gair rhydd - Issue 900 pt2

gairrhydd presents

cardiff university's

eco-

ethical supplement

printed on recycled paper

02

Credit punch

Sarah Powell asks whether the credit crunch affects eco-buying

T Welcome to the first edition of eden. We hope that you find some inspiration and guidance about the little changes we can all make to reduce our impact on the environment and our pockets.

This supplement isn’t our attempt to urge you to burn all your clothes and live in a bin bag, but we do want to show that there are some fun and easy things that you can do to be environmentally conscious.

We’re not pretending to be entirely blame-free ourselves; we do indulge in high street buys, hot showers and we like the odd tipple of imported wine! However, there are little changes that we are making in order to live more ethically.

During the process of compiling this edition, the enthusiasm and hard work of our contributors has been overwhelming and greatly appreciated. It has been brilliant to get such a good response, and refreshing to know that so many people care and can shed humour onto the pessimism that we are faced with in the mass media.

Many thanks go to all of the people who have contributed to this issue and to everyone who has helped to make it happen. We would like to say a special thank you to Rosie Eastoe, whose beautiful illustrations and creative flair have provided a perfect atmosphere to accompany the articles and supplement as a whole.

Editors: Sarah Powell and Eleanor Joslin Illustrations: Roseanna Eastoe

he credit crunch. Ahh, those three words that send us students running for the hills, fearing for our wallets and our futures. I vowed that I wouldn’t write about it, not wanting to add to the recent proliferation of articles about it that are currently taking over the media. But when thinking about the clash between economics and the environment, it suddenly becomes extremely hard not to mention it.

At the moment, it seems impossible to talk to anyone without alluding to the ‘current economic climate’ (or maybe I just have the wrong friends?). We are constantly dogged by images of our parents telling us to watch our pennies and buy cheap, which becomes all too reminiscent of a Dickensian 'the times is 'ard' mentality. And if it isn’t enough that everyone else in the world is scraping their coppers together, how are we students meant to cope? When the whole world seems hard up for cash does this mean we will become worse off too? And where does this leave the environment if everyone is beginning to feel the pinch?

Typically, students are thought to be radical and politically active creatures. I mean, there’s always a campaign, isn’t there - if it’s not about student fees, then it’s Gaza or even about our right to protest itself. But one thing that we’ve always been passionate about is the environment.

In the past we’ve set up groups and we’ve lobbied for our University to be more aware of its environmental impact, or we’ve protested for the government to put a stop to animal testing or to lower their carbon emissions. The environment is something that we care about and many of us try our best to lead eco-friendly and ecoaware lifestyles.

But now that we live in a time of (another dreaded word) recession, does this mean that we will put our environmental concerns on the back burner in a bid to save money? Are we doomed to sacrifice our moral conscience in an attempt to beat the credit crunch?

There is no doubt about it, leading an ethical and environmental life has its expenses which are difficult to fund on a pitiful student loan but surely there are things that we can do that are eco-friendly as well as cheap?

There is something satisfying about bagging an eco-

bargain and knowing where your food came from

Take supermarkets, for example.

It’s a common misconception that shopping at Tesco is going to be cheaper than buying your groceries from local retailers. Here in Cardiff we have plenty of independent retailers who supply locally sourced, organic-with-the-mud-still-on-it food, which can be bought cheaply.

Now, while doing this involves a bit of a walk into town or Cathays, and the ‘inconvenience’ of buying your food from more than one shop

(heaven forbid), you can then have the satisfaction of knowing that your food came from a field down the road and that you’ve helped to support local business instead of a multi-national corporation. You have happy vegetables, which aren’t full of pesticides and weren’t genetically modified AND it hasn’t cost you as much as if you were going to the supermarket. Don’t you feel better already? And at the same time, there is something satisfying about knowing where your food came from and that you bagged an eco-bargain.

This can be the same for meat purchases if you buy from a local butcher or from the stalls and markets in town. While I do concede that organic, free-range chickens are slightly more expensive than their Tesco value counterparts we only have to think about the unethical conditions in which the value chickens were kept and the choice becomes clear. Where you might save a pound on cheap meat, there is the cost to the chickens which cannot be justified. Personally, I choose happy chicken all the way.

But at the end of the day, we can’t do everything, which leads to some people drawing the ecoline in different places, with some students buying happy carrots but value brand mince, and some buying ethically produced food but then buying whole outfits from Primark.

The clash between the economy and the environment is clearly a difficult issue to face, and one that we have to weigh up for ourselves to choose where we want or need to draw the line. So, it’s up to you to decide how highly you rank the demands of your wallet over the pull of your environmental conscience.

03

My life as an eco-warrior Robin Morgan swaps modern life to embark upon an ecological expedition into the unknown.

My dreadlocks and beard are covered in lentils, while the remains of my falafel lie silently on my bed next to me. I’m an ecowarrior.

None of this is true.

Firstly, I’m not nearly manly enough to grow a beard. Secondly, my life is ever so slightly more exciting than having an organic midnight feast for pleasure. However, for the next week I have agreed to become an eco- warrior. But just for a week.

I’m genuinely an awful person regarding environmental issues. I should listen to Al Gore, but my love for the planet is overridden by sheer laziness. I do tend to leave lights on, and leave taps running whenever I get distracted by something such as the two pigeons that fornicate outside my bathroom window.

I am going to try my bloody hardest though, in the name of all the polar bears that will die and won’t find themselves as actors on Lost...

Monday I’m awoken by my housemate, not my alarm clock. Everything is turned off at the sockets, so the usual eerie glow of my clock is blackened for once. It is getting light outside, so this won’t be too much of a problem for the next few hours, but in the evenings I can sense it becoming a nuisance.

Tuesday I made a drunken discovery last night. The proprietors of kebab shops do not take kindly to the suggestion of giving people china plates, even if “I promise to wash it up afterwards”.

I was trying, albeit not soberly, to reduce the amount of waste that these places give out. Salisbury Road on a Sunday morning, after Come Play frivolities, looks like D-Day. But with slightly more kebab meat on the floor.

Wednesday

Friday

This isn’t very easy. Of course I’m doing everything to the extreme, but trying to have the quickest shower known to man to save water was possibly the most stressful experience I’ve had in a long time. I’m also going around the house fuming at others, turning their lights off, chucking their TVs on standby. I’m a terrible housemate, but a good environmentalist. Karma?

Breakfast is fruit that was bought at a market yesterday. Tesco was almost definitely closer, but do they have authentic dirt and mud on their apples? Do they bollocks. I’m counting it as another one of my five-aday. Single-use products are one of the many things that I’m looking to avoid this week. My standard mealfor-one microwave buffet will have to be replaced later on.

Turning off lights has become excessive. Mainly because my landing light bulb has blown, so I’m wandering around in the dark quite frequently. Luckily, however, my life is not like Skins, so I wasn’t tripping over prostitutes or piles of drugs, just recycling bags. That sentence has summed my life up in a way that has not made me happy. Are prostitutes eco-friendly if I re-use them?

Thursday I have already come across a problem: the expense of free range and organic foods. They are more expensive, and it would be difficult to budget into a student’s lifestyle.

Free range eggs aren’t the same price as caged in Tesco (yes, I shouldn’t be shopping there, but they’re ever so friendly...), but this is one of few examples.

Organic foods seem to be the typical middle-class family choice, and I’m beginning to wonder whether they are perhaps not that feasible for a student to buy every week.

Saturday I’ve been eating healthier this week.

But it has damaged my bank balance. However, energy bills have surely gone down, so it might even out. The difficulty will be in keeping this lifestyle up. It may be easy for one person to do this, but the student way of life does not really allow this to occur. We’re caught in a bubble of microwave meals and taxis to Oceana because it saves us ten minutes of queuing time. I doubt it’ll change.

Sunday The Riverside market is on this morning, and is definitely worth the trip to town for it. I’m doing more or less ‘the big shop’ here, rucksack and all (no plastic bags – think of future generations you bastards...) to pack it all up. This walking lifestyle has grown on me, however. I don’t think I will drive much around Cardiff. This could because this ecoweek has influenced me heavily. Or that the credit crunch™ has hit me.

Or because I haven’t passed my test.

Probably that.

In reality, being an eco-warrior is not a feasible way for a typical student to live. An eco-aware student is possible though. It’s the simple things that do really make a difference. A decade ago, recycling in Cardiff was a voluntary activity. Now, the council supply us with recycling bags and collect it off our doorsteps.

They’ve even given us a little green box that I assume is a rabbit hutch. I think it’s so we can recycle rabbits.

Right?

What I've learnt I’ve lived a week in what felt like a re-enactment society. It was a complete culture shock, but it would be for any of us. We are used to consumer culture, of the use-andthrow-away beliefs that a majority of us possess. It’s the easy option to stick with what we’re doing – the routine. But this is also what has got us into the shitstorm that is fast approaching. So jump on the ecobandwagon, even if it is just to sleep with some hippy-girl at a protest. At least then you’ll have something to talk about.

Turn over for more features

04 Can the government spare some change?

Jon Evans questions the role that the government has to play in tackling climate change

I

f there are two words that strike fear into the heart of those who we have elected to serve to our interests, those words are climate change.

Saying this, the rapidly unfolding and devastating credit crunch has come close to taking this un-coveted trophy.

Despite swathes of people being made redundant, unemployment reaching a 20-year high, our pockets being squeezed and materialist hopes downsized, the economy will eventually recover and we will be able to breathe again.

Of course, as individuals we can all do our bit. Collectively a group of us can do even more but it means almost nothing without action and a global consensus to tackle the climate problem. Oh the joys of climate change politics.

In a poll conducted by the Observer last year, more than half of people surveyed had little confidence that international leaders and the British government were doing enough to tackle climate change.

Hypothetically, if another poll was carried out this year, issues such as the third runway at Heathrow and the current economic-versus-environment conflict would likely produce an even worse result.

At the climate change march in London last December thousands of people, including hundreds of students, turned out to protest against the inactivity of our govern-

ment. A theme throughout the day, in the speeches and in the conversation, was “next year is the big year for international agreements on Climate Change.” Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green Party, said that despite it being heartening to see so many people driven to protest at the level of government inactivity, she hopes for a day when demonstrations against climate changes are not needed anymore.

Many may say that our government and the international leaders are taking a stand against climate change, which is more than could be said just 15 years ago.

According to the new science unveiled by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Copenhagen last month, we need to act fast. The IPCC report said that average temperatures could rise by a shocking 6 degrees if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at current rates. This would be enough to make life simply unliveable for areas that are already under pressure due to our changing climate.

But a group of 2,500 climate experts from 80 different countries have now said that ground-breaking new research suggests the IPCC may have underestimated the sheer scale of the problem. Despite not releasing the full findings until June, the group concluded that, “the climate system is already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and

thrived,” and there were now no excuses for the “inaction” of our politicians and leaders. Following the conference, a leading climate modeller with NASA, James Hansen, added that what had been made clear was “the urgency of the science and the inaction taken by governments”.

Despite the mood of defeatism and pessimism, some see light at the end of an increasingly blackened tunnel. Conference organiser Professor Katherine Richardson said: “I have great faith in humans and their ability to regulate their relationship with this planet.”

Leadership over climate change

needs to come from the US and China

Here in Britain, as elsewhere in the European Union, the vast majority of laws on climate change and the environment as a whole comes from Brussels. Leadership over climate change clearly needs to come from the United States and China, who together account for almost 50% of worldwide carbon emissions.

A changing culture towards thinking about our future generations needs to happen not just in individuals, but also in the actions of the key sectors in our economy

- one which is insistent on a level of growth which makes so-called “sustainable development” a practical joke. Business, transport and aviation lobbies and housing to name just three areas need to move faster than they already are.

Whilst the science is clear, some sections of our media continually strive to deny taking action publishing instead of information on the science, the views of an ever smaller band of climate sceptics and the fear of our middle classes especially – “green taxes”. As recently as 2007 the Daily Mail published a headline stating that climate change and a warming planet was ‘perfectly natural’ according to experts.

What it forgot to tell us was that these experts were funded by the industries that make it their job to quash all evidence of a warming planet due to o u r actions.

Not even the scientific consensus and expert opinion on show recently aired in Copenhagen can conclusively tell us how much longer our living earth c a n cope with the abuse and plunder we have served it. If it is true that the earth was “given to mankind in common” our enlightenment through science surely means that it is our

duty to save mankind for ourselves in common? In light of the scientific consensus should not our common goal be a war like effort to create a new enlightened planet?

More than this though, we need to keep a faith similar to what Professor Richardson keeps in the innate human ability to the other side. The financial crisis brought on by the credit crunch has destroyed the free-market orthodoxy that has driven policy for a generation. From this rubble there is an opportunity to build a new political philosophy that has the principles of environmental sustainability at the centre that is centred on how we build our financial system. World leaders meet again in Copenhagen in December- how about we Cardiff students organise a hitchhike to Copenhagen instead of Morocco just for one year? It's kind of important.

Measuring your footprints

Amy Hall offers advice on how to make positive changes to help reduce your carbon footprint

I

f everyone lived like the average Briton we would need 3.1 planets to sustain our lifestyles.

The poorest people in the world are already among the most affected by climate change but if everyone lived like the average African we would only need 0.6 planets. How is that fair?

The global economic downturn is the perfect opportunity for us to take control of our lives and reduce the harm we are doing to the world while saving money. It’s all about making positive changes to the way that we live. There will be no trees hugged in this article.

The production and transportation of food is one of our biggest contributors to climate change. The University Co-Op now sells mostly seasonal, fruit and veg in the Students' Union building every week for cheaper than you can buy it in the supermarket (Visit 'Your Cardiff Uni Co-Op' on Facebook). Obviously buying local is not possible for many products, but buying Fairtrade makes sure farmers get a decent price while the premium the community receives can go into making farming practices more environmentally friendly. Co-Op Food have a large selection of Fairtrade products that are no more expensive than other brands.

Travel is another easy area to reduce your negative environmental impact, whether it be cycling or walking more, using more public transport or even car sharing. Sustrans have useful advice on sustainable transport including maps of the national cycle network, a web of quiet and off-road routes all over the UK (http://www. sustrans.org.uk/).

Reusing is a great way to reduce your impact and save money and it’s amazing what a little imagination can do. For free second hand stuff check out Freecycle (http://www.freecycle. org/) where there are people waiting to give away all sorts of weird and wonderful things while reducing the

amount that goes to landfill.

Individuals living in a more eco friendly way is all well and good but if governments and corporations are not going to do anything about climate change then what is the point?

Get involved! Use your vote in elections to make a difference, join groups like People & Planet (peopleandplanet.org) or Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org.uk) and get campaigning to make your voice heard. Even if you just write a letter to your local MP and see what they are doing about climate change or campaign to improve public transport, it’s all making a difference.

Being green is now trendy, easy,

cheap and definitely necessary.

To see how you can learn skills locally for a sustainable future, visit Cardiff Transition Project at http://home.cardifftransitionproject.org.uk.

Calculate your own Carbon footprint at http://footprint. wwf.org.uk.

How to look good recycled W

05

Daniella Graham has some top tips to rejuvenate your wardrobe which won't ruin the overdraft

ith many of us trying to save money wherever we can, lately it seems that fashion has become the first casualty of our stricter budgets. While some of us are just heading off to Primark for cheap disposable fashion, what if you want something a bit more environmentally friendly?

For those of you who want to beat the credit crunch, look good and still be eco-friendly, don’t worry - there are options.

Have you got a pile of stuff lying around that is in great condition b u t

you just never wear? Try a clothesswapping event. The principle is simple; you donate your old clothes, other people donate their old clothes, and you swap! Your unwanted clothes find a new home, and you get a new wardrobe for next to nothing.

In the past, Raise And Give (RAG) has hosted a Frock Exchange in CF10 as part of Go Global fortnight and Re-Vamp often hosts clothes swapping events in Cardiff, but you don’t have to go to an organised event. You can easily host your own clothes-swapping event by inviting all your friends round and asking them to bring a selection of their old clothes in order to swap wardrobes over a bottle of wine.

If clothes-swapping isn’t your thing, you can donate your clothes to a local charity shop. Whilst you’re there, take a look around because charity shops often have some hidden gems and you can find some beautiful old scarves, jewellery and bags. With clothes, it’s all about seeing the potential in old items - for example, a skirt which has a beautiful pattern but

is far too long can be turned into a dress with the aid of a waist belt.

The same principle can be applied to your wardrobe - a bit of customisation can bring a new lease of life to your clothes. You can reinvent a plain cardigan by changing the buttons or sewing on a bow, tying ribbons around a plain t-shirt’s sleeves, sew a pocket of contrasting fabric on to a pair of jeans… Your only restriction is how much effort you’re prepared to put in!

If customised clothes appeal, but you can’t face the prospect of cutting and sewing stuff, then get yourself down to Kooki Two Bit. Located at 135 Clifton Street off Newport Road, Kooki Two Bit takes old clothes and customises them. Whether it's cutting off sleeves, shortening dresses or adding lace, Kooki Two Bit manages to re-use clothes and fabrics in a colourful and quirky way that is always on trend.

They also sell other labels, including one that sells men’s tees and jumpers made from fair trade cotton and clothes from

Alice Rose, who hand-makes her clothes and only uses organic fabrics. You will also be able to find Recycled With Lov products made

by Helen Smith, who takes old fabrics from charity shops- mainly old duvets and curtains- and turns them into unique bags, purses and jewellery.

With so many options open to you, even in the current economic climate, there’s no excuse not to be environmentally friendly as well as fashionable! If you want to find out more you can visit: http://www. kookitwobit.co.uk or http://www. recycled-with-love.com.

You can also buy Recycled With Love and Kooki Two Bit products at Milgi’s Night Market on the first Sunday of every month.

Heather McKay searches for eco-fashion among Cardiff Students: Charlotte Walker 3rd Year Environmental Geosciences

"My skirt is from a fair trade shop. My jumper is from a charity shop and my jacket is an old one I dyed - it looks new and colourful. I like the idea that I’m not damaging the environment or people’s health."

Sam Rogers 2nd Year Philosophy/Politics

"This jumper was £3 from a charity shop but it’s actually my girlfriend’s. I’m wearing Topman jeans, which is not necessarily ethical but sometimes you have to take what you can.”

Hannah Appleton 3rd Year Journalism

"My skirt and jacket are from Topshop, the top and my hat is from H&M. Eco friendly fashions have quite basic designs, I think that’s why a lot of people don’t buy them."

Lucinda Murray 3rd Year English Literature

"I am wearing 90% charity shop chic. My red lace up pumps are from PDSA, and my sailor dress is from a charity shop in London."

David Parr 3rd Year Environmental Geosciences

"I got all my clothes from the internet. I would avoid sweat-shops if it is well known that the company endorses it, but at the same time I’m not going to go checking."

LBD: Little Binbag Dress

Meme Sgroi and Nicole Briggs unleash their inner eco-neanderthals Nicole got back to some serious basics, rummaged around the cupboard under the sink, found a roll of bin bags and hey presto!

Uno unique and sexy-as-hell LBD. Which, as any girl will testify to, is a must-have staple to the wardrobe and she's even given this one an eco, handmade twist.

However, if you're not feeling experimental enough to don a bin bag like Meme here, then fear not - alternatives are abundant.

There are some wonderful items to be found in local boutiques around Cathays and in the city centre that allow you to be glamorous and save the world at the same time.

Hobo's, Kooki Two Bit, and Shared Earth all stock ethically produced clothing, while City Hall and Milgi both host vintage markets where you can pick up second hand clothing at bargain prices!

Check out our eco-shopping map on page 8 which gives the details of the best places for ethical shopping in the local area.

EJ & SP

PHOTOS: LUCY RUSSELL

06

Environmunchal I

Ellie Joslin raises the bar(becue)...

remember the carefree days of being a first year student at Talybont: strolling down to Bute Park via Tesco to grab the last of the disposable barbecues, a crate of strongbow on special and celebrating with a round of high-fives if there were still some decent burgers left huzzah!

And now that summer's officially here (though we may be plagued by the odd spot of rain - we are in Wales after all) it's time to bring those cobwebbed barbecues back out into the sunshine or stock up on the ol' trusty disposables.

Firstly, let’s create the scene: a lazy afternoon tanning in Bute or Roath park, or in your garden (ok, a square of concrete covered in weeds if you're living in a typical scummy student house), a cool pint of cider within reaching distance, the radio playing some absolutely classic tunes - with no mundane chatter in between, we can but dream - and banter flowing freely while the barbecue sizzles.

But sod the shrinking burgers, wrinkly salad and value ketchup - all you need is two minutes and a few ingredients to bash together the most delicious sauces and accompaniments that are better than what many jars can

offer.

Take a look to the right for a run down of the most seasonal and really scrummy veg which can make brilliant veggie kebabs, or how about jazzing up a boring salad by swapping the staple ingredient of lettuce for something a little more tasty and unique, like arugula, kohlrabi or swiss chard?

And for all you meat-eaters (and that even includes a couple big-time 'vegetarians' around uni - you know who your are) eden has some great tips to make your barbecues better than a bath of ice cream in a heat wave.

One more thing - please please don't just nip to Tesco or to the German chain-chain-chain Lidl, but support our local farmers, grocers, butchers - and local economy - by heading to the fantastic markets that are abundant in Cardiff. See overleaf for ideas and directions!

PHOTOS: ELEANOR JOSLIN

Market meat Seasonal sides

Bbq bevvies

07

Seasonal Veg: Arugula: the leaves are a great alternative to lettuce and are an excellent source of vitamin C and calcium

Avocados: creamy greeny goodness! Avocados make delicious dips for crisps or sticks of crunchy veg and are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6 Green beans: easy to boil, and pop in with tuna for tasty salad or eat with chicken and seasonal new potatoes etc etc Broad beans: serve with butter and seasoning, or blend with onions and cream for a brilliant broad bean soup Beets: excellent source of potassium and vitamin C. The greens are also edible when young and the bulb can be boiled quickly. Flavour with orange or mustard and add to salads, or vegetable medleys with a splash of red wine!

Eggplant: the skins are edible but need to be cooked thoroughly for a decent taste and texture

Arugula salad

Simon enjoys his homemade punch

I completely devoured these gorgeous beef steaks, which were sourced from a local farmer, just before eden went to print. Cardiff Market and the Riverside Market have a huge selection of local and organic meat though if the summer fun is draining your student loan then I advise to head to Cardiff Market as it's slightly cheaper and the butchers sometimes chuck in some seasoning for free.

The bitterness of arugula salad leaves are perfectly complimented by the sweet freshness of sliced pears and sauteed sugared shallots. Sprinkle over some walnuts, crumbled cheese, pepper, a dash of oil and this salad is so delicious you won't go back to boring caesar. And it's easily adaptable for whatever's in your cupboard - apples instead of pears, normal onions will suffice and any nut will do!

Strawberries, raspberries and cherries are seasonal during the summer and Simon, a local gardener, grows his own fruit and veg which is, of course, economical and so much tastier than punnets which have been flown hundreds of dusty miles. Take a tip from Si - simply blend together your preferred selection of fruit and add a cheeky slug of vodka, rum, wine etc to get the barbie party started.

It's so easy to make a tasty marinade out of the remnants of your poorly stocked cupboard. 1/4 cup of soy sauce (or melt some marmite if you've ran out), 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 cup of orange juice and 2 cloves of garlic are all pretty standard ingredients lying around the kitchen. And when they're combined they make a scrummy sauce to drizzle over chicken wings or sausages as they barbecue.

Just whisk together, add a pinch of flour if you want it thicker and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Avocados are a great summer veg, packed with potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6 and they can be mashed into guacamole quicker than it takes to light the pesky bbq. Just add finely chopped garlic, onions, red peppers, seasoning, a squeeze of lemon and pop in some chilli if you like it spicy!

Mamma Joslin's Tokyo Cocktail: This one's more for the girls and it's certainly my favourite cocktail to sip in the summer heat. It's light and elegant but fun too, with a shot of gin that goes noticed by even the most sensitive of taste buds. There's no need to splash out on proper champers either as the lime is the key flavour.

Simply add the gin into your sparkling (or even normal) wine, squeeze a quarter of a lime in and get some mates round! Cheers!

Kohlrabi: the crisp flesh can be served raw in salads and the bulb can be steamed and hollowed out to be stuffed with a vegetable or meat filling - makes a tasty change from stuffed peppers Okra: a good source of vitamin C, okra is great in soups and sauces, to thicken and add flavour, and it complements tomatoes, corn and peppers Sugar snap peas: these are an excellent source of vitamin C and are great as a healthy snack!

Summer squash and Zucchini: a good source of vitamin C. Easy to bake with olive oil and seasoning or wilt in a very small amount of water Swiss Chard: use raw in salads or cook in olive oil until just wilted

08

The Eco-diff

A guide to the best eco-ethical shopping in Cardiff and Cathays Embassy Cafe - Cathays Community Centre, Cathays A small and friendly cafe which prides itself on its varied homemade menu. There is something here for everyone, and it includes an extensive vegetarian and vegan selection of food using fairtrade ingredients. It's ethical eating on a budget.

Vintage Fashion Market - City Hall, City Centre

A fantastic range of stalls selling vintage clothing, scarves, jewellery and broaches. Many items are secondhand, giving them a genuine retro feel. You can also find handmade jewellery at relatively low prices.

The market comes to Cardiff in November and February so keep your eyes open for it!

Claire's Buttons - Castle Arcade, City Centre

Lush - Queen Street, City Centre

Claire's Buttons specialises in ecofriendly jewellery, buttons and beads. Items are made from wood, ceramic, glass, metal, funky recycled plastic and mother-of-pearl, and customers are also able to make their own jewellery.

This shop is a paradise for those who love to pamper themselves. It is stocked full of soaps and bath products which are all ethically produced and Lush prides itself on its use of natural ingredients and its policy against animal testing.

Roath Market - Keppoch Street, Roath An award-winning farmers market selling a wide range of fresh, locally sourced produce at decent prices. The market takes place every Saturday between 9.30am and 1pm.

Milgi - City Road, Cathays The yurt, at the back of the premises, is quirky, and has comfy armchairs and a circular bed to recline on while you enjoy a selection of cocktails and homemade munch.

Featured evenings range from poetry to art to burlesque and don't forget their fantastic clothes and jewellery market!

Kooki Two Bit - Clifton Street, Cathays Vintage clothing shop specialising in original items make by student designers. You will always find a bargain here, be it a unique fashion item or a local hand-made accessory.

They also sell local artwork.

Riverside Market - Fitzhamon Embankment, City Centre

Shared Earth - Royal Arcade, City Centre

Hobo's - High St. Arcade, City Centre

This farmers' market hosts a wide variety of stalls selling an everchanging variety of fruit, vegetables, fresh fish and meat. It takes place every Sunday between 10am and 2pm and is well worth a visit!

An eclectic shop which stocks a range of clothing, cards, incense and fairtrade snacks. There is a fantastic selection of fairtrade jewellery which is bound to make you stand out, not to mention the quirkly gifts you'll find here.

Hobo's is a quirky little shop which specialises in 60's and 70's secondhand clothing. You'll find a range of reasonably priced retro clothing and accessories to make you look 100% vintage.

...and you can easily shop fairtrade without leaving the comfort of your energy-saving home! Check out entrepreneur Sarah Ashton's website www.aunuba.com for some fantastic eco buys

ISSUE 900 SPECIAL 23

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

A short history of gair rhydd: 1972 - 2009 THE

Smut rag gair rhydd hasn't always been the pillar of journalism we know it as today. There's also a darker past that we don't usually let out too often.

'Colossus' which preceded gair rhydd was well known for its more pornographic edge. Below are a few highlights from that bygone time:

H

Ceri Isfryn delves into the archives

aving spent the last few days trawling through the gair rhydd archives, there’s one thing I can say for certain: gair rhydd has certainly changed over the years.

The paper started life as 'Broadsheet ' in the late 1940s. The first issue in our archives from 1959 dons the inventive headline ‘Freshers arrive… in One Big Group’ before proceeding to describe all first years as "an amorphous and undistinguished mass, defying description.” Despite the questionable style of writing. The six-page paper, which cost threepence at the time, provided the student body with a means of critiquing the Union executives, making it an indispensable part of University life.

The paper's rebellious spirit continued into the 1980s

Nudity on the front page? Why not, asked a 1971 edition of Broadsheet, gair rhydd's predecessor. They printed a stripper who had danced at the Students' Union earlier in the week - probably not the sort of thing you can expect at Come Play anytime soon.

By the 1970s, the paper appears to have increasingly indulged in smuttiness to please its readership, showing a particularly keen interest in breasts.

A 1971 edition printed a photo of a fully naked stripper who had danced at the union that week on their front page. The accompanying caption reads “most people preferred the band”. Another article in the same year referred to the then SU VicePresident as a “sultry blonde who will do much to relieve the tedium of General Meetings.” Needless to say I’m pretty certain that similar descriptions about today’s sabbatical team would not go down particularly well.

When the University’s Union merged with that of the University of Wales Institute of Technology and Science, the smut continued as the paper was suspiciously re-named Colossus. The change went down like a lead balloon, with 102 signing a petition protesting against the nature of the paper’s “pornographic” content. John Hartley, the editor of Colossus at the

time replied by telling the disgruntled readers to stick their petition “up their arse” before enraging them further by printing a cartoon which was so obscene that the printers refused to print it. In 1972, the paper was christened gair rhydd (Welsh for 'free word'), which of course remains the name we know and love today.

The paper’s rebellious spirit continued into the 1980s, when Meirion Jones - the first paid editor and now investigations producer of Newsnight - caused controversy when in true Spooks style he broke into the principal’s office and copied and exposed confidential files about an Iraqi henchman. This led to him losing his university Lifetime Honorary Membership something which all students receive automatically. Afterwards he cheekily ran an article with the headline ‘A punishment worse than death.’

Stylistically, the paper mutated through the decades, as editors continued to fiddle with the masthead, design and style of the newspaper – moving from a tabloid format to an A4 fanzine-style paper and then back toward a more professional style tabloid, the paper has seen many changes through its history. From 1978 Meirion Jones remembers ignoring the aesthetics of the pages in favour of procucing a more regualr tabloid-style newspaper, "we didn't care what it looked like."

As technology developed, the paper also progressed. When 1993-4’s editor John Rostron was handed the reins, there was only one computer in the office, compared to the eleven that now adorn the office. He bought the office’s first scanner which cost an astounding £3000, and installed enough computers and software to design the paper in-house. It wasn’t until 1994 that the paper became fully computerized, where previously editors continued to cut and paste the pages together, before sending it off to the printers.

In 1993, the paper became one of the first papers in the UK to be published on the internet. John Rostron remembers a student from the maths

department coming to tell him about this new fancy invention, fancily entitled the ‘world wide web’. Whereas the internet was only really used by computing and maths enthusiasts at the time, the website rapidly grew as the internet became more popular. Today the gair rhydd site receives regualr traffic from web-surfers around theworld, allowing debate to flourish.

While today the paper is sent off via email, in previous decades round trips of around 100 miles were required to deliver the pages to the printers in Swansea or Bristol.

Quench, the younger brother of gair rhydd was born in 2003 out of GRIP - which was short for Gair Rhydd Information Pullout. First edited

by Tristain Thomas with help from Alex Macpherson, Quench was to become the snazzy student magazine to complement gair rhydd.

By the 1970s, the paper appears to have increasingly indulged in smuttiness In 2004 gair rhydd won the NUS/ Daily Mirror best student newspaper award. In 2005 it was runner-up. gair rhydd's reputation was severely damaged in by the controversial Danish cartoons it reprinted.

The future of student media is always under threat, with funding always in question. But if the past 37 years are anything to go by, the future of gair rhydd seems perfectly safe.

As long as there remains a dedicated and passionate editorial team and a supportive and engaged student body, there will always be a copy of gair rhydd to pick up every monday morning. Here’s to another 37 years of gair rhydd.

24 ISSUE 900 SPECIAL

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Cartoon controversy

2006 saw gair rhydd hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Paul Stollery revisits the controversial cartoons

T

he Muhammad cartoons printed in the Danish broadsheet newspaper, JyllandsPosten, caused controversy and debate on a scale that has arguably never before been seen in the journalism industry. Protests, armed raids on international European offices and foreign diplomats being ordered to leave the country were just some of the repercussions of the now infamous Danish cartoons.

Editors and journalists of the world faced a difficult decision: should they republish the cartoons at the risk offending millions of Muslim readers?

Or should they hold back the cartoons, preventing the public from viewing them and making up their own minds? The general consensus within the journalism world was that the cartoons should not be run. Many editors said they did not want to offend the Muslim population, whereas others cited the potential danger to their staff as the reason for not running the cartoons.

Controversy struck a lot closer to home in 2006

However, controversy struck a lot closer to home in 2006, when gair rhydd became the first newspaper in the UK to republish the cartoons. In doing so ,a spotlight on a national scale was shone upon our student newspaper.

Tom Wellingham - the newspaper's

editor at the time - was suspended along with three other members of the editorial team. The 8,000 copies of gair rhydd were recalled shortly after they were printed on Saturday February 6, 2006 and destroyed by the Students' Union.

gair rhydd was not the only student paper to reprint the offensive cartoons Editor Tom Wellingham provided an apology in the next issue, apologising for the printing of the cartoons which he admitted was a mistake. gair rhydd was not the only student paper to reprint the offensive cartoons.

Across the pond, The Daily Illini, the University of Illinois's student paper also ran the cartoons. The results were largely similar to those here in Cardiff: several members of the editorial staff were suspended, one of whom was eventually fired.

The Harvard Salient - Harvard University's right-wing broadsheet - also ran the cartoons. They ran with the editorial commentary of "A Pox (err, Jihad) on free expression", stating that "it is shameful that these cartoons have led to the arson of embassies, death threats, and demands that 'whoever insults the prophet, kill him.'" In the same issue, the conservative paper

also printed several examples of "truly vile" anti-Semitic cartoons that appeared in the Arab press, claiming that the Islamic community had been hypocritical to react in the way that it had.

The repercussions of which differed to those at gair rhydd and The Illini; no editors were suspended and the issue was never pulled. A town forum was called so that the issue of the controversial cartoons could be discussed and the editorial team of the newspaper could answer any question from the public.

Another student newspaper in Illinois also printed the cartoon. The Northern Star, Northern Illinois University's newspaper ran the 12 satirical images of the Islamic prophet. This time, however, the newspaper included a front-page editorial explaining the choice to run the cartoons, an article about them, students' reactions and a column from a Muslim student leader. As a result, the decision was received in a far more positive manner and the editor at the time,

Derek Wright, had the backing of the University staff and faculty advisor.

It appears that The Northern Star approached the issue in a far more responsible manner than the gair rhydd - and, as a result of which, free speech was able to be upheld without offending the entire Muslim popula-

tion of the University. However, as a topic that still splits opinion down the middle, the question of whether the cartoons should ever have been run, as well as whether they should have been pulled and pulped, still remains an unanswered one.

The future's bright

After 37 years of gair rhydd, Jamie Thunder considers the future of student media in uncertain times

I

t could have all been so different. On October 25th 1993, gair rhydd published probably its sparsest edition ever. There was no news; no sport; no opinion; no features. Just a plea for students to protest against suggested National Students’ Union reforms that would end funding for, among other activities, student media.

Then-Secretary of State for Education John Patten’s proposals failed in the face of opposition by the NUS and student media around the country.

But they reminded students that their media were not certain to continue forever.

It’s easy, after 900 issues, to take gair rhydd for granted and to assume it’ll be there on the stands every Monday without fail. But, as a survey for the Leeds Student last month showed for the first time, student newspapers are finding it difficult to continue at the same levels they used to.

Student media isn't dying. gair rhydd isn't dying Almost half of the 13 newspapers asked had cut their print run or cancelled entire issues in the last year,

and more than 60% had missed their advertising target. gair rhydd has been lucky, but not immune to this trend.

We haven’t had to cut our print run or cancel issues. But this has been the first year we’ve really had to make savings. The main way of doing this has been to decrease the size of the paper: a couple of years ago an issue could hit 50 pages; now it’s almost invariably 36.

Our revenue is around 50% from advertising and 50% from the Union, but, in the current economic climate, the advertising income is falling. As it falls, the budget for student media falls, and this means we need cutbacks. The loss of the TV section ear-

lier in the year was down to the need to save money by saving space, and it’s likely that further sacrifices will be needed in the future.

There are undeniably problems for student media to face Student media isn’t dying. gair rhydd isn’t dying. And there’s every reason to believe that \ will make it to 1,000 issues.

But there are undeniably problems

for student media to face if they are to continue providing the same information, views and analyses to the same number of students in coming years.

Student media has an advantage over other media by having unpaid staff, but the loss of income still has an effect. gair rhydd has now existed for 37 years. That’s more than twice as long as the Maastricht Treaty, or nearly three times as long as UWIC (oooh!).

It might be a bit tricky at the moment to run a student newspaper, but as long as there are the readers, writers, and editors, there will be student media.

26 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Funding the fut

The opportunity to attend university is something we often take for higher education is just a dream. Daniella Graham looks at how one

I

t’s hardly groundbreaking news that students aren’t a particularly wealthy section of society. Considering the extortionate cost of tuition and the rising living costs, most of us wouldn’t be able to attend university at all without some financial support from our parents, or loans and grants from the government. But what if you had no family, and the government didn’t offer this kind of support?

This is the case in many of the world’s poorest areas, with Kenya being just one of several examples.

While primary and secondary education is free, no one can get a further education without dishing out a hefty four-figure sum.

It is only through further education that you can get a good job and really make a difference, but without financial help university life is something which many Kenyans can only dream of.

Just outside Nairobi in Kenya is Africa’s biggest slum - Kibera. With over 1 million people living within just 1.5 square miles, Kibera is 30 times more densely populated than New York City.

Most people living in Kibera have little or no access to basic necessities, so it is hardly surprising that 23-yearold Kibera resident Patrick Achola had never thought a university education would be possible.

Patrick’s parents had both died (one of tuberculosis with the other dying in an accident) and so he was left to fend for himself and his two younger siblings.

Patrick aspired to help change his country, but he knew this was unrealistic without a further education.

“My vision is to get an education so that I may be able to have the know-how on how to upgrade life in Africa through community development programs.”

He thinks that this is the key to addressing Africa’s problems, believing that “Africa is not so poor because it lacks resources, but because it lacks transformational leaders.”

However, Patrick lacked the financial resources to make further education possible – until he met Rob Croucher.

In 2007 Rob, who is currently in his second year at Cardiff University

studying Philosophy, spent six months in Kenya working with AIM International as part of his gap year.

The evangelical Christian mission agency does a lot of work in Kibera, and it while Rob was undertaking some of this work that he met Patrick.

“He became my best friend out there. He was such a strong character, which was what made me believe that he could really make a difference.”

Rob's charity has transformed a life completely Rob’s faith in Patrick was so strong that upon returning home, he vowed that he would try and do something to fund his further education.

So Education Towards a Future was born; a charity which aims to provide financial support for African citizens who wish to pursue higher education but have no means of achieving this themselves.

Rob decided

KIBERA SLUM: Where one million Kenyans live in poverty to raise money for Patrick’s university fees and his newly founded charity by getting fit and running marathons all over Europe.

In March 2008 he ran the Barcelona Marathon in an impressive three hours and 38 minutes, and managed to raise £1,600 in sponsorship money.

This was enough to fund Patrick’s first year at one of East Africa’s top

universities, the Nairobi International School of Theology, where he is now studying leadership on a two year diploma.

The following month, Rob intended to run the Paris Marathon, but unfortunately he sustained a stress fracture in his ankle a week before – forcing him to pull out and leaving Patrick’s aspirations in jeopardy.

Thankfully, most donors generous-

ly gave him their money regardless, enabling Rob to raise another £1,600 to fund Patrick’s final year.

"There are loads of people who want to make a change" Education Towards a Future has

now begun fundraising for him to receive a third year of university education.

Patrick says: “If I am able to continue with my education then it means that the government will be seeking to hire me, then that will be my chance to affect Africa positively.”

Patrick is thriving at university and relishing every second of the opportunity he has been given. Patrick had

FEATURES 27

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

ture of Africa

r granted, but for many people across the world the prospect of e Cardiff University student is making a big difference stop there. When working in Kenya, Rob fell in love with an “incredible” country, but one in which corruption hampers long term efforts to change the country.

He wants Education Towards a

"Africa is poor as there are too few transformational leaders out there" Future to fund the further education of more people. He says: “There are loads of people like Patrick who want to make a positive change in Kenya, and my challenge is to find the people who will use the job they get from their education to benefit their fellow citizens. If the country is to change, then the people need to change. My aim is to try and empower citizens of the country by giving them the further education they desperately

also manages to find the time to captain Cardiff University’s Men’s 3rds hockey team.

“It’s hard to strike a balance between university work and my charity, but when you’re passionate about something, you’ll always find enough hours in a day to do the things you want to do.”

In order to get more Cardiff students involved with the charity, Rob has enlisted the help of the University’s branch of SIFE. SIFE is an international non-profit organisation which aims to nurture the entrepreneurial skills of university students in a way that is both effective in developing their future careers and meaningful to the community.

Students are guided by University and business advisers before forming student-led teams to develop sustainable projects which create economic opportunity for others.

As part of SIFE’s partnership with Education Towards a Future, a team of volunteers will be assembled to raise money for the remaining years of Patrick’s education. This will include a variety of fundraising events, which will be announced on Education Towards a Future’s website, www.edtaf.co.uk.

SIFE teams are encouraged to consider the sustainability of their projects to ensure that future generations of their team can continue their good work.

Hopefully Education Towards a Future and SIFE will form a successful partnership and enable more people like Patrick to receive a university education and make a difference in

"My education gives me a chance to help Africa"

Kenya.

In a message to all the people who have helped fund his education, Patrick said: “Friends, I know that you and I are able to transform lives in Africa, and am praying that you will not leave my hands. Thank you for your generous support.”

Rob Croucher and Education Towards a Future have changed Patrick’s life by giving him the opportunity for an education, and by getting more of us involved through SIFE, hopefully we can all help to make a difference too.

Further education in Kenya: the facts Only 2% of children in Kenya go on to attend higher education institutions Kenya has six public and 13 private universities with an enrolment total of about 50,000 students University education in Kenya began in 1963, with 571 students enrolling at Nairobi University College been anxious that he wouldn’t be able to succeed at university, but he managed to score 3.49 out of a possible 4 points when he received his results in March, and is optimistic that this success bodes well for the future.

Rob has already completely transformed the life of his friend, but he does not want to

need.”

Rob is currently in the process of trying to get Education Towards a Future registered as an official charity, which would enable them to raise more money through claiming Gift Aid on donations.

In between studying towards his degree, running Education Towards a Future and running marathons Rob

University education in Kenya was historically free, but economic difficulties and rising population led to the introduction of user charges

28 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

'I drank 2,403 calor i e Most students have participated in binge drinking at some point have on our health? Features follows four students on a night out 7.30PM

The massacre begins. Ceri, Liz and Shelley all head to Lloyd's gaff in Roath to start the evening in a civilized fashion with a few drinkies. Of course, the obligatory Mario Kart betting drinking game commences (at which Ceri is particularly bad). All four are left feeling a bit worse for wear before even leaving the house.

Classy bunch.

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne Ceri: 3 single gin and lemonades Shelley: 3 single vodka and cokes Liz: 2 single vodka and lemonades

9.30PM

They head off to Wetherspoons for a few cheap bevvies before heading to Clwb to watch Future of the Left.

With pints at a feeble ÂŁ1.60, it's hardly suprising that they go down so quickly and easily. Lloyd admits that the band's performance at Clwb is made even more incredible by the increasingly bleary beer goggles! The highlight of the night is surely secured as the lead singer compares Lloyd to a "Millwall fan" for ironically

chanting "lads, lads, lads". Rude.

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne, 3 bottles Corona, 1 pint lager Ceri: 5 gin and lemonades, 1 pint lager Shelley: 5 single vodka and lemonades Liz: 4 single vodka and lemonades

10.30PM

With all four seeming sweaty and euphoric they rowdily head for Solus, where the girls make an immediate toilet trip which lasts the traditional half hour while Lloyd is left standing talking to strangers. Standard stuff.

Shelley suggests some flaming Sambucas. Lloyd's hair nearly gets set alight but divine forces intervene and the golden barnet remains intact. Ceri refuses the sambuca after a bad experience before, and instead opts for a lovely cocktail of double vodka with a WKD blue mixer. Yummy yummy.

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne, 3 bottles Corona, 1 pint lager, 2

flaming sambucas Ceri: 5 gin and lemonades, one pint of lager, one double gin and cranberry, one WKD and double vodka Shelley: 7 single vodka and lemonades, 2 flaming sambucas Liz: 6 single vodka and lemonades, 2 flaming sambucas

Ceri: 5 gin and lemonades, 1 pint of lager, 1 double gin and cranberry, 2 double vodka and WKDs Shelley: 8 single vodka and lemonades, 3 flaming sambucas Liz: 7 single vodka and cokes, 2 flaming sambucas

11.30PM

The Solus dancefloor is rammed, with blood, tears and sambuca being spilt everywhere. A group of lads, probably Millwall fans, go ape-shit when The Fratellis come on, as they finally have an excuse to touch each other in a sweaty grasp, chanting "Na Na Na..."

Lloyd throws out some very jazzy dance moves, unaware of the alluring facial expressions he offers up whilst doing so.

The Eddie Izzard-lookalike DJ drops the standard tunes, and for a good session all the alcohol is being sweated out of our bodies before we choose to keep up our drunken antics in style.

In true drunken girlie fashion, Ceri and Liz got all huggy with anyone and everything. A particularly awkward moment came when Ceri hugged a complete (sober) stranger thinking he was her housemate... Lloyd appeared to be a bit bemused by all the affection and so he naturally sought solace at the bar, where he indulged in a very amusing spot of philophising with his mate Andy. (He made it very clear that it's incredibly difficult to explain Marx's theory of base and superstructure and its relation to the consmerist wranglings of Solus, whilst lubricated

by Brains and Lager.)

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne, 3 bottles Corona, 4 flaming sambucas, 1 pint Brains, 1 pint lager

3

40

2, l

ca

K DRINK UP THEE CIDER: Lloyd's intake for the evening - all 2,403 calories worth

1.30AM

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne, 3 bottles of Corona, 1 pint Brains, 1 pint lager, 1 double

JD and coke, 4 flaming sambucas Ceri: 5 gin and lemonades, 1 pint of lager, 1 double gin and cranberry, 3 double vodka and WKDs Shelley: 8 single vodka and lemonades, 3 flaming sambucas Liz: 7 single vodka and cokes, 2 flaming sambucas

2.30AM

After an hour or so of non-stop dancing (a la Diversity), we finally leave Solus. Lloyd is one unsteady man, and Liz has done an impressive dissapearing act. A quick trip to Mama's and we're done for the night. Bed. Zzz...

Lloyd: 3 cans Brains, 1 glass champagne, 3 bottles of Corona, 1 pint Brains, 1 pint lager, 2 double JD and cokes, 4 flaming sambucas Ceri: 5 gin and lemonades, 1 pint of lager, 1 double gin and cranberry, 3 double vodka and WKDs Shelley: 9 single vodka and lemonades, 3 flaming sambucas Liz: 8 single vodka and cokes, 2 flaming sambucas

FEATURES 29

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

es in just one night'

during their time at university. But just what impact does it and finds out the true cost of all that alcohol

The morning after the night before...

Lloyd Lloyd: 29.5 units, 2,403 calories "Although I didn't particularly care on the night, 2,400 calories on a night out every week can’t be all gravy for your body.

"In all honesty I think knowing exactly what I consumed has really made me consider that just because alcohol isn’t solid, it doesn’t mean it will wash straight through my internals."

Shelley

Ceri Ceri: 16.7 units, 1,115 calories "You just don't think about it when you're in the spirit of things. The unit count hasn't really shocked me - I think it's because it's something we hear about all the time.

"If I'm honest it probably won't make me stop drinking so often, but I'll definitely be looking at the calories of drinks more closely."

Shelley: 12 units, 765 calories "I can't believe I drank that many calories in one night considering it wasn't a particularly heavy night either - I would never eat that amount of food in one sitting.

"As a medic, I've seen the firsthand effects that alcohol abuse can have on patients, but like many students I don't consider the long term effects of drinking.

"This will definitely make me think twice about consuming that many calories and a week's worth of recommended units intake in one night."

Liz Liz: 10 units, 715 calories "I am genuinely suprised at the number of calories that I drank, as I made a conscious effort that night to drink diet coke to keep the count down.

"I'm only just 5 foot, and I think it's easy to forget that when I'm drinking: I keep trying to keep up with people who are a lot bigger than me, so I always end up getting the most drunk."

Features speaks to five experts about the short and long term affects of binge drinking The dentist...

The nutritionist...

The dermatologist... The psychiatrists...

"T

"D

"D

here are a number of possible adverse effects of binge drinking on dental and oral health.

"Probably the greatest immediate risk is trauma to the face or teeth as a result of falling over when under the influence of alcohol, or injury as a result of being involved in a physical assault. Many of the young people who attend the A&E Department with dental injuries have sustained them whilst inebriated.

"Some alcoholic beverages, such as wine, are acidic and certainly many of the mixers used have a low pH. Repeated binges risk causing erosion of the teeth. Vomiting after heavy drinking can cause drinks to come into contact with the teeth for a second time.

As well as being acidic, many mixers are high in sugar and this increases the risk of tooth decay.

"In the longer term, we know that alcohol, particularly dark sprits like whisky and calvados, increase the risk of mouth cancer, especially if you also smoke tobacco."

Ivor Chestnutt, Professor at the School of Dentistry and Hon. Consultant in Dental Public Health

rinking a lot of alcohol has an adverse effect on weight. If you binge drink a couple of times a week then that would mean the consumption of over 3,000 extra calories.

"This would lead you to gain a pound of fat every week - this is because you are consuming the alcohol on top of your normal food.

"A female needs about 1,900 calories a day and a male 2,500 so it can make a massive difference.

"In fact in my own practice I am finding alcohol generally is becoming a major source of extra calories."

Chrisitine Cashin, Nutritionist

"In general, most alcoholic drinks are high in calories, but alongside this, they provide few other nutrients. This means your half bottle of wine each day is using up a significant block of calories from your daily allowance but giving you little in the way of vitamins, minerals, protein or fibre – effectively, you’re getting around 250 ‘empty’ calories each day."

Juliette Kellow BSc RD, Dietician

rinking alcohol has both acute and chronic harmful effects upon the skin. Acutely alcohol causes flushing of the skin, most obviously on the face.

"In the long term alcohol can aggravate discoid eczema as well as seborrhoeic eczema, which presents itself as redness and scaling on the face.

"There is a strong association between alcoholism and severe psoriasis. It is unclear whether those with severe psoriasis drink heavily because they are depressed (because of their psoriasis) or whether it is the alcohol which makes their psoriasis worse.

"Alcohol can also induce porphyria cutanea tarda, a condition characterised by blisters on light exposed skin and liver disease. Urticaria (hives) can occasionally be precipitated by alcohol.

"Unfortunately, unlike sun exposure which can improve eczema, psoriasis and acne, there do not appear to be any beneficial effects of alcohol on the skin."

Dr Colin Long, Consultant Dermatologist for Dermatology Clinic Wales

"A

lcohol causes much more harm than illegal drugs like heroin and cannabis. It is a tranquilliser and it is addictive.

"Alcohol affects your judgment, so you do things you wouldn't normally think of. You are more likely to have fights, arguments, money troubles, family upsets, or spur-of-the-moment casual sex.

"Although we tend to think of alcohol as something we use to make us feel good, heavy drinking can bring on depression. Many people who commit suicide have had drinking problems. Alcohol can stop your memory from working properly and can cause brain damage. It can even make you hear noises and voices - a very unpleasant experience which can be hard to get rid of.

"If you are worried about your drinking or a friend's drinking, tell them - they need to make changes as soon as possible. It is much easier to cut back before drinking problems damage your health than it is once they are out of hand."

The Royal College of Psychiatrists

The medics...

"I

f you are drinking with the intention of getting drunk and drinking more than twice the daily recommended amount of alcohol in one session then your drinking can be defined as hazardous.

"In increasing amounts, alcohol will suppress the part of your brain that controls judgement, resulting in inappropriate behaviour and a loss of inhibitions. Alcohol is a contributing factor to many assaults, incidents of domestic violence and fatal road accidents.

"Drinking a very large amount at one time can lead to unconsciousness and coma. If you vomit when you're unconscious you may choke, which can result in suffocation and death.

"If you are frequently binge drinking then you may be dependent on alcohol and risk developing a range of long-term health problems.

These include various cancers, high blood pressure, liver, brain and heart damage, pancreatitis, seizures and infertility."

BUPA

30 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

gairrhydd | SCIENCE@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Wake up and smell the coffee Priya Raj takes a stimulating look at coffee and what it does

T

hrough the ages, humanity's diligent search for stimulants has been rewarded by the discovery of the coffee bean in Arabia, the tea leaf in China, the kola nut (Cola nitida and Cola aluminata) in West Africa, the cocoa bean in Mexico, and other plant sources of caffeine. Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant drug in the world, with about 75% being taken in the form of coffee. Five million tons of coffee is produced annually in 50 coffeegrowing countries. It is second only to oil in international commerce, albeit a distant second.

Coffee was first discovered around 850 AD by a goat herder named Khaldi in Abyssinia (Upper Egypt). Legend has it that one night his usually reliable goats did not return home.

The following morning he found the animals dancing around a shiny, darkleaved shrub with red berries. He nibbled some of the berries and, according to the legend, joined in the dance.

Thus, the coffee bush was discovered.

Khaldi shared his discovery with some local monks who experimented with the berries, tossing them on a fire and then soaking them in boiling water. The liquid turned out to be tasty and drinking it allowed the monks to stay up through marathon prayer sessions. Thus, the coffee beverage was born and spread from monastery to monastery, country to country, and continent to continent.

The coffee bean is a seed. The seeds are hulled and dried from berries of coffee tree blossoms. In general, each berry contains two oval beans. The best coffees are picked just as the berries ripen. The outer skin is immediately scraped loose, exposing the bean. There are hundreds of coffee species, but the finest are said to grow from the fragile C arabica, which is the principal bean of world-class coffees. Other strains, such as C arobusta, are frequently used for 'instant' coffees. Freshly picked green beans are roasted, usually in a rotating drum, over a heat source. The end product is the beans that are ground for making coffee or are further processed for other uses.

Instant coffee was first developed at the turn of the century and became popular with the troops in the two world wars and then at home. Two basic techniques are used to produce the instant powder: 'spray-drying' and freeze-drying. Instant coffee differs chemically from regular coffee.

The 'instantization' process conserves about 48% of the solids from the original bean. This is much higher than the 24% solid component conserved by household coffee brewing techniques.

Thus, instant coffee has more 'coffee'.

The caffeine molecule, 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, chemically closely resembles other metabolically important compounds such as the purines (adenine, guanine), adenosine,

IT'S TOO BREW-TIFUL: Coffee has been found to have many health benefits xanthine, and uric acid. Caffeine is absorbed from beverages and reaches peak concentrations in the serum in 30 to 60 minutes. It is lipophilic, meaning it is fat soluble, penetrates all biologic membranes, and distributes to all body tissues. It does not accumulate in any organs or tissues. Caffeine readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and the placenta. It is also present in breast milk.

Coffee contains a lot of healthy fibre Caffeine is extensively metabolized in the liver through a complex process mediated primarily by the microsomal cytochrome P-450 reductase system.

So what exactly are the effects of coffee on the human body? Various studies have shown that long-term consumption of caffeine, caffeinated cola, and caffeinated tea decreases body weight in rodents. It is possible that caffeine may induce significant weight loss in nonobese subjects because caffeine has been shown to cause greater thermogenesis, lipolysis, fat oxidation and insulin secretion in nonobese than in obese persons.

Caffeine acts principally as a stimulant. A dose of two cups of coffee increases vigilance and arousal. For example, generalized motor activity in

young boys increases after two cups of coffee. It has also been shown to reduce fatigue. Complex motor tasks, however, are disrupted. Of interest, the slowed reaction time induced by alcohol consumption is potentiated by caffeine ingestion, so coffee is not an 'antidote' for intoxication.

Many coffee drinkers are familiar with 'coffee jitters', a nervous condition that occurs when one has had too much caffeine. It can also cause anxiety and irritability, in some with excessive coffee consumption, and some as a withdrawal symptom. Coffee can also cause insomnia in some.

Caffeine also leads to a reduction in cerebral blood flow, and several studies have now shown that blood flow is decreased by caffeine-induced cerebrovascular vasoconstriction.

The caffeine present in coffee is thought to have many cardiovascular effects. There are many contradictions in the literature regarding the effect of caffeine on heart rate, blood pressure, and plasma catecholamine levels.

Recent data have clearly shown that the systolic blood pressure increases abruptly by about 10 mm of mercury with caffeine. The heart rate slows for about an hour, then increases for two to three hours thereafter. However, caffeine appears to be a target for unproved beliefs that its use is associated with the development of cardiac arrhythmias, an increase in heart rate,

higher blood pressure, and a higher incidence of CHD. Despite extensive clinical research, little evidence exists to support caffeine as a significant contributor to any cardiovascular disease.

Earlier this year it was reported

by Durham University that people who drank more than seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to hallucinate than those who took just one. It is thought that when under stress the body releases a hormone called cortisol which is produced in greater quantities after consuming caffeine.

The extra cortisol boost could be what causes a person to hallucinate.

However, Dr Euan Paul of the British Coffee Association stressed the study only focused on people with a very high caffeine intake.

Also, no details were recorded of other substances consumed that might have had hallucinogenic effects.

A caffeine withdrawal syndrome is well described. Withdrawal symptoms include headache and fatigue most prominently; anxiety, impaired psychomotor performance, nausea and vomiting, or simply an intense desire for coffee.

It’s not all bad news, however. Caffeine may help older women ward off mental decline. French researchers compared women aged 65 and older who drank more than three cups of

coffee per day with those who drank one cup or less per day.

Those who drank more caffeine showed fewer declines in memory tests over a four year period.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, raises the possibility that caffeine may even protect against the development of dementia. Several studies comparing moderate coffee drinkers (about 2 cups a day) with light coffee drinkers (less than one cup a day) found that those who drank more coffee were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life.

Another study comparing heavy coffee drinkers (3.5 cups a day) with non-drinkers found that the coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to contract Parkinson's Disease later in life. Likewise, a second study found an inverse relationship between the amount of coffee regularly drunk and the likelihood of developing Parkinson's Disease.

In addition, coffee is thought to increase satiety such that a person feels fuller for longer. This may help a person lose weight. Several prospective studies have also suggested that consumption of coffee may reduce future risk of diabetes.

Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver and has been linked to a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary liver cancer that usually arises in patients with preexisting cirrhosis. The exact mechanism and the amount of coffee needed to achieve a beneficial effect are as yet unclear.

We are told fibre is good for us and that antioxidants help keep us young and disease free. Coffee delivers on both counts. In a Spanish study, scientists concluded that “brewed coffee contained a significantly higher amount of soluble dietary fibre…than other common beverages.”

A cup of coffee with breakfast can put you in a good mood, according to scientists at the University of Cardiff.

In addition to performing better on tasks involving memory and logical reasoning, “subjects given caffeine also reported greater alertness and feelings of well-being”.

Finally, coffee contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium.

This compound is not present in significant amounts in other food materials. Methylpyridinium is not present in raw coffee beans but is formed during the roasting process from trigonelline, which is common in raw coffee beans. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee.

The bottom line, however, is that moderate coffee consumption causes no real harm. Being sensible with your intake will assure that you experience no adverse effects but it is important that you are aware of the more sinister complications. With all this coffee talk, Starbucks anyone?

31 JOBS & MONEY

gairrhydd | JOBS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Australians: Dead Rich

The Australian government has tried to combat the credit crunch with cash bonuses.

Unfortunately, many recipients aren't alive to receive them, writes Paul Stollery

W

ith Gordon Brown's handling of the ever-worsening credit crunch being criticised at every turn, you could be forgiven for thinking that our prime minister has received the worst media coverage of the lot over the past couple of months – but you'd be wrong.

Both the press and the opposition to the Australian Labor Party – who are currently in power – are having what one may refer to as a field day down south.

So why, exactly, is Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the spotlight?

Well, it's as a result of his recent economic stimulus package which, bizarrely, is sending money to dead people.

It has been dubbed 'Kev's cash for the grateful dead'

The Australian Government has decided to take a similar approach to us in terms of what is the best way to handle the current economic crisis: they have favoured borrowing to fund a stimulus

"Even where [the payments] go to people who are dead, of course they go to the estate," he told the media.

"The estate typically is going to consist of ordinary Australians who will in turn get the payments, and on balance over time, will spend those payments."

DEAD MONEY: Economically speaking, the deceased are flourishing package rather than trimming the existing budget.

As part of the AU$52 billion package aimed at stimulating the economy, the Australian government is mailing a cheque for AU$900 (ÂŁ450) to everyone who has filed a tax return in Australia in the past year.

However, before sending out these cheques, a little research wouldn't have gone amiss.

If the government had done its homework, cheques totalling AU$14 million would not have been sent to 16,000 dead people and 27,000 people who no longer live in the country.

Opposition leader Malcolm Turn-

bull has taken this opportunity to slam the scheme as "an incredible example of the reckless way" Labor was borrowing and redistributing billions of dollars, adding: "It just demonstrates the absurdity of this cash splash."

Turnbull's comments, in addition to the potential ridicule at the hands of the press and other political opponents, has forced members of the Australian government to respond and defend the scheme.

In what could conceivably be construed as a feeble attempt at a backtrack, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner insisted that the money would still help Australia's economy.

AU$14 million has been sent to 16,000 dead people

This does of course ignore the 27,000 expatriates whose money will most likely be spent abroad, not to mention the handful of pets who have just become $900 richer after inheriting their owners' estates.

Another issue picked up on by opponents of the Labor Party is the amount of money heading the way of prisoners just for filing their tax returns.

Mr Tanner went on the defensive, however, arguing that it was impossible to tell whether someone was alive or dead from their tax returns and that it would have been 'ludicrous' to have checked the status of every single resident who was entitled to the bonus.

Prime Minister Rudd also defended

the package, claiming that the opposition was using the dead to score political points.

"You've got people jumping up and down making a political point, in the Liberal Party and elsewhere today, talking about dead people as if it's just a loose bit of political commentary," he said.

"I think we just need to show a bit of respect here."

However the scheme, which has been dubbed 'Kev's cash for the grateful dead' has been met with a less than enthusiastic response from the opposition.

"If anybody saw any of the dead out there spending up big at Harvey Norman or Coles or Woolworths, please let me know," said Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham when prompted by ABC news.

However, as a result of the payments, there is finally some good news for the British economy: it seems that 20 per cent of the cheques going overseas will be mailed to ex-pats now living in the UK.

! " # ! ! $ ! % & !

! ! $ $ ! $ ' $ ( $! $ ( ! ) $ ! ! $$ ! $ $

$ ! ! ! $

FIVE MINUTE FUN 33

gairrhydd | FMF@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

found on facebook

1. Log on to the book of face 2. Join the group ‘Found on Facebook’ 3. Upload embarrassing photos 4. Pick up gair rhydd on Monday and laugh

sudoku.

EASY

MEDIUM

Quick Crossword Across

Down

1. Plain and unpretentious (6) 4. Keepsake (8) 10. In an unhurried way (9) 11. Radioactive gas (5) 12. Lock (5) 13. Assessment (9) 14. A cut of meat (7) 16. Metal money (4) 19. The shoulder of a road (4) 21. Sweet-talk (7) 24. Listen in (9) 25. Sag (5) 26. Tiny parallel grooves (5) 27. Marked by elaborately complex detail (9) 28. An eating disorder (8) 29. Any of several complex proteins (6)

1. Powerless (8) 2. Dampness (8) 3. Giggle (5) 5. Of the region of Olympia (7) 6. Competent in many areas (9) 7. Naturist (6) 8. Make resentful or angry (6) 9. Stay (6) 15. Exaggerate (9) 17. Active support of an idea or cause (8) 18. Apprentice (8) 20. Cocktail (7) 21. American elk (6) 22. A Japanese woman entertainer (6) 23. Do something to an excessive degree (6) 25. Lower oneself (5)

HARD

34 LISTINGS The Listings Top Five... ...ways to make the most of the Summer Ball!

The time has finally come when the exam period is over, the sun is out and the official celebration that, is the Summer Ball, awaits us on Cooper’s Field. The following five tips will ensure that this year’s ball will be the best one yet: 1. Get there early By turning up to the event early you’ll be saving yourself the hour queuing time just to get into the venue. Get in when the gates open and you’ll have more time to spare to run riot.

2. Check out the acts Make a point of finding out the performance times for all the acts you want to see. Calvin Harris and Feeder should not be missed at the expense of the Silent Disco, hell no!

3. Go on the rides The queues are frustrating undoubtedly, but there’s no point in not even sampling one of the many rides on offer for your thrill-seeking delight. By turning up early, you’ll avoid the throngs of riders and get to go on all the available mechanical wonders.

4. Have a Nando's With Nando’s as the official caterers of the ball, there’s no excuse to go hungry! Grab some wholesome chicken inbetween the acts to satisfy your hunger pangs.

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Monday 8th June

VODKA ISLAND @ TIGER TIGER The last promised sell-out Monday night of the term is here boys and girls, so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Wallow in the brilliance of this club with a few voddie doubles and a sampling of the tantalising tuneage across the three floors, to help you along your way.

9pm – 2am, £3 10 FEET LIVE @ TEN FEET TALL The very best in local bands and acoustic performers grace the stage at Ten Feet Tall tonight. Fancy a shot (and why wouldn’t you – you’re leaving Cardiff soon for the summer)? Contact 10 Feet Tall on their Myspace page.

8pm – 11pm, £3-£5 KLESMER KOLECTIV + NIX OLYMPICA + GERALD RUGGIERO + TROOPA & CLUEDO + MONKEE + JAMAL @ BUFFALO BAR Five A-MAZING acts await you at Buffalo tonight. Expect plenty of Welsh pride in the venue as Wales’s DJ duo Troopa & Cluedo take to the decks to perform one of their legendary sets.

Contact venue for details FUN FACTORY @ SOLUS, SU Anticipate great times to be had at the Union tonight, for the factory are working overtime to deliver you with the sort of fun that has been occupying your Monday nights over the course of your degree.

9pm – 2am, free

Tuesday 9th June

CHIC BEAT @ REVOLUTION Your last chance of the year to demonstrate the suave sophistication that you have embodied all too professionally during this year. Have a vodka shot stick on us and prepare to get the party started.

9pm – 2am, £3.50 TEETH MOUNTAIN @ CLWB IFOR BACH A percussion-heavy, alternative band awaits you at Clwb Ifor Bach tonight. Let loose, go crazy and engage in the music that has won this musical congregation the acclaim they deserve.

8pm, £6 BEN'S BROTHER @ THE GLOBE Cockney geezers Ben’s Brother descend on The Globe this evening and boy, are you in for a treat! With a voice that has been compared to Rod Stewart’s and the composition skills that have been assimilated to Coldplay, it is no wonder that people are getting excited for this band’s arrival in the capital.

7.30pm, £12.50 HAMMERTIME @ BARFLY You certainly ‘can’t touch this’ as the temperature is raised a good few notches tonight at Barfly. Enjoy Hammertime alongside some stronger alcoholic substances to fuel the fire, so to speak.

8pm, £3/£2 with flyer

Wednesday 10th June

JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON @ OCEANA VK varieties, a hankering for hot dogs and an awesome array of club beats will keep you engaged throughout the night. Book a room in the VIP suite in advance and you could have a night on your hands that will top off the year (in addition to the Summer Ball of course).

9pm – 3am, £3 SHOTGUN RULES @ VODKA REVOLUTION Vodka reigns supreme as the most popular spirit in Revolution and I think the general student populace would have it no other way. Show your appreciation for the tipple tonight by celebrating with a few shots and cocktails containing the strong stuff!

9pm – 3am, £3.50 GOLDEN SILVERS @ CLWB IFOR BACH A rhythmic fusion of organ, bass and drums provides the basis for Golden Silvers’ musical style. With comparisons drawn to that of The Blockheads, it is indeed no matter of fiction that something exciting awaits you at Welsh Club tonight.

7.30pm, £7 THE PETH @ THE GLOBE Rhys Ifans fronts this born and bred Welsh band as they attempt to make an assault on the charts. A band like no other, and a night to follow suit.

8pm, £12 POP TART @ 10 FEET TALL The Pop Tart DJ’s will be on hand to bring you some of the finest in cool pop, alternative chart bangers and all time classic hits.

Acquire a flyer beforehand and get free entry as well as some complimentary Pop Tart shots.

10pm – 3am, free before 11pm or with flyer/£3 otherwise

5. Get on camera There will be endless photo opportunities as professional photographers will be on hand throughout the night. So get snapped and treasure the memories the next day!

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 387421 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ Med Club, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ◆ Clwb Ifor Bach ros, Bakers Row 02920 399939 www.clubmetropolitan.com ◆ Dempseys, Castle Street 02920 252024 ◆ Move, 7 Mill Lane 02920 225592 ◆ Jazz, 21 St. Mary Street 02920 387026 www.cafejazzcardiff.com ◆ The Riverbank Hotel, Despenser Street www.riverbankjazz.co.uk ◆ St. David’s Hall, Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org.uk ◆ The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk ◆ The Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ◆ The Millennium Stadium Can’t miss it. www.millenniumstadium.com ◆ Tiger Tiger

LISTINGS 35

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Thursday 11th June

BETHAN ELFYN’S D.I.S.C.O BISCUITS @ BUFFALO BAR Yet another night full to the brim of vintage tunes hand-picked for your delectable delight, courtesy of Radio 1 supremo Ms. Bethan Elfyn 8pm – 3am, free DISCORD! RESIDENT DJS @ BARFLY Headbang your way through a manic night of rock and punk to get rid of that postexam energy surge.

10.30pm - 2am, £3 - 4 BOUNCE @ WALKABOUT The ultimate destination for a night of drunken debauchery, double shots and apple sours. You'll be slipping around happily amidst the sweaty, heaving mass of drunken dancers before you know it.

9pm - 3am, £3 ON THE ROCKS @ 10 FEET TALL Chill out and wind down in a happy haze with a double or 2 in the Mezzanine area, or get your mojo on to some sazzy guitar licks and head-banging tunes.

10pm – 3am, free before midnight JUSTICE ADAMS + JULDEH CAMARA @ THE GLOBE A cultural experience from Africa in which Camara will wow you with a one-string Gambian fiddle.

8pm, contact venue for tickets.

Friday

12th June CARDIFF STUDENTS' UNION SUMMER BALL @ COOPER'S FIELD The ultimate end of year, end of uni blowout, with tucks and top tunes (provided by none other than chart topping Calvin Harris and Welsh rock legends Feeder), fairground fun and a food lounge, plus a few thousand Cardiff students - a mini festival to kick of the summer.

7pm - 2am, £37 OASIS + KASABIAN + THE ENEMY + THE PETH @ THE MILLENIUM STADIUM If you're not at the Summer Ball, with stellar line up this is undoubtedly the place to be. The legendary lads of the 90s, the Gallagher brothers, alongside the most recent electronica-indie-rock fusion, Kasabian, who are injecting new energy into the Brit rock scene. If that's not enough, anthemic rock trio The Enemy and The Peth, accomanies.

Contact venue for details THE MOLES (2) + THE SHE CREATURES @ THE GLOBE Frozen in space by the tail of a comet, The Moles have been in stasis in their underground bunker for 39 years... Don't ask me, but this psychedelic 4-piece from Bristol guarantees to be different.

8pm

Saturday 13th June

Sunday

14th June

BOOMSHAKABOOMTANG: VINYL VENDETTAS + GARETH POTTER @ CLWB IFOR BACH If you're still standing after the ball last night, get yourslef down to Welsh club, bounce between the 3 floors of indie, retro and welsh, and rave it up some more!

10pm - 3am, £5 - 4

F*CK LONDON + CASSETTE QUALITY @ BUFFALO BAR Party on a Sunday - just because you can.

Uni is officially over this year, and chances are the Summer jobs haven't yet begun.

Make the most of ultimate freedom and party like its a Saturday night.

8pm - 3am, free

FLY SWATTER @ BARFLY A Saturday night for those keen to get their dancing shoes out... or keep them out.

Plaster up the blisters and keep on moving to all of yesteryear's best-loved hits.

10.30pm, £5 4

BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD 2009 FINAL @ ST. DAVID'S HALL With 25 young singers from around the globe, 2 leading orchestras, and a jury of legendary figures, this international event, the culmination of 5 nights worth of top concert performances, promises a gripping finale.

5pm, £25 - 60

GUNS 2 ROSES @ BARFLY The number 1 Guns 'n' Roses tribute band - with a stamp of approval from the stars themselves. Not only do they reproduce their sound, but they are mirror images of the originals, with stage performances mimicked down to the last detail.

7.30pm, PICK 'N’ MIX @ BUFFALO The jukebox club night that crosses all the genres to bring you a mish mash of dance floor anthems, past and present.

8pm – 4am, free before 11pm/£3 thereafter

10 FOOT CWTCH @ 10 FEET TALL If post-exam partying has left you a little jaded, relax and unwind to the dulcet tones of an open mic night. Or, if your loan is running dry and you're hankering for more booze, give it a go yourself to be in with a chance to win your alcohol.

8pm – 3am, £3

WIG + ICHI + THE HAND @ BUFFALO Ichi, the ultimate one-man band, who combines steel drums and ping pong balls, tape loops and double bass, trumpets with bongos... and all within one set!

8pm - 3am

(The Welsh Club), 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ◆ Barfly, Kingsway, Tickets: 08709070999 www.barflyclub.com/cardiff ◆ MetIncognito, Park Place 02920 412190 ◆ Liquid, St. Mary Street 02920645464 ◆ The Philharmonic, 76-77 St. Mary Street 02920 230678 ◆ Café The Hayes 02920 878444 www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk ◆ Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www.chapter.org ◆ Wales Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermantheatre.co.uk ◆ The Glee Club, Mermaid Quay 0870 2415093 www.glee.co.uk ◆ Greyfriar's Road 02920 391944 www.tigertiger.co.uk ◆ Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens (off Newport Road) 02920 416192 ◆

SPORT 37

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

THE WORD ON...

...whether Carlo Ancelotti can deliver elusive European glory to Chelsea Richard Williams Sports Editor BECOMING THE fifth Chelsea manager in two seasons may be something of a poisoned chalice for the incumbent Carlo Ancelotti: he will be charged with succeeding where Mourinho et al. have failed.

The Italian, who left AC Milan after a successful eight season spell that included a Serie A title and two Champions League successes, has been employed by Roman Abramovich - not averse to hiring and firing managers on shotgun instincts - to bring Chelsea European success for the first time.

Since Jose Mourinho was hastily sacked, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink have assumed the helm at Chelsea, all falling at the final hurdle in pursuit of Europe’s biggest prize.

Ancelotti has two Champions League titles under his belt, winning in 2003 and 2007, as well as reaching the final in 2005 where Liverpool performed arguably football’s greatest comeback.

Ancelotti achieved this with a team built on a strong defence, combined with the tantalising mixture of majestic ball players and industrial strength

in attack.

Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo offered ballerinalike skill and style under Ancelotti, playing a sleek style of attacking football that was made even more effective by the dirty work of Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini.

With his experiences, Ancelotti may be the best man for the job At Chelsea, Ancelotti could combine the likes of Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and Deco with Essien and Drogba to achieve the same results.

New signings are likely, with Kaka, Pato and Pirlo suggested to follow their former manager to Stamford Bridge.

What works in Serie A does not necessarily translate to a guarantee of silverware in England. Players who excelled in Italy, such as Adrian Mutu, Hernan Crespo, Andriy Shevchenko and Juan Sebastian Veron, struggled

ANCELOTTI: Will he cut the mustard?

to adapt to the Premier League.

There are always exceptions to the rule, and Chelsea fans know all too well that Italian stars like Gianfranco Zola can transcend the boundaries between English and Italian playing styles.

But Carlo Ancelotti may not find everything goes as smoothly. Ricardo Carvalho has already displayed a willingness to leave, and with rivals at Old Trafford and Anfield readying for another title campaign, the earliest sign of failure under Ancelotti could see yet another scramble for a manager to take Chelsea to Champions League glory.

With his experiences, and two Champions League winners’ medals in his possession, Ancelotti may be the best man for the job. If he can’t lead Chelsea to their holy grail, it is difficult to see who could.

The new man has conceded that he will have to win the Champions League in the three years he is contracted to Chelsea to qualify as a success.

Ancelotti said: “For me the Champions League is a beautiful sensation because when I played I won it two times, in 1989 and 1990.

“It was a fantastic moment, the same thing as when I was a coach in Milan in 2003 and 2007.

“The Champions League for me is the best competition in the world and we want to win. Chelsea has a great record.

“Five semi-finals in six years is a beautiful score, so great, but now we need to win. I hope this will happen.”

The ease with which Chelsea have reached semi-finals is impressive, but their main problem is overcoming the final hurdle to reach the final. Only in 2008, when they lost to Manchester United, have Chelsea competed in the Champions League final.

The problem may be psychological: a nervous reaction to the challenge facing them. It could be down to motivation and tactics from the man in charge, or simply a lack of overall

quality in the playing squad.

Ancelotti is the perfect answer to all three of these quandaries.

He possesses the motivational qualities to break through any mental issues that may be troubling the Chelsea squad, and is renowned as a great tactician.

He also knows which players to use to break down the opposition. Combining the midfield brilliance of Kaka, using his unique skills to break down defences with inimitable ease, with the likes of Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso and Ambrosini, Ancelotti assembled a team that were difficult to conquer.

It can be argued, however, that the new saviour of Stamford Bridge is little more than a yes PATO: On his way to Chelsea? man, a lackey whose sole role is to train a squad chosen by the owner. For Silvio Berlusconi at AC almost inevitable P45.

As long as he wins the approval of Milan, read Roman Abramovich at the Chelsea dressing room, particuChelsea.

Ancelotti’s arrival at Chelsea may larly senior players like John Terry, allow Abramovich the freedom he Peter Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank desired when Mourinho was in charge, Lampard, then Ancelotti is likely to freeing him up to sign the players he win the same acclaim that Guus wants and exercise a more autocratic Hiddink did in his short stint in charge. role on his side.

Last season’s third place finish will It worked for the Rossoneri, at least not be accepted by Abramovich, especially if the club fail to reach the last four of the Champions League. A final appearance may save Ancelotti from the sack, but there really is the sense that it is Europe or bust for Chelsea this season. If that is the case, Roman Abramovich may choose to pack up and leave.

Ancelotti may be the best chance that Chelsea have of winning the in terms of European glory, something Champions League in the foreseeable that Abramovich seeks desperately. future. With Barcelona dominating in But Ancelotti’s overall record was Spain and now Europe, Real Madrid pretty uninspiring, winning only 57% set to return to the galactico era and the form of Liverpool and Manchester of his matches.

When you compare this to United both domestically and abroad, Mourinho’s win rate of 71% at Ancelotti’s forecast of three years to Chelsea, and Avram Grant’s 67 per- win the big prize may be optimistic at cent, Ancelotti needs to ensure he best. makes a flying start to avoid the

Ancelotti needs to make a flying start to avoid the inevitable P45

38 SPORT

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

TOP FIVE...

Sport Comment

History remoulded Tom Victor Sports Writer

SWEDEN'S ROBIN Soderling caused one of the biggest shocks in tennis history last week when he knocked Rafael Nadal out of the French Open.

The four-set defeat marked the first time the world number one has ever been beaten at Roland Garros, ending a 31-match winning streak which has seen Nadal claim the title four years running.

Tennis is perhaps at its most competitive for years

If you asked most people to pick a player likely to end Nadal’s remarkable run, few would have singled out the rangy Swede.

While much was expected of the 23rd seed early in his career he has, until now, failed to live up to the

promise he showed as a teenager.

At 6’4” and with a powerful serve, Soderling has all the raw ingredients to compete with the best in the world, but a failure to consistently play to the best of his ability has seen him win only three ATP titles to date.

It is this erratic form which makes his victory over Nadal all the more surprising.

With Nadal’s defeat and with Roger Federer looking uncomfortable as he laboured to a five-set victory over Tommy Haas, the draw looked to be opening up for Britain’s Andy Murray.

However, almost as soon as the opportunity of a first grand slam title presented itself, it was snatched away as Murray was completely outclassed

by Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals.

Still, with Nadal proving that he is beatable, even on his favoured surface of clay, these look like promising times for men’s tennis.

The sport is perhaps at its most competitive for years as more and more players are beginning to show they are a match for anyone on the day.

The indomitable Nadal, like Federer before him, has been found

LAST YEAR'S stunning defeat of Australia at the hands of Zimbabwe is testament to the unpredictability of Twenty20 cricket. Its excitement and thrilling entertainment is sure to capture the imagination of cricket

fans across the world once again this June.

Warming us up nicely for the highly anticipated 2009 ashes series, England will be host to some spectacular sporting moments this summer. Twenty20 is big business and the grounds hosting games will be looking to cash in on the huge interest that has been shown for the tournament.

CHAMPIONS: India triumphed in the inaugral event

Major Sporting Upsets

1.

After making it to Wimbledon with the aid of a wildcard entry, Goran Ivanisevic - ranked 125th in the world at the time - beat Pat Rafter in the final.

2.

DOWN AND OUT?: Nadal loses for the first time in Paris wanting and the untouchables are now clearly in the sights of the chasing pack.

One defeat might seem inconsequential in the big picture, but Nadal’s aura will suffer and he will find fewer opponents willing to meekly comply

with expected defeat merely by the mention of his name.

On the strength of all this, we may be about to witness an extremely competitive Wimbledon shortly after the French Open comes to a close.

Twenty20 vision Gareth Ludkin Sports Writer

TOP FIVE...

With the sun finally showing its face, the prospect of a packed summer of cricket seems all the more enticing.

England will have their work cut out, particularly in the light of their distinct lack of batting firepower.

The beauty of Twenty20, however,

The beauty of Twenty20 is that anything can happen is that almost anything can happen.

Andrew Strauss has suggested that England could offer a good outside bet: “we are playing with confidence and in our own conditions have another edge.” This may be true, but England have often struggled to perform in Twenty20 competitions. They may struggle through this tournament to match such hard-hitting players as Andre Fletcher and David Warner.

However, the vastly improved James Anderson and Stuart Broad could still be threatening.

The inaugural Twenty20 tournament was won two years ago by India

in South Africa, but this year big players from several countries could make a real impact on this world cup.

We can expect a new and exciting breed of exciting players at this tournament, as the professional Twenty20 player comes into their element with their often powerful and cunning styles of play.

England, for example, has selected the innovative Eoin Morgan, who has shown form and trickery for Middlesex and Ireland in the past year, inventing the “change up sweep” which has confused bowlers no end in the Twenty20 Cup. Players such as David Warner for Australia and Martin Guptill for New Zealand will pose a threat with the bat, in an undeniably batsmen-friendly environment.

This month's tournament is certain to be full of thrills and spills and has been ambitiously predicted by organizer Steve Elworthy to become “one of the great sporting tournaments.”

We will soon see.

Greece win Euro 2004: Dubbed “the biggest thing that’s happened in Athens since Homer put down his pen” by Motty.

3.

Llanelli beat the All Blacks: On the day the pubs ran dry, Carwyn James’ Llanelli side beat the All Blacks 9-3 in 1972 to the delight of the Strady Park crowd.

4.

Wimbledon – FA Cup final 1988: The “Crazy Gang” beat the year’s league winners Liverpool having played in the fourth division five years previously

5.

Olivier Panis comes through from 14th on the grid to claim an unlikely win in Monaco ’96 for Ligier, while only four cars make it to the chequered flag.

SPORT 39

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY JUNE 08 2009

Cardiff break Herts Justin Yau Cricket Reporter

PHOTO: JON HILLARD

A STERLING debut from James Salter and a magnificent innings

from Justin Yau sent Cardiff through to the semi-finals of the BUCS Knockout Cup after a nailbiting three wicket win against Hertfordshire at Llanrumney.

Having won the toss, Hertfordshire decided to bat on a placid track and it came to light soon enough that the wicket was not going to offer much for the bowlers until it started to wear and tear later on.

Steady bowling from Mike Reed (1-28) restricted the visitors early on, and the pressure he produced allowed James Salter (4-28) to attack with devastating effect from the other end.

Salter’s victims all came LBW, dismissing opener Stockwell for 10, Dawson-Goodey for six, O’Donnell for 13 and Wikins for four.

Fine spells from Evert Bekker (1-24), Dom Reed (1-23) and spinner Chris Plowman (1-38) kept Hertfordshire in check during the innings. A score of 55 from opening batsman Freeman was as good as it got for Hertfordshire, CRICKET: Poised for success with Hamilton applying

some lusty blows near the end of the innings but only reaching 20. A couple of calamitous run outs saw Hertfordshire post 176 all out after 49 overs.

Cardiff’s reply started steadily with openers James Guest (6) and Matt Jones (13) taking the score to 25-0 without loss. However, three wickets in four balls put Cardiff in trouble after steady bowling saw Guest caught at slip, Jones caught behind and Bekker caught at mid off trying to hit over the top.

At 25-3 a partnership was required and John Mills (17) and the experienced Justin Yau (68*) steadied the ship to take Cardiff to 63-3 with a 38 run partnership.

The tide turned again when Mills was caught at cover and the game looked evenly balanced as Adam Bennett walked out to the crease. Another 38-run partnership brought Cardiff closer to their total but a miscommunication in the middle saw Bennett run out for a dogged 12.

Reed (11) looked in good touch before a difficult delivery from Holly was adjudged to have been caught behind, leaving Cardiff reeling at 121-6 after just 25 overs. With plenty of overs remaining, Yau took a more

reserved approach working the ball around for singles with new partner Chris Plowman (11) as the pair put on 22 in 10 overs.

When Plowman smashed one to O’Donnell at mid-wicket, Cardiff were left with 34 runs to win with just three wickets left on a track which was evidently getting slower and much more difficult to score runs on.

Alex Bywater, another debutant and who only agreed to play in the morning of the game, entered the fray with Cardiff close to victory. A fine shot off the legs first ball eased some nerves and Bywater (8*) played with control and fantastic temperament in a pressure situation.

At the other end Yau kept doing his job, accumulating runs steadily as he recorded his first 50 for the team in three years. An unbroken 37-run stand between the two saw Cardiff home with three wickets in hand and eight overs to spare.

Yau’s 66 not out from 108 balls consisted of nine boundaries, proving to be a decisive knock with some delightful drives throughout the innings, ultimately ensuring victory and a place in the semis.

Chung has the Cuefactor BEN CHUNG was crowned the Cardiff University Snooker Club Cuefactor League Premier Division champion despite a 4-2 loss in his final match against Huw Carpenter.

The Cuefactor League is a year - long handicapped snooker singles league split into two phases. The first phase consists of random groups and the second covers the final divisions which are decided by players finishing positions in the original groups.

In Phase A, Chung topped a tough group, containing last year’s champion Neil Fairbrother. Chung topped the group thanks to 4-0 wins over Michael Lee and David Eames, and 3-1 over Rachit Jain and Darren Jones recording 8 breaks of over 25 in the process.

Dan Peacey would pip Fairbrother to second place and a place in the Premier Division after both recorded victories over most of the other players in the group before Peacey defeated Fairbrother 3-1 to condemn the champion to a place in the second tier competition. Peacey was also in break-building form with breaks of 33, 32 and 31.

The yellow group was another hotly contested group with Piyush Goyal defeating Sunny Arora and Jon Hagger 4-0, Jon Hillard and Matt Cheng 3-1 and drawing 2-2 with Tristan Per-

rett and Huw Davies on his way to topping the group with a high break of 38.

Perrett edged Hillard for the final Premier Division spot whilst Arora beat Hagger 4-0 to avoid the bottom division.

David Blake and Huw Carpenter progressed to the Premier Division from the blue group with Carpenter hitting the highest break of a 48 in a 2-2 draw between the two whilst Rupert Taylor dominated the red group, which also saw Richard Jones secure a surprise Premier Division spot.

Taylor stormed off to an early lead in the Premier Division thanks to 4-2 victories over Chung, Peacey and Jones with Taylor recording breaks of 38 and 33.

Taylor’s form dipped badly though as his hopes were dashed by 5-1 defeats to Blake and Goyal and a 4-2 defeat to Carpenter in which Carpenter compiled a brilliant 67 break only to be denied the chance of a century by a kick on the black.

Following his win over Jones, Chung put himself in the driving seat with 4-2 wins over Blake, Goyal and Peacey in which Chung continued to rack up the breaks with runs of 35, 34 and 31.

It was Blake who would provide the title challenge to Chung as he recorded 5-1 wins over Taylor and Jones whilst drawing 3-3 with Goyal and Peacey.

Chung led the pack going into the

back straight but a 4-2 loss to Carpenter left Blake ahead on 25 points to Chung’s 24.

However, due to instances of unsporting behaviour by Blake and Peacey they were both deducted a point each, which drew Blake and

PHOTO: JON HILLARD

Jon Hillard Snooker Reporter

Chung level at 24 points apiece. But Chung was declared champion, as he had defeated Blake 4-2 in their earlier match.

Goyal finished 3rd (22pts) ahead of Carpenter (20pts), Taylor (19pts), Peacey (17pts) and Jones (14pts).

Fairbrother strolled to the First Division title with a series of 4-0 wins and a 2-2 draw against Hillard, who finished second.

CHUNG: Eyes on the ball

Sport gairrhydd

INSIDE: Cricket reach BUCS Cup semis, Snooker's Cuefactor League, Sport Comment and The Word On Ancelotti

PHOTO: NADINE KNIGHT

FANTASTIC FOURS

Gareth Ludkin Volleyball Reporter CARDIFF'S VOLLEYBALL club travelled down to Bournemouth last weekend with high hopes of performing well in the annual Volleyball England beach Student Cup. However, in a tough field, which contained several GB players, Cardiff struggled to make any real impact on the top half of the doubles tournament. There was success for Cardiff’s mixed four team, returning home champions after destroying Oxford in

the final.

The winning Cardiff team, led by Nadine Knight, dominated with some strong hitting and organised defence.

The talismanic Dimitris Challoumas played a stabilising role, surprising opponents with some great shots at the net.

Alex Ward provided the fire-power while Bethan Rhidian and Nadine Knight played out of their skins with great attacking and defensive play.

Beating Cardiff B, York and Chichester in the group stages, Cardiff progressed through to the final with great confidence.

The final saw Cardiff put a sweet lid early on in the final set, maintaining an early lead with assurance against an Oxford side who, despite some aggressive attacks, never threatened Cardiff sufficiently.

In the doubles, Cardiff played well but were plagued by injury and bad luck. Dimitris Challoumas and his partner Ross Molero had a very tough group, falling to several strong teams who managed to progress through to the final stages with ease.

The pair were resigned to the contenders list to see if they could battle their way back into contention, but

injury to Ross Molero brought a swift end to their tournament.

Alex Ward and Alex Oakley also played valiantly in the doubles but struggled to take their chances in games they could have won as they finished low down in the final standings.

Stephane Planel and Gareth Ludkin finished a credible seventeenth place out of 33 in the competition, but were again brought to a halt by injury to Planel’s knee on the second day.

Having battled through the contenders’ tournament, the pair were frustrated by missed chances and sim-

ple mistakes and were forced to pull out due to injury.

In the women’s competition, Kelsea Loveless and Stephanie Benusch finished in the top 15 in a strong field.

Playing games from 10am through till 8pm, the pair struggled with fatigue and concentration. They were strong in the group stages but failed to convert chances and beat teams they were far superior to.

Loveless and Benusch played well together and were by far the most successful doubles pairing in a difficult tournament for Cardiff.

GAIR RHYDD AND QUENCH MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY UNION CARDIFF, PARK PLACE, CARDIFF CF10 3QN n REGISTERED AS A NEWSPAPER AT THE POST OFFICE n GAIR RHYDD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL CONTRIBUTIONS n THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE PUBLISHERS nGAIR RHYDD IS WRITTEN, DESIGNED, TYPESET AND OUTPUT BY STUDENTS OF CARDIFF UNIVERSITYn BRYANT HIJACKS BLUEBAR FOR LAST EVER WIELDING OF EDITORIAL CONTROL n 36 HOURS AWAKE AND COUNTING n PETTITT & THUNDER'S SICK SERIES OF OFFICE TRYSTS PHOTOGRAPHED n PROOFREADING HAREEM FLEE OFFICE AS BRYANT LOSES POWER n THEY'VE PROBABLY GONE TO ITALY n LAST STRAGGLERS CLING ON TIL 7AM n THUNDER + RED BULL = FAIL n OFFICE SOCIAL (THE WAKE): OFFICIALLY A WASHOUT n SOOO... HERE I AM... NAKED... n DRINKING ALONE... n I'M STILL EDITOR, BY GOD! n DO YOU HEAR ME? n FIZZBITCH