However, the way in which these grievances were projected was, frankly, disgusting.

Often these ‘protests’ descended into opportunist vandalism and theft. Surely this wave of criminality is a wake-up call to the fact that reinforcement of authority, and respect for it, is needed in this country?

This is why it is necessary to enforce harsh but fair sentences - for example the commonly imposed 18 month sentence for theft. Not only must the courts try to prevent

future occurrences but also send a clear message to people who believe otherwise - that behaviour of that nature is not acceptable. Some - like many deluded mothers on the news - argue that the great numbers of people that took part in the criminality means we should be more lenient to offenders. Surely, this should not be a deterrent from using the full strength of the law; if anything, it should motivate people to bring every offender to justice.

The courts should not be sending out the message that ‘crime is more acceptable, the more people that take part.’

Where would we be if officials took that stance on problems such as gang-related crime or the drug trade? Treating every offender as an individual criminal, responsible for their own actions, and enforcing tough punishments, is the only way this warped moral outlook will be countered.

So, before addressing the issues that drove people to protest, the courts have to project a fundamental message to these offenders; that ransacking high streets, bankrupting small businesses, arson and assault is wrong and will have consequences in the form of tough sentences.

Squatting should not be criminalised The Government’s plan to stamp down on UK squatters is not simply unnecessary, it is both unjust and socially damaging Cadi St John This government is currently attempting to criminalise squatting.

The move is horrifying for two reasons.

Firstly, because of the devastating effects it will have on an increasing number of people who cannot afford to put a roof over their heads.

Secondly, because it displays, at best, total disconnection between Whitehall and the streets, while at worst a genuine contempt for the least fortunate in society.

The plans to criminalise squatting come at a time when the number of people

approaching their local authority as homeless has risen by 23%, while high unemployment and brutal cuts to housing benefits and welfare provision will force many more vulnerable people onto the streets. Squatting plays a valuable role in homing, even if only temporarily, those who have nowhere else to go in the midst of the current housing crisis.

Squatters look for long-term empty properties, work hard to make them habitable and the majority live so quietly that they go unnoticed. Of course there are anti-social squatters, but there are also probably just as many anti-social tenants. In

a city like Bristol, which has a large squatting community, the positive effects of squatting are evident in many parts of the city and its history. Keeble social centre in Easton provides a vibrant social hub for the area was originally a squatted property until it became a cooperative, and Stokes Croft is home to many interesting community and residential squatted spaces.

Misleading media tales of squatters moving into peoples’ homes have created fear for homeowners, confusion for the police and ill-informed debate among both the public and politicians on reforming the law. Existing legal provisions

already do a good job of protecting an owner who is already living in a property and someone who is about to move in (an intended occupier) can remove squatters with the aid of the police. So, contrary to the myths propagated by the Evening Standard, your house won’t get squatted if you pop out to the shops for a pint of milk.

Those who oppose squatting often frame the question in moralistic terms. How is occupying someone else’s property any different to stealing a car? Simply that while not everyone ‘needs’ a car, access to shelter is a basic human right. While landlords

and companies speculate on housing stock – keeping rents higher as they do – and second homes lie fallow, increasing numbers of people fail or struggle to pay the rent and risk losing the roof over their heads. Where does the morality lie in that situation?

Much criticism has been levelled at so-called ‘lifestyle squatters,’ people who squat when they have the means to rent. While this may be true of a small minority, the reality is that these squatters are then able to devote to social projects and community work the time and energy that a rent-free life affords. Needless to say the law makes no distinction between

different ‘types’ of squatters, be they vulnerable homeless people, asylum seekers or youth workers; in the government’s eyes they’re all criminals.

Criminalising squatting is not simply unnecessary; it is both unjust and socially damaging.

It strengthens the hands of the empowered and weakens those of the dispossessed.

Just when squatting is needed most, the government wants to punish those who attempt it. When the authors of a policy can be exonerated of naked malice only with a plea of total ignorance, and when those authors happen to be our government, we should fear for our communities.

Epigram

24.10.2011

Letters & Editorial

Editor: Emma Corfield letters@epigram.org.uk

Aeronautical anger

Opening Pandora’s Box Epigram has been deluged with complaints about its newest agony aunt, Pandora. Whilst a little confusion is understandable, even entertaining, many correspondents have embarrassed themselves with bilious nonsense in return about arts students. The irony of people complaining about Pandora’s offensiveness whilst penning bitter diatribes against those on the other side of the divide would be delicious were it not so witless, painful, and occasionally outright nasty. Pandora is back this week, (see e2, page 4) and whether or not we see a similar outpouring of oblivious complaints seems touch and go for now. We can only hope.

will get me into more parties… darn it, that is obviously where I have been going wrong as I only managed to get into parties and nights out at least once a week last year (despite the 30 hour a week timetable, every lecture of which I attended).

Responding sensibly to the plight set out in the original letter, I can only suggest that said student immediately joins Aerosoc. We regularly organise social events, trips, nights out and other meetings, and are generally a fun-loving bunch of fellow aeronautical students. We will not only show said student the parties they crave in their letter, but also provide invaluable course help and advice through our “parenting” scheme. Not all engineers are dull!

“The Squadron Leader” (2nd year Aeronautical Engineering) (See editorial, ‘Opening Pandora’s Box’)

University not spending less

I completely agree with Jonathan Levin’s article ‘Working for something other than a wage’ in issue 240.

My month long internship was unpaid even though I was treated as a member of staff and my work considerably benefitted the company. This confirmed my belief that companies should pay interns and at least cover travel expenses and make a contribution towards living costs. Jonathan is right to argue that the government needs to make internships viable for anyone instead of just those who can afford to work for free, as this unfair elitism, which in my view is yet another sad example of individuals from less privileged backgrounds being forced and priced out of education and job opportunities, cannot continue.

James Proudlock

You reported on the front page of the 10th October Epigram that the University had decreased its spending on widening participation between 2006/7 and 2009/10. This is incorrect. It is true that the percentage of additional fee income spent on widening participation has reduced, but because more cohorts of students are now paying the higher fee level introduced in 2006 and more are therefore receiving financial support, the actual spending has increased considerably. In 2006/7 the amount spent on outreach measures and student financial support was £1,185,048 and in 2009/10 the amount was

The Vice-Chancellor’s salary, as of March 2010 when it was reported in the Guardian, is £309,000 per year, or approximately 936 bursaries of £330 per year. Just a thought.

R. C. Beavis

Flickr: dolmansaxlil

With the revelation that the police have used ‘rave laws’ to bring an end to parties being held under the M5, and the increase in reports of squatters taking over occupied houses while their owners are out, crime in the news appears to be at a high for recent years. Despite this, as Andrea Valentino writes for us in Comment, issues of far greater global significance fail to get a mention in most of the mainstream media every day. In a country known for its disproportionate fear of crime, perhaps raising the agenda of global violence and suffering will only fuel the role of unsubstantiated fear in the national consciousness, only easier as the long dark days of winter approach.

a prestigious university, finds herself employed as an agony aunt for a student newspaper when graduates from engineering find that the world is their oyster when it comes to employment. I think this proves our minds are expanded enough.

In response to the remark that reading Dante’s Inferno

Access for all Bursaries

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£3,921,240.

The reason for the percentage decrease is that some items of expenditure do not increase as the numbers of students increase, i.e. to run a summer school for students from disadvantaged backgrounds costs the same regardless of the number of students paying the higher fees at the University. Student funding costs, of course, increase in line with the number of students eligible.

I should be grateful if you would inform your readers of this error.

Lynn Robinson Deputy Registrar

To get in touch, send an email to letters@epigram.org.uk

ACROSS ACROSS 2

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no.45 no.48

Crime in the public consciousness

and innovative solutions. This is, I’m sure, a more useful skillset to an employer than the ability to, say, ponder the meaning of life and existence (we can be stereotypical about other courses too you know). This can only be borne out of the fact that Pandora, having graduated with a First Class degree from

Wikipedia Commons

AQA’s recent suggesion that students be assessed both on their A-level grades and the quality of the education they receive is the latest contribution to a long running debate around improving access and university admissions.

Universities are desperate for a system that takes into account both achievement and potential, and AQA’s ideas do just that, aiming to level the playing field for those whose chances in life have been less than average.

However Bristol, along with other universities, must act cautiously in light of recommendations on widening participation. Not because they should not seek to broaden their intake, but because systems of positive discrimination are not as straightforward to implement as they appear. The impact on Bristol’s reputation should it publish an admissions policy perceived to have a bias against middle class applicants would have consequences for all students. The backlash after the 2003 admissions controversy is demonstration of that. Those who imagine they will not be looked upon favourably because they went to a high performing school, independent or otherwise, would hesitate about applying to Bristol and go elsewhere. Equally those students who suffer educational disadvantage and then do make it to Bristol could be left with doubt in their minds as well as those of fellow students and future employers, about how deserving of a place they really were. As supportive of widening participation as Epigram is, this paper also wants to ensure that any change to admissions policy does not actually disadvantage the students it seeks to benefit.

Crossword

AQA’s admissions proposals are interesting, but ultimately flawed

I am writing to express my fury and disgust at the reply given to the lonely Aeronautical Engineering student featured in Pandora’s Box in issue 240.

How dare this Pandora woman call our course boring and painfully one-dimensional? As engineers we study everything from fluid mechanics to materials science and structural design, even dabbling in computing and electronics. I think this is a little more multi-faceted (note that, unlike Pandora, I can spell and proof-read this properly) than Philosophy. As for the suggestion that we do not think but merely do, I have never heard such ridiculously ill-informed bile in my life. The entire point of engineering is that one is presented with new and unknown situations, in which you must use previously acquired knowledge and lateral thinking to come up with novel

2.1.Floral (7)(5) H. G.accessory ....., author 6.4.Human Interval between

DOWN DOWN

1. Era (3)1. Having connected 3. Wizard’sdigits home(6)(2) representation (6)(6) 2.(4) musical pitches Of the moon (5) 4. Father 8.9.Animal sound (4) (7) Shrieking ghost 5. Look 3.

(6)Area of London (4) 12.

10.Pixar film(5) (11) Precise Believable (8) 7. Dance5.(7) 13.

11.Remove (5) (4) 6. Greed Nobleman 9. Mystery (8) (7) 14.

12.South-west city 7. Or An opening (7)(6) (6) (3) 10. Identity check 18.

13.Critically (5) 8. Poison Point at attack (3) (5)(4) 11. Immoral practice 19.

14.Naive girl character (7) 13. Holy13.

Woodland foliage (4) Supply place (6) with comments 21.

16.Therefore (4) Look at longingly (4) 15. Candle (8) 22.

18.Mislead (8) 15. Asian Anger (3) component (6)mountain (7) 20. Laborious (7) 16. Bad 17.

(6) Not the top (6) 21. Smallest quantity of an 17. Hurry 18.(4) Muslim religion (5) 19. (3) element (4) Pleasantly occupied (6) 20. Censor 24. Eighth Greek letter (5) 22. Fairytale monster, ie 25. Inclined to love (7) ogre (5) 26. Substance (6) 23. Beer ingredient (4) 27. A Physical state (5)

Epigram

24.10.2011

17 Scribble by Jen Springall

I Don’t Need to Know

The postcard crossing project Postcrossing In an age of Facebook, emails, texts and, when it works, Blackberry Messenger, handwritten communication sadly seems redundant.

Postcrossing is attempting to change this by encouraging people to send and receive postcards from all over the world.

After joining the website for free and requesting to send a postcard, users are given the address of another member and a Postcard ID. Once the recipient of the postcard registers this ID they can be sent a postcard from another member.

The project also aims to spread knowledge about the world and pleasantly surprise people by enabling them to receive a postcard from a random place and person.

Postcrossing has proved extremely popular, with such user testimonials as ‘it gives me a way to interact with people I would normally never interact with’ and ‘it gives me an opportunity to “see” places where I may never be in my life.

Every time I receive a card, I’m reminded of how vast this world is, how many different people there are, and how many things I can do as an individual to give a smile to someone else in this world’. The project currently has over 255,000 members from nearly 200 countries and 8.8 million registered postcards.

http://www.postcrossing.com

Best of the web

Tweets of the fortnight @londonette Brilliant question to East Anglia Euromillions couple: “I notice you’re not married but have the same surname, is that just a coincidence?”

Sarah D, BBC News journalist

@russell_kane Is it okay to wear scruffy purple t-shirt for posh interview. Suffering from student syndrome today; rebelling against own glitz.

Russell Kane, writer, comedian and actor, 31

@charltonbrooker I don’t have a Blackberry. I guess if you do this is like a dry run for the apocalypse.

Charlie Brooker, journalist, writer and broadcaster, 40

Follow us: @EpigramPaper

A new age of technology has dawned and our generation has gotten very good at it very quickly. Like it or not, there is no way to avoid our beloved World Wide Web. However, social networking sites have as good as taken over cyberspace, making it regrettably so damn easy for our generation in its totally inconsequential quest for recognition. We all know the type - those foppish, self-regarding creatures who will tend to go on to release a self-help book or write someone else’s unofficial autobiography because still no one will listen to them talk about their own monotonous existence.

Sometimes I just want to get in my tardis and go back to when we would actually have to wonder what people were up to. Gone are those days – so gone.

Not much more than five years ago were we blessed with the forum of one-liners that is Twitter. Well, I say forum of one-liners but anyone who has a twitter account, myself included, will have borne witness to the execrable tosh that some members of the public deem enlightening for the rest of us. Don’t get me wrong – Twitter is fantastic and used in the right way it can be a convivial broth of humorous, informative or downright pleasant snippets, and not to mention the potential for networking. My foremost problems with Twitter are two-fold. The first – ‘@TinieTempah I well fancy you!! ;) xx’. What in the name of Noah’s holy beard is this person hoping to achieve? A dinner invitation and a romantic coastal stroll armin-arm? Secondly – ‘Just ate way to much like 5 big macs lol fml!’ (these people tend not to know the stressed variant ‘too’ has been spelt with two ‘o’s since the sixteenth century). I could not care one iota about your dinner, your dog, your divorce, your views on Kevin from the circulation department or your weekend schedule.

Do I follow these people? No. But Twitter seems to think that I want to because they have thousands of followers who for some unfathomable reason actually give a flying monkeys. I don’t, I never have and I never will. My mother used to parrot Thumper’s virtuous motto from Bambi at me all the time – ‘If you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything at all’. How about, ‘If you have nothing interesting to say, then please just shut up’?

Although it is criticised nowadays as becoming far too commercial for a website originally created for home videos, Youtube is clogged with them. Who are these fame-hungry attention-seekers who think that uploading a two minute clip of them singing like a bull with its knackers caught on a fence is going to land them a record deal?

Or even that someone might actually want to waste bandwidth streaming that cacophonous racket? To a seemingly endless silence of no hands clapping, they lean into the camera to stop the recording of their pitiful performance and have to - *sob* - get on with their lives. Occasionally, just occasionally, a Janet Devlin (the Luna-Lovegood from X-Factor) will be spotted, called up and find herself singing in front of millions of people. However, I bet you a Jason Donervan with extra cheese that she will be back in her rightful place of obscurity in a few month’s time. Of course I don’t have to watch them but should I listen to a song that I like, Youtube will suggest an array of no-hopers who have attempted to recreate the genius of my favourite classics. You might be able to play the piano quite well and many congratulations to you, but I really don’t care.

The worst of them all though has to be Facebook and the intolerable status updates and self-important photo albums; long-arms being a personal favourite. Although this isn’t quite on the same fame-hungry scale as Youtube or Twitter, where people implore to be noticed by total strangers, Facebook is pretty up-there in terms of narcissistic online presence. I cannot deny that people who upload entire albums of their own modelling shots make for humorous stalking - ‘intense research on an individual’ I like to call it - but do they honestly not have better things to be doing?

Statuses about progress in an essay, poignant tributes to celebrities who have just passed away, breaking news I already know, woes and worries... Can no one keep anything to themselves nowadays?

Therefore, @SocialButterflies, please just return to your cocoon and go back to being that little caterpillar who pottered about with his life unbeknown to us all, before I actually hurl an averagelysized Le Creuset dish at you.

Epigram

24.10.2011

18

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Epigram

24.10.2011

Culture

Editor: Calum Sherwood

Deputy Editor: Zoe Hutton

culture@epigram.org.uk

deputyculture@epigram.org.uk

Bristol unites for InsideArts Festival

Calum Sherwood explores the first InsideArts Festival and uncovers the power of medieval music with Dr Emma Hornby Bristol is widely seen as one of the great cultural metropolises of Britain, with a great diversity of talent in art, music, and theatre. With great venues from the Watershed to the Tobacco Factory, it is sometimes easy to forget that the University of Bristol itself also has a fantastic breadth of cultural experiences on offer. In the climate of budget cuts to the Arts and Humanities, and debate rising about the relevance of a cultural education in a world which is increasingly orientated towards technical expertise, InsideArts Festival has been established to demonstrate the great addition the arts make to society as a whole.

As the first festival of the Arts and Humanities at the University of Bristol, InsideArts has featured keynote lectures, performances and master classes, all with the aim of showing the amazing work done by both lecturers and students. Vice-Chancellor of the University Eric Thomas launched the festival on 18th October with an address at an event where the guest list read as something of a who’s who in Bristol. Members of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities were in attendance in large numbers, accompanied by representatives from BBC Bristol, as well as the Head of the Tobacco Factory Theatre and the Head of the Watershed Cinema, not to mention various local councillors and dignitaries: important in light of the fact that the festival aims to show off the talent not only of the University, but also to build up a cultural exchange between the local community and the University.

Speaking to Dr. Bradley Stephens, Chair of the Management of InsideArts and a lecturer in the University of

Bristol French Department, he described how the ethos of InsideArts was to ‘feed off the enthusiasm’ of the students of the University, and at the same time show the Bristol community that we as a university want to be part of that great local culture. He explained that rather than acting defensively over the national climate of cuts, InsideArts was more an example of ‘putting the best foot forward’ and embracing the fantastic support for the arts the university provides. Lucinda Critchley, PhD Russian student and student co-ordinator of InsideArts, agreed, and told Epigram how festival events sessions were not only instructive, but also a great chance to get feedback from the public and have a debate about the arts.

Events organised by InsideArts have included a music master class with Professor John Pickard, as well as a performance by the Brodowski Quarter, Bristol University’s ensemblein-residence. Other events have focused on public forums and feedback, notably a debate on the topic of ‘Art for art’s sake?’. As the arts are sidelined in spending priorities, festivals such as InsideArts act as an impressive counterbalance to those who challenge the need for an artsbased education. Not only does InsideArts show off the artistic educational capacity at Bristol, it also holds up the University as a cultural landmark of Bristol city in its own right. As for the future of InsideArts: ‘Uncertain,’ Dr Stephens told Epigram. ‘We will be focusing a lot to develop our local partnerships – but I would love this to continue.’ If the great response it has so far received is anything to go by, this will not be the last of InsideArts.

Marking the beginning of a three-year residency, the Brodowski Quartet performed Third Quartet by John Pickard, Professor of Composition and Applied Musicology.

Uncovering The Penguin Archive The Penguin Archive is a unique collection of resources donated to the University of Bristol by Penguin Books Ltd through the bequest of Sir Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin books and a Bristolian by birth.

The archive includes materials related to Penguin Books, including social events and legal documents, - for those with an interest in scandal, a heavy amount of material is present on the Lady Chatterley’s Lover obscenity trial - as well

as a copy of every book published by Penguin since its 40th anniversary in 1975.

An ongoing four year project known as The Penguin Archive Project has been developed with the assistance of funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council to produce an online catalogue of the University of Bristol’s unique collection. As part of the InsideArts Festival, the public has been able to engage in this pioneering research, and be updated with the progress of the

project, which is due to be completed by 2012. On Monday 18th October, a talk was held in the Arts Faculty Complex, led by Dr. John Lyon of the English department, discussing the relationship between Penguin and Bristol, the work of the project, as well as the relevance of Penguin books to all our lives. The project also serves to provide expert research in the fields of modern poetry and the socio-political impact of Penguin ‘specials’.

Inscribed on the heart: the power of medieval music Liturgical chant is a genre which has been increasingly overlooked since the 19th century, an era which sought to establish a musical uniformity with primacy given to the instrumentation and less emphasis placed on the rhetorical notions evident in the words being sung. Dr Emma Hornby’s fascinating lecture, on the roots of the liturgical chant, and how we can relate to it in the 21st century, sought to understand the emotional impact of the rhetoric of Early music on the congregations of the 9th century and earlier.

The evening began with an introduction by Professor Charles Martindale, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, who explained that since the 1960s revival of

interest in Early and Medieval music, understanding how that music would have sounded and the impact that would have had on a contemporary listener has become steadily more important. The audience was populated largely by those interested in the subject of Medieval music, though people with a more passing interest in either music or its history were also amongst those seated.

After a charming joke about his ineptitude with twitter hashtags, Professor Martindale handed over to Dr Emma Hornby, the main act.

Accompanied by a 15-strong student choir, who go by the name of the Schola Cantorum, Dr Hornby argued, with reference

to Confessions by St Augustine of Hippo, that an emotional response to music from before the 10th century came primarily from the synchronicity between the music of the liturgical chant and its ability to emphasise the meaning of the words being sung.

She explained that ‘cadence falls to convey meaning’ rather than for ‘any purely entertainment or aesthetic values as music does today’. Drawing upon her research into the Old Hispanic Chant of the Iberian Liturgy, before its assimilation into the Latin Liturgy by Alfonso VI, Dr Hornby explained that the Old Hispanic Chant is the closest to that music described

by Augustine as capable of moving him to tears. She told

the audience that the music of that time acts as more of a ‘map through the rhetoric’, with the music itself marking out themes and motifs of the chant of the most religious importance.

While at times complicated to follow without knowledge of either the period or the music of the Church, the lecture was designed to be accessible. One of its most unique aspects was the accompaniment from the Schola Cantorum choir, which provided examples of how the music in question would sound.

If I gained nothing else from attending this lecture it was an amazing experience to know you were listening to a performance of music which has become virtually extinct.

Epigram

24.10.2011

21

Where in the world is the Nomad Cinema?

Katherine Stansfeld on the ‘most intrepid, the most adventurous roaming-est pop-up cinema experience in the world’ Where is the Nomad? This is the question I constantly found myself asking over the past summer. Whether I was wandering across the Royal Parks of London, dodging tourists next to the Houses of Parliament, searching Hampton Court Palace gardens, hurrying along Brighton Beach, watching deer in Bushy Park, strolling through Brompton cemetery, or gasping at the views at Greenwich Observatory – I was constantly on the look out for a large inflatable screen popping out of the greenery and the familiar silhouette of a camel, the logo of the Nomad cinema.

This is the reason I found myself, often lost, in these beautiful and very different locations across London and the South East of England, I spent the summer as an intern for the UK’s first popup roaming cinema. Calling themselves ‘the most intrepid, the most adventurous, the roaming-est pop-up cinema experience in the world. They are on a neverending tour of London, the Southeast, the UK and beyond. Bringing magical and carefully curated film happenings to wide-eyed audiences of all ages and sizes at an inspiring range of beautiful, curious and downright strange screening locations.’

They are part of a new ‘popup’ phenomenon that seems to be spreading across the western world. I first stumbled across this idea when friends created their very own pop-up restaurant in their living room.

It was such a novel idea I had to

support it, it seemed like a great way to empower the everyday man, giving my friends a way to try out running their own restaurant for just a night in their own space when there would be no other way they could afford it.

But does this mean the popup phenomenon can be just a way of boosting opportunities for the underfunded ambitious entrepreneur or is there a societal reason for this phenomenon? With this rise of more and more pop-up retail I begin to wonder whether it is just fuelling consumerism through rapid social change in what could be argued to be post-modern society. Giving rise to increasingly temporary institutions in society, from more temporary jobs to shops to cinemas, I started to wonder

is anything permanent anymore and if it’s not, what does this mean for us? How will lack of stability really affect us?

The sociologist and philosopher Baudrillard would claim we are living in a state of ‘hyper-reality’, by this he means ‘the faster and more comprehensively societies begin to bring reality together into one supposedly coherent picture, the more insecure and unstable it looks and the more fearful societies become’. Is our society increasingly being characterized by consumption and waste – could the pop-up cinema really represent postmodern excess?

This could be argued when looking at the increasing popup theatres and art galleries; some might even go as far to say art is becoming disposable.

However when taking examples such as ‘The Capacity Project Bristol’ which is funded by the council and turns unused building space in temporary art and creative spaces, (you might have noticed ‘the Showroom’ or ‘The Parlour’ opposite College

“

Could the pop-up cinema really represent post-modern excess?

”

Green) it seems hard to argue that temporary exhibitions for artists within the local community is a bad thing. It apparent at least that people’s entertainment needs are changing, innovative events are needed to grab our attention.

But this is not just a bad

thing, creativity is expanding and becoming more versatile, being able to flourish in society.

Having worked with the Nomad Cinema, I realized more and more this wasn’t just a postmodern take at cinema – they were bringing back the old grandeur of the spectacle. The Nomad turned film back into an event. No longer was I watching on a computer screen in my bedroom but in a beautiful park at sunset supplemented by amazing entertainment, from Quintets, to jazz bands, to a photo-booths or even a passionate shoe-shine man, all chosen to match the film showing, for example we had Jason the crystal ball juggler for Labyrinth to echo Mr. Bowie’s juggling in the film. These Nomad film events embrace and enhance the venue – Pan’s Labyrinth in Brompton Cemetery with a very good face-painter was particularly spooky. They turned good films into great experiences and brought back the spectacle of the cinema. In reality I found setting up and disappearing all in one day added to the beauty and uniqueness of the events, rather than seeming like an excessive post-modern cinema.

The Nomad are not any old business looking for a new way to make money, they are an enthusiastic team who really have a passion of film and events. They work in partnership with the Lexi Cinema in Kensal rise, London, a social enterprise run mainly by local volunteers who supports the local community and gives 100% of their profits to a South African charity, called the Sustainability

Institute. The SI is working to create an eco-village in South Africa, supporting social as well as environmental sustainability, working with children in projects to create a better a future. They’ve even set up a film school in South Africa to give the children a creative way to spend their time, rather than on the streets.

This is something customers often forget when forking out the money for their outdoor film experience, the Nomad is more than just cinema supporting the arts in the UK, it gives 50% of it’s profits to charity and is supported mainly by volunteers.

After discovering all this and working with such enthusiastic people in beautiful places for 3 months I realized this is not something to be cynical of, it is something rare, to celebrate. The Nomad offers new ways of seeing and new ways of remembering an uplifting range of films, from classics to cult, noir and silent, to mainstream guilty pleasures. Playful, mischievous and mysterious, The Nomad wanders into town, unpacks cinema magic, then disappears into the night, leaving no trace.

So why not see for yourself ?

I’ve been trying to persuade them to come to Bristol but for now if you happen to visit London why not experience them at the beautiful Union Chapel (they’ve moved indoors as it gets colder) in Islington, Friday 18th November 8pm, tickets are selling fast so buy them online at www. whereisthenomad.com and check the website for other upcoming events.

Paxman, punters and hashtags collide in the Cotswolds There is, you may be surprised to learn, a literature festival in Cheltenham. Famed for its horses, its Cotswold setting, and its public schools; Cheltenham may not be directly identified as a birthplace and haven for the arts, but the Cheltenham Festivals are alive and well.

There are four festivals spread through the year: Literature, Jazz, Music and Science, with a satellite Folk Festival tagging along for good measure. These festivals are well-established and generate quite a lot of traffic, blending well as they do with the veneer of middleclassery surrounding the town.

Bored of my job, and having been made aware of the opportunity, I volunteered at the Literature Festival and rather enjoyed myself. The thing was enormous, welcoming over 200,000 people to see/hear 600 speakers in over 500 events over

the course of 10 days. The term ‘Literature Festival’ may be a bit of a misnomer, as the only criterion that the speakers had to meet was that they must have written a book, so possibly book festival would be more apt.

In spite of this, many of the events and their related books were very interesting, offering this volunteer a chance to bitch about England’s failings in the Rugby World Cup with Jeremy Paxman (who spoke nebulously and dreadfully about the British Empire; the topic of his new book) and have his shoes signed over drinks with an inebriated, but wonderful, Caitlin Moran.

The thing that I found most interesting about the festival, though, was the culture of networking that permeated it.

Some networkers were better than others, charming all comers with an easy smile and debonair manner; while others achieved

it with frantic attempts to catch an author’s eye, for example, or sycophantic babble. The festival organisers needed to speak to punters, sponsors, authors and press alike, frantically buttering everyone up for money, money, future appearances and column inches respectively. Authors flirted with public and press, frantically smiling and smalltalk-ing as they spent hours on end signing books.

There was a particularly strong presence of social networking, this modern phenomenon which is declaimed as heralding the ‘death of the book’. It doesn’t appear to have killed it yet though, seemingly it is how authors contact publicists and editors, and how they selfadvertise their books. Certainly it seems to be the preferred method of contact over email or telephone. I have never been to a place where I have more

frequently heard the words (and I still don’t know precisely what they mean) ‘Oh, just DM me on Twitter’.

Twitter appears to have been directly responsible for at least two of the new books presented at the Festival: Grace Dent’s How to Leave Twitter: My Time as Queen of the Universe and Why This Must Stop and Dave Gorman’s Dave Gorman vs The Rest of the World. The first is clearly directly about Twitter (and therefore probably unreadable for a Twitter virgin like myself), the second uses Twitter as the author’s means of asking 76,000 people if they fancied a game of something, and the rest of the book documents the results (which culminate in him getting punched in the face by a mad Christian somewhere outside Southampton).

Jonni Ash

Epigram

24.10.2011

22

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Music

Epigram

24.10.2011

23 Editor: Nathan Comer

Deputy Editor: Pippa Shawley

music@epigram.org.uk

deputymusic@epigram.org.uk

Melancholy jammin’ with the friendly ghost Obaro Ejimiwe, better known as Ghostpoet, talks to Alasdair Copland about the reaction to his Mercury-nominated album

It is on tour, and not on the record store’s digitalized shelves, where Ghostpoet’s popularity becomes comprehensively conspicuous.

In some cases remaining somewhat ‘undiscovered’ can add to an artist’s true popularity; the coolest album is always the one of which only the apathetic and aloof approve, after all.

This may well be the case with Ghostpoet’s Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam. Something about his sound leaves categorizing his style an elusive goal. From ‘electric’ and ‘hip-hop’ to ‘down tempo Massive Attack-style trip-hop’, the media’s attempts at genre classification have been as successful as Ejimiwe’s own.

‘Hip-hop is a part of what I do, but I wouldn’t consider myself to be a hip-hop artist.’ Pressed on the question, Ejimiwe states simply that ‘I’m just happy to be making my music, whatever kind of music people want to call it.’ Considering the electronic nature of his work, the transition from studio sound to stage seems one that might not have been entirely seamless. For Ejimiwe, ‘it’s just a case of presenting [the album] in a more up-tempo, and

perhaps even more interesting kind of way, to keep people interested. It hasn’t been too difficult to ‘translate’ the music to a live setting, mostly thanks to the talented live musicians I’m lucky enough to work with.’

Ever humble, Ejimiwe refuses to take credit for achieving the impressive conversion from the recorded to the live version of his album. Again, his tactfully chosen words may seem to parallel those of punctilious politicians, but the reality

“

Life is too short to store up grudges

”

is that only Ghostpoet’s LPs exhibit ‘spin’.

His amiability may well be the key to his success. The true secret to breaking through today in the music industry? He’ll tell you that it’s about ‘taking time to experiment musically, in order to determine who you are, and where you want to go with your work’ (a process for which he found university essential, incidentally), but observing Ejimiwe will give you a better indication of the truth. It’s clear

that he has his own character to thank for his relative success; progress in a people-orientated industry often comes down to cordiality and composure and talent. Anecdotal evidence supports the existence of the first two, but does Ejimiwe present with all three key elements? While his lyrics may not be primed with audacity and originality, starting out as a lyricist before progressing to become an MC has obviously given Ghostpoet a chance to learn how to sequentially string sentences and sounds with such sophisticated style a single line can stick in your subconscious with the tenacity typical of the titans of poetry.

Some of his lyrics have deeply personal undertones, though they lack in originality what they achieve in resonance. ‘“Life is too short to store up grudges” (a line from PBB&MJ) is a philosophy I try to live by.

I’m an opinionated person, and human, of course, so it’s not easy, but I try.’ The original lyric is a simple rehash of a common and everyday phrase, a trend noticeable amongst the other songs of PBB&MJ. This lack of lyrical originality puts the listener in an awkward

position; whilst it remains almost impossible to ignore the skill with which Ejimiwe can match sounds, develop phrases and align intonations to make words work in a way he wishes, he doesn’t actually seem to be saying very much at all. His lyrics have meaning; just nothing groundbreaking.

Consider ‘Cash and Carry Me Home’. Promising, except his song wasn’t about getting too drunk in Costco, so his ‘wordplay’ really only works on one level, and just doesn’t live up to its own potential. His work certainly merits its generally positive critical reception, but is

Flickr: luptonn Xander Lloyd

‘Start the Bus saves me money on spa treatments – because it’s like a sauna in here!’ Obaro Ejimiwe seems capable of retaining a sense of humour throughout even the most humid of his shows. That having been said, at least relative to his hometown of London, Start the Bus can hardly be considered ‘close’. Or, you might think, particularly enjoyable. Consider his journey toward the stage - bombarded with drunken affection, he dispatches swooning fans with the air of a man who has more important things to do, but is not prepared to let it show.

Each person was listened to, each comment individually acknowledged and addressed, and every answer informative yet succinct. Only Ejimiwe will know if his apparent enjoyment of his night is simply that – an appearance, or whether he has more patience than a stoic Florence Nightingale, and genuinely enjoys drunk people asking him for extra gig tickets.

Start the Bus’s resident madman, Jeff, is the paradigm case of a music fan divisive from the artist’s point of view.

For almost every live artist he will break a sweat before the end of the first song, and Ghostpoet’s set is no exception, with Jeff shirtless after a mere five minutes. ‘This is not a strip joint. This is a serious musical establishment!’

Ejimiwe responds to Jeff’s semi-nudity, steeped in insincerity, at most one of his sentences holding true. Obviously serenity is not something Obaro’s short on.

Impeding the band’s freedom of movement, attracting more attention than those on stage, Jeff is the archetypal marmitelike live music fan, but Obaro merely laughs. Can’t fault his sense of humour.

Nor, it may appear, can his album be faulted, in anything but sales. Peaking at #119, public reception appears not to have matched his critical acclaim, especially considering his Mercury prize nomination.

‘The reaction to my album was far from anything I could have anticipated. It was amazing, genuinely amazing. I’m really proud to have been involved.’’

Ejimiwe was far from alone in his attempts at promoting his work as Ghostpoet, receiving a helping hand from Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson. ‘Gilles took a real interest in what I was doing, and I really thank him for that.

He was supporting me as I made what I wanted to make; he didn’t pressure me to change or alter my work. Having someone like that in your corner - I couldn’t really have asked for more.’

far from faultless: accomplished, but certainly short of sublime.

The die-hard fans who claim that his work is impervious to caricature should return to their tuna-texas-blues and bittersweet-corn sandwiches.

It seems that the price for lines that sound so clean - for rhymes that work so naturally, is, somewhat inevitably, lyrical predictability (at least, that is, to some degree).

Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam is out now on Brownswood Recordings

Washed Out Competition Washed Out is returning to Bristol, and Epigram is giving away a copy of his album Within and Without and two tickets to his gig at Motion on 12 November. To win, answer this question: Washed Out is the project of Ernest Greene. But who wrote The Importance of being Earnest?

Email your answers with the subject ‘Washed Out Competition’ to: music@epigram.org.uk

Epigram

24.10.2011

24

All aboard the New Musical Express

The NME tourbus rolls on, and Wolf Gang and S.C.U.M. are amassing new, younger fans. Nathan Comer hears their thoughts It would have been a pleasure to be writing a review of Niki & the Dove’s first headline tour: ‘Their set of finely crafted songs, skewered by distorted guitar samples and Scandinavian eccentricities, enthralled all present as they brought the show to a close.

Ably supported by ones-towatch S.C.U.M. and budding songwriter Max McElligott, aka Wolf Gang, kudos goes to the NME for providing such a balanced and exciting programme.’ But as much I would like to write a review of the gig that I fictionalised and reconstructed in my head, the editors at Epigram insist that we write about events that actually occurred in reality.

Unfortunately, the NME Radar Tour ran somewhat differently.

Like giving the big reveal

of whodunit ten pages into a novel, billing your show backwards has a peculiar, underwhelming effect on the event as the proceedings become increasingly mundane. Indeed, the NME Radar Tour is a peculiar sort of show. While putting together a concert all in the name of ‘new music’ is certainly an admirable aim, throwing such disparate artists together is roughly analogous to putting a frog, a mouse and a goldfish in a bathtub and seeing what happens (if you haven’t tried this before, the answer is nothing - apart from a rather upset, soggy mouse). When asked whether they had built up a rapport with the acts they were sharing a bill with, both McElligott and S.C.U.M. made it clear that they had

very little idea who each other were before being put on the same programme.

While this mismatch is disconcerting, being part of the line-up has a lot to offer. ‘We normally get an older crowd for some reason – people that have read a review in The Guardian and came down’, says Mel Rigby, drummer for S.C.U.M. ‘But last night kids came and asked us to sign stuff! I’m not really used to it, but I think the age group attending these shows is what I’m looking forward to. It creates a different energy when we’re playing.’ This younger audience should not be surprising, however; in fact, the NME has been notorious in recent years for appealing to a ‘teenybopper’ crowd.

But while it would be easy to balk at the magazine’s coverage

Xander Lloyd

Xander Lloyd

and ‘build ‘em up and knock down’ reputation, it’s important to acknowledge its heritage and status as a tastemaker and British cultural institution.

Both bands are quick to rise to its defence, and funnily enough both use the word ‘inconsistent’ in describing it. ‘It’s a schizophrenic read because it has so many opinions, but I think that’s a good thing.’ They also seem acutely aware that its most vehement detractors are the same people that used to be his most loyal subscribers.

Cohen, an ex-reader, explains, ‘it’s our generation of music.

Whether somebody who’s in a witch-house band now would like to admit it, they all used to be massive Libertines fans.

Their our age, so they would have been worshipping all of these “NME bands”’.

It is a shame then that Wolf Gang’s show suffered exactly the same problem as the tired NME cliché that we had been talking about. Characterised by their lack of character, the songs were less reminiscent of the glam Bowie comparisons they have been receiving, and more akin to a drab 70s wallpaper.

One could scarcely tell the difference from one song to the next. The highlight of his set was ‘Midnight Dancers’, which is simultaneously his best and worst song. Lilting through on an acoustic guitar, it manages to rip off every ballad ever written – but pleasantly so.

Wolf Gang’s record, produced

by David Fridmann (MGMT), is a much more entertaining prospect, where McElligott’s ambitious arrangements genuinely impress. ‘I’m a solo artist’, he tells me, but in a live setting he seems to fall victim to the plight of the one-man band – fleshing out his arrangements with

falsely enthusiastic, posturing session musicians yields a disappointing and inauthentic live experience.

S.C.U.M.’s set was a different matter. Painfully trendy, they are a band that people will love to criticise. Hypnotic, both in their visuals and cascade of noise, their set was well executed. But it was Niki & the Dove, given a criminally early slot, that stole the show. Their songs employed the perfect balance of modern effects and classic songwriting. And who

was there to hear it? A bunch of photographers and people scribbling in notebooks.

As for the show as a whole, this writer would rather stick to making things up. That’s not to say the tour should be avoided – just make sure to bring your imagination with you.

S.C.U.M.’s ‘Again into Eyes’ is out now on Mute Wolf Gang’s ‘Suego Faults’ is out now on Atlantic

Hessle Audio cause a different kind of Motion sickness HESSLE TAKEOVER Bristol In:Motion 15 October 2011

didn’t complete the set and bring Blake).

The inclusion of the Jamies seemed incongruous given the rest of the bill: minus those two, it’s no stretch of the imagination to say Motion would’ve hit capacity anyway. It’d be unfair, however, to comment on what was promoted as ‘a special live set’ directly: the frankly hellacious queuing set-up meant Woon was long gone by the time we entered; for all I know he played a fantastic set. That said, on paper his particular brand of blue-eyed whatever’n’b sits fairly uneasily with the genre-bending focus on the floor from almost all the other acts. That’s not a dig at Woon specifically, (although I’m not his biggest fan) more puzzlement at his inclusion.

Jamie XX at least seemed like a more natural fit: his remixes and solo productions are firmly ensconced in a trendy (and not without good reason) crossover-friendly subsection of the UK’s bass music scene. His set, however, was uninspiring: though the semi-notorious mixing issues seem to be (largely) excised, little of his house-fixated set grabbed

Kim Erlandsen, P3.no

With a nigh-on perfect line up, it would’ve been pretty difficult for Hessle Audio to mess up their inaugural event at Motion on Saturday, as part of the everbigger, ever-better In:Motion series. Thankfully, nearly all the acts delivered the goods; Hessle’s difficult to pigeonhole, forward-thinking musical ethos, and equally stellar input from Bristol’s Idle Hands lot combined to create a mighty voltron of an evening.

Necessarily with a place like

Motion it’s basically impossible to catch all the acts: everything conspires to stop one from moving swiftly enough to see it all. Which is kind of an issue when the night had such a selection of bass music heavy-hitters: main stage sets from Blawan and label co-founders Ben UFO, Pangaea (given a criminally early slot, and hence missed by most, myself included) and Pearson Sound (AKA Ramadanman) made up the backbone of the evening, while Idle Hands’ impossibly loud takeover of the Tunnel Room showcased Chris Farrell & Kowton, Peverelist, Om Unit and October. And then, of course, there were the big draws: sets from two of the three hot property Jamies (in this instance Messrs XX and Woon; Hessle

me; there was a distinct lack of variety in selections and too-long transitions, leaving numbers in the main hall significantly eroded before being built back up to bursting by the one-two of Ben UFO into Blawan.

Headliners aside, the evening was stunning primarily for such consistently excellent sets blurring distinct tropes and genres. In the main hall, for example, Ben UFO’s rapid-fire mixing was seamless, combining furious percussion, weighty bass, driving juke-influenced tracks, grime and basically everything else. The Tunnel, meanwhile, hosted Idle Hands’ unnameable union of genres: techno’s influence shared space with cut-up piano vamps and

tightly coiled basslines, all tied together with pitch-shifted diva vocals and punishing snares, later morphing into explosions of synths and grinding subbass. Frequently, the crowd were spoilt for choice: Blawan’s rolling garage clashed with Peverelist’s stonking set (of which I only caught snatches); Pearson Sound’s deliciously deep knees up was in the main room, while Kowton & Chris Farrell tore apart the tunnel. But complaining about too many good acts seems a bit silly, and on the evidence of Hessle’s night it’d be safe to conclude the UK bass music scene is in rude health: genre distinctions were deftly made to disappear, and all the while the floor stayed in motion.

Mathew Pitts

Epigram

24.10.2011

25

The indie band that just don’t give a Yuck

‘90s revivalists and ex-Cajun Dance Party members Yuck speak to Lucy Fowler about their debut album and life on the road

Flickr: dangerismycat

As happens at the beginning of every year, music critics go into overdrive, churning out list after list of new bands, each hailed as being the ‘new sound’ of the new year, yet most are either never to be heard of again, or are, for want of a better word, terrible.

Yuck, however are different; with their fuzzy melodies, lofi sound, hand drawn record covers, and cassettes on sale at their gigs, rather than CD’s, the oft-double-denim-clad band are more 1991 than 2011. Yet this didn’t stop them from being tipped as one of the bands of the year, with a critically acclaimed eponymous debut, airtime on mainstream radio, and a performance on Later…with Jools Holland under their belts.

Like many musicians, however, they are wary of reviews and hype. ‘It scares me quite a lot,’ explains guitarist Max Bloom.

He insists instead that the band gauge their success on their fans’ reaction at gigs, rather than the aforementioned accomplishments. ‘The people who come to your gigs are the people who are into what you’re doing.’ From the band’s point of view, everything else that they have achieved this year is just an added bonus.

Indeed, it is whilst on the road, meeting their fans, that the band enjoy themselves most; in fact, Bloom describes their recent trip to Tokyo as the highlight of his life. Their blog chronicles the band’s year touring, with photos from Chicago, New York, Japan - and a Travelodge in Fife. It’s no wonder they feel so comfortable touring the world, considering the band’s origins. With Bloom and singer/guitarist Daniel

Blumberg hailing from London, Japanese bassist Mari Doi, and drummer Jonny Rogoff coming from New Jersey, they truly are a multi-cultural band, and despite the risks involved with Jonny leaving university in the US to move over to London and join the band, Bloom knew that it would pay off. It seems that despite the cultural differences between them, the group made an instant connection. ‘We all knew how perfect it would be,’

he says, sincerely. Moreover, Rogoff and Doi translate on tour, and explain things their English band-mates don’t understand, ‘like ice hockey,’ Bloom jokes.

For Bloom and Blumberg, the relationship was already there; childhood friends, they were formerly members of teenage indie-pop band, Cajun Dance Party, who found themselves in a record contract bidding-war whilst still doing

their GCSE’s. ‘We were very young at the time,’ Bloom recalls, ‘It was just a big blur.’

Asking him if the experience of previously being in a band has helped them this time round, he disagrees, reckoning that it has been like starting again from scratch. ‘This has been a completely different experience. They were just completely different bands; it’s very hard to compare them.’ In Yuck, Bloom now plays more of a creative role within the band, explaining that he and Blumberg wrote and composed the album jointly, with a varied writing process. ‘Sometimes Daniel had a guitar riff and we wrote the song around that, and sometimes we had a song and worked on it as a band and it changed entirely’, he says.

Along with EMA, Wavves, and The Joy Formidable, Yuck are spearheading the current ‘90’s revival, despite the fact that the band members were mere toddlers when the likes of Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement were first making their mark on the music scene. Dense, hazy, and melodic, it’s obvious that early ‘90’s American grunge and shoegaze has inspired their album. ‘Those musicians changed the way I think about

music forever,’ reveals Bloom, and cites Wilco as his personal favourite, describing them as the best songwriters he’s ever heard. Conversely, they also listen to more modern music, with Bloom recommending Fanzine, a lo-fi band from London who are supporting them on their upcoming tour next month, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, a psych-pop band who are on the same label – Fat Possum – as Yuck.

After an undeniably busy year, the band continues to have a hectic and busy few months ahead of them. They re-released their album with added B-Sides on 11 October, which Bloom describes as an extension of the original album.

‘The album was written along with the B-sides at around the same time, but we left a lot of songs out that didn’t quite fit in with the tracks’, he explains.

The next two months see the band touring America, Europe and the UK, before they start writing and recording their sophomore album in the new year. One thing’s for certain, Yuck show no signs of slowing down.

‘Yuck’ is out now on Fat Possum Records

Biophilia leaves us violently ‘App-y Will Jinks provides a guide to one of the year’s most important releases and ambitious multimedia project Biophilia, apparently, is the hypothesis that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems, a sympathy with the natural world that is psychologically bound up with the human experience. It is almost unbelievable that such a title, when applied to Björk‘s eighth full length offering, could actually seem somewhat reductive, a testament to the sheer vastness of her creative vision. From the first lines of the opening track ‘Moon’, “as the lukewarm hands of the gods / came down and gently picked my adrenalin pearls / placed them in their mouths / and rinsed all the fear out”, it is evident that minimalism or simplicity will have no place in Biophilia. Instead, this opening track goes on to showcase Björk at her very best, as she uses her incomparable voice to drive the track and keep her enthralled audience hanging onto her every syllable. Lyrically, Björk explores far more than the natural world which the album’s title would imply, she boldly and seamlessly navigates ideas of love, theology and the cosmos; using the outer universe as much as she does the

microscopic interior of human cells in her metaphorical selfportrait. The music on this album is varied, to the extent that the contrasts between and often within the tracks can often seem purposefully aggressive; lead single ‘Crystalline’ showcases this polemic experimentation when the gentle chimes which guide the mellow chorus throughout the song suddenly yield to a ferocious drum and bass beat, which collides with Björk’s relentless vocals for the final minute of the track, presumably a result of employing 16bit for production. It does work nonetheless,shrouding Biophilia in an air of unpredictability, and on ‘Sacrifice’, the song which best embodies this instability of tempo, there is something menacing about how easily Björk can reverse the direction of her song around the constant of her voice with totalitarian control.

This produces an intentional friction with the slower tracks on the album: ‘Thunderbolt’ is a deliberate and somewhat dark track which is driven by bass, featuring a Tesla coil as a musical instrument, whereas ‘Dark Matter’ offers harmonised

vocals and haunting chords that tread so slowly that they give the song a quasi-religious feel, a sort of slothful rapture with largely gibberish lyrics (intended to replicate the unexplainable phenomenon of dark matter); and yet it is because, not in spite of this, that the song demands the listener’s undivided attention for three and a half minutes.

Much has been made of

Björk‘s decision to release the album with a free iTunes app, in an attempt to launch Biophilia as not simply a collection of mp3s, but as a multimedia project with a range of interdependent elements. In some ways this is where Björk has overplayed her hand; it is easy to sympathise with the many lifelong Björk fans who, having been waiting for Biophilia with baited breath during the four years since

her last studio album, found themselves excluded from the whole experience because they did not own an iPhone. The app certainly is an interesting feature which gives Björk an unprecedented platform to express her artistic flair and explore the ideas behind each song more deeply with each song’s own mini-app, which together combine to form the larger Biophilia ‘mother’ app.

The song ‘Virus’, for example, examines love as a pernicious and ultimately destructive entity with the kind of insight which only Björk can give, drawing parallels between a relationship and a virus feeding on a body. The corresponding app includes a game where the user must prevent a virus from attacking the cells of a body; however, the catch is that if the player succeeds the song will stop playing. In order to enjoy the song, the virus must be permitted to consume the cells, a metaphor which takes this idea safely away from the fine line between innovation and a gimmick. The app, while new ground for Björk, feels like a technology designed with her in mind, however listeners who are more into their BlackBerry can

draw solace from my judgement that, while impressive, the app is at its best nothing more than a complement to the music and, for better or worse, the animations and games which make up the app are superfluous to the album itself.

Additions such as song scores and musical essays are the sort of thing that a select few would have paid almost double the price for as part of a deluxe edition in the days before downloads emerged victorious under Apple; however the majority of music fans would never have cared enough about these extras anyway and this is unlikely to change even now that Bjork has thrown them in for free; they are simply of no interest to anyone outside of the superfan demographic. In Biophilia, Björk has produced one of the most challenging and diverse albums of the last decade and possibly of her career. The app is not just smoke and mirrors: there is a lot there to justify the amount of time that was spent creating it, and it only improves the experience.

However, it is never more than an extra, while the music itself has the potential to stand alone as the album of the year.

Epigram

24.10.2011

26

Reviews NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS DELICACIES Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Simian Mobile Disco Sour Mash 29 2010 November 17 October 2011 Delicatessen

When Noel Gallagher announced that he’d been working on a solo album, Oasis fans across the world cheered in delight. After two years of silence, the prospect of new material from the man widely (if perhaps unfairly) regarded to be The Talent in one of Britain’s biggest bands was more than welcome. But the question of whether it would live up to its promise loomed, and coupled with Gallagher’s brazen confidence in his new tunes he seemed to be setting himself up for the biggest failure since ‘Country House’ trounced ‘Roll With It’ in the 1995 charts.

His self-assurance was not misplaced; Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ self-titled debut doesn’t disappoint. Avant-garde music was never one of Oasis’s strengths, but it’s easy to see how much Gallagher has grown since 2009’s Dig Out Your Soul. Promptly pulling out all the stops with the almost cinematic ‘Everybody’s On The Run’, complete with a 24-piece string section, the album starts with a bang, swiftly establishing its dual themes of escape and settlement and heralding in the sound of a new, happier Noel. The album is unabashedly

ASHES & FIRE Ryan Adams Capitol Records 11 Oct 2011 An album that opens with a track reminiscent of an Americana reworking of Dylan’s late masterpiece Time Out of Mind is always going to raise hopes of a return to form for one-time altcountry poster-boy Ryan Adams. His offerings over the last six or seven years have borne flashes of his early brilliance, but too often felt scattered, patchy, restless. Ashes & Fire benefits from a more restrained, reflective mood, a gentler approach that lends effectiveness to the odd guitar burst (‘Come Home’, ‘Do I Wait’), swirling organ (‘Kindness’) or strained vocal.

The album’s low points are the sentimental acoustic-pop of ‘Come Home’ and ‘Rocks’, while ‘Chains of Love’ feels overblown on an album where restraint is the key to its rootsy quality.

But the four songs that close the album pull it through, with fragile charm and simple but haunting lyrics; they are a timely reminder of Adams’s erratic but abundant songwriting talents.

Ashes & Fire may lack the youthful vigour of Heartbreaker and Gold, but embrace the mature Ryan Adams, because he knows his way around a melody just as well.

Eliot Brammer

AUDIO, VIDEO, DISCO Justice Ed Banger 25 October 2011

upbeat, the most obvious examples being ‘AKA... What A Life!’ and lead single ‘The Death of You and Me’. Even ‘Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks’, the first political track of his career, sounds more like commentary than criticism.

The rest of the album is conventional, but by no means boring. ‘Dream On’ is spectacularly catchy and even quieter tracks like ‘If I Had A Gun’ give some insight into another, more mature side of Noel.

While middle age often threatens to introduce an unwanted touch of dad rock, the grand, anthemic choruses that Gallagher is renowned for do an effective job of staving it off. A few songs run a bit too long—the whimsically titled ‘(I Wanna Live In A Dream) In My Record Machine’ in particular drags on —and the previously unreleased Oasis track ‘Stop the Clocks’ feels out of place amongst the newer material, but is a fitting way to end the record and any ties with his old band. Not that he has to; if High Flying Birds has proven anything, it’s that Noel Gallagher is more than capable of standing on his own two feet.

Sara Jaffer

REPLICA Oneohtrix Point Never Software 08 Nov 2011

Daniel Lopatin is difficult to pin down. Although as Oneohtrix Point Never his concoction of second-hand synth textures converge somewhere between ambience and drone, he’s been able to showcase his talents in other, more diverse musical fields. A prolific producer, Lopatin recently collaborated with Tigercity’s Joel Ford, conjuring up a collection of hazy, taped-over-VHS pop tunes on the full-length Channel Pressure.

If there’s anything that Replica inherits from these previous offerings, it’s an ability to find stasis amongst the harsh and mechanical. Even when this serenity is dispersed by diamondcutting vocal samples on the likes of ‘Child Soldier’, Lopatin always reanimates something we’d expect to be cold and faceless into something deeply human. On paper at least, it’s every Wire reader’s dream: the slick retro-futurism of ‘Sleep Dealer’ could have been produced by Actress. But when the sum of its parts challenges even last year’s excellent Returnal, this latest addition to the OPN canon is far from lacking in originality.

Replica only seeks to continue a tradition by morphing outside of its expected parameters in the most beautiful, beguiling way.

Jon Bauckham

If you were expecting Audio, Video, Disco to be a dance album, you would be sadly disappointed.

Justice’s second outing is much more ‘Daft Punk meets Queen’, with a real glam-rock feel to it and more guitar shredding than has been heard for a long time. It is an album filled with stadium rock anthems that unfortunately just aren’t that anthemic. One can definitely still tell that this is a Justice album, as they manage to retain the raw electronic sound in Audio, Video, Disco’s production that we have all grown to love since their debut Cross. Lead single, ‘Civilization’, has a good catchy chorus, and the penultimate track, ‘Helix’, which is probably the strongest track on the album, has a great riff and rhythm to it. It’s just a shame that the rest of the tracks aren’t more like it.

‘Brianvision’, for example, with its Brian May style riff, surely the reason for the title, seems to be building up to a massive climax that then unfortunately never materialises.

The biggest problem with Audio, Video, Disco is that the majority of tracks feel like medleys rather than individual songs; it’s as if Justice had a load of great riffs, beats and

STEREO TYPICAL Rizzle Kicks Universal Island 31 Oct 2011 With a band name reminiscent of an E numberladen sweet, Rizzle Kicks’ debut album is just as saccharine. The decision to release the album in October is an odd one as the band’s blend of humorous lyrics and soul-tinged samples are evocative of Lily Allen’s summery sound. ‘Mama Do the Hump’, demonstrates the potential of the Brighton duo, with a catchy hook and references to the track’s celebrity producer in the lyric “it ain’t over til the Fat Boy Slims”. On songs such as ‘Down with the Trumpets’, however, the band’s lack of ability to write strong choruses is laid bare, with the refrain “let’s get down with the trumpets” bordering on irritating. Fans of the band’s collaboration with Olly Murs on his number one single ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ will not be disappointed, although it’s a shame the album doesn’t feature more Murs-style pop hooks.

Having said that, Rizzle Kicks have far more integrity than Murs, as demonstrated in skainfluenced ‘Learn My Lesson’. Clearly influenced

by De La Soul, Stereo Typical combines hip-hop, soul, pop and indie, but in trying to fuse these musical genres, Rizzle Kicks struggle to make a real impact.

Pippa Shawley

sounds lying around that they have then desperately tried to throw together and make a song out of, as more often than not the end of the track is unrecognisable from the beginning. Consequently, the album sounds confused and a bit rushed, which is a shame given it has been nearly five years since their last album was released. Apparently, this was to allow the French duo time to learn all the instruments they wanted to use on the album.

Unfortunately, based on the end result, this feels like time wasted. With the songs themselves not flowing, this has the knock-on effect of the album as a whole lacking fluidity, with it demonstrating no real progression from start to finish.

The fact that they have tried to progress in their sound is admirable, but the album has the effect of leaving the listener disappointed, as it feels like a step back rather than a step forward in terms of quality. From the sound of it, they certainly had a lot of fun making this album, it’s just unfortunate that the fun is not reciprocated for the listener.

Tom Hart

LIVE MUSIC Strange Boys Rough Trade 24 Oct 2011 Oh garage rock, that great unchanging style of popular music. Its basic form has hardly changed from its birth in early sixties, throughout the various revivals and up until the present day.

Rather than a criticism of the genre, this shows the enduring nature of bands such as Austin’s Strange Boys. Live Music, along with their previous two albums, could have been released at nearly any time in the last 45 years. Strange Boys stick to the country-tinged garage of their previous work, but the raucous, sloppy style of The Strange Boys and Girls Club and Be Brave has been replaced with a more poppy, polished, piano-led sound.

The problem with Live Music is that it just never really gets going. A large part of the album plods along at a similar tempo with no real moments of excitement. The Strange Boys sure know how to write a good tune such as the excellent ‘Me and You’, but these highlights are often overshadowed by less inspiring moments on the overly long, fourteen track record. Much of Live Music has a vintage Stones swagger but at points you wish it could be a bit more Brown Sugar rather than just Sway or Wild Horses.

Seb Jones

Film & TV

Epigram

Editor: William Ellis

Deputy Editor: Anthony Adeane

filmandtv@epigram.org.uk

deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk

24.10.2011

Doomsday melodrama fails to ignite MELANCHOLIA Dir: Lars von Trier Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland

www.csicon.org

Lars Von Trier’s latest project, Melancholia, is an apocalyptic film which walks a precarious tight rope between the profound and the frankly ridiculous. The film pulsates with tension, combining anguished characters, melodramatic storylines and exhilarating camera work, whilst musing on such themes as depression, isolation, and the end of the world. The feature shows a volatile family dynamic playing out in extremis, whilst the Earth flirts dangerously with the path of a mysterious rogue planet: Melancholia. Alongside this astrological drama is an exploration of complex family relationships, focussing on the troubled lives of sisters Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), both acted with a tragic finesse.

The film begins with a kaleidoscopic, slow-motion

sequence, transmitting images of devastation on both an individual and universal scale.

These ethereal shots convey a quiet desolation, very much in tone with the film’s subsequent narrative developments.

In Part One, we see Justine fluctuate manically between joy and despair during her wedding party at the palatial estate of her sister Claire and her wealthy husband (Kiefer Sutherland). Justine is a woman with all the apparent ingredients for happiness; exceptional beauty, a budding

career and a promising marriage to a handsome and extremely loving man.

Nevertheless, she is gripped by a relentless depression, feeling herself progressively alienated from a world she condemns as evil and unworthy of continued existence. Justine’s peculiarity is exposed more and more during the wedding party, and her own eccentricities coincide with a stormy mood swing from her mother - played with wonderful venom by Charlotte Rampling, whose bristling personality accounts for much

of her daughters’ vulnerability.

Part Two traces the other sister, Claire’s, personal conflict with the prospect of the end of the world, whilst Justine begins to finally rouse herself into health.

Justine’s curious tranquillity in the face of Earth’s impending doom contrasts with Claire’s frantic search for reassurance.

The answers she receives to her desperate questions only exacerbate her bewilderment and strain her already fragile sense of identity. With the growing imminence of certain death, which part of her identity

can she rely on - her role as the docile wife, the responsible older sister or the passionately protective mother?

The narrative is intelligent yet often tiresomely fragmented, and its variable quality bears similarity to Melancholia’s cinematography.

Von Trier creates a sense of physical and emotional instability, as the camera moves constantly in and out of focus on the subject of each shot. The camera is often held in extreme close-up, at times allowing the audience a feeling

of profound intimacy yet at other times moving beyond the comfortable boundaries of personal space. In contrast, Von Trier frequently uses striking long-shots, dense with symbolism across the entire camera frame. The towering perspective reflects the theme of depression, as various characters struggle with the concept of their individual insignificance.

Melancholia is very good in parts, but it struggles to find a balance between art-house realism and wholehearted Hollywood blockbuster.

Nonetheless, the film contains images of real artistic beauty, and accompanied by the throbbing Wagnerian soundtrack, it is certainly an arresting piece of work. Dunst shines as the miserable Justine, her face perpetually etched with a sorrowful knowingness, while Gainsbourg conveys Claire’s excruciating internal conflicts with immense feeling.

Whether or not you come away having actually liked the film, it is difficult to leave the cinema unmarked by its affecting exploration of despair.

Tom Brada

A bruising beast of a debut Allen finds his feet in Paris TYRANNOSAUR

Written and directed by the renowned British film and TV actor, Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur draws you into a bleak, fragmented suburbia brimming with racial hatred and personal justice, filmed on set in Leeds. Given Considine’s acting roles as dark or morally ambiguous characters, such as in Last Resort (2000) and Dead Man’s Shoes (2004), it is perhaps unsurprising that his debut as solo director centres on the life of Joseph, powerfully portrayed

by Peter Mullan, a man whose

www.daemonsmovies.com

to avoid trouble, he hides behind a clothes rack like an abashed child. Disarmed by her gentleness and Christian naivety, they strike up a friendship, but not without its rocky patches – their first conversation comprises of him savagely deconstructing her middle-class life and faith.

Although the grey-black lighting and brutal sequences make Tyrannosaur a somewhat harrowing watch, Considine does weave in playful touches.

Joseph drunkenly moons his friend goodnight and yells ‘Freedom!’ in his broad Scottish tones before falling over, harking back to Braveheart (1995), in which Mullan himself starred.

Joseph’s devil-onthe-shoulder drinking buddy provides much-needed lighter moments through absurd racist rants, as does Joseph’s young next-door neighbour, Samuel, for whom Joseph acts as a father figure.

Mullan and Colman rise triumphantly to do the engrossing screenplay justice, and Considine directs with remarkable vision, perhaps suggesting that he may well go on to take up a significant role in the ever-burgeoning pantheon of stellar British directors.

Alexander Murphy

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Dir: Woody Allen Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Martin Sheen

Woody Allen fans have been waiting for his latest film with bated breath. Absurdist, surreal and enigmatically charming, Midnight in Paris is exactly what the title implies: a wistful homage to a city and an era adored by Allen, and his affable, neurotic counterpart: Hollywood screen-writer and aspiring novelist Gil Pender (Owen Wilson). A wry satire of the ‘Golden Age’, the film’s one-liners provide the sharpest moments of comedy whilst the escapist fable is a knowing and compelling cliché that is benignly enchanting.

The opening montage of modern Paris and the sounds of jazz are a romantic prologue to the comedy of the disillusioned Gil, a charmingly naïve tourist who worships the 1920’s bohemian city of his literary idols. Unfortunately, Gil’s fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her wealthy, bourgeois parents disagree. Gil’s all-American enthusiasm for culture is

www.sonyclassics.com

Dir: Paddy Considine Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan

innumerable vices include, most shockingly, a seemingly irrepressible rage. Considine rather impossibly moves us to empathise with this relentlessly destructive character through the eyes and grace of Hannah, a charity shop worker – Olivia Colman’s performance is as flawless as it is heart-breaking.

The film, which received awards for direction and the two lead performances at Sundance this year.

Tyrannosaur opens with Joseph stumbling out of a pub swearing blind, who proceeds to kick his dog to death. The act is vicious but immediately regretted. Encounters with similarly short-fused characters reaffirm his identity as a raging loner, before his true frailty is revealed. After running into Hannah’s charity shop

ridiculed by the fantastically irritating Michael Sheen, whose Cheshire cat grin is put to good use as the pretentious pseudointellectual Paul, a friend of Inez’s in Paris by chance.

One night a tipsy Gil takes a stroll alone. On the chimes of midnight he is mysteriously hailed by a phantom carriage of revelers and whisked away to what it gradually becomes apparent is the roaring infusion of 1920’s Paris, and the coterie of artistic legends that inhabited it. Here, the pace quickens and Allen’s film comes to life. There is Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), casually coining Gatsby’s famous ‘old boy’ tag.

However, most charismatic is Ernest Hemingway (Cory Stoll) who is outrageously comic as he delivers the direct American voice of his prose. The world of conservative 20’s America these Modernists travelled to escape

provides a coy parallel to the Republican Tea Party views of Gil’s future in-laws. A myriad of figures appear in a flurry as Gil’s dream spirals into the The Belle Époque fantasy of the alluring Gabrielle (Marion Cotillard).

Yet the modern Paris Allen evokes fails to capture anything vibrant or remarkable in the present day, and one can’t help but think with the film’s whimsically witty dénouement that Allen would really rather never go home. The dialogue between Gil and Inez is always somewhat stilted and with no true value placed on anything current, the conclusion seems sadly to lack a little substance.

That said, the film is wonderfully buoyant and encapsulates many of the tropes we have come to associate with the best of Allen’s work. It is sparkling, funny and assured, if only faintly superficial.

Anouska Wilkinson

Epigram

24.10.2011

28

BFI pays tribute to uncompromising Ken of Loach’s most successful films, including the pivotal Kes (1969). The young David Bradley, who stars as the film’s protagonist, was led to believe his bird had truly been killed and consequently cries real tears in the film’s conclusion.

And in Looking for Eric (2009), there is a famous scene in which protagonist Eric Bishop catches his first sight of icon Eric Cantona. This was genuinely the first time that actor Steve Evets knew the footballer had a part in the film.

Loach has always been a controversial figure: famously turning down an OBE in 1977, which he declared to be a ‘despicable’ formality in the name of the British Empire, ‘a monument of exploitation and conquest’, and openly stating his outrage at the use of censorship in cinema, declaring it to be ‘patronising’, when his Sweet Sixteen (2002) – which notoriously used the word ‘f***’ 313 times – was given an ‘18’ certificate. Loach retaliated by telling the Daily Telegraph that he encouraged teenagers to break the law to

www.guardiaoscura.com

The BFI’s (British Film Insitute) five-week retrospective celebrating the work of revolutionary filmmaker Ken Loach, coinciding with his 75th birthday, came to an end on the 12th October. Cinéastes worldwide have applauded the BFI’s attempt to pay tribute to the man known as ‘Britain’s leading socialist filmmaker’, presenting 30 of the 50 films he has directed over his extensive career to the public, at London’s Southbank Centre.

Loach, whose films are recognised for their profound realism, changed the face of contemporary cinema with his unorthodox casting, employing local, unknown talent instead of established actors. Eschewing more usual methods of directing, Loach has always made a huge effort to ensure his actors express themselves honestly and naturally, thus preferring to film in the chronological order of the script, and often preventing his actors from reading the whole screenplay before shooting.

This honesty is seen in many

Ken Loach, one of England’s most treasured directors

see it, alarming the British Board of Film Classification.

The director’s anti-Israel stance has also been a strong point of interest in his 50-year career.

His support of a boycott of the Edinburgh International Film Festival after it received a £300 grant from the Israeli Embassy, and the consequent withdrawal of Looking For Eric from the Melbourne International Film Festival, where the Israeli Embassy was a sponsor, both sparked much debate.

His strident left-wing politics (Loach has been a member of the Labour Party since the early 1960s) have led to many of his films being shelved throughout his career. From the four-part series ‘Questions of Leadership’ (1983) which focused on Thatcher and the miners’ strike, to the controversial Save the Children documentary (1969), which the charity has only now given its permission to be screened despite its critical view of their work in Kenya have both been withheld in the past.

Loach’s political beliefs have strongly influenced his

filmmaking – his unwavering devotion to the workers’ movement being the foundation upon which his films are built. A purveyor of Kitchen Sink Realism, the British cultural movement that developed out of the unemployment and lack of hope felt in the 1960s, Loach’s films such as Poor Cow (1067) and Family Life (1971) can be seen as a true projection of working-class life in the 20th century.

Thus, although Loach’s career has been subject to many fits and starts, and his controversial principles have alienated many of his followers who have disagreed with his drastic action against Israel and the Royal Family amongst others, it cannot be denied that Ken Loach is a true pioneer of the British film industry.

The BFI’s retrospective only goes to remind us of how great and diverse a filmmaker Loach really is, and how much his work has influenced and inspired those who follow in his footsteps.

Kate Samuelson

Life is beautiful for maestro Benigni

In the second part of our Foreign Affairs serial, we take a look at Roberto Benigni’s life-affirming Italian classic, Life is Beautiful LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL Dir: Roberto Benigni Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini

A triumphant Benigni celebrates at the 1999 Academy Awards

him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1999. The film’s first half sees Benigni display his immense comedic prowess: his physicality and naturalism are Chaplin-esque. However, as with the best of Chaplin’s work, there is an ever-present sense of sadness and of anger.

This manifests itself in the encroaching influence of fascist Italy. From Guido’s Uncle Eliseo’s horse being shockingly vandalised by anti-Semitic sympathisers, to the overheard dinner conversations of the city’s elite, the glimpses of human cruelty are all the more affecting when seen directed at a character of such warmth.

After Guido finally sweeps Dora off her feet, the story skips

forward to witness the birth of their son, Joshua. Any latent trepidation is fully realised as father, mother, son and uncle are then thrust into a Nazi concentration camp.

Upon entering the camp, Guido persuades his son that their presence in the concentration camp is all part of a game. However, this apparent levity in the face of horror never strays into irreverence. It is this tension between comedy and tragedy which makes this masterful film so utterly compelling, and ultimately, so telling of what human nature is capable of.

For, within this film exists evidence of all that is utterly despicable, cruel, and hopeless

1999 Academy Awards Best Actor: Roberto Benigni Best Foreign Language Film: Roberto Benigni Best Music: Nicola Piovani

www.impawards.com

Against a backdrop of foreboding mist, these are the first words of Benigni’s La Vita é Bella. They hint at the intricacies inherent within a film of such ambition. The plot centres around one man’s comic attempts to seduce the woman he loves and his attempts to protect their consequent family. It is a simple plot, but one which takes on a wider and more universally affecting significance when contextualised amidst the devastating impact of Nazism in Italy. The balance of any tragicomedy is always complex, none more so than when one of the most horrifying events in modern history is involved.

The protagonist, Guido Orefice, (played by Benigni himself) is as charming and endearing a character as has ever been brought to the screen.

Indeed, the wit and humanity of Benigni’s performance earned

www.ibtimes.com

“This is a simple story, but not an easy one to tell. Like a fable there is sorrow, and like a fable there is wonder and happiness.”

in human nature. The almost inconceivable evil that the Nazis aim to exact on their fellow human beings is heartrendingly realised and personalised by our attachment to Guido.

And yet, the beauty of this film, and the reason why it remains so close to the heart of all those who have seen and cherish it, lies in the fact that, out of this hopeless depiction of the depths human nature can descend to, rises a shining ray of hope. Guido’s love for his son, the sacrifices he makes for him, and the courage with which he holds himself, all act to exemplify that despite the awfulness of how human beings can treat each other, there are also endless and enduring examples of kindness which are born out of the very depths of despair.

What we are told at the start of the film only rings truer at the end, and with this resounding message in our ears, we go on with our lives not with the air of despondency and gloom, but with impenetrable hope: ‘Like a fable there is sorrow, and like a fable there is wonder and happiness.’

Charlie Atkin

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24.10.2011

29 29

Exploring America’s Finest: The Wire

in this bad side of Baltimore is exposed and explored.

With such an extensive plot comes a huge cast, but the astounding realism rendered by the actors and the distinctiveness of the characters keeps them memorable over each season. Simon and Burns avoid applying a nice thick line between good and bad; in this Baltimore, life is far more complex than that. McNulty (played by Dominic West) is a loose-cannon cop with no time for authority or monogamy, but

a penchant for drinking and driving; Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) is the brains to king pin Avon Barksdale’s brawn, right hand man to the head of Baltimore’s principle drug empire and moonlighter as a student of economics; Omar Little (Michael K Williams), the much-feared, shotgun-carrying lone wolf who prowls Baltimore’s streets looking to serve up revenge to those who murdered his gay lover is, unnervingly, one of the most likeable characters.

Barack Obama certainly agrees

and labelled him the most fascinating character in the series.

After its broad and diverse cast, the most interesting thing about The Wire, and probably the reason for the Attorney General’s comments, is its approach towards the entire subject of crime and law enforcement in America. Not only does the show expose the far-reaching consequences of drug dealing, but also draws some striking links between the so called good guys and bad guys. From the low rises to the mayor’s office, via numerous stops at the police department, corruption is rife in Baltimore.

The co-ops, created by drug lord Proposition Joe with other leading dealers, are seemingly more organised and less crooked than most of the goings on behind closed doors at official political level.

However, The Wire does not just portray the state of the problem, it also offers solutions. However outlandish it may sound, Officer Colvin’s ‘Hamsterdam’ (a secret free zone created for drug dealing,

monitored by a small group of police) offers up a starting point for discussion on how to approach the problem. But make no mistake, Simon and Burns are not preaching to their viewers, there is no moral to this story. Even taken simply at face value, this piece of television deserves praise for, if nothing else, pure guts.

The sprawling scale of vision, the intricate and intertwining plot lines, the fusion between social classes and ways of life: this is television as rarely seen before. The sheer ambition on display over these five series has often been compared to

that other much-vaunted HBO vehicle, The Sopranos. But can even that masterful show hold a light to the complexities and boundary-pushing splendour of the Baltimore realised with such integrity and maturity by David Simon and Ed Burns?

HBO came to be seen as the standard-setters of American television during and after the production of ‘The Sopranos’.

It appears that this pioneering network not only met the standard they themselves set, but have raised the bar again as to how television dramas could, and perhaps should be.

Sarah Lyons

www.HBO.com

In May of this year, the US Attorney General ordered cocreators David Simon and Ed Burns to make another season of their HBO series The Wire. It is unlikely that the Attorney General commands the power to influence American TV schedules in this way, but to anyone who has watched, or indeed heard someone else talk about so acclaimed a serial, this insatiable, irrational love for the show is all too easily recognisable. And, being an intelligent, accessible and thoughtful piece of television that tells the story of drugrelated crime in urban America in its own distinct way, it is easy to understand this political interest.

The Wire ran for five seasons, with its intricate plot focusing on the drug trade in Baltimore and the exhausted police department attempting to bring it down through a wire tap. Each series spreads further afield, linking all kinds of people to the city’s rotten core. From the community of Polish dock workers to the Baltimore Press, the ripple effect of involvement

Omar Little (Michael K Williams), one of The Wire’s most arresting characters

Angry boys, talking dogs: Australian Television’s got it all It’s not just in the West that quality TV is being produced, the Aussies are also proving that their output extends beyond Neighbours

www.photos.lucywho.com

Chris Lilley in one of his many guises

Corporation) for a slightly different televised take on life.

This summer Lilley was back on our screens with Angry Boys (in fact a co-production between ABC and HBO), another mockumentary-style show based around multiple characters from an American rapper to South Australian identical twins, most played

by Lilley himself. Angry Boys explores issues of disability, race, and sexuality and in doing so takes the risk of being seen itself as offensive- yet it is typical of Australian tonguein-cheek and, if you can abide the constant swearing, has moments of comic brilliance.

But if Lilley is not quite your British cup of tea, there is always ‘Wilfred’. Airing not long after Angry Boys. it is in fact another US adaptation - this time of an Australian show of the same name, featuring the same actor (and also creator of the show) in the title roleJason Gann. The premise is of clinically depressed no-hoper Ryan (Elijah Wood,) not even able to successfully commit suicide - the pilot begins with a tongue-in cheek ‘printing suicide note: third revised’.

But meeting neighbour Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann) turns his life very slightly around for the better. Yet it is not Jenna who changes Ryan but in fact her dog Wilfred who appears to just

Ryan (Elijah Wood) converses with Wilfred (Jason Gann)

us and Ryan as an Australian man in a ridiculous dog suit.

This already has many comic possibilities - mostly crude - starting with a scene in a café where Wilfred proceeds to sexually molest a waitress whilst she of course treats him like a slightly over-friendly dog and Ryan looks on in jealous disbelief. The series is fraught with such gems. Perhaps it is only an amusing coincidence,

but Wilfred was in fact adapted by David Zuckerman, producer of Family Guy, which itself features another anthropomorphic dog, Brian Griffin - albeit a much more cultured one. Both Gann and Zuckerman evidently see the potential in seeing human and canine characters interact.

Inspired by Gann’s career in children’s theatre where he saw actors donning animal

www.entertainmentalley.com

They take our shows - Life on Mars, The Office, we imitate theirs - Mad Men, America’s Next Top Model. Sometimes you may feel as if you’re stuck in the middle of a constant exchange between American and British television. Admittedly with the massive output of programmes from the US, it’s hard not to.

But are we ignoring our fellow Commonwealth comrades for viewing pleasures?

Since all-singing, all-dancing, all-parodying Chris Lilley’s Summer Heights High was aired on BBC 3 in 2008, people have started to look Down Under to ABC1 (Australian Broadcasting

suits swearing and smoking between scenes, the actual series takes this and transforms it into a very workable concept.

Of course it is funny but it is also quite dark and, naturally, surreal. On a simply visual level, the two main characters are very slightly reminiscent of Donnie Darko (from the 2001 cult film of the same name) and his rabbit companion Frank.

Like the film, we sometimes

question Ryan’s sanity: is the whole show a hallucination?

Yet to properly enjoy it, we must forget this. There is too, elements of questioning human, and animal nature, and with episodes titles ranging from ‘Happiness’ and ‘Sacrifice’ to ‘Trust’ and ‘Compassion’, you get the impression that there is an attempt at a higher message.

However this is quickly undermined by every episode ending in the pair smoking bongs on the sofa.

Although the original version is probably not worth watching except for pure interest, the combination of American polish on an idea which is typical of Australian humour and quirkiness, helped by Gann’s smooth Queensland tones, really works. Despite the incredibly watchable relationship of the two main characters, it feel as if the series will have to introduce another layer in order to withstand the comic competition from both within and outside Australia. It will be interesting to see if it does and whether the novelty of a chain-smoking, teddy bearhumping man dressed as a dog will wear off. Indeed Ryan is apt when in the first episode he asks ‘Hey Wilfred, how is this going to end?’

Sorcha Berry-Varley

Epigram

24.10.2011

Science

Editor: Nick Cork

Deputy Editor: Emma Sackville

science@epigram.org.uk

deputyscience@epigram.org.uk

Inside the mind of Professor Bruce Hood The Experimental Psychologist on the science of superstition, our ‘story-telling brains’ and his fascination with horror film posters Nick Cork Science Editor Anyone familiar with transcribing a lecture from a Dictaphone will recognise the struggle to produce an accurate write-up from a less than perfect recording. Generally you muddle through - ignoring whispered conversation nearby, even whole words lost to a neighbour’s cough - it’s normally possible to piece together a coherent document.

Imagine you’ve just attended a lecture where, using mind tricks derived from psychological research, Professor Bruce Hood has shown your eyes, ears and brain to be embarrassingly fallible, prone to misdirection and misinterpretation. It’s an amusing, but not altogether comfortable, sensation. I like to think that the world outside my head is the same world that I perceive through my senses, and that I react accordingly.

It seems quite problematic to justify my daily choices and actions otherwise. But now, hours after we met, as I listen to our conversation played back, my confidence is shaken. Are these his words, or merely the words that I believe he’s saying?

As it happens, my recording is relatively good: it’s just that I no longer trust my own senses.

This is Hood’s domain. As Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre, in the university’s Experimental Psychology Department, he’s been invited to give the opening lecture in a series entitled ‘Big Ideas in Science’. With the tagline, ‘Be Inspired’, this draws lecturers from across the Faculty of Science to showcase the cutting-edge research taking place at Bristol. Hood’s chosen subject is ‘Reality and the Matrix in the Mind’. Like the Wachowski Brothers’ film, his work identifies the strategies our brains enlist to

construct a simulated model of reality for the mind to assess and interact with, via our sensory experiences. He also pin-points the glitches in these processes, ‘the biases, distortions and illusions’ that fool our senses and cloud our perceptions.

Psychology hasn’t always been considered the equal of the ‘basic’ sciences, of physics, chemistry, and biology. Through its various appearances in the media - on daytime TV, on Big Brother, by those offering to ‘read your mind’ - you’re probably forgiven for harbouring an impression that it’s a bit trivial, even that it’s easy. Because it’s effortless we take it for granted but, as Hood points out, human behaviour is the most complex feat of problem-solving that we know of. Hence the challenge in directing robots to perform tasks we consider banal. Our minds

are fantastically complicated and only psychology offers the tools to penetrate beyond the immediate flesh of the brain, to probe its functions.

I ask Hood, after the lecture, what first drew him to psychology? A wry smile crosses his face. ‘I did a degree in Scotland and it was one of these degrees where you can take four or five different subjects, and I didn’t know anything about Psychology - this was a long time ago. I took it and discovered that I was really fascinated by it. I kinda wanted to believe in the paranormal and wanted to believe in mind-control, so I always had an interest in that sort of thing, and then when I took the courses I realised that actually there’s no evidence for that stuff at all, so it was a bit of a shock. What I discovered though was that the stuff on

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

This year Professor Hood will give the Royal Institution (Ri) Christmas Lectures, following in the tradition of great scientists who became household names

- David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, all the way back to Michael Faraday - through their outstanding contributions to the public understanding of science.

How are the preparations going?

‘They’re frenetic, and a little bit nail-biting because the lectures are very different to normal lectures, these are very demo driven so we have to engage the audience, and of course it’s an 11-16 year old audience. But this year, I can assure you, it’s going to be absolutely phenomenal. I can’t let too much out of the bag, but if you know that I’ve got a real interest in B-movies from the 1950s - that might be a bit of a clue - and also my interest in horror. So just think about that.’

consciousness, and the mind, was fascinating, so I really just got extraordinarily absorbed by it, almost compelled by it.’

He does, however, still hold a lingering affection for the interests of his younger self.

‘As a kid I was fascinated with horror films, and still am; I mean I collect film posters, which is kind of a bit sad. But actually it’s kinda interesting because my obsession with posters ties in with one of the points I made in my book about the notion that certain objects can have almost ‘energies’, or perceived to have ‘energies’, which is why people become obsessional collectors.

They need originals rather than duplicates because the originals can seem to have some sort of ‘essence’, as it were.’

Hood’s book, SuperSense, seeks to explain the science of superstition - how otherwise sensible individuals are capable of belief in supernatural explanations for natural phenomena. Basic scientific education indicates that these beliefs and behaviours are irrational, even counter-intuitive.

Hood is well aware that his poster collection doesn’t physically conceal a trace ‘essence’ of respective creators, beyond the extent to which they represent the designer’s choice of colour and layout. Still, knowing that an object is an original confers an additional symbolism that many consider important. Hood doesn’t belittle this quality, in fact he’s unashamedly pragmatic, reflecting that we define our identities and relationships according to our sentimental attachments - it’s

characteristically human. As he points out succinctly, ‘If someone offered to replace your childhood teddy bear or wedding ring with a brand new, exact replica, would you do it?’

Removed from posters, the mention of ‘design’ is a laden term, particularly when used in a religious context. Frustratingly, some commentators seized selectively from Hood’s arguments to claim that humans embrace religious faith by design, that we’re ‘hardwired for religion’. On this point he is unequivocal. ‘I never actually said that. Unfortunately when people read that we have minds which are evolved to interpret the world in a certain way they assume that that means God designed the mind - I never said that. I’m an atheist, of course; I’ve always maintained that religion is a cultural phenomenon that builds upon what I think are propensities which you find in the natural mind. And that’s the difference we’re hardwired to interpret the world - the religion you end up with clearly must be one which you’re exposed to. I don’t believe in [Professor Richard] Dawkins’s fundamental position that it’s indoctrination. The particular religion you believe clearly is an indoctrination type of issue,

“

Human behaviour is the most complex feat of problem-solving that we know of

”

but it would emerge anyway, in a kind of William Golding Lord of the Flies scenario. Any group would create their own kind of myths; our brains are storytelling brains which try to make sense of everything, and that invariably will involve something which is supernatural.’

I ask Hood what drives him in writing popular science books and engaging in science communication, in addition to his academic work? He has, after all, been a visiting scientist at MIT and held a faculty chair at Harvard, following the completion of his PhD at Cambridge. ‘For me it’s the immediate feedback; it’s the instant reinforcement.

Publishing in science and research, as you’re probably aware, is a very prolonged, protracted and often very depressing situation - it can take long times for experiments to finish and then you have to go through the review process - it can take an awful long time.

And very often by the time a paper actually comes out, you’ve moved on. So I suppose

I’m in need of more immediate gratification.’

Maybe this is what compels him to give talks, free of charge, at ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ events - monthly opportunities for those who enjoy rational, critical thinking to meet in pubs across the country to socialise and debate? ‘Well, you know, this was a real amazing discovery, the world of Skepticism, because as scientists we’re all professional sceptics - I mean this is what we do, professionally - we challenge everyone else’s results. But I was unaware of the grass-roots movement of Skepticism, which is massive and on the increase.

When they asked me to give a ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ I initially said, “well why would I want to want to talk to boring old men sitting around?”, you know, I was very surprised because I just thought they’d all be nerds.

But there’s a lovely mix, and I’ve really taken them to my heart.’

It would seem that there’s a rapidly increasing public appetite for the dissemination of science and knowledge - certainly ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ has now seen chapters set up in 39 UK cities. Is this something Hood has noticed? ‘That’s right, of course - if you think about it there’s now almost a full generation of people who’ve all been to university, I mean compare that to maybe 50 years ago when it was actually a very elitist type of thing. A lot of people out there in the general public have ended up in jobs which don’t tax them in the same way intellectually as they were taxed as students. So I think there’s always going to be a hunger and a demand and an interest, and once you’ve opened that door and allowed people to think then you can’t easily close it again. With the changes in technologies and the way that the internet is changing accessibility and publication, we’re going to see a new emergence, I think, of interest in science. I hope to be there benefiting from it!’

Skeptics ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ is a national movement, started in 1999, by Dr Scott Campbell ‘for all those interested in science, history, psychology, philosophy, investigative journalism and how to examine extraordinary claims of all types’. Meetings are held monthly with a presentation from a guest speaker, followed by an informal discussion about the topic. There are now similar groups in cities across the UK. www.bristolskeptics.co.uk

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31

Dynamite money: Nobel’s explosive legacy Dylan Williams Science Reporter

$250 million

Nobel’s fortune in today’s money had synthesised a molecule called nitroglycerine in Paris in 1846, and unveiled the new liquid explosive to the world in Turin a year later. Nobel encountered the discovery on his Grand Tour in 1850, and recognised the potential of the feisty substance. He saw that the real golden goose lay in the mechanism by which it could be used for controlled explosions.

A number of the Nobel family, including the patriarch Immanuel, were inventive

sorts who made their trade in engineering and production.

During his early 20s, Alfred himself actually appeared to be the family’s black sheep. Hungry to find his place in the world, being something of a humanist and having a multitude of interests, he thought about abandoning the laboratory and pursuing his voracious appetite for literature and philosophy.

But his interest in becoming a poet and writer eventually stagnated and he rejoined his family’s business in Russia, once again taking to the laboratory and making the liquid explosive his plaything.

Subduing nitroglycerine took its toll. Although Alfred had patented the detonator in 1863, the volatile compound was still not to be trifled with, and Alfred’s brother Emil was killed in an explosion in 1864. Spurred on by the tragedy, Nobel eventually worked out how to tame the beast - by mixing nitroglycerine with a siliconbased rock called diatomite, he tempered the unruly properties of the liquid. In 1866 he had his patent for dynamite.

Nobel belonged to that rare breed of scientist who combines entrepreneurial instincts with

the creativity of a successful inventor. His shrewd eye for commercialising dynamite, now the most potent utilisable explosive since gunpowder. led his family to phenomenal wealth.

But his idealistic, philanthropic qualities ran deep. He knew the implications of offering such a bombastic discovery on a platter to the world, but he hoped that it would further human prosperity, and not feed our capacity for self-destruction.

As great engineering projects and wars bear testament, dynamite is merely a tool with the potential to be harnessed for either constructive or malevolent ends.

As he lay on his deathbed in 1896, Nobel had no wife or heirs and left his huge fortune – around $250 million in today’s money - to a trust responsible for honouring future works of scientific greatness: revolutionary ideas, discoveries or inventions that enrich mankind. Ever the worldly philanthropist, he stipulated that his will should be enacted without concern for national divides. The Nobel Prizes eventually became renowned for honouring giants of science, diplomacy and literature from

Flickr: pushkardimplebisht

Behind every great legacy, there’s likely to be stellar biography published or waiting in the wings. Immensely rich people who are imbued with goodwill and foresight, beyond the usual business instincts the rich possess, must have led colourful lives before picking up their philanthropic streaks. Like other trusts and foundations driven by charitable motives, the Nobel Prizes - the annual announcements for which were made at the beginning of this month - also rely on the prescience of the long-deceased, Alfred Nobel.

The prizes are awarded for a diverse array of amazing theories, discoveries and innovations, which are deemed to have improved the prospects of humanity. And the awards themselves, which grab the headlines for scientific causes each October, wouldn’t be possible without the life and times of their eponymous benefactor.

Born in 1833, Nobel swiftly grew up to be a man of the world. A Swede who comfortably

adapted to life in St. Petersburg in his youth, he zipped around France and the U.S. when his childhood tutelage came to an end at the age of 17. The young Nobel could speak five languages proficiently - clearly the forward-thinking type who’d have thrived in our modern age of instant communication and international air-travel.

Of all the many patents under Nobel’s name, dynamite is by far his defining scientific legacy. An Italian named Ascanio Sobrero

all corners of the globe.

Nowadays the interest skimmed off his vast piles of dynamite money keeps the world’s attention on science

that matters. But it’s safe to say they use pyrotechnics and not Nobel’s breadwinning formula to help with the celebrations at the ceremony each December.

I disagree with your methods. So sue me Pete Etchells Science Reporter An ominous message appeared on a certain famous psychic’s Facebook feed this month, announcing the commencement of ‘libel action in relation to press allegations’ of cheating.

The psychic, of course, is Sally Morgan, and the articles in question concern her recent stage show in Dublin where a member of the audience purported to have heard

of sceptics are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a psychic having to prove their powers in a court of law, but given the current state of English libel law, that isn’t necessarily the case. Bizarrely it would be up to the defendant to prove that she is a fraud, not the other way round.

Debunking psychics is nothing new. The James Randi Educational Foundation has offered a cash prize since 1964, currently standing at $1m, to anyone who can prove the

Flickr: Arden

‘The ghost you’re trying to reach is currently unavailable.

Please leave a message.’

someone feeding information about the crowd to her during the performance. What followed was a flurry of scathing articles and blog posts vilifying psychics, with an apparent polarisation of readers. Some were adamant that psychics are simply charlatans who prey on the vulnerable, whilst others - usually those who attended shows or had experienced readings - voiced their support, because she ‘simply couldn’t have known that much about someone’. A certain subset

existence of a paranormal phenomenon under controlled conditions. To date, no one has successfully passed the challenge. There is, however, a trail of people who have failed the test who are all too willing to offer reasons as to why it didn’t go to plan. The Guardian reported one such failed attempt a couple of years ago; the participant claimed that the protocol - which had been agreed by both parties beforehand - prevented “any link with the Spirit” being made.

As a scientist, this makes me sad.

I’m interested in developing experiments in order to test specific hypotheses about the world. If I find evidence to support it, great; if I find contradictory evidence, then that’s okay too - sometimes it can be just as interesting, and open up avenues of research that I might never have thought to pursue. The thought of attempting to brush null results under the rug because they don’t agree with me goes completely against that philosophy.

Unfortunately it can and does happen in scientific literature, though not usually out of self-delusion. It can be very disheartening to invest time in an experiment that fails to yield agreeable results and then spend additional time publicising the fact; certainly it’s more eye-

catching, though bad science, for ambitious researchers to publish positive findings. This is generally known as ‘publication bias’. Fortunately, at the same

“

Threatening legal action has never typically been the way that human civilisation advances

”

time as I was depressed by the pseudoscientific nature of psychics this summer, I was uplifted by something else that happened: the CERN neutrino experiment.

In case you missed it, this was the news that an experiment using the Large Hadron Collider not only didn’t create a black hole and destroy the world, but also produced data to suggest that certain particles were able to travel faster than the speed of light. A finding that, if correct, would appear to undermine a foundation of modern physics.

What was really neat about the whole thing, though - apart from lots of comedy timetravel jokes - was that the team behind the finding published their data for other research teams to have a look at, just to check for mistakes. It’s this kind of behaviour that separates science from pseudoscience;

psychics from physics. The team at CERN found a wacky result that didn’t make sense, but they didn’t hide it or try to shy away from it. Instead, they put it out on display, for all the world to see. If it turns out to be wrong, hey, mistakes happen, it’s ok.

But we’ll know, and we can learn from it. But if it turns out to be right, we’ll have to redefine our understanding and generate new theories to test. This is scientific progress; it’s what’s taken us from caves to cars.

Now, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do the same thing with psychic abilities? Enlist loads of psychics willing to take part in controlled, objective experiments.

If nothing happens, well, that sucks. But you never know, you might find something interesting - and that would open up a whole new frontier of research. Either way, it’s much more satisfying than a libel case - threatening legal action has never typically been the way that human civilisation advances. At the very least, it would help us to inform those people who go to psychic shows seeking closure after the loss of a loved one that they might be able to spend their money on something more effective.

And it’s not like the psychics wouldn’t be too unprepared for the loss of revenue - I’m sure that they could see it coming.

Epigram

24.10.2011

32

BUCS Match Results and Upcoming Fixtures Results

Netball Womens 1’s v UWIC 2’s

Wednesday 12th October

Womens 2’s v Glamorgan 1’s Womens 3’s v Bath 5’s Aberystwyth 1’s v Womens 4’s

Rugby Union Mens 1’s 13 - 31 UWE (Hartpury) 1’s University of Exeter 2’s 52 - 19 Mens 2’s Mens 3’s 23 – 26 Marjons 1’s

Rugby League Gloucestershire 3’s v Mens 1’s Rugby Union Womens 1’s v Marjons 1’s Plymouth Mens 1’s v Mens 2’s Exeter Mens 4’s v Mens 3’s Mens 4’s v Gloucestershire 3’s

Fixtures Wednesday 26th October Badminton Womens 1’s v Glamorgan 1’s Mens 1’s v Oxford 1’s Mens 2’s v Southampton 2’a Fencing Southampton 1’s v Womens 1’s Southampton 1’s v Mens 2’s Football Womens 1’s v Aberystwyth 1’s Mens 1’s v UWE (Hartpury) 3’s Mens 2’s v Marjons 2’s UWE 3’s v Mens 3’s Mens 4’s v Southampton 3’s Hockey Exeter 1’s v Womens 1’s Womens 2’s v UWIC 2’s Womens 3’s v Southampton 2’s UWIC 3’s v Womens 4’s Exeter 1’s v Mens 1’s Mens 2’s v Glamorgan 1’s Cardiff Medics 1’s v Mens 3’s Mens 4’s v Southampton 3’s

Lacrosse Women’s 1’s v Cardiff 1’s Womens 2’s v UWE 1’s Oxford 1’s v Mens 1’s Mens 2’s v Gloucestershire 1’s

Squash Bath 1’s v Womens 2’s Mens 2’s v Plymouth 2’s Mens 3’s v Gloucestershire 1’s

Table Tennis Bath 1’s v Womens 1’s UWE 1’s v Mens 1’s Tennis Exeter 1’s v Womens 1’s Oxford 1’s v Mens 1’s Mens 2’s v Bath 2’s Volleyball Womens 1’s v Bath 1’s Mens 1’s v Southampton 1’s

Wednesday 2nd November

Fencing Womens 1’s v Plymouth Womens 1’s Mens 2’s v Plymouth Mens 1’s Football G’shire Womens 1’s v Women’s 1’s Mens 1’s v Gloucestershire Mens 1’s Mens 3’s v Mens 2’s Winchester 2’s v Mens 4’s Golf Cardiff 2’s v Mixed 1’s Hockey Brunel 1’s v Womens 1’s Gloucestershire 2’s v Womens 2’s Women’s 3’s v Southampton 3’s Aberystwyth 1’s v Womens 4’s Cardiff 1’s v Mens 1’s Mens 3’s v Mens 2’s Winchester 1’s v Mens 4’s Lacrosse Cambridge 1’s v Womens 1’s Exeter 1’s v Mens 1’s Netball Hartpury 1’s v Womens 2’s Womens 3’s v UWE 3’s Aberystwyth 2’s v Womens 4’s Rugby League UWE 1’s v Mens 1’s

Badminton Bournemouth 1’s v Womens 1’s Southampton 1’s v Mens 1’s Winchester 1’s v Mens 2’s

Rugby Union Women’s 1’s v Gloucestershire 1’s Mens 1’s v Exeter 1’s Mens 2’s v Bath 2’s Mens 3’s v Southampton Solent 1’s Swansea 4’s v Mens 4’s

Basketball Cardiff 1’s v Womens 1’s Mens 1’s v UWE 1’s Mens 2’s v Winchester 2’s

Squash Womens 2’s v Exeter 1’s Bournemouth 1’s v Mens 2’s

Mens 3’s v UWE 2’s Table Tennis Exeter 1’s v Womens 1’s Mens 1’s v Cardiff 2’s Tennis Cambridge 1’s v Womens 1’s Womens 2’s v Exeter 3’s Mens 1’s v Bournemouth 1’s Volleyball Aberystwyth 1’s v Womens 1’s Bournemouth 1’s v Mens 1’s

Saturday 5th November Futsal Womens 1’s v Exeter 1’s v Bournemouth 1’s v Marjons 1’s v Plymouth 1’s Squash Womens 1’s v UWIC 1’s Birmingham 1’s Oxford 1’s Mens 1’s v Birmingham 1’s Loughborough 1’s

Sunday 6th November Futsal UWE 1’s v Mens 1’s Glamorgan v Mens 1’s

Whatever happened to... Henry Paul?

Tom Mordey Sports Reporter Back in 2001, England Rugby Union Coach Clive Woodward identified a number of top Rugby League players he thought could end the country’s barren spell in World Cup tournaments. This included the likes of Jason Robinson, Andy Farrell and Kris Radlinski. Henry Paul was also on this prestigious list. Each of these players had enjoyed glittering League careers. Paul had starred at Wakefield, Wigan and then Bradford, winning two Super League titles and two Challenge Cups in the process.

He had also broken the world kicking record in the process, slotting 35 successive kicks at goal in a row.

Whilst the big bucks of the RFU failed to tempt Radlinksi

or Farrell (at least initially – he later changed his mind in 2005) both Robinson and Paul completed switches to Sale and Gloucester respectively. From there, they were immediately earmarked for England duty. And that’s where the comparisons stop.

As Robinson’s career exploded onto the global stage with a jaw-dropping try in the opening test of the British Lions tour of Australia, Henry’s hit the buffers with a shuddering halt. He made an inconspicuous start to his career at Kingsholm, struggling to find a position that suited him as he switched between the 10 and 12 jerseys.

Despite this and his New Zealand birth certificate, Paul’s phenomenal League record paved the way to an England call up. He made his debut in the 2002 Six Nations, replacing Mike Tindall at half-time during a 20-

15 defeat to France. However, as fellow League convert Robinson scored another dazzling try in this game, Paul failed to shine and slowly drifted out of the limelight. His abject performances saw him fail to make the 2003 World Cup winning squad. Although he briefly re-appeared wearing the Red Rose in 2004 as Andy Robinson looked to inject some flair back into England’s midfield, his sixth and final appearance came against the Aussies at Twickenham. Here, he was brutally hauled off after only 26 minutes, which signalled the end of an international career that promised so much yet delivered so little.

This disastrous final outing for England was followed by yet more disappointment, as off-field issues and injuries troubled the rest of his stay with Gloucester. A final

warning followed after missing three training sessions in a row, whilst rumours surfaced about problems with alcohol, which Paul did little to quash in releasing the statement, ‘I don’t think there is anything wrong in having a pint of beer.

People are people. The problem is the quantity consumed and the point at which you reach excess.’ He soon hit the graveyard for all professional rugby players, the Sevens circuit, where Paul actually applied his considerable talent rather well, helping England to a Commonwealth Games Silver Medal in 2006.

Inevitably, as is the case with so many League converts, Henry crawled back to the other code with his tail between his legs, signing for Harlequins upon his return to the Super League. An uneventful couple of seasons followed, before he hit the

big time again. Unfortunately for all involved, the big time involved his shaming in the national newspapers after his ‘wobbly legged’ drunken acceptance of, ironically, a club trophy for ‘good behaviour.’

This resulted in a move back to Union in 2008, signing for lowly Leeds Carnegie in National Division 1. Although his time at the club was productive, as the Yorkshire club won promotion to the Premiership, Paul failed to prevent the club suffering relegation the following season performing at a level far below his once mercurial talents.

He is now coaching in Russia, assisting Head Coach Kingsley Jones in this year’s World Cup. Thus, my advice to those waiting in line to become the next Chris Ashton is to be careful, as you could end up coaching a tin-pot outfit in Eastern Europe.

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A fresh perspective on university sport Sid Sagar Sports Reporter For those of us joining Bristol this year, the Freshers’ Fair on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th October was rather overwhelming, with a whole host of societies to choose from including the wonderfully named ‘Wingardium levio soc.’

With such a diverse range of opportunities, many freshers simply plumbed for the societies that were handing out free packets of Haribo. I signed up for the American football trials, which was perhaps ill-advised

given my skinny frame.

The Freshers’ Fair also gave us new comers endless opportunities to try out for both individual and team sports. With sports ranging from dodgeball to water polo, there was something for everyone.

This was helped by the fact that most sports encouraged interest from those with no previous experience and even offered coaching for beginners.

For those who were hoping to break into a university sports team, however, it was a matter of pitching up to trials on the weekend in the hope of impressing the first team

regulars, clad in their pristine kit.

George, a fresher reading Psychology, attended both days of football trials at the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex. The trials consisted of two four-hour assessment days incorporating intense drills and practice matches. The competition was tough: 150+ hungry undergraduates vying for a coveted place in the 40-man intake of fresh talent.

‘It was difficult to make a good impression in 30 minutes of a trial game, especially when you are playing with 21 lads you’ve just met,’ said George, whose

previous footballing experience had been restricted due to a year-long injury. Fortunately for George, this did not hinder his chances as he was selected for the squad and appeared in a friendly against Cardiff University on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, first-year Classics student Julia also faced strong competition when competing for a place in the university netball team.

‘What I lack in ability, I make up for in enthusiasm! I was therefore ecstatic to find out I had made the university 5th team,’ she said, having had to go through a similarly

brutal selection process as the footballers. She went on to explain how, ‘some girls were cut in the first hour – I didn’t realise that it would be so competitive.’

Some freshers, however, were not quite as fortunate in their sporting exploits. Brendan, an experienced swimmer, missed out on a place in the university swimming team by just a few seconds in the time trials. He said, ‘I was desperate to make an impact but there just were not enough places, especially as everyone was of such a high standard.’ This disappointment did not prevent him from signing up for a Sports Pass,

which gives freshers the chance to maintain their fitness with access to the facilities at the Sports Centre on Tyndall Avenue.

The intramural competition is another chance to play regular sport for freshers seeking a more informal pursuit of university sport. Law fresher, James, is looking forward to playing intramural sport, having failed to break into the university basketball team. He explained how ‘the trial session was still a massive help as it showed me the level I need to be at in order to get on the team next year.’

Jack Willingham

Bristol club hope to squash opposition on the courts Tom Mordey Sports Reporter As far as racquet sports go, the game of squash is largely overlooked in favour of the vastly more popular tennis and to a lesser extent, badminton.

These two games tend to obtain large national coverage, with tennis players such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer receiving fame on a global level. However, here at Bristol University, the Squash Society is doing its utmost to ensure it remains popular amongst students and Epigram caught up with Club President Robert Knight to get the lowdown on how the society runs.

Who are they?

The club consists of three men’s teams and two women’s teams, containing five players a team.

The only exception to this is in the BUCS League, when the women play with just four players. Squash already has 50 members signed up, although more are expected to join the club.

Hotshots?

The top players in the club include men’s number one and wonderfully named Marc Vaez-Olivera, who finished runner up in the individual BUCS tournament last year. He has also competed regularly at international junior events.

On the women’s front, the team is even stronger. Number one competitor and member of the prestigious High Performance Squad, Rebecca Quiney, featured in the Top Ten British Women at both U17 and U19 level. Olivia Howell, another leading lady, won the

Bristol Ladies County Closed Competition, suggesting success in BUCS this year is a strong possibility.

Who do they play?

The teams compete at local level, facing clubs all around Bristol against players of all ages. They also partake in the BUCS league against other universities. Last year, the men’s side finished 4th, while the women’s came 5th. Varsity also proved an enormous success, with all teams completing 5-0 whitewashes over UWE (except the Men’s 1sts who unfortunately lost 4-1…but let’s keep this quiet shall we?)

Training Routine Training is intense, as one might expect. The week kicks off on Monday with a series of technique refining drills that help improve shot selection,

movement across the court and general fitness. Matches then take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Coach Jethro Binns also runs a session consisting of inter-club matches on Sunday evenings.

For the rest of the week, players regularly organise matches

amongst themselves to hone their game to the best of their abilities. Matches and training take place at Bristol Grammar School, Redland Sports Club or Kingsdown depending on court availability.

Society Socials

As far the social scene goes, squash prides itself on its ability to offer opportunities to players that do not make the actual club sides. Sessions take place on Sunday, granting members a chance to play at regular, intermediate and advanced levels. Socials themselves have always proved entertaining, running fortnightly on Wednesday, where the night starts at the Brass Pig before finishing with the rest of the sports teams at Bunker. The season climaxes with an end of year tour. Last year, the team ventured to Portugal in June for a week that provided some very entertaining tales ready for the new season.

Anyone eager to be involved should look for the University of Bristol Squash Society Facebook page.

Membership is at a reasonable price of £25 with an

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Wilted rose: Where did go wrong for England?

Ben Precious Sports Reporter

Flickr: geoftheref

Disgruntled English rugby fans. Let us allow ourselves a little treat and cast our minds back to the good times; no, not eight years ago to Sydney, but just six months back, to February of this year. A young, hungry England side travelled to a hostile Millennium stadium and won comprehensively, 1926, on route to their first Six Nations title since the World Cup winning vintage of 2003.

This accomplishment was on the back of successive victories over Australia and a shift from a stagnant, lumbering forward dominant approach to one that bordered on reckless. The team had been reinvigorated through the injection of the enthusiastic talents of Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs and the mood amongst the team’s followers was one of optimism and excitement.

Right, that is enough daydreaming. Welcome back to the here and now. After dreary performances against Argentina, Georgia and Scotland, England limped out of the quarter finals against an uninspired French side. In stark contrast Wales’ performances have lit up this year’s tournament and only a catastrophic refereeing call denied them a deserved place in the final. Wales’ achievements in New Zealand over the last few weeks have placed in perspective just how poorly England performed on and off the field of play. Whereas

Wilkinson’s inability to put the ball between the posts was but one of England’s many problems

Wales won over neutral hearts with their attacking verve and impressively measured offthe-field conduct, England sought every opportunity to shoot themselves not just in the foot, but in the leg, arm and chest. The campaign has been undermined by one PR disaster after another; ranging from a member of the royal family becoming embroiled in dwarf throwing escapades, to England’s one shining light, Manu Tuilagi, deciding that there had not been enough controversy already on the tour and so stripped half naked, leapt off a ferry and

swam to shore.

What was quite so galling from all these misdemeanours were not the incidents themselves, but the reactions of those involved. Neither Mike Tindall nor Tuilagi could bring themselves to apologise for the episodes they were involved in, but instead attempted to make themselves out to be the victims of excessive press intrusion. This lack of humility further compounded the situation as it not only failed to draw a line under the escapades but prompted criticism and derision from an English and New Zealand public that quite

rightly failed to understand why such privileged and pampered players were able to control themselves for a six week period.

However it would be naive to consider external distractions solely responsible for the team’s lacklustre displays. Again using Wales as a blueprint, they opted for a young, adventurous side, as Warren Gatland and his coaching staff consistently went for attack minded selections. England instead reverted to type. Martin Johnson favoured experienced personnel and a conservative game plan instead of building

on the more expansive autumn and winter performances of last season. Dylan Hartley was replaced by Steve Thompson; Louis Deacon bewilderingly started ahead of arguably the player of the Six Nations, Tom Palmer; Matt Stevens was picked over Alex Corbisero, and, despite failing to make a single line break in his opening three games, Mike Tindall remained a fixture on the team sheet. However the most telling decision Johnson made was to persist with Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half despite the fact that prior to the quarter final against France he

had only made 9 out of his 20 attempts at goal. Toby Flood by comparison had made 10 from 13 and his natural game of playing flat on the gainline makes England a far more penetrative attacking force with the ball in hand.

While many may argue that the simple explanation for England’s failure is that they were just not good enough, those of us that saw them last year know that not to be true.

The real frustration with this World Cup campaign is the unfulfilled talent of a potentially exciting and dangerous squad.

The management always maintained that this England generation’s best days are ahead of them, and while that may be true, so much more could have been made of this tournament to aid the side’s development. There is a real fear that England may have just missed an ideal opportunity to unshackle themselves and let loose the generation that is going to carry them forward.

England’s results Group Stage England 13–9 England 41–10 England 67–3 England 16–12

Argentina Georgia Romania Scotland

Quarter Finals England 12–19 France

Sports Club Quickfire: Epigram meets men’s dodgeball Paddy von Behr Sports Reporter This week’s Sports Club Quickfire focuses on Bristol’s newest sporting society: DodgeSoc. Epigram caught up with its Vice-President, Thomas Bissett, about all things dodgeball.

Is there any sort of initiation?

Most likely! We only expected about 30 members so it’s been a bit overwhelming but we’ll sort something out soon.

Have you played a lot of dodgeball before?

Not really, there was a RAG tournament last year so my

I’ll put you on the spot: what are the five rules of Dodgeball?

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge.

Nailed it. How much did the film raise dodgeball’s profile?

I doubt if that film wasn’t out we’d be starting this society.

One guy came along to our stall at Freshers Fair and asked if we were doing a society based on the film, he didn’t

know Dodgeball was a real sport! That was quite funny.

Is Gavin (DodgeSoc President) a Pete La Fleurtype leader?

Yes. Actually no, he’s Me’Shell.

Are you competing in some sort of inter-university competition?

Not yet. We’ve been in contact with Sophie Parker, whose boyfriend is Social Sec for Dodgeball at Warwick, where the sport is really thriving at the moment and she’s helping us out a lot.

So no $50,000 tournaments in Las

Vegas yet?

Not just yet. We’ll be hosting tournaments probably once a term, the first of which will definitely be with RAG because that went really well last year.

Everyone turned up in proper outfits and really embraced it.

Have you started planning DodgeSoc socials?

We haven’t decided on the venues yet but yeah definitely.

We have a Social Sec, Matt Bardill, and he’s Northern so hopefully the socials will be good. We’re thinking of having socials after our tournaments, making it into a whole day thing, which is bound to be carnage…

Best Dodger?

That’s got to be Gavin Da Silva.

Worst Chat?

Ian Kendall.

Most Competitive?

Bristol DodgeSoc

How many members have you recruited for DodgeSoc? So far we have just over 100 paid-up members and over 200 more on our mailing list.

flatmate Gavin entered us as a team. It was so much fun that we thought we’d actually start it as a society.

I’m quite competitive...

Are you really good at coconut shy?

No. So you don’t have hundreds of stuffed animals at home that you’ve won at fairgrounds?

No, not just yet. Hopefully after a few years maybe…

Finally, how can I get involved?

DodgeSoc is really simple to join. just head to the UBU website and find the link under ‘Societies’ and it will only cost you £3 to sign up. Also you can visit their Facebook page for more information and some photos from last year’s RAG Dodgeball tournament.

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University of Bristol Olympians Epigram meets London 2012 hurdling hopeful Lawrence Clarke (BA Theology and Religious Studies 2011) Tom Burrows Sport Editor Hurdler Lawrence Clarke is the second in our series of Bristol Olympians. Lawrence graduated from Bristol University in 2011, where he was the BUCS hurdling champion in the 60 metre and 110 metre events. Since leaving the West Country, Lawrence has gone on to win bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and recently competed at the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu.

Firstly Lawrence, what hall were you in at Bristol?

I was in Churchill.

What are your favourite memories?

Crikey. Well, freshers week obviously was amazing but I also loved a bit of Lizard Lounge!

What do you miss most about university?

To be honest, I really miss the whole social scene most.

I seemed to spend the vast majority of my time in Bristol on nights out!

How did the High Performance help you as an athlete?

It was really good. It helped to bring everyone together and everyone tended to get on with each other as we were all likeminded people. It also meant that you didn’t just socialise

with people doing the same sports as you, but had friends competing in a wide range of sports. They also helped us juggle our academic work with our very busy schedules.

What do you make of this new international athletics track just opening in Bristol?

It’s fantastic and it gives more opportunities to athletes at the university than when I was there. While I was at Bristol, I had to travel to Bath to use their facilities. I also had to rely on distance coaches, while the High Performance Squad now employs more coaches, such as weights and conditioning coaches. The BUCS Championships are also taking place at the Olympic Stadium this year and so the opportunities for the current athletes at Bristol are huge.

Pickering, who had already been to the Olympics.

How are you preparing for the Olympics?

From January to March next year is the indoor season and in March there are the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Turkey. At the moment I am training five hours a day, six days a week which is pretty exhausting, particularly as my event (60 metre hurdles) is over in about 7 seconds! There are also training days in the Olympic Stadium in December, February, March and April.

Lastly, we have the Olympic

trials at the end of June.

Would you say it is a good time for British hurdling with yourself, Andy Turner and William Sharman all in the mix for medals at the Olympics?

I think so, yes. The team I train with is also extremely strong. We have a string of top class athletes in our group including the world 400 metre champion, Dai Green. In fact, Andy Turner is the only high profile hurdler who does not train with us, as he is based in London.

Championships in Daegu?

It was an amazing experience.

I was not in the right mental mind set, however, as I had an injury going into it. This was a major factor in preventing me from going further than the first round. This setback has actually instilled a real fighting spirit in me though and made me more determined than ever to succeed. The thought of 80,000 people in London cheering you on, even if they do not know exactly who you are, keeps everyone equally as determined through the winter months.

How much did you enjoy the World Athletics

Hurdles Fast Facts

The 110 metre hurdles were an original event in the first modern Olympics in 1896. But those competitors jumped over the hurdles, rather then striding over them.

American Alvin Kraenzlein developed what became the modern technique and used it at the 1900 Olympics, where he won the 110 metre hurdles.

Edwin Moses dominated the 400 metre hurdles as few athletes have ever dominated a sport. He won 122 consecutive races from 1977 through 1987.

American men have won more Olympic hurdles gold medals than any other nation.

Colin Jackson memorably won silver for Great Britain in the 110 metre hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Moving away from Bristol, when did you start doing the hurdles?

I started doing it at school (Eton College), but there was no coach on the school staff to offer technical advice so I was practically self-taught.

In the summer of 2008, prior to joining Bristol university, I made it through to the Commonwealth Youth Games in India, where I finished 4th.

I then started at Bristol and in late 2008 I joined Malcolm Arnold’s Great Britain training camp in Bath. This squad was of a very high standard and included the likes of Craig

The women’s 80 metre hurdles became an event in the 1932 Olympics. (changing to the 100 metres in 1972). The women’s 400 metres has been at the Olympics since 1984.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, England won a 1-2-3 clean sweep for the first time in their history.

High hopes for British cycling ahead of summer games Marc Jansen Sports Reporter

Times are changing in the cycling world. No longer a sport monopolised by European powerhouses Spain, Italy and Belgium, the Union Jack is becoming an increasingly common sign on the podium places of the major championships.

The British cycling revolution has been rapidly gathering pace over the past decade. First in the velodrome and now on the roads of Europe, British riders are establishing themselves among the favourites for the sport’s most glittering prizes.

And in Mark Cavendish, they have a talisman heading inexorably into the history books as one of the greatest of all time.

Cavendish is simply unstoppable these days and on a favourable course at last

British riders, such as Mark Cavendish, are establishing themselves for the sport’s most glittering prizes.

month’s World Championships, he converted clinically to become just the second World Champion in Britain’s history.

Cavendish and his 7 teammates dictated the race at their own pace whilst controlling eventual attacks from rival

riders, following their carefully planned strategy with utmost perfection to put Cavendish in ideal position to power home through the final sprint.

To most of the international press, the British domination throughout the race was

not a surprise, but rather a confirmation that British Cycling has become one of the most improving and performing nations in the world. The women have also shown their strength, with Elinor Barker on the podium for

the women’s junior time trial at the World Championships.

In the recent Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), the promising Sky rider Christopher Froome competed admirably well in the overall general classification, finishing in an astonishing 2nd place, just ahead of his teammate Bradley Wiggins.

Wiggins, triple Olympic gold medallist, has had another successful year despite having to abandon in the Tour de France because of a broken collarbone. In the recent Tour of Beijing, three British riders finished in the top four, confirming how talented the new British generation is.

Road cycling is not the only area in which British cycling is shining. British track cycling, led by the evergreen Chris Hoy, is still as competent and successful as it has been throughout the past decade.

Also, Danny Hart recently became the downhill world champion, as Britain finished

as the third best nation in the mountain biking World Championships.

All these results are very encouraging one year before the London Olympic Games, and cycling should bring a good few gold medals to the British collection. It is also a sign that there is growing interest for cycling in general in our country, on both competitive and more leisurely levels.

The University of Bristol Cycling Club caters for all people on two wheels, from downhill and cross country riders, to road and BMX riders.

And we have packed this term full with away trips: to Triscombe for downhilling; to the Peak District for the BUCS hill climb and road; to Afan for cross country; to Newport Velodrome for track cycling; and to Snowdonia for a full club trip, incorporating all disciplines.

Epigram

24.10.2011

Sport

Editor: Tom Burrows

Deputy Editor: David Stone

sport@epigram.org.uk

deputysport@epigram.org.uk

Inside Sport

Bristol bulldozed by bruising Hartpury in early season tester Bristol Hartpury

13 31

In the second instalment of our series on Bristol students hoping to make a big impression at the Olympics next summer, Epigram meets Lawrence Clarke. Graduating earlier this year, Lawrence was the BUCS hurdling champion in the 60 metre and 110 metre events, going on to win bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Will Hammond Sports Reporter

Page 35

Harry Engels

If you will excuse the musical analogy, the 2011-12 season may well prove the ‘difficult second album’ for the Men’s Rugby 1st XV after winning the South Premiership and reaching the semi-final of the BUCS cup last time around. With a number of key players graduating in June, and the defection of 1st team coach, John Barnes to Hartpury themselves, the 2011-12 squad may be hard pressed to emulate the magnificent success of their predecessors.

That said, a strong intake of freshers and experienced additions to the coaching squad have given rise to the hope that this side can be just as successful come the business end of the season. The 1st XV campaign began in earnest on Wednesday with the visit of Hartpury. Like Bristol, Hartpury were beaten BUCS semi-finalists last year and are traditionally known as a gigantic and dominating forward outfit. However, if Bristol could hold their own up front against this much bulkier tight-five, the dynamism of the Bristol back row of Stephenson, Kazerani and ‘Milky’ and the pace and skill of backs such as Mortimer, Simpson and Gammell (who would be sure to make an impact from the bench) could come to the fore.

The Bristol pack held their

own early on, with No. 8 Kazerani making a number of bulldozing runs from the base of the scrum. One such run set the foundation for the first try of the game after 10 minutes.

Slick and efficient handling by the Bristol backs saw the ball fall into the clutches of Charlie Mortimer, who created the space for superstar Michael Simpson to cross over in the corner. If this vintage is to emulate the success of its predecessor, last year’s UBRFC Player of the Season and 1st XV Players’ Player of the Season, Simpson is sure to be crucial to the effort.

Slowly but surely however, the superior size and strength of the Hartpury pack began to tell. Whilst the Bristol midfield held firm in defence, they were

powerless to stop the driving maul and push-over tries from Hartpury’s No. 8 and blind-side flanker giving the visitors a 12-5 half time lead.

“

Player’s view

I felt the fairly one sided scoreline wasn’t reflective of the difference in quality between the two teams. In this case perhaps Hartpury’s extensive pre-season training shone through as their fitness and powerful pack overshadowed our inexperience and flare.

Nevertheless, defence was encouraging, as was our potency with ball-in-hand so we will be looking to build on these positives for next week against Bath Charlie Reed

”

The second forty minutes saw more of the same and another driving maul at the beginning of the second half extended the Hartpury lead to 19-5. Bristol were struggling to set any sort of platform in attack, playing into the wind and severely under the cosh at line-out and scrum time, and there was a sense of inevitability about Hartpury’s next score. The relatively inexperienced Bristol front row of Leslie, Lucas and Tyce finally succumbed to pressure with the resultant penalty try putting the game out of sight.

Bristol to their credit, though, did not surrender. A strong, bullocking run from Man of the Match Stephenson saw him barge through the two Hartpury tacklers and offload to debutant Newberry to slide over for a

consolation try.

With 13 first team debuts, and the return of experienced scrum-half and captain Greg ‘Gaylord’ Nicholls, who missed last season through injury, there is certainly cause for optimism for the season. Plenty of the plays and patterns worked on in pre-season began to show their worth and with continued concerted effort on the training pitch there is no reason to suggest that this side cannot match, or even surpass Mitchell, Bellamy et al.

Elsewhere in UBRFC it was an equally tough day for the 2nd and 3rd XVs. The 2s suffered a humbling 50-17 defeat away to Exeter, whilst the 3rd XV ‘Ammos’ went down 26-23 to a heartbreaking last minute dropgoal at home to Marjons.

With dwarf throwing, ferry jumping and nightclub hopping making them easy tabloid targets, Ben Precious asks where it all went wrong for the England rugby team at this year’s World Cup. Have they missed the opportunity to unshackle themselves and let loose the generation that is going to carry them forward?

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Sid Sagar provides a fresh insight into the (many) trials and tribulations that new students endure in order to break into Bristol University’s most prestigious sports clubs.

But, as he discovers, there are still plenty of ways to get involved, no matter what your standard.

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119 Whiteladies Road, Clifton BS8 2PL

(0117) 97 33 400 Open: 10am – 5am, 7 days a week, Collection Sun – Thurs 1am, Fri & Sat 2am.

ONLINE DEAL *Free pizza must be of equal or lesser value than the first.

Offer expires 30/11/11. Simply follow the instructions on screen to place your order and enter the voucher code in the ‘Any vouchers’ area of the checkout screen. Offer only available online at www.dominos.co.uk

DH00995_Whiteladies Student Pocket Guide.indd 1

OPdominos.co.uk EN ‘TIL

Buy One Pizza Get One

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Medium & Large pizzas only Enter code

5AM

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