Quench Magazine Issue 173 April 2019

world's weird and wonderful nightlife

interviewing

sea girls

automation: friend or foe?

2

a final letter from your editor

I

still remember the first time I hopped onto a plane to Cardiff, it was a nice sunny day in Italy as it was still summer. My body was filled with strange emotions I had never felt before, things I had no idea how to react or deal with. My family had taken me out for dinner the night before I left, and in their eyes I could see a peculiar light that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. My mum’s eyes were watery, yet still joyful and gleaming, they spoke with the gentle touch I had always admired her, however in a language I could not understand. My dad kept his pater familias attitude all throughout our meal, but his eyes could not hide a slight feeling of emptiness and melancholy at the idea of another of his children departing.

Sat on the plane waiting for take-off I could recall all of my family’s drowned emotions, and I could feel them, grasping my stomach, punching it as if I would not need it anymore after this was finished. I closed my eyes as tears scarred my face, thinking of the future, trying to look forward to all the beautiful memories my university experience would bring, but nothing could tame the blade that was twisting, carelessly in my guts.

Those feelings still haven’t left me today: the blade, the hopelessness, the fear of what’s to come.

They come back every now and then, but this time, at the idea of leaving university, or in my worst nightmares, Cardiff, leaving yet another part of my life behind my back: my student life.

The last three years have brought happiness to an extent that I could have never believed possible.

From meeting incredible friends like my housemates, to experiencing ‘Wicked’ live for the first time at the Millennium Centre. From volunteering at the UEFA Champions League in 2017 to seeing Wales win the Grand Slam in 2019, I could not have wished for a better experience.

Quench, has always been there. Despite me going on and off doing things, Quench has constantly been my security, something I was doing no matter what and something that made me extremely happy. Quench has opened my eyes to the world of journalism and taught me the incredible power of creative in delivering strong and impactful journalism works.

This last issue of my Quench “career”, before handing over to a fresh new fantastic Editor, is our final treat to you, readers, who pick up copies of Quench, who read our online articles and support us on social media. Quench is an excellent opportunity for students to get some experience in journalism, but it would not be the same without the support that all our readers have given us throughout the years, and for that I want to thank you all.

As I finish this letter I can already feel my stomach start to tingle, contract and anxiously try to break free from the chains of fear that the future summons around it. I know however, this time, that the future is not to be feared. The future is to be embraced and bravely surfed till we reach the banks of a secure island where we can stop for a bit and relax, before facing the storm once again.

With love,

Andrea xxx P.S.

It is my with my greatest pleasure that I announce you that Quench has been nominated for Best Magazine Design at the Student Publication Association Awards 2019, taking place in York this year.

Our incredible Head of Photography, Luisa de La Concha Montes, has also been nominated as Best Photographer, congratulations!

I would like to spare a few words to thank my family for the support and love given to me over the last three years, my little niece Adele for filling my heart of joy at every smile she gives me. Thank you to my incredible team for their hard work and constant reliability, I could not have done any of this without you. Thank you to Katie for making the best deputy one could wish for and for the great laughs while tiredness drew in on us at sending off evenings. And finally, thank you to our Student Media coordinator Elaine Morgan, for everything you do for us, every day of your life.

3

I

deputy editor

really want to begin my final editor’s letter of the year by saying what an absolute privilege it has been working under the leadership of Andrea Gaini as our Editor-in-Chief throughout these past five issues of Quench. I’m still yet to meet anyone that lights up a room in the way that Andrea does. With the perfect combination of passion and drive he has put so much love into this magazine and, for that, I have nothing but respect for him. At face value, we can pride ourselves in the fact that our readers are met with a beautiful magazine that has the love and energy of a whole team poured into it. However, behind all that, many don’t have the chance to witness the delirious 2am finishes, the endless hours Andrea sits behind his desk putting everything he has into the smooth running of each issue, and the kind words of faith he speaks of every team member behind the scenes at Quench. Andrea is not only a leader, but a friend, and I think it’s that balance of the two that has made this year at Quench so special and that will definitely resonate as this issue draws to an end.

Quench, for me, is a way of producing something solid out of the passions of many. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your hard work pay off, and I hope all our contributors, designers, editorial team and everyone who has been involved in the running of the magazine this year retains this rewarding feeling as they continue to flick through our pages. Across the past five issue, Quench has highlighted topics that we felt needed to be spoken about, with articles surrounding diversity, mental health, independence and inclusivity cementing us not only as writers but as those hoping to do so with integrity. In just this issue alone, Camille Stanley has written an article on the importance of female music composers in an industry dominated by men and Maddy Steele has discussed the importance of a consent in a fashion environment. These are just 2 examples in five issues of stellar content this year. Quench really has pulled no punches.

As this year comes to an end, I really want to place emphasis on the hard work that our team have put into these past five issues. Each and every one of them have pitched and crafted incredible content, sustained relationships and friendships with our industry-workers, contributors and one another and, finally, (I like to hope), refrained from muting the Facebook group chats too much when it all becomes a bit too substantial for their liking. Our social media team, Ben, Abi, Emily and Molly, have transformed our social media pages to incorporate the best that both Quench and Cardiff has to offer and the time they’ve spent growing our platforms has really paid off. This year at Quench really has been full of memorable moments for all of us and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to collate our best bits for you on our final Meet the Team page of the year.

And with that, I hope you enjoy our last issue. With one more year to spend in Cardiff, I am almost certain that this won’t be the last I see of Quench or the last that Quench sees of me. So, as someone who hates goodbyes, I’d rather leave you with a see you soon.

All my love,

Katie May x

head of design

W

hen I was younger, I would stay at my Great Grandparent’s house on the weekends and eagerly urge my Great Grandad to take me to the shop to buy my favourite magazine with the pocket money I had saved. I’d spend hours taking in every article, drawing from the pictures and finishing the puzzles. As I got older, the publication would change, but I would still have a deep connection with the medium of print. Never would I have thought that I would one day see my own work in print.

Arriving pretty late to the Quench party, I started designing for the magazine as a second year. With no prior experience, I taught myself the basics, watching YouTube and experimenting with tools. Nearly 2 years on, I’m so pleased withow far I’ve come and what Quench has achieved. Not only have we been shortlisted for the Best Magazine Design award at the SPA’s, but we’ve given several others who, like myself, had no experience (or confidence in some cases) to learn and grow their own design style. Several of our issues this year have seen an increase in designer numbers, 18 being our highest on issue 171, with many completely new starters. It has been such a joy to see the design change and adapt thanks to these wonderful visual presentations of self expression.

At the heart of Quench, is the amazing team that work tirelessly to write, create and design the pages you’re about to turn. There’s no time to have a break with any aspect of Quench, and whilst it has been a struggle at times, the people who I’ve worked with this past year have definitely made this position a dream come true.

And finally, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this past year without the great company of our Editor. Nobody is as devoted to, invested in and proud of Quench’s work and the people wo help make it happen as Andrea. He gives so much time and care to the magazine and those who work for it, ensuring that everyone is included and represented. Even on a long day of designing, editing and proofing, he manages to hold the team together with his upbeat and enthusiastic personality (even if that does mean bursting into song, cutting the silence).

Despite all of the great skills and experience I’ve gained from wrking withni Quench, I think it’s safe to say that the best thing to come out of Quench for me has been making a friend for life.

As one last request, please look through the pages of issue 173 and, if you haven’t already, do consider joining the Quench team next year. You won’t regret it, I promise.

With Love,,

Ashley X

4

meet the team

l socia med

i

team ia

editor i

We asked the team for their most memorable moments with Quench this year...

h ie f nc i

Editor-In-Chief Andrea Gaini

Social Media Team Molly Govus, Abi Dudbridge, Ben Cresswell & Emily Stanton

My lovely team - I love you all to the moon back!

Being welcomed into such a vibrant and fun community whilst writing things I love *cringe* - Molly Being able to see our creativity come alive in print! - Abi Being able to do something I enjoy and seeing great results! - Ben

h

of p h d a o e

or edit

r ap tog hy

d ep u t y Deputy Editor Katie May Huxtable

My most memorable moment was watching Ashley Boyle singing along to ABBA at the Quench 15th bday bash x

Head of Photography Luisa De La Concha Montez Being able to see my photography ideas come to life in Quench’s pages!

head of Head of Design Ashley Boyle

tration lus

design

d of i l a e h

The wild send off evenings which I both love and hate

Head of Illustration Izzy Wright

d ep u t y igners

Deputy Designers Orlagh Turner & Urszula Rodakowska The laughs we have shared in the office in a state of delirium - Orlagh All of my brilliant design ideas that sadly were rejected by Ashley - Urszula

copy e

des

Having the opportunity to contribute to the design of the magazine

id tors

Copy Editors Angharad May, Lauren Ryan, Harry Dixon, Sofia Brizio and Nidhi Pattni Writing about my experience as a woman with a disability - it’s been empowering and I’m glad it was so well-received - Sofia Being a slght egotist and being happy at seeing my own articles in print around campus - Harry Writing about Meetoo with reference to Bollywood Nidhi Being able to continually find myself and gain a voice through writing - Angharad Designing pages for a printed magazine!! - Lauren

5

col

f

c ul t

ure

res

umn

featu

Columnist Matthew Lewis

Features Editors Bethany Griffiths & Poppy Jennings

Culture Editors Mel Lynch & Ilona Cabral

Having my own better looking portrait to look at everyday

Seeing our ideas in print - Bethany Seeing a wide variety of writers come together to create something special - Poppy

Meeting all the good eggs in student media and getting to help organise groovy reviews - Mel Working with contributors and writing reviews for some world class shows - Ilona

food i

nk dr i

bar

v el

tra

i

c le

Clebar Editor Megan Tomos

Food & Drink Editors Caterina Dassiè & Josh Ong

Travel Editors Martha Hughes & Molly Geddes

Being able to help other budding writers voice their talents

The satisfaction of the amazing contributors’ involvement with the magazine - Caterina Am I allowed to say the free food..? - Josh

Being able to show a different side to my section by including more in depth, serious articles along with the fun ones! - Martha Being able to write regularly about something I LOVE and am very passionate about - Molly

mu

i

i

i

film

i

tv

beauty

sic

fashion

Music Editors Dylan Graham, Camille Stanley & Max Modell

Fashion & Beauty Editors Maddy Steele, Rimante Bivainyt & Katie May Huxtable

Film & TV Editors Hannah Ryan & John Jones

Getting to work with such a talented group of people - Dylan Seeing the articels I wrote brought to life by the design team Camille Interviewing musicians who have shaped my life like Dessa, GoGo Penguin and Lucy Rose - Max

Seeing each magazine in print and knowing I was part of creating it - Maddy Having an opportunity to see such diverse and engaging content! - Rimante

The opportunity to meet such wonderfully talented individuals and to work with them to produce content that everyone can be proud of! - Hannah Working with a great team of enthusiastic contributors to publish such a diverse range of topical and engaging articles - John

agon

techn

q

y

3

gy

a u nt

olo Technology Editor Mike O’Brien

Agony Aunt Hannah Stait

Q3 Editor & Deputy Editor Lucy Aprahmian & Sam Harford

An impossible toss-up between reviewing a Rockstar game and meeting the QI elves

Seeing my work printed for people to read - so surreal!

Having the chance to rebrand q3 and set up its first website - Lucy Having the opportunity to write features that mean so much to me! - Sam

6

CELEBRATE THE END OF THE YEAR WITH US

11TH MAY 2019, 6.30 PM GREAT HALL, STUDENTS’ UNION

BUY YOUR TICKETS AT WWW.CARDIFFSTUDENTS.COM/ENTS/EVENT/15494/

7 42 the world’s weird (& wonderful) nightlife

contents COLUMN 8 summer time

FEATURES 9 post-graduation panic 10 the snowflake generation 12 are we witnessing the death of romance?

CULTURE 14 the changing face of theatre 16 poetry on the rise 18 what makes a cultural icon?

CLEBAR 20 clebar yn sgwrsio gyda... jacob a nest 22 graddio: edrych yn ôl ar dair blynedd yn y brifysgol yng ngwyneb y dyfodol

24 ryseitiau i myfyrwyr gan @bwyd

FOOD & DRINK 25 april fools! the day the BBC fooled the whole nation

26 rethinking eggs: the cholesterol myth 27 burnt toast, beans and early morning fattoush: how nutritious really is the average student diet?

28 editors’ interview 30 food nostalgia 32 dead canary cocktails photoshoot

TRAVEL 36 budget airlines: are they doing more harm than good?

38 layover luxuries 40 guess the baby editor pullout

43 what to pack in your (ethical) travel bag 44 taking the road less travelled

MUSIC 45 from the beginning: exploring the discography of your favourite artists

46 decade defining concept albums 48 if you were to conjure up the image of a composer in your mind, would it be a man?

50 who are sea girls 52 the soundtrack to your music editor’s time at university

FASHION & BEAUTY 53 what does brexit mean for fashion?

54 wherever we are, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no: consent

56 interview with amy conway 58 men’s fashion: kurt cobain as an influential figure of the ‘grunge’ subculture

59 the french do it better 60 underwear as outerwear: lingerie photoshoot

FILM & TV 64 here’s to the mockumentary 66 are we not all critics?

68 the fight for revival 70 one to watch: yara shahidi

TECHNOLOGY 71 and the best battle royale game goes to... tetris?

72 in defence of melee: the evolution of smash 74 automation: friend or foe 76 an interview with the arcade vaults’ chris munasinha

AGONY AUNT 78 what have I learnt? a girl’s thoughts in her final year

79 your questions answered

8

As you might well recall from my first or second article of the year (I can’t quite remember), I am a very passionate hater of winter and the horrifying pain that it inflicts on the world, us poor, cold students in particular. However, my cynical self is finally ceasing to exist after months of turmoil, because, as you might have noticed, the beautiful season of summer is fast approaching. I’m finding it really hard to express my excitement using words, so instead try and picture me sat on my roof with a beer in hand, soaking up those rays like there’s no tomorrow. Has that worked? I’m guessing not, so how about I just tell you about my plans for summer in the least boring way possible and I’ll get really excited and you can get excited for me.

I feel like it’s important for me to highlight that due to my current diabolical financial ruin, my summer is predominantly going to consist of slowly and painfully paying back every single little annoying penny that I spent on every single little annoying sip of alcohol over the course of the year. This means that, whilst I shall be stood behind my local bar pretending to be busy by cleaning one single glass for hours on end and occasionally dropping said glass and replacing it with a new one, my friends will be basking in the sunshine, and my bank will be reaping the rewards of gifting me such a dangerously large overdraft. Despite this though, I like to think I have become nothing short of a Sensei in the art of having the best possible summer I can have at the same time as paying back ridiculous amounts of money. This is because ever since I had the biggest impulse of my life to date and decided to buy a drum kit with money borrowed off the parents, back when I was 16, every single June I have somehow found myself with significant debts to somebody or another that somehow need paying off. This has meant that, despite my annual promise to myself that I will have some spendable cash and will not be working every single weekend behind the very same bar everyone I know is drinking at, I have broken this promise, meaning I am therefore currently staring the exact same fate right in the eye.

Better luck next year.

I’m not going to let this get me down though, because unlike in previous years, I’ve come prepared. For the first time in my life I have thought ahead and bought two rather pricey festival tickets when the loan first dropped after Christmas, meaning the money had left my account well before I had the chance to spend it on absolute nonsense.

It was a tactical masterclass, and I can now reap the benefits and shove my middle finger up at my boss for a whole ten days whilst I groove to the music of my 400 pounds well spent. I’ve also managed to wangle my way onto the big family holiday for my Aunt’s 60th birthday; another whole weekend away from the boring Cotswolds, not to mention spent playing unbelievable amounts of Articulate and eating nothing but takeaways at no cost to my bank account. It was touch and go whether I would be invited due to my infamous antics at previous family events, but I eventually got the nod due to exemplary behaviour at Christmas.

Absolute genius from me once again.

To everyone’s surprise, including mine, I was even so prepared that I secured myself an internship in London for six weeks. Six weeks! It’s even paid. That’s six weeks away from the pub, six weeks of paid work that doesn’t involve putting beautiful sticky liquid into glasses, and six weeks where my parents will supposedly be off my back. It’s a real win-win, especially seeing as the most productive thing I will usually achieve over the summer months is watching a new record amount of box sets and inventing a new way of spicing up a pot noodle. I may only get around to perfecting my cup of tea, but I won’t care, it will still beat watching Jeremy Kyle all day long. Did I mention I also get paid?

If I’m honest, that’s pretty much my summer sorted. I don’t really have very high standards. All I want is for it not to be zero degrees, I want to be able to leave the house in something other than my waterproof that I’ve been wearing every single day for the last six months, and I want a little bit of money that isn’t already on its way to the bank or my Mum. Is that so much to ask? I think not. I do know for sure though that I’m bloody excited, even if all three of my wishes all crumble and burn, which they inevitably will.

Have a good one!

WORDS BY: MATT LEWIS DESIGN BY: ORLAGH TURNER

Summer Time

9 FEATURES

Pre-graduation PANIC

PANIC

WORDS BY: BETHANY GRIFFITHS We’re finally down to our final issue of the academic year (no tears, please!) and the inevitable question on a most people’s minds here at Quench HQ is ‘what am I going to do when I graduate’? To me it only seems like yesterday I was moving into my tiny Talybont room ready to begin, and here I am a whole 3 years later (almost) with only a vague map of my future planned out. I think I’m probably one of the only students on campus who hasn’t yet applied for any graduate jobs, or even a Masters! Instead I’m very much cruising (well, not really) my way through final year, just hoping that something might fall into place at some point. I think it’s important not to get too worried though, we are all putting enough pressure on ourselves with final year assignments, everything else is just added stress! I’m sure at some point it will hit me that I actually need to try and work out some kind of career plan, but at the moment I’m happy to wait until the right opportunity comes up, whether that’s a Masters, or moving back in with my parents and getting a job!

When it comes to graduation, I feel that University places a lot of unnecessary pressure of students. My university inbox is full of emails reminding me that in a few months it will be me donning that graduation cap and setting off on the journey of the unknown. Of course, it is important to start thinking about postgrad life. There’ll be no more spontaneous nights out to the SU on a Wednesday, considerably less alcohol consumed, and, for most of us, it will be pretty strange adapting to life without our housemates. However, I think it’s important to remember that your life after graduation is, for the most part, unknown. This is something that I am trying to get to terms with and appreciate. Since starting university in 2016, I’ve changed my mind about 10 times over what I want to do with my life after graduation, and in the last 4 months I’ve changed it around 6. I think it’s important to remember that this is okay. Life doesn’t have to be perfect once you graduate. For now, I’m just concentrating on my studies and seeing where the wind takes me, and I’m perfectly happy with that.

I asked other Cardiff University students to have their say about their pre-graduation concerns, or lack of…

“What are you going to do after you graduate?”

It’s one of those questions that causes stress for many third-year students, second only to the dreaded, “How’s your dissertation going?”

Some of us have plans: a Masters degree, an internship, a job abroad – there are many options.

But what about those of us whose plans fall through?

My time at university has been coloured by tragic family events, starting with the suicide of my uncle in my first year and ending with my grandfather’s diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma at the beginning of this semester.

I’ve found focusing on my academic work challenging and so although I’d planned to apply for a Masters, I’m now uncertain about whether it’s right option.

Everyone faces tragedy and loss at some point in their lives and my experiences are certainly not unique. Still, due to my tendency to self-isolate during the difficult years I’ve had here, I’ve felt at times like I’ve missed out on the “university experience”. Through talking to others recently, though, I’ve come to appreciate that this is largely a myth. In reality, the time you spend at university isn’t always going to be fun and filled with friends, and that’s okay. It’s what you learn from your experiences that counts.

So, what have I learnt?

1. There’s no rush to apply for postgraduate study. There will still be options next year.

2. Comparisons to others are futile.

3. Appreciate your family and friends.

By Shannon Budden

As someone who has already gone through the ordeal of final year and entered the world of work, the run up to graduation can be a daunting stage. It’s the culmination of 3 years of long hours and no short amount of stress.

As a student, it’s so easy to slip into full procrastination.

Having just 6 contact hours per-week in my final year, there was no real structure. I took life day by day, not batting an eye at what was coming the next day, let alone the next week or month. But the best part of working life? Getting up at 06:30 every morning. It may sound horrendous to some, but it offers a real sense of structure that you will struggle to find whilst at university.

I found my current job in July 2018, less than two weeks before my graduation ceremony. It was rushed, unplanned, and I’m incredibly lucky to have landed on my feet.

Looking back, if I could do something different, it would be changing my attitude. When you’re looking for a job or work experience, you must recognise your limits.

Waiting for the perfect job may work for you, but the perfect job doesn’t always come. Whilst it’s great to aim high, don’t be put off by the lower end of the market, even if it’s not quite a perfect fit. Remember, every role is experience, and every bit of experience is a stepping stone to something bigger and better.

By Benjamin Cresswell

10

The snowflake

generation WORDS BY: MAISIE MAR TSON

11 FEATURES

The Snowflake Generation: overly sensitive, vulnerable, weak, entitled, offended. The term arose in the UK during the aftermath of the EU referendum and it hasn’t gone away. The University of East Anglia once outlawed sombreros in a Mexican restaurant, NUS banned clapping at one of their events, and Oxford used trigger warnings at the beginning of lectures on sensitive topics. We all know that these events are sparse and quite possibly justified, but they’ve certainly riled the nonchalant, never-offended right wing.

Ironically, calling somebody a ‘snowflake’ is a way for people to kick up a stink about how un-offended they are; just like that time Piers Morgan had a fit over a Greggs (“PC ravaged clowns”) vegan sausage roll.

The insult has become commonplace in debate from those on the right directed at those on the left, and sometimes disgruntled older people towards the younger generation. Students in particular have been given the label, with The Spectator labelling the changes at universities as ‘campus tyranny’, saying, “it will take a brave and resilient youngster to survive university with their intellectual curiosity intact.” It has actually been said to have emerged on US campuses due to disputes over safe spaces and no platforming, but originally it came from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club line; “You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same organic and decaying matter as everyone else.” Research on the topic has already found the use of ‘snowflake’ is having a negative impact on young people’s mental health. However, it is clearly also stunting discussion and debate and unfairly generalising an entire generation.

In 2016 the words ‘snowflake generation’ made it into Collins Dictionary’s top 10 words of the year, then in January 2018, its redefinition took its place in the Oxford English Dictionary.

It is defined as a derogatory term for “an overly sensitive or easily offended person, or one who believes they are entitled to special treatment on account of their supposedly unique characteristics”. Among those who use it are ex-UKIP member Janice Atkinson who said in a Huffington Post article that “this is the generation that is also wracked by a superior sense of importance. They have been told by their parents and their teachers that they can have it all” after receiving floods of emails in response to the referendum result. Writer, Claire Fox, believes “the young are becoming too mollycoddled and infantilised for the rough and tumble of real life.” The message is clear; parents of this generation have made their children sensitive, entitled moaners who are unable to cope with the hardship of ‘real life’. This sort of rhetoric isn’t uncommon, so it came as no real surprise when Aviva insurance company found that 72% of 16-24 year-olds believed the term was unfairly applied, and 74% agreed that it could have a negative effect on a young person’s mental health.

Aviva’s research also found that almost half of adults aged between 16-24 said they had experienced stress or anxiety, whereas the figure for all UK adults is just over a third. Dr Doug Wright, Aviva’s medial expert, stated that “Our findings suggest that young adults are more likely to be experiencing mental health problems, so using a phrase which criticises

snowflakeS, YOUR ARMY NEEDS YOU AND YOUR

COMPASSION this age group could add to this issue […] Any term used disparagingly for a segment of the population is inherently negative.” There is no disputing that the term is damaging the younger generation, leading many to question whether young people are actually at fault, or whether there is a bigger picture of mental health issues. There are also worries that labelling young people as ‘snowflakes’ could be reversing the efforts made to destigmatise openness about mental health.

Another issue with the term ‘snowflake’ is the risk that it is taking away an opportunity for progressive change or debate. It is of course a massive generalisation and a quick way to dismiss an argument without reasoning. With this in mind, Obama’s words, “feel free to disagree with somebody, but don’t try to just shut them up”, feel very relevant. Being dismissive when you disagree and effectively telling somebody they’re ‘just wrong’ doesn’t allow for discussion.

Both people who use the term ‘snowflake’ and those who are called ‘snowflakes’ should surely be making a concerted effort to understand or empathise with others by engaging in debate and not dismissing the other. Empathy and kindness seem to be losing their value despite being a valuable tool to change minds or understand others’ perspectives.

Similarly to the implication of ‘snowflake’, the words ‘you have it easy’ or ‘back in my day’ are often used as a debate-ending checkmate. The idea that young people are naive and have it easy isn’t necessarily true; not only will they inherit the consequences of today’s political decisions on a diverse range of issues, but there are already problems confronting them now like affordable housing and the job market. Dismissing a generation’s concerns because you can only empathise with people who share your own background deprives them of the opportunity to cater for their values and problems.

Supposing we fail to be empathetic towards each other anytime in the near future, and the ‘snowflake’

label is still attached to young people, the answer could be to look at it differently. The imposing army recruitment posters plastered around the country with slogans like ‘SNOWFLAKES, YOUR ARMY NEEDS YOU AND YOUR COMPASSION’ and ‘ME ME ME MILLENNIALS, THE ARMY NEEDS YOU AND YOUR SELF-BELIEF’ may have just been a clever marketing job, but they had a point. Qualities like compassion, confidence and focus, for example, are admirable and powerful. The message obviously resonated as the Army saw applications almost double after the campaign. Yvonne Roberts, a political writer in residence at the University of Sussex, says she sees a “renewed appetite for making a difference” among the younger generation. The actions undertaken by universities themselves are often sensationalised by the right wing press, but in reality they are measures to address big issues and improve people’s lives.

Interpreting concern for issues in a positive way doesn’t paint young people as selfish, entitled and weak, but rather bold, emotionally intelligent and capable of critical thinking. It’s easy to understand what John Cleese meant when he said; “sociopaths use [snowflake] in an attempt to discredit the notion of empathy.”

The snowflake debate is an impossible debate to get involved in; if you express offence, you’re a snowflake, and if that offence offends you, that also makes you a snowflake. I can’t imagine the levels of snowflakery that are associated with writing an article about how the term snowflake offends you. Maybe it’s a sign that it is time to drop the term entirely.

DESIGN BY: ANDREA GAINI

12

It is 2019, and ‘online dating’ is normal. The once terrifying prospect of going online to find a boyfriend or girlfriend is now an accepted part of our culture. It doesn’t matter what your sexuality is, there’s an app for that. You can now swipe through profiles for hours on end, in dating apps like Tinder, that are filled with 6-packs and dogs in an attempt to sway someone to ‘swipe right’ on their profile. But is this new cultural norm killing romance? Have classic meet cutes from your favourite films died out? Is there really any point in smiling at that boy/ girl on the seat across from you anymore?

It’s a seemingly bleak picture, when millions of people across the world are using these dating apps to judge someone solely off of their looks. At a simple swipe you can be taken to an entire world of suitors, all within your acceptable age range and distance. And is that such a bad thing?

It can often feel like we are no longer in a world where we meet the bad-boy in Saturday detention, and he punches the air in delight at winning us over at the end. Nor does it seem that we can take the uptight, angry girl, who vows never to fall in love, and win her over. It also unfortunately isn’t looking like a boom box will be held outside my window anytime soon. In 2019, Tinder bios ask for unique pick-up lines, and it’s statistically much more likely that you will get a response if you send a gif. In this world, it appears as though romance is on the way out, as emojis replace facial expressions, and swipes replace dates. Tinder is a superficial mode of dating, which just adds to our already seemingly shallow society.

There just isn’t a place for romance on apps where you judge someone purely off their looks or the comedic value of their profile bio. It is hardly romantic to ‘swipe right’ on someone because they look nice in their five photos that they have up on a dating app.

If you are unfamiliar with the process of a dating app, let me take you through it. You swipe through endless photos

of people showing off their best side (mostly). If you match with someone, and one of you actually ends up messaging the other, there is now a process of texting in which you attempt to figure out, through online small talk which can last ages due to the unspoken rule of time left in between each message, as to whether this person is right for you. Meanwhile you’ve never met this person and have no idea whether they look anywhere near the same in reality, and you are probably both still swiping through other profiles at the same time. It is difficult to navigate an online dating world, especially when you can’t see the expressions on their faces as you tell each other about yourselves. How can you possibly know whether that person is telling the truth, with the anonymity that the internet gives people? If you have any kind of dating app, I am in no doubt that you have experienced a few profiles where the person is obviously not who they say they are, given that the photos are often an Instagram model from America with millions of followers. Or you’ve had to ‘swipe left’ on someone because you just CANNOT physically see what they look like when they have Snapchat filters covering their face.

Or you have absolutely no idea which one you’re supposed to be looking at, as every photo is a group shot, and you’re left wincing at the screen to figure out which one has been in each photo. It is not an easy task. Equally, as a general PSA, I’d like to point out that asking when you will get to have sex with your match on the second message after ‘hi x’ will most likely not earn you a response, and neither will weird comments about their looks.

With these aspects of dating apps in mind, it certainly feels as though the intentions of many on these dating apps tend to be far from romance. Having swiped on what feels like hundreds of couples ‘looking for another girl to have fun with’, and plenty of bios ‘not looking for anything serious’, it often seems that apps such as Tinder are for experimentation and a bit of fun. It is hardly surprising that dating apps don’t have the reputation for romance. Just the other day a friend

13

was complaining about never finding someone attractive that actually wanted a relationship, and our friend turned to her and just simply said that Tinder ‘is just for hookups, really.’ Whilst the statement from my friend is probably true at our age, according to an article by Business Insider, ‘80% of [Tinder’s] users are seeking a meaningful relationship.’ So, don’t put down that dating app just yet.

I don’t believe that romance has gone. The barrage of ever popular Taylor Swift songs that still come every two years prove that romance isn’t dead, and neither is the belief in it.

Culture reflects the public desire, and the love song is still one of the most popular forms, and Hollywood certainly isn’t slowing down the production of rom coms. I know that I don’t just speak for myself when I say that I saw way too many Instagram or Snapchat stories of loved up couples with flowers and date nights on Valentine’s Day. Real life, long term relationships haven’t stopped because it’s more socially acceptable for people to openly experiment. And romance is often far from the grand gestures. When writing this article, I asked my flatmates whether they thought romance is dead.

One of them emphatically replied that it definitely isn’t, because in a club they had witnessed another of our flatmates buy the VKs that her boyfriend likes, to give to him when they met up with each other. When she met up with her boyfriend, he held in his hands her favourite VKs, which he had thought to buy for her before they met up, just as she had. What could possibly be a more romantic University experience than remembering your significant other’s favourite VK, and buying it for them every time you got into a club, without them even having to ask?

It is the little things that remind us that romance isn’t dead.

The other day my friend was in Tesco, and a guy walked up to her to tell her that she was absolutely stunning and asked for her number. It is important to not give up hope on the

real world, because if people could meet their true love in a lecture before the internet, that boy or girl you always see sitting a few rows in front of you that you think is cute could be the one for you. Make your own romance and tell them what you think of them. It could be the start if an amazing new relationship. That is far from unheard of. That being said, the internet opens up an entirely new world of people that you wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance to meet, and there is bound to be thousands of people just like you, looking for exactly the same thing. In this day and age, so many more types of love are acceptable, and the chances of you being able to find the one that is perfect for you seems much more likely with the invention of Tinder and other dating apps. So no, I don’t believe that romance has faded into nothingness. I think that it has taken on a new form, one that is much more open and diverse.

WORDS BY: KATE WALDOCK DESIGN BY: VITTORIA ZERBINI

CULTURE

Are we witnessing the death of romance ?

14

The Changing Face of Theatre

WORD S BY: HANN AH STAIT DESIG N BY: ALESS IO PHILIP GRAIN

T

he theatre is a beloved industry and I myself have loved it for as long as I can remember.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you’re in a dark theatre and a hush comes over the audience. That rush of excitement as a magical show of light, sound and story takes you away to a whole other time and place.

The theatre has existed since long before the world as we know it began, originating in ancient Greece as a source of entertainment for the most esteemed individuals. Similarly, musical theatre has always been a staple of numerous cultures and is becoming increasingly accessible to the public; the arts change constantly and the world of theatre is no exception.

Shows of the 1940’s-60’s such as Oklahoma (1943), Guys and Dolls (1950) and Cabaret (1966) were created to allow people escape from the drudgery

of life; they incited excitement and emotion that a person might not have otherwise experienced. The 70’s brought new shows like The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1973) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), filled with a new kind of music and which had more ‘risque’ story-lines that allowed for even further escapism. The 80’s showcased bigger sets and more effects to add a greater fantastical element to performance, as highlighted in shows like Cats (1981) and Phantom of the Opera (1986). Then, in the following years, a range of musicals were released that truly incurred cult followings; Wicked, Rent, Billy Elliot and many others which increased the mainstream popularity of the theatre. This brings us to the most recent shows and adaptations such as, Dear Evan Hanson, Matilda, Everybody’s Talking about Jamie, Legally Blonde and so many others

that have sparked a passion for theatre in a new generation. These incredible shows have inspired so many new people, urging them to be themselves in a harsh and often judgemental, world.

One of the key changes I have noticed in theatre is the way in which it has become more accessible for people with disabilities that may otherwise affect how they would be able to enjoy shows. It makes me so happy that everyone can be included in the wonder of theatre with accessible shows offering signed performances and audio description services available in shows all over the world which enables the theatre to become inclusive for all audiences. The emotion, power and magic of the theatre is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime and the fact that there are more ways for people to have that is a brilliant development.

15 CULTURE

Photo by Peter Lewicki on Unsplash

Another way that the theatre has become more accessible is through the introduction of broadcast screenings of productions. Personally, I have never been able to see a show in London’s West End for many reasons - the main one being a lack of finances to do so. I’ve been able to see two shows in my local cinema thanks to these screenings; shows that I could have only dreamed of seeing otherwise. This development is brilliant in bringing the arts closer to those who might not otherwise have access to it. The most recent broadcast I went to see was the production of Funny Girl in October 2018. I still get that goosebump feeling in my arms and heart in my throat excitement feeling that I get whenever I am in a theatre - and, again, it gave me the chance to see a show that I may not have got to see otherwise.

A similar development is the live television specials

of popular musicals on mainstream television. In the past two years, we have seen performances of Grease (2016), Hairspray (2016), and Rent (2019) allowing some of the most beloved shows to be broadcast in a new exciting way with famous faces. People who love these shows would watch to see how it would be done, people who love a member of the cast would tune in just to see the face of a performer they love and others will watch to see something new and exciting - either way it is something for every type of audience and eludes to a new exciting time for performance art.

One company that have changed the face of theatre is the Mischief Theatre Company who have wowed theatre critics with their award winning show The Play That Goes Wrong. This show captures hilariously the world of creating theatrical performances. Winning the 2015 Laurence Olivier award for best new comedy, this show highlights just what can go wrong in the world of theatre in an exciting way. The company have created many more shows that are incredibly intelligent in how they have been written and produced and showcase a different side to the theatre that people don’t always get to see. Further shows are Peter Pan Goes Wrong and A Christmas Carol goes Wrong, both of which were aired on the BBC to a whole new audience.

The theatre is evolving with every new show that gets produced and it is opening audiences up to new worlds with more immersive experiences that bring to life the story upon the stage. One of the new ways in which this is done is through the use of puppetry on stage. This has been groundbreaking and is a newer form of artistry for performance art. The play adaption of War Horse is an example . War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by children’s writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford. This show premiered in 2007 and has received many awards, a lot of its praise dedicated to the artful puppetry that so controlled the story and captured the audience. Speaking on the art of puppetry an article for The Guardian explains ‘Put simply, puppet shows make us believe in impossible transformations – and what could be more theatrical than that?’

There are thousands of things to be said about how the theatre has changed over the years, but the key thing that has changed is how theatre and performance have been able to reach new people and audiences and open up minds to a world of empathy, power, emotion, creativity and inspiration. And, if you ask me, that’s definitely something to sing and dance about!

16

Words by Molly Govus

WORDS BY: MOLLY GOVUS DESIGN BY: LOTTIE ENNIS ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…’

‘Half a league, half a league, half a league onward…’

‘Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!’

The words of these poems have been recited by many, uttered by thousands, listened to by millions. The words themselves soak up cultural heritage whilst representing an author’s social and political standards. Only a limited number of the arts can do this, so it should be expected that poetry in the 21st century remains one of the most current and popular forms of literature within society. From scribes and cave walls to the 140-character limit on Twitter and the captions of Instagram, who would have thought poetry could mould itself to the needs of our tech-infested world?

Timeless, I believe, is the word you’re looking for.

One of the most impressive things about poetry is its adaptability and flexibility. ‘No rules’, the teacher would say, ‘you cannot do it wrong.’ Baffled students such as myself wondered, ‘but how?!’ – rules had been ingrained in our minds since the start of nursery. The form of poetry is such a far cry from the systematic and standardised essay that asking us to write a poem was like letting a child run free in a paper town with a coloured marker. And let me tell you, it was beautiful. In a time where prescriptivism and standardisation take precedent in the National Curriculum, poetry was my first introduction to creative writing, and I have never looked back since. Descriptive forms of literature, such as poetry, have completely stolen my heart.

With the rising influence of social media, many people have taken this platform as a stage for the art. Blank canvases, pretty fonts and minimalist design have become the standard for modern-day poetry; it is almost impossible to scroll through Instagram without passing a poem in this form. What happened to the busy, elaborate, polysyllabic words of poetry back in the times of Shakespeare, Dickinson and Whitman? Expectations of language have changed for the better, I’d say. We have evolved from our lexicon being representative of our intelligence into a time where our creativity can flow freely between form, structure and the words themselves.

17 CULTURE

Collaboratively, the author can create a piece of visual artwork with their poetry. Is there anything cleverer than that? Writers today have nothing to prove – it is their art, their creation. The rise of descriptivism in literature has given authors more scope than ever to bend the invisible rules of poetry, and it has opened the needed pedestal to give a voice to the voiceless.

The name Rupi Kaur should be one that you remember. Her sheer talent and social media presence are so impressive that they should stick. Social media gave her a voice to discuss issues current to the 21st century such as immigration, gender inequalities and the importance of self-care in her best-selling books, ‘Milk and Honey’ and ‘The Sun and Her Flowers’. In a time like this, we need this platform more than ever. More importantly, we need the voices behind the words. Why is Rupi Kaur so significant?

Her structure of poetry is unique and part of who she is as a poet. Rupi Kaur is mother to the minimalist form that is so popular amongst poets today. Blunt, un-confined and straightforward: her poetry’s structure embodies the words themselves.

‘they have no idea what it is like

to lose home at the risk of

never finding home again have your entire life

split between two lands and

become the bridge between two countries ‘

- first generation immigrant, Rupi Kaur

Descriptivism has allowed for minimalism in poetry to show the harsh truth of our society. The lack of punctuation and capitalisation, Rupi’s signature flare, reveal the arbitrary nature of boundaries. This is especially fitting given the topic of immigration. Poetry has grown into such a versatile and accepting art; we can finally give the voiceless the voice that they deserve, and rightly so.

Poetry shall continue to grow in time, and who knows what it will bring with it. That’s the beauty of it all. We will never know until it happens. Poetry is the interchanging flicker of fire, the fickle ever-changing path of the sea.

We won’t see it coming.

18

WORDS BY: HARRY DIXON DESIGN BY: ROWAN LEES PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM ADACH (BOTTOM LEFT), ANGEL LAWS (BOTTOM RIGHT), ROBERT H MCKINLEY (TOP RIGHT)

Karl Lagerfeld, innovator and long-time designer of the French fashion house of Coco Chanel, died recently.

‘Fashion icon’ is the phrase that filled the air and the covers of news publications in bold print above his instantly recognisable, pout-lipped, white-ponytailed and sunglasses-strewn face. A question is begged, though: with a cultural medium as all-pervasive and socially influential as fashion (with the bizarre and niche areas of high fashion trickling down into the wear of the public) what does it take to become such a ‘cultural icon’? And not just in this domain, but any?

To become an icon (a human one, for that matter, as objects too can be iconic) is to become a condensation of a particular set of ideals, representative of a certain field of thought or endeavour – creative or otherwise, as culture can be both the artistic and wider practices of a society – or an embodiment of achievement, one that endures through time and becomes synonymous with the field from which it stems. Lagerfeld, for example, is iconic, and therefore an icon of, haute couture (high-end, expensive fashion) and, as previously mentioned, innovation, due to his reinvention of Chanel at a time when it was thought to be stagnant. His presence in that field has transcended to others to the extent that he is known beyond the mere confines of the fashion world: he has had, and presumably will have, an enduring influence, which is undoubtedly one of the hallmarks of an icon. In addition to this his ubiquity and omnipresence in his field has allowed his elevation to the status of cultural icon.

19 CULTURE

Therefore, Cultural icons can seemingly be identified by their unwavering relevance to culture - be it popular, ‘high’, or ‘low’. For example, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando are cinematic icons; Newton and Einstein are scientific heroes; and The Beatles and Kanye West (controversial, perhaps, but his contemporary influence is unquestionable) belong to the realm of music fame. The aforementioned distinctions, however, are arguably arbitrary in a modern society where the internet has fostered a continual blurring of the lines between the supposed separate realms of culture. Literary writers, once shrouded in high-esteem and held in God-like reverence because of their elusiveness, can engage in vitriolic twitter-feuds (though one can only wonder why they’d want to) and simultaneously be producers of ‘high’, intellectual art.

This raises a further question: what is a cultural icon in the age of social media? Social media, primarily Instagram and Twitter, allows celebrities (or those seeking that title) to forge their own iconic status, in a sense. With the ability to instantly and incessantly deliver content to vast followings at the click of a button, the achievement of ‘iconic’ status, the status of influencer, is perhaps easier than ever to acquire.

The aforementioned Kanye West can regularly reaffirm his existence as creator in the minds of his fans with an irreverent tweet, whereas prior to this an artist or otherwise iconic individual could only achieve such notoriety through more substantial means, such as releasing a film or running a successful political campaign. Yet, the fleeting nature of social media means that the endurance that icons like the band Queen or artists like Picasso have seen has become a matter of doubt for ‘icons’ of the contemporary age. After all, we do live in an age of diverted attention and ephemeral interests.

20

Clebar yn sgwrsio gyda...

Jacob a Nest!

DESIG

Sut deimlad ydi hi i wybod mai eich sioe chi yw’r fwyaf poblogaidd yn hanes Xpress Radio?

Ryden ni wrth ein boddau! Pan gawsom ni’r syniad i ddechrau sioe ar Xpress Radio, doedden i ddim wedi dychmygu y bydden ni’n derbyn y fath gefnogaeth. Ma’ cael ein hadnabod fel ‘Jacob a Nest Crac y Wawr’ yn bendant yn rhoi gwên ar ein hwynebau. Gan fod yr ymateb wedi bod cystal, mae ychydig o bwysau arnom yn wythnosol i wella a chreu cynnwys diddorol. Er hyn, dydy creu’r rhaglen ddim yn faich o gwbl gan ein bod yn chwerthin, chwarae clasuron Cymraeg ac yn gwneud dwli ar y radio am ddwy awr a hanner yr wythnos! Mae cael erthygl ar Golwg360 a’r cyfle i siarad ar Heno am y rhaglen wedi bod yn eisin ar y gacen.

Fyswch chi’n cytuno, i riw raddau, fod rhaglenni Cymraeg fel Crac y Wawr yn helpu hybu diwylliant Cymraeg y brifysgol felly?

Yn bendant. Mae cael gwasanaeth Cymraeg ar Xpress Radio yn creu mwy o gymuned Gymraeg i fyfyrwyr y brifddinas. Mae sawl un wedi dweud eu bod yn gwrando wrth gerdded i ddarlithoedd neu wrth gael brecwast yn y gwely, tra bod eraill yn ailwrando ar Mixcloud gyda’r hwyr i ymlacio! Nid ydym yn cael ein hasesu, does dim rheolau llym ac ryden ni’n siarad iaith anffurfiol felly mae’n normaleiddio’r Gymraeg. Er bod y sioe yn targedu myfyrwyr, ryden wedi sylwi bod trawstoriad o oedrannau yn gwrando ym mhob cwr o Gymru! Mae cael platfform i ddangos y cyfleoedd sydd i’w gael yma trwy’r Gymraeg yn werthfawr iawn.

N BY: YI LAM TA N G

anes n h O’u y b aidd lad! blog s y w yr Jacodd o p w w f y a a n d r aer fwy r d flwy ol len rwd a ae’r cy ysgol C Brifysg i i g a h b f h n y yw yr l, m Pri di r h y randaw hagoro fyrwyr n yma y t beth c a l l r y u r be a gw ion u m yddy nd s li...

Wawio, gyd gweste diddan ail blw dim! O ati i ho y u d n r u c Cra ess Ra ylus a’ kins y au yn e MCC i’ bar aeth n r w d e e C p l J h d X au est ae’r s? C th y gem rris a N sol. M h gwai h statw t t o Mo wythn gwer yr o fa yn n profi wynw ac y yn gyfl fod

Beth sydd i’w ddisgwyl o gynnwys Crac y Wawr a beth yw’r eitemau fwyaf poblogaidd?

Mae digon o eitemau at ddant pawb ar y rhaglen! Does dim teimlad gwell na rhywun yn dweud wrthym iddynt wedi fwynhau ryw eitem. O ddyfalu llais rhywun yn canu ‘I beeeeee’ i gael ‘Rant yr Wythnos’, ryden yn chwarae gemau ac yn ceisio cynnwys gymaint o bobl â phosib yn y gweithgareddau.

Ond, ers y flwyddyn newydd, mae’r rhaglen wedi profi tipyn o weddnewidiad gydag eitemau newydd megis ‘Bring, Bring pwy sy ‘na?’ lle cawn alwad ffôn oddi wrth un o’r gwrandawyr! Mae’r gêm newydd Thesawrws Rex yn rhoi sialens inni hefyd gan fod rhaid i ni ddyfalu cyfystyron geiriau o’r Thesawrws. Ryden ni wastad yn croesawu barn gwrandawyr ac yn barod i addasu. Un rheol sydd - mae’n rhaid i’r eitemau fod yn hwyliog a ffres - mae angen cyffro ben bore!

Soniwch am y gwesteion sydd wedi ymddangos ar eich sioe. Pwy odden nhw a pam bod hi’n bwysig cael amrhyw o leisiau gwahanol ar eich sioe?

Ry’n ni wedi bod yn ffodus i gael amryw o leisiau gwahanol ar y tonfeddi; o fyfyrwyr y Brifysgol i selebs Cymraeg! O ran enwogion, ry’n ni wedi cyfweld â Steffan Rhys Hughes am ei albwm newydd, y gyflwynwraig hwyliog Yvonne Tywydd yng ngwesty’r Marriot a’r hyfryd Mari Grug yng Nghaerfyrddin am ei gyrfa lewyrchus. Yr wythnos nesa’, bydd Jacob yn cyfweld â Wayne Pivac a Steven Jones! Mae’n bwysig hefyd rhoi llwyfan i’n cyd-fyfyrwyr a ryden eisoes wedi cyfweld â’r gogyddes Cadi Mars Jones, aelod o fand Y Cledrau - Ifan Prys, y gantores Cadi Gwen a’r trydarwraig Teleri Owen!

21 CLEBAR

Pwy yw eich gwesteion delfrydol?

Ydych chi’n meddwl bod digon o gyfleoedd ar gael ar gyfer myfyrwyr sydd eisiau arbrofi efo cyfryngau’r brifysgol drwy’r Gymraeg? Oes mwy o alw am raglenni/cynnyrch Cymraeg?

Fel ffans o Briodas Pum Mil, fe fydden ni wrth ein boddau’n cyfweld â Trystan ac Emma cyn hir. Mae byw yng Nghaerdydd yn wych achos gallwch weld seleb ar unrhyw adeg! Mae’n bwysig bod y ffôn yn handi ar gyfer cyfweliad pa le bynnag! Fe fydden ni hefyd yn hoffi cael Cat a Cats o Radio Cymru yn y stiwdio gyda ni. Heb os, roedden nhw’n ysbrydoliaeth ar gyfer ein sioe ni ac fe fyddai cael y ddwy gyda ni yn siŵr o greu tipyn o

Beth fyddech chi’n ei chi yn ei ddweud wrth rywun sydd eisiau cychwyn sioe radio ar Xpress?

Marchnata, marchnata, marchnata! Mae cyfryngau cymdeithasol yn gyfrwng gwych i hysbysebu eich rhaglen. Mae angen llun trawiadol a phroffesiynol ac mae’n bwysig fod y dudalen yn cael ei ddiweddaru’n gyson.

Yn ogystal, mae angen USP i’r rhaglen - yn achos Crac y Wawr mae’n bwysig fod y cynnwys yn ysgafn, hwyliog ac at ddant y Cymry Cymraeg. Fe fydden ni hefyd yn argymell cynllunio! Mae ein sioeau mwyaf poblogaidd wedi cael eu cynllunio i’r funud gan nad yw’r sgyrsiau wedi troi’n sych o gwbl ac mae’r gerddoriaeth yn dda.

Yn y ddwy flynedd ddiwethaf mae’r cynnwys Cymraeg a gynhyrchir gan CMCC Gymraeg wedi cynyddu’n yn sylweddol. Bellach mae wyth sioe sy’n amrywio o sioeau cerddorol i wleidyddiaeth i sgwrsio felly rhywbeth at ddant pawb! Heb os, fe fydden ni’n annog unrhyw un i fynd amdani a creu rhaglen radio gan fod digon o hyfforddiant a chyngor ar gael gan dîm Cyfryngau Caerdydd. Ac os nad y radio sy’n mynd â’ch brid, gallwch ysgrifennu i bapur Gair Rhydd, greu fideos i CUTV neu wrth gwrs, gyfrannu at y cylchgrawn arbennig hwn - Quench!

Pa mor bwysig ydi hi i ddefnyddio deunyddiau’r brifysgol i hyrwyddo’r Gymraeg?

Pam ddim manteisio ar yr hyn sydd ar gael ar garreg ein drws (yn llythrennol - mae’r stiwdio dafliad carreg o’n cartref!)? Mae stiwdio newydd sbon yno, meddalwedd broffesiynol a thîm cynhyrchu ffantastig - ruden yn ffodus iawn! Dydy cael system mor soffistigedig ddim yn arferol mewn prifysgolion. O ran hyrwyddo’r Gymraeg, mae’n grêt bod y brifysgol yn gweld gwerth mewn cynnig profiadau fel hyn inni. Ryden yn gobeithio bod ein sioe yn profi bod lle i ddeunydd Cymraeg ar donfeddi’r Brifysgol.

Beth yw eich gobeithion am y dyfodol - gwaith mewn radio?

Heb os, mae’r ddau ohonom wedi cael blas ar gyfryngau ers bachu ar y cyfleoedd yn y Brifysgol. Er bod y diwydiant yn gystadleuol, ryden yn gobeithio gallu gweithio ym maes teledu a radio yn y dyfodol. Gobeithio wir na fydd rhaid inni ffarwelio â Crac y Wawr am flynyddoedd maith!

ore b b o ! p o i t d es ss Ra N a e r b p o X Jac 10 ar a h n c a t w 0 n 3 u : 7 m o Y th r w Ma

22

Graddio: edrych yn Ă´l ar dair blynedd yn y brifysgol yng ngwyneb y dyfodol.

23

Daeth yr ail flwyddyn rownd y gornel, a oedd hi’n hin amser (yn ôl fy rhieni a’n darlithwyr yn enwedig) i setlo lawr! Oedd derbyn hyn yn anodd. Mi oedd derbyn fod y nosweithiau diddiwedd yn yr undeb am orfod dioddef o dan oriau llwm yn y llyfrgell yn hunllef i ddweud y gwir, gan mai nawr oedd yr amser i gymryd fy ngradd oddifri. Serch, er dweud hyn, mae’n wirion cuddio’r realiti o’r sefyllfa – mi oeddwn i’n dal i fynd allan tair gwaith yr wythnos, o leiaf! Dim ond i orfod llusgo fy nghorff i’r llyfrgell y bore wedyn i drio gweithio ac adolygu gyda hangover hunllefus! Roedd yr ail flwyddyn yn un i’w gofio, beth bynnag! Y cyffro o symud i mewn i’ch tŷ cyntaf gyda grŵp o ffrindiau a dod yn ‘oedolyn’ annibynnol, a’r teimlad o falchder a rhyfeddod eich bod chi wedi goroesi’r flwyddyn dwythaf! Roedd hi’n gyfnod braf, i ddweud y gwir; yng nghanol eich profiad prifysgol yn edrych yn ôl ar helyntion y flwyddyn gyntaf heb edrych yn rhy bell i’r dyfodol agos er hynny!

Ond yna daw’r drydedd flwyddyn, erchwyn y dibyn, fel petai! Blwyddyn galed o waith a phrofiadau bywyd ‘go iawn’. Gyda’r nosweithiau allan yn lleihau a’r pwysau gwaith yn drymach nag erioed, anodd ydi hi i osgoi’r dyfodol agos: graddio. Mae’r drydedd flwyddyn yn un rhyfedd i ddweud y lleiaf. Rydych chi’n gwynebu croesffordd ar ôl croesffordd heb unrhyw syniad pa drywydd i’w gymryd! A dyma le dwi’n sefyll, un droed yn nrws y dyfodol a’r llall yn mynnu aros ar dir y Brifysgol.

Pan dwi’n edrych yn ôl ar fy nhair blynedd yn y Brifysgol, mae’n anodd credu pa mor gyflym aeth yr amser! Mae’n wir pan mae eich rhieni yn eich rhybuddio am ba mor brin yw eich amser coleg. Serch, er gwaethaf pa mor fyr oedd fy nghyfnod i yng Nghaerdydd, oedden nhw’n dair blynedd i’w gofio a byswn i ddim yn newid un rhywbeth! Rwy’n hynod falch i fod wedi gallu galw Prifysgol Caerdydd yn gartref ers y tair blynedd dwythaf, ond mae’n anodd iawn i wynebu’r realiti o ddod at ddiwedd cyfnod sydd wedi siapio pob agwedd fy mywyd!

Nawr mae’n rhaid gwynebu’r groesffordd sy’n amlinellu fy nyfodol ar ôl graddio. Heb os, mae’r cyfnod hon yn gymhleth a dwi’n gweld fy hun dydd ar ôl dydd yn edrych allan at ansicrwydd heb unrhyw gyfeiriadau i’n nhywys i lawr y llwybr cywir. Rhyfedd iawn yw gweld ffrindiau a chyfoedion yn gwynebu camau gwahanol o fywyd ar unwaith wrth i gyfnod Prifysgol ddod i’w ben. Mae rhai efo’r dyfodol yn ddisglair ac yn obeithiol iawn o’u blaen, gydag eraill yn setlo gyda phlant, tra mae’r gweddill yn glynu at nosweithiau allan yn yr undeb i drio osgoi gwynebu ‘bywyd go iawn’! Dydw i bellach methu gwynebu oedolyn heb iddynt ofyn yr un cwestiwn: “so beth yw dy gynlluniau di am y dyfodol?”, ac yna fyddai’n sefyll yn pendroni am ateb call.

Mae’n anodd derbyn mai’r rhain yw’r cwpl o wythnosau olaf yn y brifysgol, a pwy a ŵyr i ba drwydd eith graddio a fi. Mae’n debyg y cewch i allan o’r brifysgol be bynnag newch chi roi i mewn iddo. Mewn gwirionedd, cael y cydbwysedd rhwng gwaith a phartio yw, heb os, un o’r agweddau pwysicaf o fywyd mae’r brifysgol yn eich addysgu. Am y tro mi wnâi drio fy ngorau i wneud y gorau o’r amser prin ar ôl yma, ond gyda’r seremoni graddio yn agosáu wythnos ar ôl wythnos mae wir yn anodd osgoi’r hyn sydd i ddod. Mae’n amser camu ymlaen i’r dyfodol, a dydw i (fel pawb arall) yn sicr ddim yn barod am hynny!

WORDS BY: MEGAN TOMOS DESIGN BY: ORLAGH TURNER PHOTOGRAPHY BY: JEREMY SEGROTT VIA FLICKR

CLEBAR

Dwi’n cofio’r foment o gyrraedd ar dir Senghennydd; y teimlad o gyffro a nerfusrwydd a’r dyfodol llawn gobaith. Roedd hi’n deimlad anghyfarwydd ond eto yn un gyfforddus, ac roeddwn i’n sicr fod y tair blynedd nesaf am fod yn fythgofiadwy. Ar y pryd, roedd graddio yn rhywbeth oedd yn bell, bell i ffwrdd. Roedd fy mhroblemau ar y pryd ddim yn mynd ymhellach na thrio delio efo’r arogl rhyfedd yn fy fflat a phenderfynu le y byswn i’n mynd allan noson hwnnw. Ond prin oeddwn i’n gwybod y bysa’r cyfnod yna yn parau cynlleied o amser.

Aeth y flwyddyn gyntaf honno mor sydyn a oedd hi’n cymryd i mi glecio jaggerbomb, ac yn sicr doeddwn i ddim yn barod i adael fynd a’r rhyddid a’r diniweidrwydd o fod yn ‘fresher’.

24

Mae #Bwyd yn dudalen ryseitiau yn Gymraeg ar gyfer myfyrwyr, yn cynnig ryseitiau syml, rhad a hawdd i’w coginio. Dyma ddau rysait i dy helpu drwy’r tymor. Mae’r pitsa yn rysait elli di goginio mewn 20 munud, perffaith pan rwyt jyst a marw isio bwyd. Yr ail ydy cacennau bach caramel a bananas duon, ar gyfer yr adegau pan nad wyt wedi llwyddo i fwyta dy fananas mewn pryd! Cerwch i ddilyn #Bwyd ar Instagram a Facebook er mwyn cael y ryseitiau diweddaraf.

Pitsa Cyflym - 2 Wrap (tortilla) - Piwrî Tomato - Llysiau a Chig o dy ddewis (yn y rysait yma mae bacwn, nionyn, pupur, corbwmpen, tomato a chaws garlleg) 1. Rho un tortilla ar hambwrdd pobi. Rho ychydig o ddŵr ar y tortilla cyn rhoi’r ail tortilla ar i ben - dylai’r dŵr ymddwyn fel glud.

2. Cynhesa’r popty i 180oC. 3. Gwasgara piwrî tomato ar y tortilla.

4. Dewisa dy lysiau i roi ar ben y pitsa a’u coginio nes eu bod yn feddal - rho’r llysiau ar y pitsa.

5. Gratia caws a’i ychwanegu ar y pitsa.

6. Rho’r pitsa yn y popty am 5 munud neu nes bod y caws wedi meddalu.

Ryseitiau i Myfyrwyr gan @Bwyd

GEIRIAU GAN: CADI MARS JONES LLUN GAN: ASHLEY BOYLE

Cacennau Bach Banana a Charamel - 225g (8oz) o Flawd Plaen - 1 ¼ llwy de o Bowdr Pobi - ¼ llwy de o Soda Pobi - 2 Banana Aeddfed (dechrau mynd yn ddu) - 115g (4oz) o Fenyn meddal neu Fargarin - 115g (4oz) o Siwgr Castr - ½ llwy de o Agfyaiad fanila - 2 Wy - ½ tin o Garamel - 115g (4oz) o Fenyn meddal, neu Fargarin - 115g (4oz) Siwgr Eisin - Llwy bwdin o Garamel

1. Cynhesa’r popty i 180oC ac estyna hambwrrd pobi sydd yn addas i goginio cacennau bach.

2. Cymysga’r menyn a’r siwgr castr hefo’i gilydd mewn powlen.

3. Mewn powlen ar wahân, defnyddia fforc i falu’r ddwy fanana.

4. Ychwanega dyfyniad fanila a’r blawd wedyn ychwanega y wy yn raddol.

5. Ychwanega’r banana wedi ei falu i jewn i’r gymysgedd. Rhanna’r cymysgedd i jewn i’r cwpeni cacennau (cupcake cases), o ddeutu dwy lwy de swmpus ym mhob cwpan.

6. Rho’r cacennau yn y popty am o ddeutu 20 munud, neu hyd nes eu bod nhw yn frown ac wedi coginio drwyddynt.

7. Ar ôl i’r cacennau oeri, defnyddia syrinj i roi caramel yng nghanol y cacennau (neu ddefnyddia llwy fach i dynnu darn o’r sbwng oddi yno, a rho caramel yn y twll) 8. Cymysga’r menyn a’r eisin siwgr eisin mewn powlen ag ychydig o’r caramel er mwyn creu eisin i fynd ar dop y cacennau.

9. Rho’r eisin ar ben y cacennau - mwynha!

25

DESIGN BY: ASHLEY BOYLE

The Day the BBC Fooled the Whole Nation

It’s rare to see a great April Fools nowadays.

As a child, the calibre of these misdirections always seemed far greater than any that are attempted on any adult or teenage audience.

Granted, this can mostly be attributed to the gullibility of childlike innocence, but I’d certainly argue there’s some other factors at play. If it was merely childhood nature that allows these jokes to continually succeed yearly, then how did the BBC manage to fool an entire sentient population that spaghetti grew on trees..?

First, let’s set the scene; it’s 1957. West Side Story is making strides at its Broadway debut, people are rushing to cinemas to watch The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Americans are in awe of their latest sparkly toy, the Frisbee, and the EU’s predecessor, the EEC, is formed, touchy subject nowadays, I realise.

Anyways, during this time, technology, specifically the communications, were somewhat limited in comparison of the myriad of options we have at our fingertips today. Calling was still a thing, much to the dismay of today’s youth, and mobile phones were still fifteen years away from creation. In terms of media and news though, you only really had four options: black and white TV broadcasts (if you were lucky to have one or knew someone with one, as TV owning households stood at 44% in 1957), Radio broadcasts, Newspapers or word of mouth.

Given modern consumerism and the reliance on the internet by modern generations for news intake, it was quite the contrast.

All of this in mind, it starts to become a little more clear how the BBC managed to pull of a prank of such incredible magnitude. Given

the power that they held, as one of only two channels on air, they had almost free reign and power over the dictation of any news.

Whilst a slightly scary thought in our modern post-Orwellian world, the BBC knew they could do whatever they pleased.

The prank itself sat within the standard broadcast of Panorama, a show used to discuss current affairs. Within it, showed a village in Switzerland appearing to harvest spaghetti on trees. The video itself was particularly convincing, mostly due to the fact that the population had no reason to suspect any foul play. Given the definition of the TVs, their lack of colour and no easily accessible way of replaying the clip, it had a whole nation shocked into belief.

Technological elements aside, in terms of cuisine, Italian food, more specifically spaghetti, was not common in the British diet at this point in time. To many, canned spaghetti with tomato sauce was considered an ‘exotic delicacy’, a simply frightening thought to students around the nation today. Therefore, given that nobody held the capability of just immediately pulling up a video of a spaghetti making plant, the general populace had no option other than to believe it, unless you had first hand experience to suggest otherwise.

To sum it up, perhaps we shouldn’t expect the biggest or most grandeur results from your yearly April Fools, not to the extent of the BBC, for sure. I’m not sure anyone will ever pull off the same kind of prank to this day, and I’m not sure they ever will anymore. Has modern societal behaviour and technological advances ruined April Fools for everyone?

I’m not quite sold just yet.

“Whilst a slightly scary thought in our modern postOrwellian world, the BBC knew they could do whatever they pleased”

FOOD & DRINK

A

! s l o o F l i r p

WORDS BY: JOSH ONG

27 26

Rethinking Eggs

The Cholesterol Myth

Have you ever wondered how many eggs you should have per week?

Well, I did. It might be because I am sometime obsessed with what I eat, but you know what? I just looove food and I am always looking for something new to learn and discover.

Let’s start with some scientific facts. We all agree, together with scientists of course, that we need fats in our diet. It is essential for our body cell membranes. However, there are certain fats, such as trans-fats and saturated fats, which are better to avoid – or at least not to have a diet based on them. These can be found, for example, in fast food, solid margarines and prepared baked goods. The reason why they are considered harmful is because they can increase the level of cholesterol in our blood and balance it towards bad LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol rather than the good HDL (high-density lipoprotein) one.

I know… it is getting complicated but let me explain further, I will get to the point eventually. The cholesterol known as bad LDL increases the chance of getting heart diseases because it builds up in the walls of blood vessels. Contrastingly, HDL keeps LDL away from being collected in our arteries.

Then, there are mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which help raising the level of HDL. These are present in food like salmon, avocado and olive oil – so what?

Let’s go back to eggs now. Keeping in mind that further research has to be done in the future, I will tell you what has been discovered until now.

Overall, eggs rise the level of HDL in our blood. The yolk is the part with most cholesterol, while the egg white is mostly protein. And of course, the level of cholesterol rises by almost 50% of its fat content if you eat them fried, according to NHS. However, eggs are also high in vitamins such as vitamin A and D, as well as zeaxanthin, antioxidants and lutein, – which are key to reduce eye-related diseases and to increment brain performance. Eggs are good if you are an active, sporty person and you want to increase your muscle mass and bone health; they are also high in choline – which are crucial for our body cells. Finally, eggs intensify our feeling of fullness; this is why having them for breakfast might mean that you don’t have to think about bringing a snack to uni or work. As a matter of fact, our body takes at least two hours to digest one egg!

Furthermore, it is important have to consider the quality of the eggs we eat. As we are what we eat, the same can be applied to chickens. It might sound obvious, but eating eggs which are not free-range or organic, makes a difference on the nutrients we get from them and thus, alters the quantity we can consume.

Therefore, if you buy high quality, free-range eggs, you can freely eat up to 7 eggs per week without any concerns; this obviously means that you can either eat one per day or spread them throughout.

So, don’t worry, be happy: you can still enjoy (at least) one full English breakfast per week!

WORDS AND DESIGN BY CATERINA DASSIE’

27

B

eing a student comes with many perks and responsibilities, the main one being - independence. For many, this is the first time being away from home, which implies having to take care of not only their own laundry, bills and shopping, but also being responsible for the food that is put on the table.

Whilst the ability to eat copious amounts of junk food is a liberating feeling, does it really benefit our long-term health and academic performance?

Final-year students tend to think back with nostalgia to their first months in university, when their diet was comprised of alcohol, frozen meals and the occasional slice of free Dominos’ pizza at the Freshers’ fair. Between the late nights of partying and early morning lectures, a wholesome, nutritious diet is definitely not a priority for students. Despite the various resources provided by universities, the NHS, and medical organisations, regarding a well-balanced diet as a student, an 18-year old who has just arrived in university is probably not thinking about meal prepping chicken and veg and remembering they eat breakfast at 10am every day.

However, as time goes on, many of us came to realise that, in order to keep up our energy levels and be productive, we need to fuel our bodies properly. Even for someone like me, who has always been conscious of the quality of food they are consuming, it was difficult to stick to a healthy routine during my first year as a student. I would often find myself going to bed at 5am and waking up at 3 in the afternoon, only to have a bowl of cereal and return to sleep. Clearly, such habits can be detrimental to both our physical health and our performance in university.

So, how nutritious really is the student diet? Dill Tootill, a 1st year Journalism and Communications student, shared his experience having to plan and manage his food for the first time since being away from home: “The idea of meal prepping has definitely been a challenge. Having to make so many portions of one thing and another is rather confusing, especially for a guy who is relatively chalk and cheese when it comes to foods he likes and dislikes”.

While Dill agrees that it is “crucial” to have a well-balanced diet, he also admits that he doesn’t put enough effort into maintaining one, as he prioritises convenience above all: “While I’ve never been a massive fast food eater, these options eliminate the hassle of washing up an array of cutlery or having to decide on what foods you must buy in advance”.

It is true that making conscious food choices might not be a priority due to busy schedules, stress and other commitments outside of university. However, with diet being directly linked to our physical and mental well-being, we simply can’t afford to spend our first years of adulthood consuming only foods that are devoid of any nutrients. Many think that taking care of your health means spending hours preparing food in the kitchen, working out excessively or depriving yourself from a pint and a Friday night takeaway. However, that is definitely not the case.

Having a balanced diet means ensuring that, while still consuming your favourite foods and treats, you also give your body the nutrients it needs to perform at the best of its abilities.

Whether you decide to have a salad with your sandwich at lunch or you drink a green smoothie at breakfast- every little change will count towards you feeling more energised and ready to take on the day.

However, let’s not forget the massive social aspect around foodalmost every student has a funny story of getting chips at 4am after a night out, or spending a Sunday afternoon hungover sharing a pizza with their housemates. In those cases, who cares about calories, macronutrients and excessive sugar intake? Such moments are all about enjoyment and making memories which, at the end of the day, are just as imperative to our happiness and well-being.

University life has many ups and downs and, to an extent, the student diet perfectly mimics that: there are days when you burn three consecutive slices of toast, and then there are the ones when you share a delicious, well-presented meal with your friends, celebrating the end of term. Being healthy, however, is about more than the contents of your fridge. It is about finding a balance between what your body needs and what makes you happy, and that can be applied to not only our diets, but to every aspect of our lives.

WORDS BY: YANA MILCHEVA DESIGN BY: RIMANTE BIVAINYTE

FOOD & DRINK

Burnt Toast, Beans and Early Morning Fattoush: How nutritious really is the average student diet?

28

Editors’ Interview WORDS BY: CATERINA DASSIÈ AND JOSH ONG DESIGN BY: VITTORIA ZERBINI

29

food moments, successes and our experiences with food over the last year.

Josh

Hi Cat, how are you?

Cat

I am very well thanks, and you?

Josh

Hungry. Always hungry. I’ve just been reminiscing over all of the fantastic food we’ve eaten over the last year or so.

Cat

Oh nice! Out of them what have been your highlights?

Josh

It’s certainly been a good year for food. Our dinner at Heaney’s is certainly up there. Alternatively, almost all of the dishes from street food vendors I managed to eat at Abergavenny food festival was certainly a treat.

Cat

Aww...the duck ham at Heaney’s...was just delicious! What about the Brewery Quarter? I can’t believe I haven’t been there yet!

But I know you have, so....would you recommend going there?

Josh

I agree, that dish was ducking brilliant. When it comes to Sticky Fingers, we’re certainly lucky to have it in the heart of the city. The multitude of fresh flavours from around the globe available to us is certainly not to be taken for granted. I have a soft place in my heart for all street food, though. How about you? What have your highlights been?

Cat

For sure Heaney’s, but also our brunch at The Early Bird certainly stands up on the podium; it was my first full on English breakfast there since I moved to Cardiff three years ago - I should feel ashamed, shouldn’t I?

Josh

You’re a student, you’re allowed to have a bad diet. Is there anything you’d wished you’d done more or managed to experience this year?

Cat

Mmm...Maybe trying out more restaurants and cafes rather than always going back to the ones I know I would like. Yet, being Quench Food & Drink editor has inspired me to search around and discover new places to review - I am really glad I have been appointed to this role and all the opportunities that Quench has allowed me to pursue. What about you?

Josh

To quote one of my favourite country artists, I’ve got a million things to do, but I haven’t done a single one. Lyrics aside, there’s a whole multitude of international foods in the area around City & Albany road which I seek to explore further in the future.

Cat

I am telling you, most of the international places in that area are really good, plus there is a wide range of them; you can probably find most cuisines - especially Asian. I would for sure suggest going to Tenkaichi or Sushi Life, if you like Japanese food or Chili Basil for Thai, but also Mezzaluna for Lebanese and I could just list many more…

Josh

Fortunately for me, I’ve got at least another year.

Cat

Don’t even mention it, I am so sad of leaving Cardiff and not being able to write for Student Media.

Josh

It’ll be a shame losing you as part of Quench, for sure.

In terms of this interview though, I think that just about wraps it up. We hope you enjoyed this piece and all others we’ve written over the year. We wish you all the best and thank you for coming along on this journey with us.

Our best, Josh and Cat x

FOOD & DRINK

As our final piece of the year, as the Food & Drink Editors, we decided to interview each other to go over our favourite

30

Do you have a food that can cast you back to a specific time or place? Like the scene with the food critic Anton Ego in Ratatouille, there lies some profoundly deep connection between food and the ability for it to cast us back. Here are four of our contributors discussing their food memories associated to give an insight into the magic that food can create in their world.

Fish & Chips

A meal that gives me fond memories is a simple one: fish and chips. Living near the coast, fish and chips is a favourite of many, but for myself it holds so much more value than it does for the standard tourist. Like most people’s grandparents I’m sure, mine have never needed much persuading to get them out of the house, especially when there’s food on offer. I’ve visited and reviewed most restaurants and pubs with help from my grandparents and one thing would be certain every time – my grandad would always, without fail, choose fish and chips. It would be an essential question when deciding where to dine out – ‘do they serve fish and chips?’ – and if the answer was no, we simply wouldn’t go. It’s worth mentioning that when I refer to my grandad, I actually mean my great Grandad. At 89, and with less of an appetite than he used to have, he would still give his meal a great attempt making sure not to leave any fish.

Sadly, my Great Grandad Charlie passed away recently, which was the first big blow to my family since my Grampy passed away in early 2000s. I haven’t seen my family so broken and lost. Visiting home was strange, but poignantly we all decided where the first stop would be when we were all back together - the fish and chip shop. Bittersweet, we all chose Charlie’s favourite, smiling, quietly wondering whether he had ever ordered anything but.

Cava

by Ashley Boyle

From the excitable unwrapping of the outer casing; to the spinetingling ‘tssss’ of the cork popping; to the anticipatory glug-glugglug of the first pouring; to the scintillating sparkles dancing joyously up from the bottom of the glass; to the moment of unadulterated bliss as you sip the nostalgic nectar.

Cava.

This Catalonian delicacy fills me with dizzying delight and unapologetically catapults me back to a time in which I associate with my re-birth; my coming back to life after years near death.

Britain is a nation of Prosecco-guzzlers, but I am unflinchingly and proudly Team-Cava. I spent a few months in Catalonia, during which time I was able to visit Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the birthplace of Cava. There are no words to describe seeing the very grapes growing so vulnerably in the vast vineyards to them being transformed by alchemy into the mesmerising sparkling wine I hold so close to my heart.

Visiting bodegas was really something else. Being shown around modernisme-style wineries by the most knowledgeable and ardent of guides to then being whimsically transported by mini-train around the inestimable kilometres of labyrinthine tunnels where the precious effervescent-filled bottles are stored.

The icing on the cake was, unquestionably, the tasting. To be able to taste the cava, right there from where it originated, from where it was elaborated with such caring passion.

Cava, for me, is more than a drink. It is a feeling, a balmy feeling of earnest warmth, frivolous excitement, positive regeneration and care-free euphoria.

by Angharad Evans

Artichokes

For me a truly nostalgic food would be artichokes, specifically steamed artichokes served with delicious French butter in which the leaves are dipped and the meaty part of the artichoke is scraped off with the front teeth. When I see artichokes now, on pizza or in jars, I am transported back to Carantec in a small campervan sitting around a table with my grandparents, my mother and my brother.

At around six or seven, I was not a fussy child but yet, like most other children of that age, I had to be encouraged to try the odd cabbage like food in front of me. Shown by my grandmother I first tore off a leaf of the hot artichoke before dipping into the melted butter as instructed; an odd delicacy, but a delicious one. I was struck by the luxurious taste and the novelty of an appropriately exotic food for the North of France.

These are not the only memories brought back sitting in that same campervan, to this day, I can still see my grandmother rolling up a magazine, ready to wage war against the flies which have found their way in through humid rainy weather. I also see her walking from my grandparent’s caravan to the one shared by my mother, brother and me, shielding herself from the rain with a plastic shopping bag whilst I stayed inside, too fussy to get my hair wet. The power of food is mighty whilst also being unpredictable. I am always surprised how unexpected nostalgic memories can creep up on you when you are merely looking for some olives in the deli aisle at Tesco’s and see a small plastic packet of artichoke hearts.

Peking Duck

by Lottie Ennis

For as long as I can remember, my family has always celebrated Chinese New Year- a practice that presumably stems from my mum’s time in Hong Kong as an RAF brat.

In practice, what this tends to mean is a supermarket ready meal selection that I’m sure would mortally offend Chinese readers with its inaccuracy. Among the dangerously flexible, steaming hot black plastic dishes brought from microwave to table, out of traditional beef in black bean sauce, sweet and sour chicken, overfilled plates of crispy wontons, spring rolls and the triangles of prawn toast, the Peking duck always stood out as a favourite.

Equally, my allurement towards the duck might be due to my love of playing with food. I still love the tactile ritual of spreading plum sauce over the floury, paper-thin pancake and sprinkling it with spring onions and cucumber, as the slightest concession to my five-a-day, before trying to roll up as much duck as possible without dropping it. I don’t think I quite understood that my following two pancakes would be woefully meagre if I snaffled my whole portion in one go.

Over the years, Peking duck became my family’s go-to ‘event’ meal, working its way into birthdays and anniversaries alongside Britain’s national dish, chicken tikka masala.

Finding a half-duck reduced in Lidl around my birthday last year gave me a chance to relive just a little bit of that childhood magic that you lose once you start having to worry about bills and meal planning, and have some fun playing with my food again.

DESIGN BY: ASHLEY BOYLE

by Chris Colbourne

31 FOOD & DRINK

Food Nostalgia

32

Dead Canary Cocktails

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: JOSH ONG DESIGN BY: ORLAGH TURNER

33 FOOD & DRINK

Bullet for my Valentine

34

Howard Marks

35 FOOD & DRINK

Henry Morgan

36

Budget airlines have been on the rise since the turn of the 21st century, with airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair dominating the market with their incredibly low fees. As these budget airlines begin to introduce long haul flights, making flying further more accessible to individuals, there are both positive and negative consequences to consider. We look at the pros and cons of budget airlines, weighing up whether they are truly doing more harm than good.

Budget airlines: WORDS BY: ANNA HELEDD AND MARTHA HUGHES DESIGN BY: ALESSIO PHILIP GRAIN

Budget airlines are a good thing In decades past, global travel was an option for only the very wealthy or for those whose jobs required some form of travel. Now, budget airlines have made travel accessible for so many, something which surely has to be seen in a positive way. Families, couples and friends on lower incomes are still able to enjoy some form of holiday thanks to the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet. Many hardworking Brits on low incomes still deserve to have a choice as to where they spend their well-deserved holidays. For these people, a £30 flight to Spain may be god-send, especially for larger families who have to budget for several members to fly. The American Psychological Association found that “traveling aides in our ability to handle stress by removing us from sources of anxiety and difficult emotions”. Another study at Cornell University found that “it helps us feel connected and involved with other people”.

These positive effects of travel highlight the importance of its accessibility to people of all walks of life and not just the wealthy.

On the topic of being connected, budget flights also allow for families and friends to stay in touch no matter if there are oceans or countries between them. In this day and age, it is not uncommon for younger people to travel abroad for study or work, or for older

people to retire abroad. Cheap flights mean that we don’t lose contact with these loved ones and that we can still spend precious time with them.

Learning about different cultures is a massive part of travel that I know, from personal experience, can greatly benefit both us as individuals but also as a society. Budget airlines make this possible now more than ever. We can learn from other countries and cultures things that we may apply to our every day lives and to the lives of others to improve our experiences. Travelling can also allow you to discover more about yourself and become a more well-rounded person; particularly for young people taking their first trips. These first steps of independence can be enabled by affordable airfare, meaning that they don’t have to go knocking on the ‘bank of mum and dad’.

Budget airlines have been given a bad rep by some, however, this is not always reality. Budget airlines such as Air Asia

have won awards for their consistent value and customer service, proving that low-cost travel can be both practical and enjoyable!

Not to mention that premium airlines such as British Airways, one of the lower ranked of all international airlines, is offering similar routes as Easyjet at a much higher price, yet for a very similar standard of service.

Yes, extras on board these airlines can be pricy. However, packing your own lunch in advanced reduces the need for expensive food purchases and travelling light will not only decrease your bill, but also decrease your stress as you have less packing to think about!

Yes, flying does increase your carbon footprint, but so does driving a car, drinking from plastic bottles and turning on a light switch; you’ve probably done at least one of these today. Whilst this does not necessarily justify taking cheap flights, it highlights that, realistically, we increase our carbon footprint each day and that the issue goes far beyond taking a cheap flight to Majorca to visit a relative.

Pho to b y

TRAVEL

y Tr

37

Are they doing more harm than good ?

Pho to b y

Am arna t

h Ta

de o n Un spla sh

Budget airlines are doing more harm You’ve heard of those people who’ve gotten a return ticket from London to Spain for a fiver, right? But what they don’t talk about is all of the extra costs that come with it. If travelling only with carry on, airlines like this are ideal for business trips or quick city breaks.

However, in December 2018, Ryanair added an extra cost of £30 per checked in bag. Additionally, on flights that don’t include food in their ticket price, it’s usually ridiculous, with Easyjet charging £10 for a meal deal.

Almost everything is an extra fee when flying on low cost airlines, so make sure you’ve done your research on your chosen airline, as they all have different terms and conditions in terms of baggage allowance, liquids allowed in carry on luggage, and so on.

You’ve probably heard the nightmares of people who have flown into a country and realised that their airport is actually nowhere near their goal destination. This can be seen as an issue which some budget airlines keep hush about so that you’re more likely to choose their flight. It is cheaper to fly into smaller airports located far outside cities, and many airlines don’t disclose the distance of the airports from actual civilisation. For example, Ryanair advertises flights to Dusseldorf and Brussels, when in reality the airports are located in Weeze and Charleroi, an hour away from the city by car.

As you probably are aware, travelling by plane is not beneficial for the environment. The environmental impact of aviation is as a result of aircrafts emitting heat, noise and gases into the air which contribute to climate change and global dimming. Travelling by plane currently accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions into the atmosphere. However, as flight costs are slashed, making it easier for people to travel, this fraction could rise to 22% by 2050. Campaigners are attempting to inity

Mos s

on U nspl ash

introduce domestic high-speed rails modelled on Japan’s ‘bullet train’, to reduce the number of people taking short, low cost domestic flights.

The amount of fuel airlines need to consume to fly the aircraft cancels out the positive energy saving methods of other sectors. No current technological developments have been made for low cost airlines to reduce the emission of their airlines drastically. It is true that airplanes created today are more environmentally aware in their design than those first created, however the fuel needed to run these airlines damages the environment. Aeroplanes are run on fossil fuels, which reduce carbon into the environment. The increase of low-cost flights has also made air traffic more congested. Carbon emissions a r e prolonged when an aeroplane is in the queue to take off or land, therefore a lot of preventable pollution is made possible because of increases in flights. Making global travelling more accessible to the public is an incredible idea in theory, however it needs to be done in a careful and mindful way to protect our environment, which is under increasing threat from pollution and global warming every day.

38

AIRPORTS TO

THE BEST

ST

K UC

STOPOVER

BE

IN

FO

R

AN

HOUR

39 TRAVEL

Anyone who has travelled long haul, had a delayed flight or just generally has low patience levels, will be able to vouch for the annoyance of being trapped in an airport for a long period of time. When booking a long haul flight, especially whilst living a frugal, student lifestyle, we are likely to find the cheaper journeys more lucrative rather than those with the best layovers. 8 hours is the sum of my weekly university contact hours, I could probably complete an assignment in an 8 hour solid library session. However, if you’re spending this length of time, stuck in an airport terminal, it will feel like the longest 8 hours ever. Most large, international airports tend to be located a little while outside of the city, meaning 8 hours isn’t long enough to fully explore your surroundings, but it’s way too long to grab yourself a Maccies and head to your gate.

There are some airports however, that make an 8 hour stopover feel like a day at the mall. We’ve shortlisted the coolest airports and ranked them out of 5 stars based on their entertainment Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emiratesfacilities, uniqueness and opportunities to help you kill time.

When thinking of luxurious airports, Dubai is one that immediately springs to mind. Maybe because in a city filled with flashy cars, architectural masterpieces and 5* hotels, we expect the main international transport hub to adhere to the same standards; and that it does. The whole airport has a classy Changi Airport, Singaporeand expensive feel to it and this is apparent throughout all of its terminals. Dubai International acknowledge the stress and tension that builds from a heavy day travelling, and therefore Singapore Changi Airport, is my personal place a high emphasis on relaxation. Within the airport’s favourite. In fact, with the facilities and LAX, United Statesterminals there are a number of spa facilities available to luxuries available to travelers you will find visitors, such as Be Relax, O2 Spa and Salon and XpresSpa. it hard to believe you’re in an airport. Much This is the perfect feature for backpackers in need of a massage like Dubai, we make the assumption that If Miley Cyrus said it, it has to to ease the pain caused by lugging around everything but the Singapore’s airport will be just as flashy as be true. A flight from the iconic kitchen sink on their backs. its capital, and it does not disappoint. The LAX, is a real party in the USA. The cuisine at Dubai International is also of a very high airport has four terminals, and if you find Although the airport itself and standard, with their aim being to offer the cuisines of the world, you have the time, try to visit all of them, as its facilities may not make any most notably there is a Hard Rock Cafe in one of the terminals. each is just about as exciting as the last. leaderboards, it’s a great stop Its coolest features are the children’s trampoline park and the At Changi Airport, they aim to combat the over location due to its celeb vintage photo booth to collect a memoir of your journey. chaos of travel with the calming presence spotting opportunities. If you Dubai is flashy and large enough to kill a lot of time, but the of nature. Each terminal has its own flower don’t hop off the plane at LAX range of facilities isn’t enough to earn Dubai the highest stars. garden and even some animal encounters, to with a dream and a cardigan, transport you away from the airport. There what are you actually doing. is a rooftop cactus garden, rooftop sunflower I mean no LAX airport isn’t garden, an orchid garden and a water lily close to the luxury and facilities garden. If you’re an animal lover you can of some of our other featured wander through a butterfly enclosure, home airports, but it was worth a to over 1,000 butterflies; the garden has mention just for the pop culture, interactive and educational features to teach 1 star. guests about the life-cycle of these beautiful animals. In terminal 3 you will find a Koi pond; here you have the opportunity to feed the animals yourself as designated feeding times.

Heathrow, LondonThere are also a huge range of entertainment facilities. The free 24 hour movie theatre aims to provide fun suitable for the whole In any UK based airport review, its vital we include one a little closer to home. This means that you can select family, and the Entertainment Deck has your outbound airport based on what there is to do whilst you wait for your flight. If you browse online video games and multimedia for all to enjoy. guides to the world’s best airports, Heathrow is almost always given a mention and it is easy to see why. The However, Singapore Changi really have sheer size of the airport is enough to suggest that it’s going to be a brilliant time waster. Heathrow feels more gone above and beyond the norm in terms like Westfields shopping center than it does an airport and the huge variety of shops, bars and restaurants is of facilities. If the weather permits you can really impressive. Whilst browsing the airport website there are four pages worth of food and drink outlets lounge around the rooftop pool and Jacuzzi and nine whole pages of shops. Whatever your budget, Heathrow has something suitable. As students, we’ll in the bliss Asian weather. If you’re more of feel right at home with our good old friend Weatherspoons on hand in the airport to provide us with cheap a thrill seeker, Singapore Changi is home to pints and hearty pub grub. Yet just a short walk away you will find Prunier Caviar House and Oyster Bar; the the tallest slide in an airport- at 12 meters epitome of fine dining. tall T3 is great fun for adults and children The shopping experience at Heathrow is completely unique, especially when compared to our other selection alike. of UK airports. It boasts the likes of Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Prada, whilst also providing the With all of this inside the airport, you essentials with a Boots, WHSmiths and Accessorize, so travellers can grab their last minute holiday essentials. have very little need to leave, but you can It also celebrates all that is quintessentially British, with a Harrods, Hamleys and Harry Potter shop. however. Unlike other airports Singapore The lead up to a holiday can be an extremely stressful time, with so much to plan and consider it’s very Changi offer stopover passengers a FREE common that we don’t find the time to cram in our pre-holiday pamper. However at Heathrow you can sort city tour, for all layovers between 5.5 and 24 yourself out with a fresh trim at the on-site barbers, an express manicure at the salon or you can even have hours. So if you’re starting to get cabin fever your shoes shined. stuck inside, you can take a 2.5 hour tour of The inclusion of the Heathrow Weatherspoons has made it extremely hard to deny this airport their final the Singapore city with two photo stops. star, but the lack of rooftop pool and flower garden means that Heathrow wins an impressive 4 stars.

Easily a 5 star airport. In fact, can I live here?

***

*****

**

****

WORDS BY: MOLLY GEDDES DESIGN BY: URSZULA RODAKOWSKA

40

As it’s the last issue with our current team, we asked our editors to send in their baby pictures - some of us have given section-related clues but refer to the meet the team page to see if you can fill in the blanks and take a guess at who is who! See answers at the bottom right of the page ...

Who am I? I am not Jean Valjean.

4.

5.

1.

2.

6.

7.

3.

ANSWERS: 1. Maddy Steele, Fashion & Beauty 2. Andrea Gaini, Editor-in-Chief 3. Angharad May, Copy Editor 4. Ilona Cabral, Culture 5. Orlagh Turner, Design Deputy 6. Katie May Huxtable, Deputy Editor / Fashion & Beauty 7. Caterina Dassie, Food & Drink 8. Molly Govus, Social Media 9. Hannah Ryan, Film & TV 10. Abi Dudbridge, Social Media 11. RimantÄ— BivainytÄ—, Fashion & Beauty 12. John Jones, Film & TV 13. Martha Hughes, Travel 14. Luisa De la Concha Montes, Photography 15. Josh Ong, Food & Drink 16. Camille Stanley, Music

I was destined for a career in film ever since I beat Will Smith to the title role in Hancock (2008).

16.

12.

11.

15.

10.

14.

9.

8.

That feeling when Ryanair has a flash sale!

13.

41

42

With summer fast approaching, many of us will be booking our holidays with our friends, ready to relax and let loose after a hard, long year of uni. What better way to enjoy yourself than hit up a nightclub with your pals during your travels? Well, if you’re looking for something extra special, why not head to a nightclub out of the ordinary to have a night you’ll never forget. Here’s a few suggestions of where to head this summer to make the most of the world’s weird and wonderful nightlife!

Miniscule of Sound - London The Croft Institute - Melbourne If you’re heading down under this summer, ‘The Croft Institute’ is definitely not to be missed! Hidden down a little Melbourne alley in Chinatown, this bar has three floors and serves some of the best cocktails in town.

The ground floor is laboratory themed; you’ll find an array of beakers, Bunsen burners and test tubes, some of which you can have your drink from! Pipetting drinks into your friends’ mouths is definitely a fun activity on a holiday night out! Try the ‘experiment’ cocktail, this changes monthly so you’ll never know what you’ll get, but it’s bound to be delicious. The cocktails are infamously strong, so if you need a little rest, there’s a medical examination bed that you can lay on in the bathrooms on the second floor. You’ll find them behind the door labelled ‘Department of Female Hygeine’. The top floor of the building, the ‘gymnasium’ has a wonderful grassy lawn and if you head there on the weekend, you’ll find a great line up of DJs playing through the night.

Martha Hughes

While a night out at the Student’s Union on a Wednesday may feel cramped, it has nothing on the Miniscule of Sound! For ten years this nightclub was recognised as the smallest mobile nightclub in the world by The Guinness World Records, standing at four by eight foot small, complete with its own tiny two-foot dance floor.

Emerging from Hackney’s rave scene in the late 90s as parody of its namesake, the super-club “Ministry of Sound”, the mobile nightclub has turned up everywhere from birthday parties and bar mitzvahs to Glastonbury Festival. Despite being little more than a glorified portaloo, the club has managed to reach a capacity of twenty six people at once, but it’s a number than depends entirely on the size of the ravers. Many a celebrity has graced the Miniscule of Sound with their presence, including Mike Skinner, Lily Allen, Mick Jones, Ian Brown and even Boris Johnson; with clientele as famous as theirs, they must be doing something right! In all seriousness, the club may be more satirical commentary on the over-commercialisation of London’s nightlife than actual venue, but that won’t stop it from being one of the most unique experiences you can have!

Alex Payne Szimpla Kert -Budapest Alongside the beautiful scenery and refreshing baths, the Hungarian capital of Budapest is particularly well known for its huge array of unique and charismatic ruin bars. Ruin bars are named as such due to their location in old and abandoned buildings in the cities old quarter, which was once the site of the Jewish Ghetto during the Second World War. Rather than allowing these war ravaged buildings to go to no use, bars were built in them to offer cheap alcohol to locals in the city. The bars are typically filled with mismatched furniture that has been picked up from sales and thrift shops, creating a bohemian vibe. Szimpla Kert was the first of its kind, and it’s now an attraction in and of itself for tourists visiting Budapest. The bars popularity has meant that alcohol prices have been shifted up slightly compared to many of the other bars in the city, but you will still find a pint’s cheaper than it is at home; and it’s totally worth is for the quirky and energetic atmosphere. The inside of Szimpla Kert feels a bit like a maze, with the bar being compartmented off into smaller rooms, each one with a different theme and wacky interior to match. There is graffiti on each wall, an array of every coloured neon lights across every inch of wall/ ceiling, retro carousel seats and a collection of old TV’s strapped to the wall playing static. It is without a doubt the weirdest, coolest, edgiest, yet most photogenic bar I’ve visited and Its not to be missed on any trip to Budapest.

Molly Geddes

Das Klo -Berlin Berlin is known for having great nightlife with plenty of bars and clubs to choose from. However, if you want an experience like no other, you have to head to Das Klo. This bar has been open for over 40 years and is definitely a weird one, not for the faint-hearted. ‘Das Klo’ translated into English literally means toilet! The décor of the bar includes a paper-mache ceiling, water gets sprinkled down randomly and the bar stools rotate.

There are even toilet seats in every corner that you can sit on if you need a rest. You can also enjoy your red wine from a transfusion pack whilst receiving a small electric shock from the table. If you’re a more of a beer drinker, that comes served in a specimen cup! The bar staff are in on the act too so expect weird and wacky behaviour from them and don’t be surprised if they try to prank you or freak you out.

Emily Stanton

43 TRAVEL

WHAT TO PACK I N YOUR TRAVEL BAG

ere at the travel desk, we have been discussing the growing importance of environmentally and ethically conscious travel. In our previous article we considered how and why we should become more conscious travellers, as well as offering a few tips and tricks. Following up from this, we wanted to specifically highlight where to source your travel essentials and what type of ethically-sourced, environmentally friendly materials you can pick up ready for your next trip! They may just be small changes but if we all work together to take the time to make the changes, together we can make an impact.

Have a look at our easy-to-follow checklist and tick things off as you go: Bamboo toothbrush (Check out Ripple on Albany Road for a range) Traditional toothbrushes do not biodegrade and release toxic chemicals when incinerated. This is really simple and affordable switch to start off with!

Environmentally-friendly bug repellent (Take a look at mosquito bands on Amazon, try to buy from a UK seller to save on the carbon footprint!)

Traditional repellents contain harsh chemicals, not good for you or the environment…

Deodorant & Shampoo minus the man-made chemicals (Shops such as ‘Lush’ or ‘The Body Shop’ stock these natural alternatives and are also members of the ethical trading initiative) Traditional spray deodorants release harmful chemicals into the environment and many larger toiletries companies do not ethically source ingredients!

Travel cup that keeps your water cool but your coffee hot (Again, check out Ripple on Albany Road for some bright and funky designs) Constantly buying plastic bottles of water is definitely not great for the environment, many airports/cafes around the world have water fountains where you can refill your travel cup, you can also ask for your coffee to be put in there!

Avoid that fast fashion where possible (Try to re-use your clothes from previous years, failing that head to local charity shops or research ethical brands in the UK) Heading out on a new adventure, it can be tempting to buy a whole new wardrobe from Primark but this comes with a whole heap of environmental and ethical consequences.

Solar-charged power bank (You can get mini keyring forms on Amazon from just £12) Power banks are super handy but traditional ones require plugging into an electrical outlet to charge up, not so great for the environment. These are solar panelled -clip onto the outside of your bag and let it charge naturally whilst on your sunny holiday!

Pack it all in your canvas bag! (Check out Moral Fibres blog which shows you where to get a sustainable/ethical quality backpack-for a range of budgets) We all know constantly buying and throwing away plastic bags is unsustainable and that a great amount of oil is involved in the mass production of these bags…invest in a quality backpack that is both consistently re-usable & that is made of more environmentally friendly material.

Bonus tips: Try to avoid ordering items online that have a long way to come!

That plane carrying over your bamboo toothbrush is not so environmentally friendly… Try to shop local and smaller brands where possible as this puts money back into local businesses, supporting and boosting our local economy!

WORDS BY: MARTHA HUGHES DESIGN BY: KATIE MAY HUXTABLE

44

Taking the Road Less Travelled How to get the most from visiting those less traditional destinations!

As long distance travel becomes cheaper and more accessible, we have DES IGN B Y : A S H L E Y B OY L E seen a huge increase in long haul travel. The travel trends have moved on from Spanish beach holidays and Italian weekend breaks, and it seems now there is a growing desire to visit the unknown; the further away and most unusual the better.

However, if we take the road less travelled there are of course some huge unfamiliarity’s and cultural differences that come with the territory. As we travel to some of the world’s corners that are less accustomed to foreign visitors, it is important we bare a few vital things in mind to make sure we are getting the most from visiting these alternative destinations.

SRI LANKA Sri Lanka, or the jewel of the Indian Ocean, as it is often referred to, has seen a large growth in tourism over the past few years. However, it is still relatively untouched by the waves of western tourism compared to its popular Asian neighbors. When I visited this incredible country back in 2015 it was my first time venturing away from the home comforts of Europe and I felt a million miles away from any signs of mass tourism.

The most pressing advice I would give to anybody venturing away from the beaten track whilst travelling, is to go with an open mind. Always travel with the understanding that each location and its traditions are completely different to the last, and where we may not sometimes agree with a culture’s attitudes we must also acknowledge that they may also not agree with ours. This became apparent to me in Sri Lanka. As a loving dog owner who has grown up in a society where dogs live alongside us as part of our families; I was surprised on arrival into the nation at the amount of stray and neglected dogs. In Sri Lankan society, there is no history of dogs being close to the family and they therefore are viewed in a very different light. However, in countries with a strong Buddhist presence, such as Sri Lanka, cows are seen as sacred animals and often eating their meat is seen as taboo. Whereas I was shocked by the number of stray dogs, Sri Lankans visiting the UK would feel the same about beef being on the menu in most restaurants and on the shelves in all supermarkets. Although throughout my time in the country I still wanted to pack every pup into my hand luggage, it taught me to always be completely open minded whilst visiting any country- as we would be unsustainable travellers if we assumed that our culture and traditions were right and others were wrong.

Therefore whilst taking the road less travelled, always remember that whilst something may seem unfamiliar and scary to you, try your best to understand and respect others’ way of life. - Molly Geddes

Imagine walking into the serene picturesque land surrounded by people from a different background. Humans belonging to a different culture interacting and sharing information about their homelands. Do we really want to be one of those tourists with a list of monuments to visit and activities to perform? Or perhaps, let’s take the road less travelled.

Firstly, draw a list of places that are relatively affordable to reach depending on your budget.

It could be an hour away or a valley in another country. As an international student and an active traveller, I would recommend you to

INDIA choose a location from an Atlas book rather than looking it up online. To give an example, the last place I visited was the south of Sikkim, a small state in India. I chose to live in a tiny resort by a waterbody known, “Rangit River” in a small place called Baiguney. While travelling, I make sure to wake up early to view the dazzling sunrise and experience a live Polaroid picture scene. Get on the road and keep walking till you reach the wilderness. Travelling is all about experiencing the present moment, enduring the pain in your legs to the sweat in your armpits. I enjoy eating with the local people even if I may not know their vernacular language. Actions speak louder than words. Besides, local people love conversing with strangers. You’ll be the gossip of the town. So get on the road fellas! - Shubhangi Dua

As with any less traditional ‘holidaying’ country, some regions will have a more extensive range of outlets and facilities catered at tourists, whereas others you will encounter curious gazes wherever you go. In Vietnam, for example, I stayed in a small residential village a short drive outside of Hanoi, which is populated primarily by locals with little to no tourist industry. Yet just a thirty minute taxi journey away was the incredibly busy and bustling city of Hanoi. Here I could lounge around in swimming pools at luxury rooftop bars, drink cocktails and feast on pizza and chips or an avocado brunch.

Of course, there is always the underlying desire to indulge in the familiar western fast food we are accustomed to or spend our days doing flashy, insta worthy tourist activities; however in order to gain the most from your experience, try your best to immerse yourself within the local culture and customs. Always opt to try something new and local, rather than something familiar- in order to make the most of a less traditional destination, you have to step out of your comfort zone and expand your palate. So avoid going to a busy KFC in the city and try some pho or bahn mi from a small, independently owned outlet. Not only will you be getting the most from your travels, but you will be travelling sustainably and helping out local businesses and the economy. To put it simply, always avoid doing, drinking or eating things you have easy access to at home; ALWAYS try new things. - Molly Geddes

vIETNAM

45

DESIGN BY:ROWAN LEES

Exploring the Discography of your Favourite Artists

Paramore Paramore. The emo, pop punk, cool band former emo kids loved. I could define them in so many ways, but one which might be surprising would be calling them, the band with an almost perfect discography.

Lets start from the beginning, shall we? In 2005 they released their heaviest rock album All We Know Is Falling, and while that wasn’t really the album that made them famous, it really did show the potential of what they could become with tracks such as Pressure, Emergency, Never Let This Go and My Heart (which I would say is one of their best tracks ever released).

Fast forward to 2007, they released their much loved sophomore album, Riot, an angsty, yet sincere, punkfueled album, which shows they had nothing to hold them back. Let The Flames Begin turned into a huge live song for Paramore; Misery Business became a fan favourite, and I would say That’s What You Get is one of their catchiest songs ever released. But what makes it great as a whole is the high-energy melodies and the original lyrical content.

Two years later, they released, what I would consider, their best album ever. Paramore’s Brand New Eyes, I dare to say is one of the best albums released in the 2000s.

Every track is unique. Ignorance really showed what a great vocalist Hayley Williams is. The Only Exception showed a lighter side to the band in a beautiful rockballad form, while Playing God is fun, catchy, interesting and was really well acclaimed by the music critics back then. These were just some of the highlights but the whole album is well written, engaging and honest.

Their self-titled album is very diverse, fun and slightly more chilled than their previous albums, but still, also a great one. One of those Crazy Girls is very different than anything they previously released (also a very underrated track), with a vintage feel to it. Still Into You, Ain’t it Fun, Grow Up were a few of the highlight moments in the album, but were also a few of their best songs from their discography.

Finally, while After Laughter may sound more like a ‘New Wave’ album than an alternative one, it still has an originality feel to it and the emo lyrics. Fake Happy, Rose-Colored Boy and Hard Times are no doubt the most interesting tracks, but 26 and Caught in the Middle are also ones to be heard.

Words by Victoria Maria

MUSIC

From the Beginning: Milo What is most admirable about Milo’s discography is the unrelenting growth from album to album, facilitated by the scallops hotel side project and culminating in the impeccable hat-trick of albums with So the Flies Don’t Come, to Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?! and ending with Budding Ornithologists are Tired of Weary Analogies. The Maine based rapper has sadly retired this particular jersey in favour of new projects, but leaves us with an incredible legacy of work to look back on.

The early albums are a fun and rewarding jumble of philosophical and literary references, witty wordplay, and experimental beats. Then, Milo’s naturally nervous disposition begins to decay over the course of albums and mixtapes, refined by the reciprocal influence of beatmaker Kenny Segal who would produce the entirety of milo’s third final album STFDC. This project would come to mark Ferreira’s enduring shift into a style of delivery that brims with bravado and sincere confidence.

I was first introduced to Milo in 2012, the era you could still expect to find him ‘rapping his booklist’ with the cheeky enthusiasm of a college student, I have since then happily spent my years trying to grow in parallel to the trajectory to the emotional and intellectual growth I felt in the music. No matter how long you choose to spend in the streaming archives, the collected works of milo are an incredible feat and well-worthy of a personal investigation. Thank you Milo, the man ‘who made a career of out loud wondering.’

Words by Rowan Lees

Niall Horan You may associate Niall Horan with his blonde-haired, baby-faced One Direction days. It can’t be denied, the band did produce some great hits together but they’ve successfully managed to focus on and develop their own styles while on hiatus. Personally, I’ve clicked with Niall’s music the most. In 2017, Flicker, his debut album, was released; it didn’t disappoint. The world had already been treated to This Town and Slow Hands, with one being a gentle, sad ballad and the other being a sensual, feelgood tune. The musical variety, in just two songs, proves Niall’s capability of producing a song for any mood. His entire album is a beautiful mixture of emotions and positive messages. For example, Mirrors and Fire Away deal with issues concerning mental health, a particularly prominent topic nowadays. Considering how stressful life can be, I need some music that can cheer me up, and Niall’s never fails me. I think that’s one of the main reasons I love his music so much – one song and I’m instantly feeling better. Having felt lonely for quite some time, I always found I didn’t feel as awful after I’d listened to On My Own, a jolly and upbeat tune about the joys of spending time alone. His raspy but sweet voice, always accompanied with a guitar, makes for truly fantastic music, perfect for a long drive or a study session. If you don’t like One Direction, please don’t let that put you off listening to Niall’s solo work!

Words by Katie Waits

2010-2020

46

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - EVERY VALLEY

BY MASIE MARSTON

The South Wales coal mining industry doesn’t seem like an obvious concept choice for a group of middle class indie rockers based in London, but Public Service Broadcasting are no stranger to big historical and political themes. Having already tackled the American and Soviet space race, the first expedition of Mount Everest, the invention of colour TV and the Spitfire plane, the closure of the mines was to be the focus of their third studio album ‘Every Valley’.

Recorded between January and February 2017, the band set up a studio in a defunct convention space used by the local workers’ institute in Ebbw Vale.

In guitarist J. Willgoose’s words, “[Every Valley] is an album about community as much as it is about mining; it’s the story of an entire region centred around one industry, and what happens when that industry dies”. Despite addressing the 1970s closures, Willgoose believes that the story is applicable across the western world, and is still particularly relevant today, leading to “the resurgence of a particularly malignant, cynical and calculating brand of politics”.

There is a lot which sets the album apart from non-concept albums, but also other concept albums. It’s cinematic, nuanced and poignant and it feels well calculated and crafted. Whilst addressing the collapse of a community, it covers the nationwide miners’ strike and pays homage to the women behind it,

being careful not to romanticise what was a dangerous profession. Not only does it serve this important political purpose, but it also features James Dean Bradfield, frontman of the Manic Street Preachers, Welsh actress and singer Lisa Jên Brown singing in Welsh, and Ebbw Vale’s Beaufort Male Choir on the final track ‘Take Me Home’. Despite being middle class Londoners, it feels sympathetically put together and well intentioned.

The cinematic feel is what truly sets the band apart, and the decision to cover a topic like the decline of the mining industry lends itself to the use of snippets of public broadcasts. During ‘People Will Always Need Coal’, damning voice clips ripped from audio and film in the South Wales Miners’ Library at Swansea University feature; “Young men of Wales are finding the industry that employed their fathers and their grandfathers, there’s a future, a secure future, in Welsh coal today”. These words were of course said when the mines were only ten years away from closure.

Public Service Broadcasting’s Every Valley was such an ambitious project, and although I could never vouch for its authenticity being from outside the community myself, it has such an incredible imagery. The political message, conveyed through the combination of visuals, music and audio clips resonates with me, and it feels fitting when you are travelling through the breathtaking South Wales valleys.

“[EVERY VALLEY] IS AN ALBUM ABOUT COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS IT IS ABOUT MINING; IT’S THE STORY OF AN ENTIRE REGION CENTRED AROUND ONE INDUSTRY AND WHAT HAPPENNS WHEN THAT INDUSTRY DIES”

FATHER JOHN MISTY

GOD’S FAVOURITE CUSTOMER

FATHER JOHN MISTY - GOD’S FAVOURITE CUSTOMER

BY FINLEY CLARKE

Personally, my favourite concept album is Gods Favorite Customer by Father John misty (aka Josh Tillman). As a more serious less satirical departure from his previous work, Tillman narrates his stay in a hotel while going through problems in his marriage to photographer Emma Tillman, – “Most of this next album was written in a six-week period where I was kind of on the straits. I was living in a hotel for two months”.

This misadventure (justly alternatively titled ‘Mr. Tillman’s wild ride’) begins ‘sun is rising, black is turning blue’ as Misty wakes up alone in a hotel room unable to recall his actions from the night before, on track ‘Hangout at the Gallows’.

On tacks such as ‘Mr. Tillman’ Misty chronicles some of the strange behaviour that occurred in the hotel - ‘you left you your passport in the mini fridge’, and being reckless taking out other women on Lou Reed tinged ‘Date night’.

The album goes on to deal with themes such as depression and isolation, such as on ‘The Palace’ where he realises he needs help and stand on tracks sang from his wife’s perspective ‘The Songwriter’ and ‘Please Don’t Die’ where Tillman’s wife begs him to battle his personal demons off before it’s too late.

Tracks such as these acted as an outlet for Tillman’s feelings with Tillman recalling, “I think the music essentially serves the purpose of making the painful and the isolating less

DECADE

CONCE

47

ARCADE FIRE THE SUBURBS

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING EVERY VALLEY

MUSIC

ARCADE FIRE - THE SUBURBS

BY LUISA DE LA CONCHA MONTES

painful and less isolating”.

The album later progresses to the point where he accepts that while their relationship had been good it is most likely going to end on ‘Disappointing diamonds are the rarest of them all’. However, on the title track while ‘all bug-eyed and babbling’, Tillman then begs God to help him with his issues and save his marriage, in order to allow him to become ‘God’s Favorite Customer’ again.

This epic story concludes thoughtfully with the notion that

“I THINK THE MUSIC ESSENTIALLY SERVES THE PURPOSE OF MAKING THE PAINFUL AND THE ISOLATING LESS PAINFUL AND LESS ISOLATING”

The Suburbs was released in 2010 by the Canadian band, Arcade Fire. A year later, it was awarded with Album of the Year Grammy Award, beating Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Eminem, and leaving many surprised. At the time, Arcade Fire was a band greatly acknowledged by critics, but their success still remained partially hidden from mainstream audiences. Because of this, the night was followed by tweets asking who Arcade Fire were, one of those tweets even asked: “Who are The Suburbs?” - In commemoration of that brilliant reaction, I will answer the question.

The narrative in The Suburbs unfolds by following a group of children that grew in the suburbs, then left, and then felt the need to come back. The order is not chronological, sometimes the speakers are children singing from the past, other times they are adults speaking from the present and referring back to their time spent there. However, the suburbs is the aspect that remains present throughout the whole album. Even when the characters actually leave to go somewhere else, their voices are always returning to that place, which symbolise the roots of their identity.

This return is sometimes physical, like in the song ‘Sprawl I’, in which the main character finds himself lost in the streets that he used to know. Other times, the return is abstract, like in the song ‘City with No Children’, in which the character dreams of going back. This need to return is always nostalgic. Even when the music is upbeat, like in ‘Month of May’ and ‘Sprawl II’, it implies that something was lost. The suburbs serve as a contradicting symbol for the modern world. Outside, changes are constant and inevitable, but inside, there’s a sense of static. The suburbs are a place untouched by time, a place where things last longer.

In the lapse between the song ‘We Used to Wait’ and ‘Sprawl I’, there is a faint sound of cars driving by. The Suburbs symbolise the paradoxical act of driving, the belief that we have control over what we do, but that ultimately, we are always subjected to external actions. It also symbolises the trajectory of going from childhood to adulthood, and the eventual need of returning to our childhood to understand our roots. The Suburbs is about space, but it’s also about time, it’s about feeling alienated, but also about belonging, it’s an echo of nostalgia and memory, it’s about regretting and simultaneously wanting more. It’s an album full of contradictions. Contradictions that faithfully represent what is felt when we become aware of past time and lost spaces.

E DEFINING humans are all inherently flawed and bound to make mistakes and this should be accepted but not ignored, exclaiming ‘we’re only people, and there’s not much anyone can do about that’ on the final track.

EPTALBUMS

48

If you were to conjure up an image of a composer in your mind, would it be a man? Your answer is most likely, yes.

This assumption, although unfortunate, is nonetheless expected when figures compiled by the Donne – Women in Music project and Drama Musica show that only 76 classical concerts among 1,445 performed across the world from 2018 to 2019 included at least one piece by a woman. According to The Guardian that means that 95% of concerts in this time period had music only composed by men. These abysmal figures demonstrate that composing is still a man’s world, but without a doubt there were, and still are, women breaking down the door with their talent and determination.

49 MUSIC

Take, for example, the 19th-century Brazilian piano composer and conductor Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935) who became a composer against her husband’s wishes (unsurprisingly she was later the first woman in Brazil to obtain a divorce), and also protested against the slavery movement.

The American composer Ellen Taafe Zwilich (b.1939) was told by her music teacher at university that her desire to be a composer ‘wasn’t such a good idea’ because she was a ‘girl’, yet this didn’t stop her becoming the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. It appears that in an industry that is still so underrepresented, female composers aren’t afraid of being the ‘first woman’ on any list. Indeed, Wendy Carlos (b.1939) was the first trans woman to win a Grammy for her 1968 synthesiser album Switched-on-Bach, and has also composed the score to two Stanley Kubrick films, A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980). This demonstrates that just as we shouldn’t pigeon hole our idea of who or what a composer looks like, neither should we presuppose the qualities of female composers. Their stories are unique, specialism’s different and activism not just limited to challenging the classical world.

At the forefront of the mission to diversify the classical music world is the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. We are lucky to live in a capital city like Cardiff that offers so much to its students, for example having the BBC National Orchestra of Wales just down the road in Cardiff Bay. Friday 8th March marked International Women’s Day and the Orchestra demonstrated that both historical and modern female composers can be celebrated alongside one another. Conductor Valentina Peleggi led an orchestra in performing works by 19th-century and early 20th-century composers including Clara Schumann, whose Piano Concerto features soloist Mariam Batsashvili, music by Florence Price, and the first ever performance of Augusta Holmès’s Roland Furieux, composed in 1876. This isn’t the first time the BBC National Orchestra of Wales have been involved in initiatives to empower women in classical music. They previously led a project alongside BBC Radio 3 to shine a light on forgotten female composers and help to address diversity in the classical canon. They worked on a research project with the Arts and Humanities Research Council in order to find and record lost compositional pieces by female composers. The point being, change is coming, and if you are aspiring to be a female composer, or just want to hear more classical music composed by women then the future is looking bright indeed.

In the meantime, how can you get involved? Well, not only are tickets to performances by BBC National Orchestra Wales discounted for students and under-25s, but the BBC team are significantly involved with music students here at Cardiff. Even if you aren’t a music student you can make an impact by attending shows and reviewing them, with the aim being to enjoy the music yourself and in turn inspire others to listen to classical music.

At university it can become easy to remain in the small perimeter of campus, with all its amenities and convenience. Yet, when we have a chance to reflect we often notice that we don’t actually like being stagnant. We are at university to learn, explore and meet new people, and this doesn’t just have to occur in a university lecture hall. Ellen Taafe Zwilich could have remained on a course unsuited to her, listened to others and believed that her dream of being a female composer was unrealistic, but then we would be without one of Americas most frequently played composers of the modern day.

Female composers are a force to be reckoned with and if you take any message away from their work it is to be unafraid of being the ‘first’ change that you want to see.

50

51

With an early discography including numerous arena ready anthems, Sea Girls are poised to break out in a big way in 2019. Hot off a BBC Sound of 2019 nomination, they are already making waves in the indie rock scene. But who are these up and coming rockers? I spoke to drummer Oli to find out.

Meeting in school, it took a while for Henry (vocals and guitar), Rory (lead guitar), Andrew (bass) and Oli (drummer) to start playing together as a unit. They had played in numerous incarnations of the line-up before, going by names such as Perfect Trees and Young Khan, which sounds more like a rapper name than an indie band, but never as a foursome. That was until a couple of years after they left school, when they were all living in London and suddenly it clicked.

Yet, they were still far from fully formed, as they lacked a drummer. This is where Oli stepped in.

“We auditioned one drummer, which didn’t really work out, and I was like, I may as well give it a go. I hadn’t really played the drums before, so it was a bit of a leap. But I think it all worked out in the end.”

Renounced for their frenetic, sweat soaked live shows, Sea Girls spent the summer on the festival circuit, starting on the road to the headlining stardom which inevitably awaits. It was here the band felt as if they’d joined the major leagues for the first time. “Playing Reading and Leeds Festival was pretty cool. We had all been there at 16, it was the first festival we’d all been to. To be on the other side of that. Watching these people, who were us 5 years before… that was pretty special. We definitely felt like rock stars then.”

When I asked Oli what we can expect from one these live shows he got rather excited. “Banger, after banger! Upbeat. Fun. People who are there to have a good time. We have a really great time, so if you are having half as much fun as we are, then you are going to have a great time.”

Much of this performance prouesse can be accredited to the early days of the band, where they perfected their tightly honed sound. In past versions of the band they performed regularly to crowds of 5-10 people, something they intended to avoid with Sea Girls: “We knew that didn’t really work. As much as we enjoyed playing live, we mainly focused on writing these songs. We scrapped a couple of EPs, and were just experimenting, learning to play with each other and seeing what clicks. By the time we were out there and ready to play, we were already quite tight as a unit. We knew what we liked. We knew what we were doing. And we already had a set of stronger songs than we had ever had before.” This allowed the band to make an instance impact, with debut single ‘Call Me Out’ getting onto the Radio 1 BBC Introducing Playlist, providing the band with immediate exposure.

“I don’t think you ever expect something like that to happen, and for our first single that’s amazing. It really fired us out there.”

However, it can also be accredited to the fact that the band know how to write bangers, with big chunky hooks and infectious choruses, these are the perfect songs to amp up a crowd or get noticed at a festival.

“We love songs that are catchy. It’s not a cynical thing. We just write what we know. We write what we like.”

2019 is shaping up to be a massive year for Sea Girls, as one of two unsigned acts nominated for BBC Sound of 2019, and the only band. A nomination which placed them in esteemed company, with past bands nominated including; The Vaccines, Wolf Alice, Blossoms and Everything Everything, all of whom went from strength to strength following their nomination.

However, the nomination came as a shock to the band. “We were at a practice. Our manager called us, and we didn’t quite believe it. We were sat there for a few minutes like, what do you do after you’ve had that sort of news? There was a bit of disbelief in the room.”

The reaction to this news encompasses everything great about Sea Girls, instead of throwing a mad party they just threw themselves further into their craft. “I think we just played through a couple of songs, like now we need to prove we deserve this.”

This continued hard work culminated in new single ‘Open Up Your Head’, which provides a sneak peak of the debut album, which is expected before the end of the year.

Yet another, irresistible indie rock banger, pairing a contagious chorus with a heartfelt lyrical tug of war, as Henry battles through the uncertainty of self-doubt, while all the time having someone by his side supporting him.

Making an instant impact, the song premiered on Annie’s Mac Radio 1 show as her Hottest Record in the World! Written at the start of the year, the boys knew it was hit in the making, recording it and releasing it within a month of its conception.

“It was really exciting to get it out there. We all really like it and think it’s a strong song. We were like straight away, let’s get this down.”

However, this isn’t all that is on the horizon. In July Sea Girls are set to open for indie rock legends The Kooks. “When we found out, we almost didn’t believe it. They’re a band which we love, and listened to when we were growing up, and that’s come full circle. So, us supporting them feels really special. It feels like it is going to be a moment for us.”

So, who are Sea Girls? They’re your new favourite band.

WORDS BY: MAX MODELL DESIGN BY: URSZULA RODAKOWSKA

MUSIC

With an early discography including numerous arena ready anthems, Sea Girls are poised to break out in a big way in 2019. Hot off a BBC Sound of 2019 nomination, they are already making waves in the indie rock scene. But who are these up and coming rockers? I spoke to drummer Oli to find out.

52

DESIGN BY: ROWAN LEES

With 5 months until graduation we, your music editors here at Quench, have attempted to deliver a glimpse into the soundtrack of our university experience and the artists who will forever conjure up memories of Cardiff whenever we play their songs. We’d love to hear your own university soundtracks, tweet us!

University has been a time of immense highs and confusing lows for me, but through it all music has been there. In first year it proved to be one of the best ways to connect with your new housemates, because there is nothing like drunk singing ‘September’ by Earth, Wind & Fire to get you in the mood for a night out with some strangers you just met.

Luckily, I have kept playlists throughout my time at university, so I can track my listening habits rather efficiently. For example, by consulting my Spotify I can see that in 2016 I discovered the then up-and-coming singers Mabel and Raye, whose discography I listened to religiously in preparation for interviewing them.

As I finished my second year of university I flew to Canada and experienced an eye-opening period of growth, all whilst Khalid’s album American Teen played in my headphones. I had to remind myself that I was neither a teenager nor American, but the album’s narrative of self-discovery and romantic rollercoasters was just the type of cliché I was experiencing. Often, music can put into words the experiences we have encountered at university better than we can.

Despite discovering a lot of new artists during my time at university, I sometimes longed for any reminder of home and so old favourites like Sade, James Blake, Lauryn Hill and Tom Misch to mention a few, have also remained constant fixtures in my playlists.

The soundtrack to my university experience is inexhaustible and trying to define it to one genre or artist is impossible. It is eclectic, just as my time at university has been.

I remember the day my dad dropped my off at Talybont South back in September 2016. It felt as though I had a lifetime of studying, partying and pot noodling ahead of me, yet the last three years have flown by. However, trying to pick the artists that have provided the soundtrack to my university experience has made me reflect on how much has changed in my life during my time in Cardiff.

The biggest discovery for me over these last three years has definitely been The National. I have always been aware of the group, but never properly delved into their discography until the release of their seventh studio album Sleep Well Beast back in 2017. The opening piano chords from the song ‘Nobody Else Will Be There’ will forever remind me of this particular era of my life, and seeing them live in London last year was one of the best gigs I’ve ever experienced. The National have quickly become one of my favourite bands of all time and are certainly definitive to my university experience.

Another artist that I’ve had on repeat at university has been Childish Gambino. His soul inspired 2016 LP Awaken, My Love! surprised me when it came out, as it was such a departure from his previous hip hop sound and I was instantly hooked. After releasing ‘This Is America’, one of my favourite songs of 2018, Gambino proved himself to be one of the most innovative artists in modern popular music in my mind. I was lucky enough to see Childish Gambino at Lovebox Festival in 2018, delivering a mesmerising performance that will stick with me forever.

There are too many artists to mention that will remind me of my time in Cardiff; The National and Childish Gambino are just a couple. They will both always remind me of my time at university, and therefore hold a special place in my heart.

As I approach the end of my time at university, for the first time in my life the next step isn’t immediately laid out before me. When I left school, it was a given I would go to college. And when I left college, it was a given I would go to university. Yet, now for the first time I’m left with a choice; where next?

This is a feeling which is perfectly captured in ‘Twentysomething’ by Jamie Cullum, an artist responsible for making me fall in love with music in my early teens.

Therefore, it seems appropriate that years after discovering him and this song, I can finally relate in way I never could before. Combing musings on the future, love and uncertainty, the song perfectly captures mid-20s ennui, with word play reminiscent of Cole Porter and a killer piano solo to boot.

In terms of the songs which will make me reminisce about my time at university, I doubt it’ll be the everyday soundtrack which will spark the most memories. Instead, I think it will be specific songs, which remind me of specific people, in specific moments. Whether it’s singing the discography of Take That on an Arriva train after seeing The Band at the Welsh Millennium Centre with James, running through the streets of Manchester to purchase last minute Taylor Swift tickets with Rachal, listening to the Decibelles (Cardiff University female a cappella group) sing ‘Human’ in my kitchen, singing One Direction songs while dancing around James and Sammy’s flat, using cooking utensils as microphones, listening to David Bowie on Alys’s record player at Cartwright Court, or listening to my friend Lily sing her beautiful songs at I Want to Ride My Bike Cafe. I have some many memories wrapped up in all these songs and many more.

I’ve had a fantastic time at university, where I’ve met so many amazing people, seen so much great music, become a better person and done a bit of studying along the way.

So, to all the people I’ve met, just remember, if you’re not with me in person, you are probably on my headphones and always in my heart.

@quenchmusic

53

WORDS AND DESIGN BY: RIMANTE BIVAINYTE

S

ince the 2016 referendum, Brexit has become quite a ‘sticky’ subject.

There has been a number of different opinions about what’s going to happen next and various predictions of future decision-making. Hence, these Brexit debates are still an ongoing subject in the global community.

Interestingly, the industry of fashion and its members are also quite open about their political views and actively pursue to share their standpoints either through fashion shows or interviews.

Firstly, let’s look at what British Fashion Council (BFC) says about the current situation. In the official statement released on January 16, Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, stated: ‘As the British Fashion Council, we cannot emphasize strongly enough that a no-deal Brexit is a scenario that should be avoided at all costs.’ She continues sayin that ‘the ongoing uncertainty and confusion that a no deal creates will have a negative impact on our industry, where investment is already impacted from the uncertainty being faced.’

Moreover, BFC has supported a call for the People’s Vote after Theresa May’s deal has been rejected. Also, in 2016 BFC’s survey, 90% per cent of British Fashion Designers stated that they were voting to remain in 2016 referendum, thus we can see a pattern - fashion industry wants to stay part of EU and its economy.

The question remains: how would a no-deal Brexit affect fashion industry in the UK? Fashion industry can expect much higher import costs as well as a lack of labour and potential challenges for the production delivery between the UK and the EU countries. Also, it is important to note the devaluation of the pound which has a massive impact on consumer spending. One of the fashion critics, Sarah Mower called a no-deal Brexit a ‘national emergency’ saying that ‘the idea of having to deal with the massive complications of extra form-filling, delays in shipping, the stopping of the easy flow of goods and people in and out of Paris, as well as other European locations such as Italy, Portugal and Romania, where fabric is bought and clothes are manufactured, is enough to threaten the closing down of an entire sector of the UK’s £32 billion fashion industry.’

To be frank, as Swedish fashion designer Per Götesson once said: ‘fashion knows no borders’. Fashion is all about the exploration, art, freedom and self-expression, and various limitations s national borders completely reject the idea of liberation of fashion. Fashion is not only a form of art, but also a huge business managed beyond UK or EU’s borders. It involves connections and networks, strong relationships and collaborations, hence over numerous discussions; Brexit has become a threat to all of these valuable elements of the fashion industry.

Nevertheless, fashion does not stop here: various British fashion designers continue to voice their political views through fashion shows. One of the most recent shows in London Fashion Week has been showcased by Vivienne Westwood, a prominent British designer known for her modern punk style as well as her political activeness of spreading messages of anticonsumerism, climate change and, of course, Brexit. This particular fashion show highly focused on democracy, the #MeToo movement, climate change and consumerism, however, one of the models protested, saying: ‘Brexit is a crime; we should be cooperating, not cutting ourselves off from the world.’

Westwood has not only shown her punk side with extravagant and branded tartan patterned pieces and chaotic, non-stereotypical stylings, but also expressed her political views through statements demonstrated on clothing and poems presented by models.

Another British designer, Katharine Hamnett, who is well-known for her slogan t-shirts, not long ago released her new series for anti-Brexit campaign.

Hamnett spent 40 years in fashion business, and her career has been defined by political activism and sustainable fashion philosophy. This recent collection involved simplistic black and white t-shirts with screaming statements such as ‘Cancel Brexit’, ‘Fashion Hates Brexit, Second Referendum Now’ and ‘96% Don’t Want Brexit’. Earlier Hamnett has also designed t-shirts with statements about a war, death, voting out Trump and, particularly, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She believes that short slogan messages have a huge impact on public and various audiences, hence she continues to share her work and opinion with the world.

So, what should we expect from the fashion world after the UK’s exit? Well, there is no particular answer to it, only guesses. Yes, there is going to be a much higher cost for imports, exports and designing processes, however, I believe that as the fashion industry has always been fierce, it will continue protesting against norms and stereotypes, representing not only a popular opinion but also those who are unable to express themselves. Fashion will always stand united whether that be for political purposes or global issues.

FASHION & BEAUTY

What does Brexit mean for Fashion?

54

Wherever we are, wherever we go, yes means yes, and no means no.

WORDS BY: MADDY STEELE DESIGN BY: ABI DUDBRIDGE

55

They might say, “yes please, that’s kind of you!” and then when the tea arrives they actually don’t want the tea at all. Sure, that’s kind of annoying as you have gone to all the efforts of making the tea, but they remain under no obligation to drink the tea. Some people change their mind in the time that it takes to boil the kettle, brew the tea and add the milk. It’s okay for people to change their mind and you’re still not entitled to make them drink it.

And if they are unconscious, don’t make them tea.

Unconscious people don’t want tea. And they can’t answer the question “do you want tea?” because they’re unconscious. Okay maybe they were conscious when you asked if they wanted tea but by the time that it took to boil the kettle, brew the tea, and add the milk they are now unconscious. Just put the tea down, make sure they are okay and don’t make them drink the tea. If someone becomes unconscious whilst drinking the tea, take the tea away. Don’t make them drink it. Make sure they are safe.

If someone said yes to tea last Saturday that doesn’t mean that they want tea all the time. So, don’t turn up at their house unexpected and make them tea and force them to drink it. And don’t wake them up in the morning pouring tea down their throat, “but you wanted tea last night?”

“Consent is everything.”

Yes, it really is as trivial as making a brew. People may scoff at the idea of being reminded what consent is, like they already know, but, when you hear that during your freshers there were 24 alleged rapes, it becomes far more serious. Because people obviously do not know the meaning of consent.

Stories of sexual assault roll off the tongues of people all around you, you’re constantly reminded that your body is a target for voyeuristic gaze every time you walk past a van of builders (yes, I’m stereotyping here but it is far too common to ignore) and despite being wrapped up from head to toe in hoodies and trackies, you may still get that greasy old man saying “Hello darlin’” as you walk past. Or someone somehow taking your red lipstick as a sign that you’re ‘asking for it’. But that’s just it isn’t it.

We reason with our discomfort thinking “I wasn’t even dressed provocatively” or, “I guess I was wearing a short skirt” but let me stop you right there. Because clothes DO NOT equal consent. I don’t care if you’re wearing a bikini or a fluffy onesie with a motorcycle helmet, neither is more consensual than the other, because what you wear DOES NOT equal consent.

Just last year a rapist was acquitted for raping a 17-year-old girl on the basis that his victim was wearing a black lace thong. How many of you have a black thong at home in a drawer? Should wearing it act as a free token for anyone that pleases? Reading

those headlines made my stomach churn sparking every memory I have and every story I have heard of sexual assault. When will we stop victim blaming? When will we stop teaching little girls to “stop dressing inappropriately” and start teaching little boys what consent means. Again, another stereotype. I am fully aware that rape is not a violence committed only to women, but, in light of statistics that favour the mistreatment of women, this is the angle we must prioritise.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the scene in recent Netflix series Sex Education where Eric is walking home alone dressed in drag and two men pull up behind him to ask “where you going”, “excuse me miss, wanna lift?” to which he replies “no thank you”. They then drive slowly behind him before asking “you got a penis, miss…go on, show us ya dick” to which he replies, “leave me alone, please”.

One man then replies “gay fuck” before getting out the car, punching Eric to the ground and spitting on him. This behaviour is disgusting. But, it’s what Eric said as he pleaded these men to leave him alone that resonated with me the strongest. “Please, please, this isn’t me, it’s a costume, I was going to see a film with a friend, I’m not-.” Again, we are seen blaming our clothes and sexuality for the violent acts that happen to us. Like somehow it is our outfits that have caused this assault. But why?

Because society fails to recognise that what we wear is by no means an appropriate replacement for our consent. Because as much as the powerful among us who are still getting away with this behaviour are claiming that we are ‘there’ with equality, we are not.

We have a long way to go.

You may recall the wave of “Don’t be a dick” stickers that flooded festivals and night clubs a few years ago? This gentle reminder to be aware of your potentially offensive actions was poignant but shouldn’t we all know already? Shouldn’t that be as deeply embedded in us as making the perfect brew or the written-in-the-stone-of-Buckinghampalace rules to British queuing? Why is this so apparently incomprehensible? Perhaps because to account for consent would be to protect the vulnerable from those in power to make changes.

People claim all over that “feminists are going too far” and that attitudes are too extreme. But, as much as society tries to hide it, it happens. Whether you’re having your vagina groped in a club, a photo taken up your skirt, or you’re being followed from the bus stop and grabbed. It happens! I am guilty of dressing as non-provocatively as I can if I am about to walk somewhere alone late at night. I keep my head down and cross the road if I see someone walking my way and I get a strange sense of relief when I see that it is a woman. Or, I will walk that bit faster with my keys between my fingers so I feel safe from potential attack. Do boys and men do the same?

It’s time to stand up and talk about it. It’s time to end slut shaming, victim blaming, and rape culture. It’s time to realise that our clothes do not equal consent.

FASHION & BEAUTY

Consent.

Consent. It’s a word that’s chucked around like understanding it is as simple as remembering the days of the week. But why is it that when you actually confront someone and ask for a definition, they’re stumped before they even say ‘Monday’. Here’s a story that I heard as a little girl that has always stuck by me, it’s long winded but stick with it, this is VERY important: If you say “hey would you like a cup of tea?” and they say “yes I would love a cup!” then you know that they want a cup of tea. But if they reply with “um, I’m not really sure,” then you can make them a cup of tea, or not, but be aware that they might not drink it. And if they don’t drink it, don’t make them drink it. Just because you drink it, it doesn’t mean that you are entitled to make them drink it. And if they say “No, thank you” then don’t make them drink the tea. At all.

Don’t make them drink tea, don’t get annoyed at them for not wanting tea, they don’t want tea, OK!?

56

WORDS BY: MADDY STEELE DESIGN BY: LOTTIE ENNIS

Amy Conway. A name to remember. From Portsmouth, Amy kickstarted her career as a makeup artist (MUA) 15 years ago. She’s been with Bobbi Brown, a globally prestigious brand for 11 years. And now, she’s a social media influencer and YouTuber documenting her life as a MUA as she travels with Bobbi Brown and works with incredible people and beautiful faces world-wide. Amy Conway recently returned from working at New York Fashion Week and then at London Fashion Week after that. This is what success as a MUA looks like.

I had the utmost pleasure of interviewing Amy as she’s down to earth, kind, and bloody good at her job. Get your pens at the ready, as this is one you’ll want to take notes from…

What are your top tips for hungover skin? (Our readers are going to need this one!) it’s all about hydration for hungover skin! Firstly, prep the skin with a little Illuminating Moisture Balm to instantly add glow to the skin. Then use a Concealer to hide any evidence of that great night, and finally use a pink blush and lip. Pink tones give the illusion of a whiter smile and brighter skin, therefore making it look like last night never existed!

What are your five favourite Bobbi Brown makeup items?

My top five favourites have to be: Extra Face Oil, Instant Full Cover Concealer, Skin Foundation Stick, Pot Rouge and Smokey Eye Mascara. They are just key products that lift and brighten my face when I need a little pick me up!

If you only had 5 minutes to get ready, what products would you use?

When I only have 5 minutes, I use all multi-use products! I love to use my Instant Full Cover Concealer under my eyes and then a foundation by just adding a little to the cheeks and nose to blend out. Then I’ll always use my lipstick on my cheeks- it’s quick and easy to get a pretty glow to the cheek, plus it will always match your lip. Then finally use products like bronzer on the eyes for a soft and pretty look that takes seconds!

If you weren’t a makeup artist, what would you want to be?

Ah that’s so tricky! I would probably say I would have gone into travel, I love to travel anyway and I can imagine I would have loved the life as cabin crew.

57

I’d love to travel to the Maldives and wake up in one of those huts on the water. I’m such a beach girl and it just looks so beautiful in pictures! I’d love to see it in real life.

If you could only have 1 make up item for the rest of your life what would it be?

Concealer!

What’s your advice for aspiring MUA’s?

Say yes to everything! It’s something I always share with MUA’s, no matter what the call time is or the location, be there. Because those days of working super long hours and making those connections really pay off.

What is your worst makeup mess up?

I was once on my way to a job with my team and we realised that we didn’t have the kit in our car (it was in another car-long story!). But, it was too late to turn back so we improvised. Luckily we had our BBU pallets, but then we also pulled together the small amount of products that we did have. We used Mascara for eyeliner, lip balm for highlighter and lipstick as eyeshadow! But we learned loads that day: to never use a product just for how it is intended to be used- there are so many other gorgeous ways to use it!

If you could do one person’s makeup whose would it be?

I’d love to do Dolly Parton’s face!!! I’m a big fan, I love how she has such a big personality, and how much makeup she wears, with the big hair and outfits. She’s such a babe!

Are you going to do your own makeup for your wedding? (congratulations!!!)

Yes!!! Ahh I’m so excited! I actually have no idea yet as to how it will be, but there’s a few looks that I’m loving right now, especially rose gold tones!

Can you give us some clues as to what new products are launching at BB HQ? There’s lots of fun products coming up over the next few months, let’s just say, lots of bronze glowing skin, lots of sparkle and some amazing new formulas for eyes.

You can follow Amy on Instagram for her tips and tricks to beautiful skin @bbpro_amyconway and be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel ‘BBPRO Amy Conway’ for endless makeup inspiration.

FASHION & BEUATY

Where would you most like to travel to and why?

58

Men’s Fashion

Kurt Cobain as an influential figure of the ‘Grunge’ Subculture The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the uprising of a new, authentic and chaotic subculture come to fame. This was the creation of a music scene formally known as ‘Grunge’. The movement started off in the seaport city of Seattle, beginning in the West Coast of the United States before making world domination across multiples of countries.

Grunge was established by a variety of different rock bands, but one that is still commonly known today is ‘Nirvana’ – forming in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987, just four years prior to reaching global fame. Nirvana consisted of only three band members: a guitarist, vocalist and drummer. Vocalist, Kurt Cobain, and bassist, Krist Novoselic, were the founding members of the band, with Dave Grohl joining in 1990.

The now-known Foo Fighters frontman became the longest-lasting and best-known drummer of Nirvana, establishing himself as an icon to the music industry itself.

In the early 1990s, Nirvana signed with the major record label, DGC Records, releasing their most famous single ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ in 1991. The single came from their second album ‘Nevermind’, which was released in the same year. From this point onwards, the band were thrown into global domination, selling over 30 million copies worldwide and reaching the top ten in both the UK and American mainstream charts.

From this point onwards, it was clear to see that Nirvana had pushed Grunge into the mainstream.

However, this article isn’t about the success of Nirvana as a band, it’s about the influence that frontman, Kurt Cobain, brought to the fashion industry. Whether this was through over-sized cardigans or distressed everything, Cobain used his style to express his attitude against a burnout society. There was a lack of concern for his style that expressed a sense of sophistication, almost as if Cobain was using his style as a political statement to rebel and reject the surrounding stereotypes of society.

At the time of their success, there was still an influx of controversial opinions towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. There was also extreme

hatred towards other racial and ethnic backgrounds, something of which Cobain was not in agreeance with. This was evident inside the sleeve of their third and final studio album, ‘In Utero’ (1993). The album cover stated that: ‘If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basically an asshole, don’t buy this CD. I don’t care if you like me, I hate you.’

It wasn’t only his words and statements that projected his feminist attitudes and accepting opinions; Cobain also promoted his beliefs through his style and clothing decisions. Not only was Cobain a men’s fashion icon, but he was also a symbol of women’s fashion. Kurt was known to indulge in styles of femininity, wearing female clothing and beauty products to create a controversial style that was unique for its time.

The most famous case of his ambiguous style was pictured on the British music, fashion and culture magazine, ‘The Face’. For the front-cover image of their 1993 September issue, Cobain was pictured wearing a button-down tea dress and chipped red nail polish, something that would have been viewed as unacceptable and thought-provoking for the late 20th Century. Even though Cobain didn’t popularise performative styles, he did help to improve the stigmas around gender by encouraging a sense of fluidity and unbiased decisions throughout both the music and fashion industries.

His impact upon femininity as a common influence of fashion designs still lasts today.

Many of the famous and most prestigious fashion houses use feminine representations as their main source of inspiration. For example, during Gucci’s Spring/Summer 2016/2017 campaign, creative director, Alessandro Michele, designed the collection with a sense of ethereality. He shaped his designs and styles with floral, colourful and bold prints, emphasising fashion pieces that were similar to the typical women’s collection. The structures and shapes of these designs were fit with sophistication. The clothes complimented the model, giving flattering shapes and fits to the collection, something which is vital to the typical feminine attire.

Alex Frank, editor at ‘The Fader’ magazine, said that: ‘Kurt Cobain was the antithesis of the macho American man’. He had a thrift-store aesthetic and look that allowed him to become, as quoted by Vogue magazine, ‘the epicentre grunge, a movement that revolutionised the cultural landscape of the 1990s’.

American designer, Marc Jacobs, was the first to take influence from Cobain, turning grunge into a popular and loveable fashion aesthetic. His first collaboration with the grunge subculture was shown within his Perry Ellis show. The collection was shown on runways in December 1992, causing Jacob to lose his job at the fashion house due to the controversy caused by his chosen designs. As quoted by Vogue magazine, the campaign was a ‘historic grunge collection’ which elevated ‘granny dresses… lumberjack shirts… work boots’. Some of the staple items worn by the Nirvana frontman himself.

As seen in Marc’s collection, Cobain had inspired the desire for flannel shirts and extreme layered clothing within the symbolisation of mainstream fashion. The American newspaper, ‘The New York Times’, described the collection and the grunge subculture as having clothes that ‘mixes everything up… A typical outfit looks as if it were put together with the eyes closed in a very dark room.’ It may have not been popular with some critics, but it was definitely popular with the youth of then and now.

Having said that, it’s obvious to see that grunge was an unusual subculture. It tended to shock, destroy and influence the dynamics of mainstream fashion trends, having huge impact upon the way our men and male fashion industry dress and design today.

As both a music and fashion icon, Kurt still continues to influence the modern fashion industry we know it. We see Cobain’s famous band t-shirt and style dominate masculine and feminine styles throughout popular culture. The iconic Nirvana t-shirt is worn now by many millennials, with stars like Justin Bieber and Kanye West flaunting off the logo as some sort of fashion statement. And, in my opinion, it is one.

In April 1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide after a long battle with drug addiction and mental illness. Despite 20 years having passed since his death, Cobain still dominates the fashion scene with his animal prints and oversized clothing fits that will continue to inspire male fashion trends. Even for me, as a female writer, Cobain will forever inspire my outfit choices and decisions. After all, I still believe that his last photoshoot with Vogue magazine, taken in July 1993, will always be one of the most iconic shoots taken throughout the movement of grunge.

WORDS BY: EMILY JADE RICALTON DESIGN BY: ASHLEY BOYLE

59

With France acting as a home to some of the most famous fashion houses, the country is well known as the birthplace to many huge fashion names; with notable designers stretching from Chanel and Dior to Louis Vuitton. But it’s not so much the names as much as it is the people whom have intertwined French Fashion with the je ne sais quoi it is so commonly linked to today.

The involuntary face of French style, Jane Birkin, remains a staple influence whose ascendancy over fashion has survived against all circumstance.

WORDS & DESIGN BY: KATIE MAY HUXTABLE IMAGES BY: MICHAEL DONOVAN VIA FLICKR JOOST EVERS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Birkin remains a pioneer for the French Fashion icons of the 60s, encapsulating a sense of effortless chic that is still enamoured over today. Classic minimalism combined with a touch of provocation had Birkin leading the way for French elegance as the epitome of femininity. Despite being born in England, her glamorous and omnipresent relationship with French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg established her ubiquitous influence in regard to French style. This impact is still felt throughout this era due to the glorification of this sense of Parisian essence, earning Birkin endless articles across the fashion web dedicated purely to her wardrobe staples: including the signature bangs, the all-important basket-bag and the blue denim / white blouse coordination.

Brigitte Bardot, too, is another example of an influential woman with an enduring sway over style. Not only did Bardot and Birkin share a man, both acting as a muse for Gainsbourg at different points in their lives, but they also shared a great deal of impact relative to what they chose to wear. Bardot was born in Paris in 1934, and throughout her years as an actress she repopularised the trend of the off the shoulder neckline. Tops or dresses featuring this wide-open neckline and the exposure of both shoulders are now referred to using the name Bardot, with the name used in most major shopping outlets.

However, as much as some may like to believe, our heads aren’t all stuck firmly in the world of 60s French glamour. With moving forward with the times, comes new influences in French style. Jeanna Damas, described by GQ Style as the “epitome of It Girl”, has been dubbed the new Birkin and has an influence over contemporary French fashion firmly in her grip. The parttime model and fashion designer currently has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, her posts stretching from images of herself, sun kissed on the balconies of Paris, to a day in the life on

the FROW of a high-end fashion show. All of these images are more than just a photograph at face value, as they also hint at the allure of the free-spirited lifestyle of a Parisian woman that is a source of envy for many.

A notable strive towards the embodiment of Parisian style is demonstrated through the wide range of literature dedicated to the topic. Books such as Dress Like a Parisian by Aloïs Guinut and How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas, epitomize this idea of living the Parisian lifestyle that has been long lusted after. Both books share reference to the “less is more approach” – something that can be adapted to choices you make regarding your fashion but also to the way in which you live out your life. You don’t need to get caught up in the recent influx of slogan tees splattered with the j’adore’s and the mon amours to look like you’ve just come back from a riverside picnic on the banks of the river Seine. A stylistic go-to that is a quick short-cut in finding your feet in the romantics of French style, is that of the neutral colour scheme. Simplistic colours award you the freedom to add your own vibrancy, perhaps in the form of accessories or with the classic red lip that can earn you that extra French touch.

Additionally, the boundaries of what Parisian fashion means today is no longer restricted to what resonates within the wardrobe. It can now be defined by the Paris Good Fashion initiative. As a city, Paris began 2019 by outlining the different steps it will take to ensure its fashion industry is more eco-conscious in a forward strive to become greener.

In an article by Vogue, the necessity of involvement in this movement from influential industry players was highlighted – all of whom will work together to establish Paris as the sustainable capital of fashion.

It is easy to read article after article on the “top ten clothing items to be a real Parisian fashion icon” or “learn how to dress like Francoise Hardy in five easy steps” but the truth behind it is that French Fashion works so well because it has become an extension of a lifestyle. Clothes become something that you are rather than something that you wear – and the French really do do it better because their style becomes a personification of themselves. Wearing clothes that you love gives you more fashion credibility than any beret ever could. As said by French model and fashion designer Inès de la Fressange, “You should dress to feel good, not show off... it takes life to learn that.”

FASHION & BEAUTY

It is regularly suggested that Parisian style is something that is lived rather than something that is worn. But, it’s not just the beret, the basket-bag and the bangs that have cemented France as capital of the Fashion world. Characterised by a recipe of class and amour, established under the influences of numerous Fashion icons including Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot and Françoise Hardy, the materialised essence of Parisian style leaves many striving for the secret to effortless dressing.

60

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: MADDY STEELE DESIGN BY: KATIE MAY HUXTABLE

UNDERWEAR AS OUTERWEAR

ILLUSTRATION BY: DAVID RING VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

61 FASHION & BEAUTY

MODELS: CAMILLE STANLEY, HARLEY ROUSELL, DARCY WILLIAMSON

62

SEX APPEAL: Underwear as Outerwear WORDS BY: MADDY STEELE DESIGN BY: KATIE MAY HUXTABLE Over the past centuries, the role of lingerie in your wardrobe has evolved, yet its essentiality has remained prominent - not just for safely securing your private parts. Our intimates have always been a powerful symbol of feminine sexuality, however, today in the turbulence of modern life, with the ‘Me Too’ movement, and war on anti-feminism, our intimates have become more symbolic of feminine power than ever. Let me start with a brief history of our intimate garments…

In the 1800’s whale bone corsets were the essential wardrobe element of “proper” women leading to hip accentuating shapes that highlighted the female hour glass ideology. Sheer nightgowns were the trend of the 1900’s with closed crotched drawers taking centre stage in the 1910’s. The 1920’s saw Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet’s revolutionising of the female form in preference of androgynous straight night slips. It’s not just in 2019 Ann Summers where you can find open crotch intimates, the 1930’s were in fact also the home to open crotch drawers which signified sexual availability and erotic desire.

In the 1950’s, Christian Dior reintroduced the hour glass form, this time focusing on a full underskirt and wired bra in his collections. The 1960’s was the decade that birthed sexual liberation as we know it today. This was the era of sheer, barely-there mesh triangle bras with no wiring, freeing the feminine form from caging. This sexual revolution has catalysed the growth of the underwear as outerwear trend hand in hand with the growing acceptation of contraception, the pill, pornography, homosexuality and pre-marital sex. This ‘trend’ is not just ‘a trend’, it is a symbol of the social revolution in re-claiming our bodies for ourselves. We are in charge of our bodies and what we do with them. We decide. An ownership which is indeed too many lifetimes late.

Rewinding back to the 80s, the liberation spread to savvy business woman who wore teddies beneath the sharp silhouette of a padded shoulder suit as a symbol of their femininity. While princess Leia’s iconic gold bikini in Return of the Jedi (1983) sparked a fresh fantasy for intimates. But, it was the entrance of Victoria’s Secret to the lingerie marketplace in 1977 that powered the shift of sexy lingerie to an accessible, everyday essential. From here, intimates as outerwear grew further as a symbol of female empowerment, and a sense of control over our own bodies. Women are no longer wearing sexy underwear to satisfy the male gaze. No. Now it is for us. Now, we wear it on the outside along with our hearts on our sleeves for the world to see and to signify the feminist fight of our mothers and grandmothers before us. Because our intimates have not been our own throughout history. But times are changing. Today, our intimates are a symbol of the feminist revolution and disallowing what history called the ‘norm’.

If you’re not already doing so, then here is a guide to wearing underwear as outerwear and achieving the sexy day-to-night balance of sensual and sophistication: Now, you don’t have to go full Kim K at the People’s Choice Awards or follow Bella Hadid’s Victoria’s Secret after party footsteps, or even do a Regina George Halloween special. But, be sure to find inspiration in Pretty Woman (pre- yes pre! And post transformation), Madonna’s Jean Paul Gaultier corset (from the Blonde Ambition Tour, 1990) and of course Kate Moss’ sheer slips.

ILLUSTRATION BY: DAVID RING VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Today, a lace body with a blazer and mom jeans is the new “jeans and a nice top” meaning “Do you have any tit tape?” is guaranteed to be shouted between floors of every uni girls’ house before every night out (why does no one ever have any!?). If you’ve spent your hard-earnt cash (or student loan-oops!) on a gorgeous undergarment then you’re sure as hell going to show it off! (thanks to Savage Fenty for creating such stunning- albeit, not student friendly- pieces). No doubt sales of pasties have ten folded in the last 5 years with intimates as outerwear being adopted by the masses. PrettyLittleThing sell lace bodies as cheap as £15 while you can find a considerably cheaper version (and it must be said, far less secure) in Primark for as much as your post SU takeaway. My point is, whether you’re out to remake Madonna’s pointed cup corset or you’re keen for a subtle boyish slip dress, underwear as outerwear is the trend for you!

Need some inspiration for how to style this trend?

1: A Lace body under a sleek blazer and mom jeans for a classy yet sexy put together look. Accessorise with vintage look cat eye sunnies, some girlish clips, and a mini 90’s shoulder bag- and don’t forget the pasties! (or simply #freethenip).

2: A corset over an oversized crisp white shirt with wax finish skinny jeans. Add some chunky trainers, a cross-body bag and you’re good to go. (see the Ellery pre-fall 2019 show for inspo).

3: An off shoulder chunky knit with a lace bralette. Its comfy, cosy, and sexy. What’s not to love? Highlight those collar bones, stick your hair in a scruffy top knot, and whack on some trackies and chunky trainers for a simple library look.

4: A satin slip dress. Do Kate Moss proud. Slips can be styled in a multitude of gorgeous ways: -

With pointed sock boots, a chunky knit, and an animal print belt

-

With a slogan tee underneath, a chunky belt, and some Doc Martins

-

With snake print cowboy boots, and an oversized leather jacket

Make it sheer for ultra Moss vibes. But, if you’re going to do this then remember Bridget Jones’ big knicker rule: wear them! (otherwise, cycle shorts are your best friend).

5: A lace body over a tight roll neck sweat. Make it neon and pair with perplex heels and a croc-effect shoulder bag for a drinks evening.

6: Channel Sporty Spice with a sports bra and high waisted 90’s colour block wind breakers. Perfect for Cardiff ’s rave scene.

7: Juice favourite: A mesh top over a lace bra with a denim skirt, and of course Nike Air Force 1’s. If you don’t own this combo are you even a Cardiff University student?

It’s probably not Grandma or Dad approved, and your mum will most definitely encourage you to “put a scarf on” before you leave the house. But, this is the trend that will connect you to your feminist roots and will symbolise the fight of the women who came before you.

63 FASHION & BEAUTY

LEFT TO RIGHT CAMILLE STANLEY, HARLEY ROUSELL, DARCY WILLIAMSON.

64

Here’s to the

Mockumentary WORDS BY: JOHN JONES DESIGN BY: ASHLEY BOYLE

ILLUSTRATION BY EUGENE SMITH VIA FLICKR

Today, comedy as we have known it is under threat. It’s clear where contemporary audience demand lies; listings are dominated by gritty crime dramas, innovative sci-fi thrillers and tawdry reality shows that pander to the lowest common denominator. Within the genre itself, the cult classics of the 2000s – Peep Show, The Mighty Boosh and the ilk – have had their day, whilst the comedic tastes of viewers have also altered. Being funny for funny’s sake no longer seems to cut it audiences now expect more from their comedy; more political, more layered, more refined. Whilst this has been realised in the US through Donald Glover’s nuanced series Atlanta and Aziz Ansari’s widely acclaimed Master of None, such a shift has left a dangerous void in British comedy programming – one that has yet to be filled by original and sustainable content.

And, yet, there is hope from an unlikely yet durable source. Whilst many comedy dramas and sketch shows have fallen by the wayside, the mockumentary has survived shifting audience tastes and growing ‘cultural snobbery’ – a charge levelled at social commentators by comedian and writer Ben Elton – to restore a healthy pulse to an otherwise depleted genre.

Whilst some titles embraced the mockumentary style prior to the Eighties – most notably, Richard Lester’s subtle Beatlemania-era comedy A Hard Day’s Night – it is Rob Reiner’s 1984 masterpiece This is Spinal Tap that is widely credited as the seminal work of the subgenre. Simple in its premise and unapologetic in its satire, the film follows the fictional titular band on their concert tour across the USA to promote their controversial new album Smell the Glove, perfectly capturing the bizarre pretensions and inflated egos of rock bands past and present. Though criminally underappreciated in its own time, the rockumentary is now regarded as one of the most significant comedy films ever, and has garnered a cult following whilst also making valuable contributions to contemporary musical terminology.

With a pitch-perfect standard set, it is perhaps no surprise that very few works to grace the silver screen have turned it up to eleven in the way that This is Spinal Tap did. Whilst Sacha Baron Cohen – inevitably besieged by controversy – has made the cinematic mockumentary his own with two side-splitting cringe-fests in Borat and Bruno, limp efforts such as The Lonely Island’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping prove that creating a similarly iconic piece to that of Reiner’s is a challenge indeed.

Look to the smaller screen, however, and the mockumentary, particularly in the UK, is as popular as ever. Its televisual success can be largely attributed to that of The Office, the brainchild of the brilliant Gervais and Merchant. Groundbreaking in its acerbic humour and stark presentation of the mundanity of office life, the show follows employees at a Slough paper company, their hopes and frustrations, and their bumbling, somewhat narcissistic boss, David Brent, who is often the source of said

65 uncertainty surrounding British counterparts Tim and Dawn in the original series finale. Parks and Recreation, another NBC masterpiece from the mind of Greg Daniels, approached its dysfunctional characters from all angles with a continually developing storyline that featured political scandals, blossoming relationships, and the death of a beloved miniature horse. Even with a stellar cast boasting the likes of Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza, the bureaucratic setting in which their characters operate, again, humanises them, with their clashing personalities allowing for relatable and, ultimately, humorous comedy.

Over in Australia, the format has also experienced huge success, due solely to the creative genius of one man. Chris Lilley is the brain behind some of the nation’s greatest comedy exports, including We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High and Angry Boys, all of which follow the mockumentary style. With Lilley portraying all of the central characters in his shows, one could expect storylines to grow tired, with little scope for relatability. However, by being particular in his foci, Lilley is able to play upon stereotypes and embody a host of personas in a way that is both refreshing and hugely entertaining. Though never far from controversy, his simultaneous portrayals of disruptive Polynesian teen Jonah Takalua, narcissistic private school bitch Ja’mie King and effeminate, conceited ‘Director of Performing Arts’ Mr G in Summer Heights High show the versatility of both Lilley as an actor and the mockumentary as an endearing comedic format.

In addition to their sense of realism, mockumentaries also provide a degree of subtlety that is hard to come by in contemporary comedy. In the absence of grating canned laughter, and with many shows partially improvised, jokes are not aggressively forced down the audience’s throat, as they so often are in cornier sitcoms. Instead, viewers are invited to look for themselves for the humour within the scenes, which often depict scenarios in which they find themselves in on a daily occurrence. More clichés here, but the mockumentary truly does a lot with a little, and finds charm amongst the mundane, with some of the sub-genre’s best storylines originating from largely quotidian subjects. From the redesigning of a water fountain in Parks and Recreation to a competition for oven space in This Country, the ability to extract humour and engaging storylines from issues of such tedium and banality is one in which the mockumentary excels above all other comedic formats. As Pam Beesly ponders in the tear-jerking final scene of The Office, “there’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn’t that kinda the point?”.

Ultimately, however, it is the measured sentimentality of the mockumentary that has embedded it into the hearts of legions of fans across the world. Without straying into the overly soppy happy-ever-afters of Gavin and Stacey and the like, the format dedicates itself to providing sensitive accounts of the issues that truly matter; family, friendship, love and happiness. In This Country, despite their incessant squabbling, Kurtan’s considerate attempts to shield Kerry from her father’s brutal shunning is touching, as is the long-suffering vicar’s unwavering commitment to helping them live fulfilling lives. Furthermore, in both versions of The Office, both David Brent and Michael Scott, despite their somewhat juvenile personalities, are deeply invested in the lives of their co-workers, with these series and Parks and Recreation also teaching us that work doesn’t have to be boring, particularly when you’re alongside the people that you love. A message is most effective when it is clearly and eloquently presented, not when it is hidden under layers of saccharine mush. Through its inherent simplicity and ostentation, the mockumentary inevitably achieves such clarity, delivering heartfelt and adaptable morals in a convivial yet sensitive manner.

In a time when television dramas and comedies are overly gritty, refined and layered, and the real world is unbearably bleak, the mockumentary provides welcome respite with its cheery, touching and accessible send-ups of the trivial human existence. Though threatened by an era of excessive political correctness, the UK’s rich comedic tradition appears safe in the hands of young apprentices like the Coopers, and its continued existence may be more important than one might initially assume. Subtle in its production, glorious in its product – here’s to the mockumentary.

“The format’s unrefined nature and focus on the mundanity and triviality of life humanises even the biggest stars.”

FILM & TV

frustrations. Though the Golden Globe-winning show was, perhaps sensibly, curtailed to just two series, it is still widely celebrated and referenced today, whilst its successful formula of an accessible plot and engaging characters proved the precursor for satirical shows such as Twenty Twelve, W1A and Armando Iannucci’s omnishambolic The Thick of It. More recently, the mockumentary has experienced a triumphant revival, which has put some of Britain’s brightest young comedic talent firmly on display. Two such talents are brother and sister duo Charlie and Daisy May Cooper who, through their sublime BBC Three cult comedy creation This Country, have gifted us one of the funniest British shows of recent times. First hitting our screens in 2017, the show explores the dayto-day lives of unemployed twenty-something cousins Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe (played by Daisy May and Charlie respectively), as they fail to break out from the state of arrested development that living in a small, sleepy Cotswold village has led them into.

A cast made up largely from the Coopers’ family and friends, including Kerry’s dismissive father Martin (played by Daisy and Charlie’s real-life father, Paul) and grouchy, stinky-trousered villager Len (their uncle Trevor), combined with simplistic yet bizarre storylines, give the show a charm and sense of place that is difficult to find within, or indeed beyond, contemporary comedy. Though clearly influenced by the energy and comic timing of The Office (with the character of Kurtan even bearing a striking resemblance to Mackenzie Crook’s Gareth Keenan), this sense of community and hometown nostalgia gives This Country its own identity, and puts it above other current comedic offerings, with the show rightfully winning Best Scripted Comedy at last years’ BAFTAs. Even away from the Cotswolds, towards West London, it is clear that the British mockumentary is in further safe hands, namely those of the Kurupt FM crew, the rowdy stars of another BBC Three heavyweight, People Just Do Nothing.

Though initially starting off as a series of online shorts, instant popularity amongst viewers saw the show run for five successful series, as it centred on the staff of the pirate radio station in their quest to broadcast UK garage and DnB across the nation from their Brentford flat.

With endearing, ambitious yet delusional characters, including head honcho MC Grindah and enthusiastic entrepreneur Chabuddy G, PJDN offered an authentic insight into a current and often overlooked world that other writers had not dared to touch, whilst a BAFTA and three RTS Awards consolidated its deserved critical acclaim.

It is clear, then, that the mockumentary continues to thrive. But why? What is it about this reflexive, satirical and often cringe-inducing format that has made audiences hungry for more?

Most strikingly, it is the sense of realism that the style conveys, both through its production and plot, that can be credited for much of its success. Shaky, eavesdropping camera shots and the absence of elaborate sets and studios audiences give such productions a discernible feeling of authenticity, with such a fly-on-the-wall approach seemingly immersing the viewer in relatable situations. Even with a distinguished cast, the format’s unrefined nature and focus on the mundanity and triviality of life humanises even the biggest stars. Even when watching now, it is impossible to not see Gervais as a white-collar middle manager, Brydon as a naïve monologuing taxi driver, or Bonneville as the BBC’s longsuffering Head of Values. A cliché perhaps, but the mockumentary offers comedy that appears genuine, and is accessible to all, regardless of taste, education or social status.

It is, perhaps, this high degree of accessibility that explains why the mockumentary has earned similar, if not greater, fortunes outside of the UK. In America, the format experienced a golden era in the late 2000s, with the emergence of Modern Family, Parks and Recreation and the US adaptation of The Office. All three of these comedy heavyweights embraced the edgy, unvarnished style, but arguably took the sub-genre further in terms of plot and character development. In The Office, for example, the greater use of Shakespearean-style asides provides a greater insight into the thoughts of even the most minor characters, whilst the exploration of Jim and Pam’s relationship from workplace crushes to raising a family grants greater closure to an audience frustrated by the

66 WORDS BY: HANNAH RYAN DESIGN/ILLUSTR ATED BY: YI LAM TANG

...

Recently, a friend regaled to me a story of the way in which a classmate once insisted that with regards to discussions of film, it was refreshing to listen to the voice of a human being, rather than that of a critic. Such statements are not uncommon sentiments amongst the public, nor do they come as a surprise to many critics – there is often an association of the critic with a disconnect, with an inability to ‘enjoy’ films in the way that major audiences do. I would argue, however, as a critic that this is a reductive conversation to have.

No one, I do not believe, enjoys movies more than critics do. For us to sit through film after film, – some of which are admittedly terrible – there must be an unadulterated love for movies within us that leads us to centre our lives and our work around them, the latter of which we often do for very little pay and no guarantee of job security. Yet, the conversation surrounding film criticism often presumes that critics are inclined to hate the pieces presented before us and that we are hellbent on draining all of the joy there is out of cinema. Can we not, we are often asked, simply sit through a film without critiquing it? To this, I must respond – is enjoying something not a form of criticism in itself? When we fall in love with movies, we choose parts of it to adore, and come to understand the reasons for which we appreciate it. This, surely, is criticism – for this is the selection of aspects of a film that work for one, that incite admiration and elation. If this is the case, why, then, are critics so often removed from the public? Why are we portrayed as pretentious and elitist when we regularly find the same joys in film as a great deal of audiences? Perhaps this is the fault of elitism within the film industry, rather than the fault of the critic. After all, this is an industry which has repeatedly attempted to thwart accessible forms of entertainment, as can be seen in the recent Netflix versus Cannes debate, whereby Cannes revolt against the output of Netflix – for which they can surely no longer is for want of better content, considering it was Netflix that recently distributed Alfonso Cuarón’s magnum opus, Roma, and Netflix at which gems such as Okja have found a home. As a result of such debates, there is – sometimes rightfully so – an association in the mind of the public of the film industry, and subsequently the critics affiliated with it, and elitism. The critic, though, usually is and should be far from an elitist. Rather, they should be open to all strands of cinema and should withhold judgment from the movies that are occasionally considered mainstream and pandering, such as those made by Marvel Studios. If the film critic was as snobbish as is often purported, then would there have been such an influx of positivity and praise surrounding Guardians of The Galaxy and Black Panther – big-budget, studio movies that are in direct opposition to the kind of elitism that has been attached to critics? Most likely not.

In short, film critics have been subject to a great many accusations of pretentiousness, disconnect, and snobbishness over the years.

While that certainly may be true of some, such as those that refuse to believe any former franchise star could carve a challenging career path out for themselves (show them how it’s done, K-Stew!), the vast majority of us critics, quite honestly, want to enjoy as much cinema as we possibly can. If we do appear to critique harshly, it is often because we feel that cinemagoers deserve the best in their experiences of film, and we want to encourage an outpouring of quality content for those of us that, simply, love movies. Please, give us a chance.

Sincerely, one optimistic critic.

67

FILM & TV

68 DESIGN BY: YEON SU CHO

The Fight for Revival Outcasts, an eight-part series first broadcast on BBC One in 2011, is certainly deserving of either a new run of episodes or a one-off special to tie up the many loose threads left from the end of the first series. Starring Hermione Norris and Liam Cunningham (now well known as Davos Seaworth from Game of Thrones), the series revolved around the lives of the citizens of Forthaven, a town on the fictional planet Carpathia, which was settled in the 2050s by refugees from Earth.

Dealing with the classic ‘humans in a hostile environment’ setting, Outcasts showed the best and the worst of humanity, especially once separated from their families and friends, as you had to pass certain criteria to be evacuated from Earth. As well as this, some sci-fi themes were explored, such as enhanced human soldiers, a machine which could be used by the characters to re-experience memories, and the existence of a mysterious alien presence on the planet.

Ultimately, Outcasts was cancelled because of low ratings and quite fantastically dreadful special effects, leading to an assumption that most of the budget had been spent on the South African exterior settings, rather than fleshing out the lore of the world.

However, there were several unresolved plot threads from the series, such as the arrival of a new transport from Earth (which would have rebelled against the established hierarchy of Forthaven), as well as the actual purpose of the beings who resided on the planet, who had already killed a primitive hominid species and had an unexplained hatred of humans, in addition to some ghostly supernatural powers. With a novel containing these plot threads planned but clearly not forthcoming, the creators and writers deserve a chance to continue their story to a slightly more satisfying conclusion.

As much as I would like it to happen, I think it is fairly unlikely this would be commissioned. TV has moved on since Outcasts, with shows such as The Walking Dead better exploring the theme of humans pushed to the limit, but in a post-apocalyptic setting. Sci-fi and fantasy as a TV genre has also moved on from 2011, with Game of Thrones (which also debuted that year) and shows like Outlander and The Vikings bringing fantasy into the mainstream, not to mention the litany of comic-book/graphic novel adaptations, which are largely excellent. Overall, Outcasts, whilst having some good ideas, suffered from several regrettable flaws, such as an emphasis on location rather than special effects (the series could really have been set in a remote part of the British Isles, no-one knows what an alien planet looks like), weak writing and low viewership. Anyway, sometimes cliff-hangers are good, at least you can’t be disappointed by the resolution.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks had a good run of it. BBC Two’s witty music-centred panel show was conceived in 1996 and went on switching out presenters and special guests right up until 2015, when the powers that be decided that it was time to pack it in. Yet, since then, no other quiz show has stepped into NMTB’s shadow. Yes, comedy panel shows like Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week have proved themselves mainstays of the BBC’s comedy diet, but our TV screens remain devoid of Buzzcocks’ unique brand of musical satire.

Often derailed by impromptu skits from the best in British comedy (think Bill Bailey, Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding), the show grilled its guests on musical trivia. Beginning with the ‘Intros Round’, demanding contestants to hum the opening bars of a song for their fellow teammate to either recognise or fail hilariously trying, NMTB even required its panellists to pick obscure (and long forgotten) band members out of a line up. And let’s not forget the impressive list of big names that graced the show with their presence, including guitarist Slash, who had some difficulty recalling his own group’s lyrics in the show’s ‘Next Lines’ segment.

Undoubtedly, all this makes for great comedy, but Buzzcocks had something else at its heart that made it seem endlessly relevant, sharp and trendy. The show had found the perfect blend of old-school music trivia and up-to-date industry knowledge that would be so fascinating to see in a 2019 setting. We live in a world where songs are constantly accessible, where an artist can be discovered at the touch of a button and, crucially, where music is often political and polarising. With artists like Ariana Grande being placed at the heart of a debate on cultural appropriation and K-pop sensations BTS raising questions of diversity and language barriers in music, just loading up your playlist can be a hot talking point. Would it not be perfect, then, to tune into Never Mind the Buzzcocks and see your favourite comedians riffing off these topics? Until another big panel show wades into the realm of music, NMTB has left a void that sorely needs filling.

Skins (2007) is the perfect coming of age show, as its diverse range of characters and their back stories are relatable to young adults around the UK. The programme highlights numerous issues that teenagers suffer with, including eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and the stress of college work. The light-hearted way in which Skins showcased these issues enabled its viewers to properly engage with these problems, and demonstrate how it was important to talk about them. Perhaps, if brought back, Skins would be the perfect programme to discuss stigmas surrounding mental health, as it wasn’t touched upon greatly in previous seasons.

There are shows, such as the recent Netflix original, Sex Education, which are compared to Skins, although they don’t go in to the same depth of storylines as the E4 show did. With each new season, we got to know a different friendship group and understand the everyday problems of teenagers.

This ability to really get to know each character in depth makes them so relatable, something that most new coming-of-age programmes fail to achieve.

You could argue that the later seasons were disappointing and therefore it shouldn’t be brought back, however if they stuck to a similar format of the new generations every other season it would be just as entertaining.

Although Skins originally aired in 2007 and finished in 2013, it is still relatable to the teenagers of today and remains quotable amongst audiences today, with phrases such as “Oh wow” and “I’m Katie fucking Fitch, who the fuck are you?” frequently imitated by fans of the show. For these reasons alone, Skins should be back on our screens, both to inspire teenagers to talk about difficult topics, and to go to someone’s house and “[bring] a fucking gateau”.

69

The Torchwood 3 (the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute, portrayed in the show) were a group of intelligent, funny people, and their premature departure from the small screens left a giant black hole in my heart, though not as big as the one Ianto created beforehand. Jack, Owen, Gwen, Toshiko, Ianto, Rhys, Rex, Esther and Oswald are the best alien-fighter team you could ever find, and it is truly a shame not being able to see new adventures with them, as together they were unbeatable. There is not a scene where you won’t fall in love with at least one member of the Torchwood Three, or with Captain Jack Harkness himself.

Torchwood is and will always be a product of good television, and since Doctor Who is still airing, there’s still some hope that the show will, sooner or later, make its comeback to the small screen.

What do you get when you combine crime, drama and a sprinkling of suspense? The ITV detective series, Whitechapel. Set in the contemporary East End of London, the show first aired in 2009, adopting an interesting spin on the constantly expanding detective genre. The series delves into the world of ‘copycat killers’ whom replicate horrific past crimes, such as the infamous Jack the Ripper slayings. The show’s distinctive remodelling of notorious crimes in a modern setting allowed for chilling and suspenseful episodes that left viewers eager to see more.

But the series was much more than simply its shocking, grotesque and chilling crimes.

Whitechapel also concentrated on a team of detectives (DI Joseph Chandler, DS Ray Miles and Edward Buchan) whose dark humour and grit made them at once likeable but distant.

The three central protagonists gave the show direction, whilst they maintained an authentic and believable performance throughout.

However, despite the show’s instant success (including 8.13 million viewers on the first episode), the series was sadly axed from ITV in 2013 after the fourth and seemingly final series.

Whitechapel was and, I argue, still is an engrossing yet provocative show that belongs on our TVs. The series indulges itself in a range of stylistic quirks, including authentic prosthetics of mutilated bodies, that leave the viewer disgusted but yet intrigued. The storylines throughout the four short series are equally gripping, harrowing and entertaining; a rarity in this modern TV age. Whitechapel epitomizes the model of great British drama as it combines and explores historical and Machiavellian crime in a modern environment; resulting in a current and intriguing drama.

Whether we like it or not, in our 2019 television climate, reality TV plagues our screens. This means there now exists a gaping hole, in which bold, exciting crime and detective dramas belong. There is no doubt that Whitechapel is a plausible attempt at trying to furnish this hole, as it persists to be remembered as a distinguished drama, that has long lingered in people’s minds (in the best way possible, of course).

Katie Waits on

As witty as Doctor Who can be, Torchwood has still a lot to give to us, and it is not fair that it is not airing anymore. For a series that first aired in 2006, the show was very much ahead of its time in its themes, as it tried to normalise LGBT relationships way before other shows. As a matter of fact, one of the show’s protagonists, Captain Jack Harkness, is a pansexual alien himself, and his sexuality is very well portrayed in the show. Other essential themes covered include existentialism, the value of human life and afterlife, and redemption.

Katherine Mallett on

Martina Merenda on

TV&FILM

Torchwood, the iconic Doctor Who spin-off created by Russell T. Davies, left us way too soon.

Filmed in Cardiff, the series tells the story of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organisation set up to combat aliens that menace humanity, and was an international success, with fans from all over the world still paying their tributes to the beloved character of Ianto down in the Bay.

Just over 10 years ago, the BBC introduced us to the fantasy show Merlin. Following the young warlock, the show brought a retelling of a classic mythical tale, known by viewers young and old. It was a fantastic family-friendly show.

Each episode was different, with unexpected twists and tensions. For younger viewers, there were plenty of jokes, making what could have been a dark show slightly more light-hearted.

Who didn’t love Merlin and Arthur constantly mocking each other with witty remarks? On that note, all of the main characters were likeable, even when they made frustrating decisions.

Also, the show subverted traditional gender roles. The men may have been powerful but they had an emotional, vulnerable side. As for the women, they were emotional but weren’t afraid to fight for what they believed in, especially Morgana and Guinevere. There was no shortage of role models, perfect for today’s seemingly more open-minded youth! That’s not to mention the huge CGI dragon, voiced by the late John Hurt. Even young Asa Butterfield starred in the show! What wasn’t to be loved?

In 2012, after four years and five seasons, it was announced that Merlin was being cancelled. It’s safe to say that myself and many other fans were extremely disappointed. The reasoning behind this was that the storylines were coming to their natural end. However, I disagree. The series was really developing at this point and had a range of complex, heart-wrenching issues every Saturday night. There was so much that the audience didn’t see – the future of Camelot after Arthur, the new attitudes towards magic and Merlin and Guinevere’s lives.

A year later, the BBC did try to introduce Atlantis, based on another legendary tale – Jason and the Argonauts. Unfortunately, it was axed after a season and a half. However, I still believe Merlin could work. As a family show of such a popular genre, it brought a sense of fun and escapism with it. Viewers still want this – I mean, Doctor Who has lasted 50 years, right? Merlin is ideal for when Doctor Who isn’t on! Saturday nights can still be filled with drama and excitement for the whole family. They could easily pick it up again – whether it be picking up directly after Arthur’s death, the fate of Camelot in the years after, or even a modern perspective of Merlin waiting for Arthur to arise again. To me, there’s still endless possibilities.

Black Books is an odd yet hilarious show that saw me through my GCSEs and A-Levels. The show features a traditional eccentric main character, Bernard Black, a grumpy alcoholic second-hand bookshop owner, accompanied by a handful of even more unique characters. Fran Katzenjammer and Manny Bianco add to this cluster of weirdness. Fran owns the shop next door, whilst Manny is an accountant forced to work in the bookshop after leaving his job on account of a strange incident with The Little Book of Calm. The show, although quite obviously set in the very early 2000s, features some themes which I think would translate to today and would still make it unique in 2019.

The angst of working in retail is a recurrent theme in the show, as we see Bernard actively repulse customers in order to get some peace and quiet. He encapsulates the attitude and the responses I’m sure most of us have felt at one time or another whilst working in customer service and faced with a rude or simply annoying customer.

His complete lack of desire to impress or befriend any customers, even for monetary purposes, is a charming and slightly anarchistic approach to the usual theme of the hopeless main character trying to do their best.

This attitude reoccurs in one particular episode when Fran is encouraged by her friend to take up yoga, stop smoking and drinking and to eat only vegetables. We see Fran try so hard to become something she isn’t and is shamed by someone who sees themselves as so much better than someone else. When turning to Bernard for consolation, his true sense of self comes out and we see he is truly happy with the life he lives. Although his life is perhaps a little self-destructive, I think there is so much guilt in the world already that enjoying the small things free of guilt is OK. This is a particular gap in the market currently, as we see a lot of self-improvement in television shows. Whilst, in itself, self-improvement is a good thing, Black Books represents an unapologetically awful escapist approach that is missing in TV today.

70

One to Watch: Yara Shahidi

Yara Shahidi is certainly not an unknown name in the industry. With an amazing debut in ABC’s prime-time hit comedy Black-ish, the 19-yearold has broken the mould - being called the ‘voice of her generation’ and has accomplished so much in what has so far been, a very short career.

Shahidi first appeared in Black-ish as 14-year-old Zoey Johnson in 2014 and, three years later, both starred in and served as a producer on a spin-off, Grown-ish, on Freeform, which began shooting its second season in 2018.

Her choice of shows have had a lot to do with female empowerment and her personal voice. Shahidi told Vogue in 2018, “OK, Zoey may be angsty, and she may be rebellious, she may be on her phone a lot, but Kenya and the writers really let you see her be a leader within her family or excel at her job. All of that was through active conversation.

Figuring out, OK, how do we stay true to character and not perpetuate stereotypes about what a woman can or cannot be?”. In the show, topics such as police brutality and the presidential election were covered as family discussions, which translated into broader conversation.

Last year, Shahidi enrolled in Harvard University with a recommendation by none other than ex-first lady, Michelle Obama.

This was due to her incredible work, not only in the film industry, but also in starting Eighteen X 18 , a creative platform to engage the younger generation in getting active and voting. Shahidi founded the organisation to get more young people involved in politics and empower the youth to speak out and become leaders and activists.

Along with encouraging her peers to become politically engaged, Shahidi has also founded Yara’s Club, a partnership with the Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) of New York, which provides online mentorship in hopes to end poverty through education.

In 2018, Shahidi directed a short film named ‘’X’’ to powerfully convey the spectrum of emotions experienced by people who feel marginalized within public spaces. Yara is a quadruple threat and she does what she loves with a purpose; ‘’my dharma, my purpose, is not to live in a selfcentred world; to feel like one day I can look back and feel like what I did mattered.”

It is refreshing to see young actors choosing films close to their heart and beliefs. Shahidi continues to grace magazines and is the epitome of integrity and courage – earlier last year she became the ambassador for Chanel and walked the Met Gala.

So, what more can we expect from such a driven woman with knowledge beyond her years? Shahidi’s upcoming film ‘’The Sun is also a Star’’, based on the bestselling book by Nicola Yoon, opposite Charles Melton, has already received critical acclaim for addressing issues such as immigration. Shahidi’s Iranian-American nationality connects with the film and speaks volumes about how humanity can surpass labels.

Clearly, there is much more waiting on the horizon for Yara Shahidi.

WORDS BY: MEGH BARAL DESIGN BY: ORLAGH TURNER

71

WORDS BY: MIKE O’BRIEN DESIGN BY: ROWAN LEES PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) took the world by storm in 2017, putting battle royale on the map as the hot new gaming trend. Fortnite took it a step further, conquering the mainstream and inspiring teachers and politicians alike to floss on national television, upsetting everyone in the process. Ask anyone what the hottest new battle royale game is and they’ll probably say Apex Legends - but they’d be wrong. Drop your purple scars and your frying pans, because I don’t care where you’re dropping. The best battle royale game right now is god damn Tetris - Tetris 99, to be exact.

Tetris 99 is a new battle royale game for Nintendo Switch, free to play for all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

The format is simple; you and 98 other players play a simultaneous game of Tetris in a deadly competition to be the last player standing. The blocks - or ‘tetriminos’, if you’re a nerd - fall faster depending on how many players have been eliminated. Clear multiple lines at once and another player will end up inheriting them at the bottom of their screen (also known as ‘garbage’). The more lines you clear at once, the more garbage your opponents will inherit, pushing them to the top of the screen and out of the game.

For many of you, I imagine that Tetris 99 doesn’t sound enthralling as a concept, let alone the basis for the best battle royale game in town. But there’s actually a lot more to it than meets the eye. Tetris 99 is a brutal exercise in natural selection. During the game, you can see the screens of all 98 opponents in realtime - and you can individually target who you send garbage to. As a consequence, Tetris 99 isn’t just clearing lines to survive the endless onslaught of tetriminos - players are scrambling to drown each other out of the game.

There’s something comically cruel and personal about Tetris 99 in particular that elevates it beyond other battle royales. In a game like Fortnite or PUBG, being shot by another player is par for the course. It’s a game exclusively about combating others with guns and fists and fury, making for a naturally adversarial experience. In Tetris 99, a game about… shapes... the best strategy is to explicitly prey on the weak.

As you KO players, you earn badges

which multiply the amount of garbage you can send to opponents. Hence, a skilled player will keep an eye on the performance of their 98 competitors and explicitly target someone who’s having a hard enough time as it is. Tetris 99 players are vultures. In other battle royales, you’ll often be fighting out of self defence, or as part of a chance encounter. In Tetris 99, no such chance encounters exist. You are being specifically targeted because someone thinks you are weak, because they think they can push you off the edge and get an easy badge. They smell your fear and they lavish in it.

The targeting system is the basis of Tetris 99’s excellence.

Targeting struggling players isn’t the only strategy; you can also automatically target players with more badges than others, or players who are attacking you. By targeting players with more badges, you may eliminate opponents who are getting too strong and might be problematic later in the game.

By targeting players who are attacking you, you might be able to alleviate some pressure by drowning out those sending a tonne of garbage your way. Of course, this is complicated by how other players use the targeting system. Taking out players with badges can seem like a good way to mitigate late-game competition, but if they’re targeting their attackers, you’ll inherit their garbage too - and odds are there will be more of it. Taking out your direct attackers can ease the pressure, but these conflicts can go on for quite some time, all the while other players are snatching badges from opponents on the brink of extinction. Quickly prioritising who to take out, who to defend yourself from, and who to leave alone adds a layer of strategy, and it’s a thematically perfect fit for a game defined by rapid decision-making.

Of course, there is some luck to it. By default, targeting is set to random, and you might just be unlucky enough to be targeted by several people at once as per the luck of the draw. It rarely feels impossible though, and by playing carefully, you can mitigate the risks of being devoured by vultures. This is perhaps the best thing about Tetris 99, and the reason I still play it over other battle royales. There’s nothing more demoralising than spending twenty minutes gearing up in PUBG only to have it snatched away from you

by an invisible sniper before you can use any of it. With Fortnite’s encroaching storm and PUBG’s shrinking playzone, they force you to jeopardise your position, often exposing yourself to players you cannot realistically defend yourself against in some situations. With Tetris 99, you are in control of your destiny.

Your peril is often the product of your own mistakes. Being targeted by several people can feel burdensome and unfair to begin with, but there is counterplay. There’s a real sense that everyone is on the same playing field, and that luck has little to do with it. Even if it goes terribly wrong for you, matches don’t last long at all, making defeats less exhausting and the prospect of ‘one more game’ all the more tempting.

I thought I was done with the battle royale genre forever. Tetris 99, with its skill-determined outcomes, targeting systems keeping things dynamic, and its unassuming savagery has brought me back into the fold.

No more wandering around a huge map waiting for the fun parts - this is a battle royale game that engages you in every nanosecond of play. You owe it to yourself to give this game a whirl. At the very least, it doesn’t have any cringy dances for the denizens of corporate America to ruin forever… yet.

TECHNOLOGY

And the best battle royale game goes to...

72

WORDS BY: MIKE O’BRIEN DESIGN BY:URSZULA RODAKOWSKA

Super Smash Bros is a beloved series of games about video game mascots, mostly Nintendo characters, duking it out in wacky locales and chucking each other off floating stages. You probably played it round a mate’s house, or as a score-settler for high-school trash-talk - but it’s actually one of the biggest competitive games around, and its community is the centre of a heated controversy. After six straight years of being a mainstage event, 2001’s Super Smash Bros Melee has been axed from EVO, the most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world. In its stead, Super Smash Bros Ultimate waves the franchise banner. The aftermath was ugly, with vocal conflicts erupting between the Melee community, the fighting game community (FGC), and Nintendo itself. Why do so many stick by this old game? Are Melee players just arthritic curmudgeons who will never play anything else? Is Ultimate the solution? As a deeply uncomfortable fan of both games, it’s time to set the record straight.

Competitive Smash Bros is often described as a beautiful accident. Super Smash Bros. Melee was only in development for just over a year, and with creator Masahiro Sakurai’s insatiable ambition, the process was hell. “I was living a really destructive lifestyle -- I’d work for over 40 hours in a row, then go back home to sleep for four,” he told Famitsu. As a consequence, many dimensions of Melee’s engine escaped thorough testing, and whilst Melee did consciously cater to the hardcore audience, players took advantage of Melee’s precision in ways neither Nintendo nor Sakurai could have anticipated.

Much to the umbrage of Sakurai, who built Smash Bros as an answer to the complicated command inputs of 2D fighters like Street Fighter, Melee developed a reputation as one of the most technically intricate games ever.

It’s become a game with peerless control, where new knowledge is discovered eighteen years after the fact.

Some believe competitive Melee is an abominable exploitation of ‘glitches’ - but Melee players are using legitimate mechanics, albeit more quickly and intricately than intended. Besides, games are art, and to suggest that players are wrong for perceiving the game differently to its creator’s intent seems philistine; no one would say the same about different interpretations of music or film. Say what you like about the Melee community; when it was axed from EVO, the outcry from some of its top players was ignorant, embarrassing, and frankly disrespectful to the FGC, with bogus allegations of bribery and other inflammatory comments. I won’t entertain or defend the reactionary bollocks of a vocal minority, and I won’t make a case for Melee’s place at EVO. But they aren’t going through all this effort to play an old game out of spite and stubbornness. There are merits to Melee which should be considered in abstraction of the controversy; even Sakurai called it ‘the sharpest game in the series’.

73 there’s a window of time near the end where you can queue the next move. Think of it as a little interpreter inside the game who takes the buttons you’re pressing and estimates what you actually meant to do and when you wanted it to happen. Most fighting games have one, but Ultimate’s is gratuitous and at times completely dysfunctional. With such an enormous buffering window, two different kinds of buffering occurring simultaneously, and the input lag inherent in the game, Ultimate can be a frustratingly imprecise experience that thinks it knows what you want to do better than you do. A simple option to disable this would suffice - but unlike Project M (a Melee-inspired fanmade conversion of Brawl), this buffer is compulsory.

The Smash community was cleft in two: diehard Melee players, and the wider community who play the latest release. Now, eighteen years and two games after Melee, many believe that Smash’s newest incarnation, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, is the dawn of a promising new chapter; Nintendo appears to be supporting the scene, and right now it’s sitting atop the entrants list for EVO 2019 - but is it enough to unite the Smash community and put an end to the ideological conflict between Nintendo and the competitive scene it unwittingly created?

Then there’s Ultimate’s online portion, which may be the worst in recent memory of any game this significant. There’s zero guarantee you’ll get the rules you select at all. Then there’s GSP, the game’s ranking system, which applies to every quickplay match and will penalise everyone involved when it inevitably goes tits up. You can opt to play a tournament-legal match only to end up in a one minute four-player free-forall with items enabled on Wily’s Castle, then get demoted (or even banned) when someone else quits the game early. It’s exacerbated by awful netcode; it’s somehow significantly worse than the Melee netplay available for free via Dolphin Emulator (which never had online play in the first place). Since the latency also compounds the inherent input problems, Ultimate’s online is a hot mess indeed.

Ultimate’s title is a mission statement - this is the Ultimate Smash game, chock-full of characters, stages, and gameplay mechanics from previous titles. Nintendo wants Ultimate to be the one Smash game in town, and at first glance it seems like they’re willing to play ball by embracing Melee’s defining properties. Directional airdodging, low landing lag, weaker shields, punishable rolls, and versatile dashes... it sure sounds like Melee, and it even introduces brand new techniques - so why not jump ship?

The answer is that whilst these mechanics make Ultimate faster, they have very limited applications. There’s more to encouraging offensive play than buffing offensive options and nerfing defensive ones, especially since they can be used interchangeably. You can nerf shields and pat yourself on the back for making the game more offensive, but how you nerf them matters. In Ultimate, they can withstand less damage, which is fine, but now you can’t use them during a dash. Outside of feeling unresponsive and restrictive, this invalidates the offensive threat of dashing into shield, which only strengthens defensive playstyles like zoning. Directional air-dodging is back, but it has a tonne of lag, making its primary function in Melee - to navigate platforms and position yourself precisely - redundant in Ultimate.

Bringing back mechanics is great, but it doesn’t automatically restore the options they once created. Ultimate does introduce some fantastic features such as macros for short-hops and easier run-cancelling, but it’s a shame these came at the expense of so many other techniques.

Also controversial is Ultimate’s buffering system. Whenever you perform an action,

Considering Nintendo’s track record, its vocal support for competitive Ultimate seems like a promising turnaround for the health of the scene. There’s Nintendo Versus, an official social media hub, and with events like the European Smash Ball Team Cup, Nintendo are even hosting their own circuits. But even these efforts are laced with Nintendo’s failure to understand its competitive community. The tournaments don’t even have a competitive ruleset, instead using time battles and randomly spawning items. “Leagues, big paydays for winners, pro players [...] are a bit less interesting to us”, says former CEO Reggie Fils-Aime. In other words, nominal support in the form of halfassed circuits and Twitter shoutouts is as far as Nintendo will go.

‘The community themselves need to rally around a particular title’, Reggie tells ESPN. ‘As the Melee community gets their hands on Ultimate, and they see the speed [...] we could see a consolidation of Smash play [...] that would then enable us to standardize the rules of play’. Melee players are enjoying Ultimate, and it’s only a handful of changes from being a game many would migrate to - but if Nintendo wants everyone behind one banner, it has to listen. It can’t trivialise the appeal of Melee’s gameplay to ‘speed’ alone whilst ‘standardising the rules of play’ with item-laden tournaments that no competitive player would touch.

These tournaments are symptomatic of the real problem: Nintendo doesn’t get it. Sakurai believes Melee was ‘too difficult’, that despite its fluidity, it was a contravention of the anyonecan-win philosophy behind Smash. Melee is hard to master - but it’s the best-selling GameCube game of all time, and its legacy is the duality of an intricate platform fighter and a hysterical party game. By releasing slower sequels with less room for advanced play, you’re not reducing the certainty of a match’s outcome - you’re just streamlining the ways that better players will inevitably dominate, as they always have and will.

Sakurai is right that Melee is too difficult in places, but his solution is needlessly divisive.

If Smash is too difficult, don’t make it onedimensional - make it easier! Add simple macros and optional buffers for technical manoeuvres like shield drops and wavedashes. Maybe even add some practical tutorials that aren’t tucked away behind five menus. Advanced players can enjoy mechanical depth, new players have an easier time learning, and casual players won’t even notice. Remove depth entirely and it’s no wonder Melee fans aren’t charmed by a game with much less freedom, far worse netplay and ranking systems than fanmade alternatives, and a mandatory buffer that impedes precision.

Ultimate is a leap in the right direction, but it still feels like a lukewarm commitment to the game’s true potential and a functional disappointment for a AAA 2018 release.

Sakurai’s vision of a universally accessible fighting game is noble but counterproductive.

In his obsession to create more inclusive games, he has only made Smash a more restrictive experience. Just because you’re not doing quarter-circles on an arcade stick doesn’t mean Smash isn’t inherently difficult. It’s a fighting game with almost 80 unique characters and movesets, some of which feel like playing different games altogether. When you pass a controller to your casual friends, they’re probably too busy trying to avoid flinging themselves into the abyss to give a toss about whether someone is wavedashing - so why remove what made Melee the ‘sharpest game in the series’? It’s time to dispel the myth that high skill ceilings and low skill floors are mutually exclusive. Melee’s endless technical possibility didn’t stop anyone from having senseless fun with it eighteen years ago. It outlived two successors and continues to survive independently for a reason, so why not embrace its legacy to make a Smash game that’s truly ‘Ultimate’?

TECHNOLOGY

The competitive crucible and grassroots gaming culture emerging from Smash didn’t align with Nintendo’s family image nor Sakurai’s vision of an accessible experience for all, and they had grown too large to ignore. Nintendo’s attempts to curb it have been controversial. In 2013, after the Melee community raised almost $100,000 to fight cancer and make the EVO lineup, Nintendo demanded that EVO staff refrain from broadcasting Melee at all. The resentment of competitive Smash even permeated the design of future games; 2008’s Super Smash Bros Brawl, and to a lesser extent 2014’s Smash 4 were consciously neutered to be slow, uncompetitive, comboless games, with Brawl going as far as forcing your character to randomly trip when moving.

74

Automation: Friend or foe?

Automation will revolutionise our society by drastically increasing efficiency and yield, but it will also render many low-skilled human roles redundant. Whether or not this is something to fear, or an opportunity to embrace, is a contentious topic.

There are numerous ‘dull’ jobs that exist which many people must work. However, these roles may not inspire much passion in those required to do them, in which case automation could be viewed as a positive development.

Technological advances bring with them plenty of opportunities, one of which is the chance to ask ourselves more fundamental questions of what appeals to us. What do we want living in a rich, prosperous modern society to entail?

We should question what effect work for work’s sake in monotonous and soul-destroying jobs has on mental health, for example. This leads us to one of the benefits of automation – a shorter working week. With machines capable of working 24/7, there will be less pressure in goods and service industries to burden workers with everincreasing hours to meet targets, alleviating strain on employee welfare. The roles of many workers will simply evolve; machines still need to be kept running, and this will be a job for an army of IT specialists. “Robots will operate 24/7 and won’t take breaks but they still need to be managed to make sure they are working at an optimum level”, says Paul Donaldson, UK automation practice lead at Alsbridge, to HR Magazine. “Understanding the capabilities of this new workforce and ensuring they work in conjunction with your existing teams is a key activity for HR.”

Changes to the nature of work bring with it a greater chance of innovation. It seems logical that employees, once freed from the execution of routine tasks, will have more capacity for creativity and the generation of ideas.

Technology has already made huge inroads into sectors such as manufacturing. Companies in this industry, along with retail and transport firms, are the most likely to be keeping an eye on where advances in automated technology might take them. But many other sectors have yet to escalate this to the top of their watch-lists. To speculate about what jobs will be affected by automation in the future is tough; what is perhaps easier is to highlight careers in which humans will likely always be required; politicians, lawyers, academics, journalists, ‘creatives’, emergency medical staff (GPs are already affected by automation) and professional athletes seem safe bets.

Robots performing these roles seems somewhat farfetched and you do not have to be a sci-fi buff to imagine how problematic it could prove (think Robocop).

A criticism from those who are wary of automation is that we really don’t know where this could all end up. In his book The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment, Martin Ford illustrates the concept of Moore’s Law. He describes a car that starts at 5mph and doubles in speed every minute. “In the twenty-eighth minute you would travel more than 11 million miles,” he explains. “Five minutes or so at that speed would get you to Mars. That, in a nutshell, is where information technology stands today, relative to when the first primitive integrated circuits started plodding along in the late 1950s.”

Whether friend or foe is ultimately irrelevant – these

75

What is largely at risk is further disenfranchisement of the working class, with large swathes of unemployed and displaced citizens creating socio-economic unrest. This potential mass unemployment is a very real threat, and our traditional model of working to get paid to be able to live may well need revising.

One solution is a Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI is simply the idea that everyone in our society has a right to a minimal income, paid for by the state. Unconditionally, set at a subsistence level, it would take the place of unemployment and other conditional benefits, and enhance effective freedom. This could bring profound social changes.

2015 saw the Green party commit to a basic income scheme, putting the policy firmly on the table. 2018 saw Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell pledge a pilot scheme, with a basic income set to be provided to small geographical areas of Scotland in the next Labour manifesto. This is not a utopian, left-wing proposal though; UBI has long had advocates from across the political spectrum. Libertarians on the right see UBI as a logical outcome from the perspective that it provides real freedom for all. Noteworthy proponents include Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, the Adam Smith Institute, and Milton Friedman.

A basic income could become a right by virtue of citizenship, as opposed to the means-tested welfare state and the obvious issues the current system creates. The principles and practicalities of this revolutionary idea are sound, and many economists across the world understand UBI as an inevitability. The question is when? The faster automation advances, the more likely we are to see UBI in the mainstream. Though a radical policy idea, automation too will be revolutionary, already being dubbed ‘the third industrial revolution’. Governments must be ready to adapt and learn. Though full of potential for realising a truly free society, automation will require adequate policy changes in response if we are to avoid mass fallout. We could well be on the edge of an even more rapidly changing world.

WORDS BY: ELLIS GARAMSZEGI DESIGN BY: ABI DUDBRIDGE

TECHNOLOGY

changes are coming, and automation is sure to have profound consequences for our way of life. What can be done to make it more viable?

76

An Interview

Arcade

Chris

WORDS BY: MIKE O’BRIEN DESIGN BY: LUISA DE LA CONCHA MONTES

Tucked away in the High Street Arcade at Queen’s St is a new venue: The Arcade Vaults.

With Cardiff proving a hotspot for gaming culture, I was curious about what the Vaults could bring to such a crowded space - so I had a chat with its owner, Chris Munasinha, to learn a bit more about this new challenger.

Walking into the Arcade Vaults is like walking into the annals of history. To my inner eight year old though, it’s more like walking into the gaming exhibition at the National Science Museum and being allowed to touch everything. All the household classics like Tetris, Super Mario Kart, and Guitar Hero are here, with consoles and arcade machines spanning from the 70s to the present day. For the lesser known stuff, Chris was dropping facts like he was born to do it. His giddiness and encyclopedic knowledge of everything in the shop is endearing; much of it, he tells me, is on loan from his personal collection.

Let’s start with a bit about yourself. Where are you from, Chris?

I’m from London originally, but I moved here about seven years ago with my wife, who’s from Cardiff.

How are you finding Cardiff?

Great, yeah! In a roundabout way, this is all an indirect result of me trying to create a social life for myself. I’m a freelancer, so in coming to a new city, I didn’t really have a social circle. The chain reaction was when I went to a tech dev conference in Aberystwyth called iOSDev, and from there I found out about GamesWales, met a bunch of people, and from there I decided to start off this whole Arcade Vaults thing.

Seems like it’s working out pretty well so far!

Yeah, it’s getting there! We’ve been open for about three months now, and the curve is going in the right direction. We’ve been doing gaming events in other venues for a number of years now, but this particular venue is new.

Presumably, you can’t commit to something like the Arcade Vaults without having a personal relationship with video games. What sparked it all?

I got my first computer when I was 8. I was living back in Sri Lanka in those times, and there wasn’t much access to video game shops outside of big cities. With the computer you got a manual with the program in the back that you had to type in Basic - which also got me into programming - but the very first game I ever played was this racing game you had to program a car go up a track. It was very simple - it was less of a car and more like eight pixels - but that’s when I started liking games. My first proper gaming machine was an Amiga - so many memories! - which a lot of British developers, like Peter Molyneux, started with. Ended up going to university, got into computer science… I still played games, but not in the same way. It was trips to the chip shop, stopping off at the arcade, playing a bit of R-Type, Street Fighter.

Are you more of a Ryu or a Ken kinda guy? (sighs) Neither…

Don’t say Sagat.

It would generally be Chun-Li or Guile. I could never really get the hang of the dragon punch to be honest with you! But yeah, gaming has shaped a lot of the decisions I’ve made.

I always regretted not going into game development after graduating from computer science. I toyed with the idea of making games and changing careers after that conference, but it ended up being much more fun to see people play games than make them.

Give us your three favourite retro games.

R-Type, Street Fighter… II.... Turbo Edition. Too slow otherwise. And Lemmings. Ooh, Flashback… Flashback was always quite good as well. We’ll stick with Lemmings.

And your three favourite modern games?

The Last of Us is probably one of my all-time favourite games. I like Resogun quite a lot as well. You know what, I really enjoyed God of War and Spider-Man. And Zelda! How could I forget Zelda!? Scratch Spider-Man - let’s go with Breath of the Wild. I was always a big fan of building games as well, like Sim City, but there hasn’t been anything like it for years.

Not a fan of Cities: Skylines?

I like Cities: Skylines, but I always felt it could do with a bit more focus on the campaign.

The traffic is terrible.

The traffic is terrible.

77 TECHNOLOGY

with the

Vaults’

Munasinha Who is your favourite Mario Kart character, and why is it Waluigi? [laughs] Toad.

What’s your biggest gaming achievement?

When I was younger, there was a competition where you had to make a game, and the one I made got published in Amiga Action back in 1994. I still have the magazine!

Let’s talk about the Vaults. You guys have hosted everything from development jams to tournaments to speed dating - what is the Arcade Vaults exactly?

In the simplest terms, it’s a community for the makers and players of video games, which sounds very generic, but actually it’s the most apt way of describing what we’re doing. We’re a hub for everything to do with video games and the things that people love about video games. The speed dating thing [for example] was a way to bring together people who play video games but might not necessarily be too social, and want to just meet other people like themselves. We run the tournaments because we want to build a place for people to play games, we have our game jams so people can make the games, so really it is a community for the creators and the players.

How big is the team running things here?

It’s me, and then there’s a bunch of people who help out. We’ve got Will downstairs, my part-time assistant, and then we’ve got a bunch of other people who’ve helped out over the years, without which this place would never have existed. Whilst I’m responsible for everything, the place wouldn’t exist without a team of volunteers.

How can people get involved if they want to volunteer?

Get in touch! Let us know what you can do. The Arcade Vaults is a community interest company, which means we’re essentially non-profit. We’re not out to make millions; if we wanted that, we’d probably be out making the next… I dunno.

Arcade Vaults: Battle Royale? [laughs] Yeah. But if anyone wants to help out, we’ll accept any form of volunteering. Even donations from things like furniture, TVs, and video games themselves would go a long way.

The Arcade Vaults seems much more profound to you than just a shop or a venue - in fact, you seem reluctant to use those terms at all. It seems more like your baby than any kind of business.

It is, that’s fair to say. [...] It is my baby, it’s been a lot of work getting here, it’s been a lot of admin, a lot of financial work, a lot of time, a lot of strained relationships. We may be non-profit but we’ve still gotta pay the bills. It’s all working well so far, getting there slowly but surely. All the volunteers, customers, and developers are showing support by helping out and coming to the events, so yeah, it’s been really pleasing to see that people get what we’re trying to do.

Is there a place where people can bring their own devices or play their own games?

We haven’t really explored that in great detail. One of the things about this coworking space is that on the weekends, it’s a bit more free, so we could do that up here [...] it’s a possibility. If we want to be a community, then that’s one of the things we have to offer people down the line.

The Arcade Vaults has a clear retro vibe, but are there any plans at all to provide a space for modern gaming?

It’s probably always going to have a heavy focus on the older stuff. People are currently playing modern games at home, why compete with what people have in a comfortable sense? Yes, we can offer things like the ability to try modern games that they don’t have, but it’s easier to bring retro to the masses because people don’t really see it anymore. We’ll always have a focus on the older stuff, but we’ll make the time for the new stuff as well.

Tell us about some of the main events happening at the Arcade Vaults!

Smash is obviously dominating everything at the moment, with Ultimate’s release and the Melee community approaching us. But we also had an ‘Introduction to D&D’ night a few weeks ago that went really well, the Nintendo South Wales community are running some events here, we’re hosting a talk with the Cardiff Science Festival, board games,, speed dating, pub quizzes […] We’re open to feedback as well; people have suggested events at our venue that we’ve taken on board. It’s a community-driven venue after all.

You call the Vaults a non-profit community interest company. It’s clearly a labour of love and an individual project for you, but some of the events and services that you provide are the same as those of other local businesses in Cardiff. Do you consider yourself a competitor?

It’s gonna be hard not to compete with some places - Kongs, Talk and Surf, Indycube, Rabble… we are a bit of a competitor, but we try and work with them. I know Qas, who runs Talk and Surf, and we try and make sure that our events don’t clash on the same nights because why divide the community? We all want the same thing, we want people to come and play games. Whilst on a base level we have competitors, I always try and coordinate with people to make sure that we’re not competing competing, if you see what I mean. I really strive hard to make good relationships with these various organisations, and I want to make sure everyone is on the same page with the ultimate goal - grow the video game community in Cardiff.

I found Chris to be reassuringly genuine. Pleasant, unrehearsed, and clearly in-tune with the culture, it was a relief to see the Vaults was run by someone whom I could easily have mistaken for another customer. The appeal of supporting niche local businesses like this hinges on the sincerity of their owners, and unlike some I’ve met in the past, I have no reason to doubt Chris. Go check it out when you get the time - odds are there’s something up your alley if you have any kind of relationship with video games, and your money couldn’t be going to more honest folks.

what have i learnt? A Girl’s thoughts in her final year.

WORDS BY: HANNAH STAIT ILLUSTRATION BY: IZZY WRIGHT

78

If you’re finding that the way you’re thinking is affecting your day to day life, reach out. Head to the Health and Wellbeing section of Intranet for some guidance on what help you can get, or give Samaritans a call at 116 123 (UK) to talk to someone.

DESIGN BY: ASHLEY BOYLE

1. It’s important to try new things! - Throughout high school you’re taught that trying new things is important, and at the time you laugh it off and say ‘No chance’ but I’ve learnt that it can really make a difference to your happiness. I found Quench in first year and it has really been the making of me. I’ve achieved things I never thought possible and have experience that I wouldn’t have gained any other way. The clubs and societies available are so worth it, doing something you really love can make all the difference to your time at university.

2. It’s okay to not succeed all the time. Uni is hard. It’s supposed to be, and what that means is that sometimes you might find it difficult and not get the marks you were hoping for.

That doesn’t mean you’re not good enough and it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be here. All it means is that you’ve still got things to learn, which is what these years are for.

It’s these times that help you find your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I know for me when I failed an assignment I felt low for so long, but in the long run it has helped me so much by teaching me what not to do!

3. Make time for fun as well as focus! As much as these past few years have helped me grow as an academic, they have also given me so many memories with so many brilliant people. I’ve seen shows that I’ve always wanted to, been to events that I never thought I would and met people that have given me dreams for my future. This is your time to make the most of the chances you’ve been given.

4. It’s okay not to be okay… my mental health has taken a tumble these past few years and even in this current moment the future seems unclear for me. But I have found an incredible support system that has helped me get through these past years and feel positive about what lies ahead. My time in Cardiff has been the security blanket I didn’t know I needed and now I feel ready for whatever may come my way!

5. Changing your mind is fine too! I spent a year at another university before I came to Cardiff and while I made great memories I was starting to believe that university life wasn’t for me. When I decided to head home and apply to Cardiff, I wasn’t sure what I expected. What I found was that there is a perfect university for you, and it’s okay if it takes you some time to find it! There doesn’t have to be a set design for how your education or career pans out and when you find the right place for you, you’ll know it!

6. There isn’t a ‘perfect student’. Everybody learns in different ways and no two student experiences will ever be the same, whether you like to spend hours at the library everyday or do work during the week and party all weekend - that is fine. Your experience here should only be defined by what works for you, and no one should tell you differently. For me I balance university with work and performing and while that might be too much for somebody, for me it is just right! Don’t ever be afraid to live your life the way you need to, it will all come together in the end!

7. It’s okay to be scared sometimes! I’ll be honest and say that there’s something scary about coming to the end of a degree. Education has been part of my life since I was five years old and the idea of that coming to an end scares me to no end, but I know that in the end the right path will find me. There’s no crystal ball telling us where we’ll be in years to come, but that’s the exciting part - our future is a blank canvas and it’s up to us what our picture becomes!

8. ‘You get out what you put in’ - this is one of those things that teachers would say to you and your roll your eyes and laugh off, but it really is true. This is the stage in our lives where we are being taught to fend for ourselves and develop our own skills. An assignment is only as hard as you make it and with enough work - anything is possible! With all the resources being offered to us it is paramount that we use them to our advantage, and it really could make all the difference!

9. University is for anyone and everyone! I come from a background where it always felt like it would be hard to achieve. We’re made to feel like if you don’t have anything then maybe you don’t deserve it either. This is simply not the case. There is so much help out there for people who want to study but don’t feel like they can. Don’t be afraid to ask for help because if you want something, you should be able to have it! Remember that the sky’s the limit and there is nothing that you cannot do.

My time in university has been full of highs and lows, laughter and tears and now my years as a student are coming to a close. I’m just a few months I will go from a University student to a full time adult and I can’t say that it’s not a scary thought. This is my fourth year in

10. I don’t have a clue. And that’s okay! When you pick your subjects in high school you are made to think that you should know where you want to go in life. When I picked my GCSE’s I wanted to be a teacher. When I picked my A-Levels I wanted to be a Lawyer.

When I picked my university I wanted to work in television. When I changed university I wanted to be a writer. It’s okay not to know where you want to go or who you want to be.

There’s a world of possibilities out there. Don’t limit yourself to one dream because as you grow, your dreams will too!

university and I have learnt so much in that time. Not

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since I stepped into these buildings, and it’s hard to believe how far I have come as a person. If I could say one thing to that nineteen year old girl who was so full of fear on her first day, it would be ‘go on, you’ve got this’.

just about the world but about myself too. I’d like to tell

And you’ve got this too.

you some of the things that I have learnt, and some of

Thanks for listening,

the things that I feel as I come to the end of my degree.

Your Agony Aunt x

79

One of the first things you need to do is sit down and think about what you need to achieve in the next few months, write a list of the university assessments you need to complete and how long you’ve got. From this you can work out how much time in the next few weeks you need to write/edit/draft these pieces of work and allow yourself the time for breaks and days off from the work. Making time for yourself is important and whether that means planning days to spend with friends having fun or some time for yourself, both are equally important. You don’t need to run yourself into the ground and it’s important to have an outlook that allows you to realise that these hard times will pass, and you’ll be stronger because of them.

I’m coming to the end of third year and I’m starting to realise how hard it will be to find a job in the area I want to work in, any advice??

Job hunting is hard, sometimes impossibly so and it can take weeks or even months of hunting to find the job that’s right for you! Make sure to make the most of the services around you like the careers advice with the uni to help kickstart your search. Make sure you have a detailed and up to date cv that you can use for a range of jobs in your chosen sector. The important thing to remember is that rejection is rife in job hunting but every interview and communication with any company can be valuable when looking for a long term job. If you get an interview but don’t succeed in getting the job, ask what you can improve on - turn every ‘failure’ into a learning curve.

Thejob for you is out there, don’t give up on finding it!

One of my flat mates called me a slut because I’ve had a few one night stands over the semester, are they right?

I’m friends with this person and they said it in a jokey way but I’ve taken it to heart and now I keep thinking that there’s something wrong with me. Please help.

Are they right? No. In this day and age there is a microscope on all aspects of sexuality and for students in particular there can be awful judgement for those that like to be free-spirited sexually. No one gets to choose how another person behaves and definitely not what sex a person may or may not be having. There is nothing wrong with enjoying sex and what you choose to do with your body is up to you entirely. It’s wrong for them to make you feel bad about yourself and a friend wouldn’t really do that. Don’t let one opinion affect how you live your life.

I’ve got a really bad relationship with food, I either avoid eating unless I have to or binge eat which makes me feel awful about myself. I want to be more in control of how I look after myself and I don’t know where to start!

One of the best ways to be in control of your eating habits is a food diary! Just by writing down what you eat in a day could let you see any habits or patterns that you might unknowingly have, and with this you might get a clearer idea of why your habits are the way they are. Another good way to structure your eating habits is to create a meal plan for yourself! This will allow you to consciously monitor what you are eating, but allows you full flexibility to eat meals that you love! This is also really helpful when it comes to doing your shopping as you’ll have an idea every time of what you need to buy! If you are finding that your eating habits are directly affecting your mental health, don’t hesitate to contact the wellbeing team!

Your Questions Answered

AGONY AUNT

Agony aunt please help, I’ve been in such a bad place recently and I can feel myself distancing myself from my uni work and my friends. I don’t know what’s causing it and I don’t want to be like this... I’ve only got a few months until my deadlines and I’m worried I’m going to fail everything and lose my friendships