InQuire 8.9

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Fayre Thursday 7th February Friday 8th February

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12noon until 4pm

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Did you know there are over 250 sports clubs, societies and volunteering groups at Kent Union which you can join, many of whom will be at the Refreshers’ Fayre.

If they’re not at the Fayre, you can find their details and join online at www.kentunion.co.uk/sportsandsocs.

SOCIETIES Academic Accounting and Finance BioSoc Business Canadian Law Classics & Archaeology - Kcas Comparative Literature Society Conservation Economics English Language and Linguistics Forensic Science History Joint Law Membership Group Kela Kent Critical Law Society Kent Debating Kent Engineering Society Kent Invest Society Kent Maths Kent Student Law Military History Philosophy Psychology Religious Studies Temple Law Tribe - Anthropology Tudor Society

Activist Anarchist Animal Rights Campaign For Nuclear Disarm Feminist Society Free Education K.U.C.A. Kent Labour Students Kent Palestinian

Solidarity Group Kent Student Socialists LGBT Society Liberal Democrats People & Planet Rainforest Society S.W.S.S. Stop The War Unicef On Campus Fayre

Arts Art Society Christian Performing Arts Classic Hollywood Commedia Dell’Arte Craft Society Creative Arts Creative Writing

Film B-Movie Society Japanese Drumming Kentanimeted (Anime) Photography Physical Theatre Sew and Sew T24 Drama Visual Culture

Cultural ABACUS African Society African-Caribbean AIESEC American Arabic Armenian Society Asian Belgian Bengali BruKent Caribbean Society Chinese Cypriot Czech & Slovak Society East African Society Erasmus Francophone French Language and

Literature Society German UKC Gibraltar Society Hellenic Hispanic Hong Kong Indian Indonesian Society Irish Society Italian Society

Japan Kent Mauritian Kent Multi-Cultural Group Kent Zimbabwe Latin American Society Malaysian Society Nepalese Society Nordic Society Pakistani Persian Society Polish Society Portuguese Society Romanian Society Russian South African Society South Asian Students

Association (Sasa) Sri Lankan Taiwan Thai Turkish Turkish Cypriot Vietnam Visions of Europe Welsh and Welsh

Appreciation Society West African Society

Food & Drink Cooking Society Fine Dining Real Ale And Cider Tea Society Vegetarian and Vegan Wine & Whisky

Games Adventure Gaming Chess Game Development Society Kent Objectivitist Review Kent Video Gaming Society Paintball Scrabble Society

Music Beats and Bass Latino Beat Live Music

Music Musical Theatre Rock ‘N’ Roll Rocksoc TradSoc

Belief based Atheist, Humanist and

Secularist Society B.L.W. Christian Union Hindu Islamic Jewish Society New Life Group Pagan Salem Kent Campus Fellowship Secular Humanist Seventh Day Evangelists Sikh Redeem Fellowship Society

Special Interest Africa Business Club Campus Gardens Circus City Networking Community Society Competitive Eating Society Computing Society Current Affairs Diogenes Society Football Fans Formula 1 Society Free Software Ghost Society Harry Potter Society Kent Ad Society Kent Enterprise Kent Exotics Kent Exploration Society Kent Management Consulting Society Kent Motorcycle Kent Poker Kent Shakespeare Society Kent Tech

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Free

interfere in syria: right?

comment - page 7

one in six students achieve firsts

Issue 8.9

an interview with devlin

iq entertainment - page 16

where are we now, bowie?

iq culture - page 21

25th January 2013

the environment campaign

iq features - page 16

disability cuts hit students

Natalie Tipping Newspaper Features Editor 61,605 undergraduates received first class honours last year, meaning that one student in six achieved the highest possible grade, figures published by the Higher Education Standards Agency (HESA) have revealed.

The figures show that 68% of female students were given either a first or an uppersecond (2:1), with 63% of male students also receiving these grades. These figures make up two thirds of the entire graduate population last year.

This system of degree classification has been used for around 200 years, and with many employers using it as a means of automatic dismissal of candidates who do not have a first or upper-second, this rise in the amount of firsts is encouraging to undergraduates.

With the lack of available jobs however, many are questioning whether the system has become outdated, with the chief executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, saying that “the current degree classification system is a blunt instrument”. The number of students achieving a first class degree has increased by 16% since 2011, and the statistics show that over the past 10 years, the figure has more than doubled. These numbers must put a smile on the faces of students paying £9000 a year for tuition, as it appears the quality of learning may be improving.

guardiola snubs chelsea

sport - page 25

templeman extends hours Ronald Wood

Disability rights campaigners join protests against welfare cuts

Layla Haidrani ATOS, the UK’s leading occupational health provider has come under criticism for its assessments leading to many disabled people being denied their benefits. The firm carried out more than three quarters of a million face-toface assessments last year of disabled people who were claiming the new sickness benefit, Employment and Support Allowance.

More than half of people affected were stripped of their disability benefits as they were perceived as ‘fit for work’ and were left unemployed and without income, the General Medical Council has found.

Despite assessing patients with terminal illnesses as ‘fit for work’, only 15% were in jobs and 30% on benefits. 55% of people who lost benefits in the current

economy have failed to find work and are therefore without income, the Department for Work and Pensions has found after a Freedom of Information request.

New laws have recently led to fears for the future of disabled students. The welfare reform bill which will be implemented in April is set to replace Disability Living Allowance – which is available to students – with Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Critics have argued that this may lead to the exclusion of disabled people from society and may mean that over 280,000 disabled people will not get support or be affected by 2016. The charity Disability Rights UK argues that some students will lose their benefits completely. Neil Coyle of Disability Alliance says: “If people are mis-assessed, they simply won’t get their DLA. It’s

a huge blow to students because their benefits are linked, so if they don’t get DLA then they won’t get housing benefit either.”

30,000 disabled students entered higher education in 2012, an increase of 75% from 2004, UCAS figures report.

Currently, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funds a nonmedical helper and welfare benefits, with full-time students receiving £70 a week through DLA to pay the extra costs of living with a disability. Parttime students are also eligible for Employment and Support Allowance benefit for £99.85, which pays for personal support to help disabled people work.

Campaigners believe that without the support of welfare benefits and academic support provided by DSA, many may not be able to enter university. (continued on page three)

THE Templeman library has extended its opening hours at the weekends so that it will now be open from 8am until midnight. The changes will be in place from 9th February. The pilot scheme will run until the end of this term.

The Drill Hall library in Medway is also going to be open for longer, closing at 3am for the summer term.

Kent Union Vice-President Alex Murray, who pushed for the longer hours, praised the work of student representatives in library consultations: “I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work on this. It was a key priority of mine for the year and I’m really glad that we have won on this.”

Funding was also secured for the Templeman Library’s £18m extension before Christmas, allowing progress to continue in designing the new development.

Before the start of the term the University addressed concerns that the extension would mean the loss of trees. They say they have “been careful to minimise the impact on the surrounding space” and that any trees removed will be offset by planting new ones.

Murray also says he is working with the University to minimise the loss of study space when the library extension is being built and has sent proposals to the appropriate boards.

Work on the library extension is scheduled to begin in July.

News

4

Editor’s Note Welcome back! I hope you had a very merry christmas and an exceedingly happy new year.

Now term has started once again, we’re back to work, but I hope this issue of InQuire will provide you with a well-needed respite.

Here at InQuire, the team is sad to announce the departure of our IQ Editor, Chandni Makhecha. We’ll miss you a lot and we hope you have every success in the future.

As ever, if you’ve got any stories, drop us a line using the contacts below and we hope you enjoy this issue!

Pamela InQuireLive

2012/2013 Editorial contacts: Executive: Rex Ejimonyeabala Chairman chairman Pamela Head - Editor newspaper.editor Nina Collins - Website Editor website.editor Newspaper: Matt Gilley - News newspaper.news Jamie Ovens - Comment newspaper.comment Natalie Tipping - Features newspaper.features Harriet Cash - Culture newspaper.culture Chad Greggor Entertainment newspaper.entertainment Alex Cassidy - Sports newspaper.sport Website: Perpetual Brade - News website.news Amelia Guttridge - Comment website.comment Laura Ricchetti - Features website.features Alice Bryant - Entertainment website.entertainment Lisa Gheysen - Culture website.culture George Hopkin - Sport website.sport Caroline Wadham Distribution Officer distribution To contact any of the committee, just add @inquiremedia.co.uk to the end of the address under their name.

european union debate continues Rose Hull

POLITICIANS across the spectrum remain deeply divided over the question of Britiain’s relationship with the European Union (EU).

On The Andrew Marr Show Foreign Secretary William Hague said there is a “strong case” for a referendum on the matter, something which David Cameron has said could be held after the next general election.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats, however, have warned that such a referendum would cause unnecessary uncertainty and could harm trade and foreign relations.

Former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband says the UK cannot afford five years of “suspended animation”.

Cameron wants to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU, rather than pushing for a simple in/out vote. He proposes to repatriate some powers, leaving Britain a “committed and active” member of the EU, but with more control over policies that Conservative Eurosceptics perceive to be

dictated by Brussels. Cameron has said that there is a “lack of democratic accountability and consent” between the citizens of EU member-states and the powers in Brussels.

This stance has attracted criticism, even from within Cameron’s own party. Lord Heseltine, a Conservative peer, called the plan for a future referendum an “unnecessary gamble”.

Many business leaders have focused on trade benefits. Trade with the EU is worth £400bn a year to Britain, or 52% of total trade in goods and services.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said that although changes are needed in Europe, some Conservatives are being “disingenuous” by suggesting that a renegotiation of powers of the sort that Cameron is calling for is likely to succeed.

Many commentators have also suggested that Cameron risks becoming trapped between his own backbenchers (many of whom are Eurosceptics) and other European leaders who are far from willing to give him

activist told to prove he is gay Harriet Cash Newspaper Culture Editor A Senegalese student is facing deportation from the UK unless he can “prove” that he is gay.

Serigne Tacko Mbengue, 26, is an asylum seeker who fled Senegal because of intolerance and persecution of LGBT people. He is a student at Newham College in London, and in 2012 was elected to the NUS black students’ committee as an LGBT representative.

Mbengue has been in the UK since 2008, and was initially held for 18 months in detention centres, where he claims the reasons for his confinement were never fully explained. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) postponed his asylum hearing in November 2012, pending the submission of a medical report.

At his most recent hearing, on 9th January, the case was again adjourned because of new evidence of physical and emotional harm he suffered in Senegal as a result of being open about his sexuality.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Senegal, punishable with a maximum custodial sentence of

five years in prison.

Campaign group Movement for Justice (MFJ), of which Mbengue is a member, claims he and several other campaigners have not been granted asylum in the UK because of their political activism.

Karl Lewis, University of Kent LGBT Officer (Open Place), said: "Tacko’s case is a disgrace and we call for the UKBA to let him remain here due to the threat of persecution in Senegal.

That he has to try and ‘prove’ his sexuality is laughable, especially when he has been a dedicated LGBT activist for the NUS Black Students campaign.

Sadly, as shown to us last year in a meeting we had with the charity Movement for Justice – who support LGBT Black or Minority Ethnicity people seeking asylum in the UK after persecution in their country – this case is just one of a number and shows the institutional racism and continual bias against LGBT people in the immigration system.”

The next hearing in Mbengue’s case is scheduled for 5th March.

How the UKBA intend to prove his sexuality is unclear.

what he wants. Gavin Hewitt, writing for the BBC, has said that neither Germany or France, the main European powers, will tolerate Britain “disrupting or in some way paralysing the project [of Europe]”, despite both countries wanting the UK

to remain a member.

A stream of American officials have also warned against Britain leaving the EU. US Ambassador to the UK, Louis Susman said: “We cannot imagine a strong EU without a vibrant partner in the UK.”

98 new posts for kent police George Hopkin Website Sport Editor IN a boost to policing in Kent, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Ann Barnes has announced that there will be an additional 98 jobs in law enforcement by the end of June.

The move will see 60 police community support officers (PCSOs) appointed, alongside 20 police constables (PCs) and 18 custody attendants, subject to a two-week consultation.

Speaking on Wednesday 16th January at Kent Police College Lecture Theatre Barnes, who assumed her post on 22nd November, said: “I’ve been listening to the people and businesses of Kent who time and time again say they want to see a more visible police presence on their streets and in their neighbourhoods.

“The message is loud and clear and I am delighted to be able to respond to the public’s requests. I believe this delivers what people want and I’m sure they will tell me their views.”

In order to pay for the investment, after cuts in government grants, police

council tax could rise by “less than a ‘copper’ a day” for the average Kent household, according to the PCC. The news came after Home Secretary Theresa May stated that PC starting salaries will drop by £4,000 to £19,000 to “modernise” police pay.

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News 5

foul gas complaints in kent

Richard Austin RESIDENTS across Kent and Sussex complained of a foul smell after a massive gas leak in France.

Police in both counties said they had received a large number of calls from people worried about the odour.

The sweet, oily smell was reported across the south coast this morning, and had reached as far as Ashford and Maidstone.

Many people took to social media this morning to complain of a smell of gas in Folkestone and Hythe, as well as Lyminge and Ashford.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the leak was believed to be mercaptan gas - a harmless

additive to natural gas.

The leak is being blamed on a factory in Rouen, 60 miles west of Paris, and many residents compared the odour to strong diesel fumes.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service has advised residents to keep doors and windows closed to minimise the smell inside homes.

They said: “There is no danger which we are aware of at the moment, the request to keep doors and windows closed is just advisory.”

Mercaptan is an organic compound containing sulphur, known for its strong, unpleasant odour.

A French newspaper said the leak at the Lubrizol company was caused by a chemical

disability cuts hit students (continued from page one) It is not just finance that is to become an issue for disabled students. There is a fear that university cuts may lead to an abolishment of widening participation premiums, where the Higher Education Funding Council for England finances universities to provide students with disability advisers.

University of Kent students are concerned that the slashing of disability benefits may threaten the availability of support for its disabled students.

One student remarked that the Disabled Support Service has supported her so well that “I could not have achieved my distinction without you all! It is a truly amazing team, which has given me so much confidence.

I strongly believe that your contribution to the department will have a positive impact on

generations of Kent students”.

Kent Union’s disabilities officer Jonjo Brady expresses his anger at the government’s treatment of disabled people: “It is nothing short of heartbreaking. Not only are we seeing radical cuts in benefits for those whose lives literally depend on such income, but also a massive drop in support for disabled people socially as hate crime continues to rise.

“The current proposals for benefit reform, such as the replacement for DLA with PIP, are unrealistic at best and potentially fatal to billions of people at worst. As for Atos?

Well, you just need to look at how they run their own company to see how unequipped they are to deal with ‘fit to work’ assessments. The government need to rethink and rethink fast.”

substance becoming unstable, causing gas odors that are similar to those of coal gas.

A statement issued by the Seine-Maritime prefecture said: “The gas has an unpleasant smell but is not toxic”.

The concentration of the gas was also “very low” but the prefecture admitted that “a large number of people have been inconvenienced”.

The gas reached the Paris region on Tuesday.

In the Seine-Maritime region around Rouen emergency services were bombarded with calls from alarmed citizens.

Seine-Maritime security official Laurent Mabire told a French news service that the the emergency services had been bombarded with calls.

child sex trafficking up in uk

Chad Greggor Newspaper Entertainment Editor

THE UK has seen a 22% year-onyear rise in sexual exploitation of children, according to the children’s charity Barnardo’s.

Of the sexually abused children known to the organisation, a quarter had been trafficked around the country, up from 76 in 2011 to 140 in 2012.

Annie McArrie, Barnardo’s chief executive, has said: “We are shocked at the rise in the number of children reporting they have been moved around the country by abusers.”

In an interview with the BBC, McArrie explained that “these organized networks are moving the children around in order that they cannot be found by police authorities… so that they cannot be found in their own patch.” Barnardo’s have called on the government to do more to protect children from sextrafficking organisations.

In October of 2012, the government revealed that human trafficking in the UK was increasing. This was after the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking found that the number of human trafficking victims had risen by 33% between 2010 and

2011.

In the last year, Kent has seen incidents of human trafficking.

This includes the case of Osezua Osolase, a recycling worker from Gravesend, who trafficked Nigerian orphans for sexual exploitation by using West African juju rituals to instil fear of escape.

InQuire spoke to the chairman of the UKC Against Human Trafficking Society, Gail Commandeur. The society are battling human trafficking in the UK, a particular issue in Kent, with Dover being a prominent suspected port of call for trafficking organisations.

British citizens are also likely to be trafficked around the UK who, Gail says, are the “7th most likely nationality to be trafficked inside and outside the UK.” While the statistics may seem frightening, Gail notes that “an increase in statistics is also a positive sign that more victims are being recognised, communities are more aware, and victims hopefully helped through the right authorities”, but that “further training with front line staff in how to identify characteristics and behaviour of children suffering abuse and sexual exploitation” is needed to help oust trafficking.

fall in uk postgrad numbers

Perpetual Brade Website News Editor

UK universities have experienced a drop in the number of postgraduate applications from British students., recent figures have revealed.

Data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), shows that between 2011 and 2012 there were 16,000 fewer students continuing to postgraduate education at UK universities, a fall of eight percent in comparison to the previous academic year. The number of British students who begin postgraduate study within two years of completing a degree is one of the lowest in Europe.

A report published in October by the Higher Education Commission found that for many jobs a postgraduate qualification is becoming the requirement. In a letter to The Observer earlier this month, Vice-Chancellors from

nine UK universities called for the government to put a new funding model in place to attract prospective applicants put off by high fees. At the moment, postgraduate students have to fund their own studies usually through savings or parttime work.

There was also a significant decrease in the total number of postgraduates, which dropped from 588,720 in 2010-2011 to 568,505 in 2011-2012. Figures for the numbers of non-EU postgraduates studying at UK

universities have also fallen for the first time in 16 years. NonEU students provide 10% of universities’ income.

The British Council Director of Education and Society Jo Beall, said: “The sector was expecting a decline in growth, but the actual reduction in postgraduate numbers is of real concern as international students make up the majority of numbers in many postgraduate courses and research teams in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

6

News

under-reported: aftermath of conflict in gaza Johan Robson

LAST year saw increased tensions in the Middle East, with the conflict over Gaza escalating as Israel launched air strikes to kill Zohair al-Qaisi, the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

Palestinian militant groups retaliated quickly, resulting in an exchange of missiles across the borders. The conflict is far from over however, as 2013 provides a bleak outlook for Gaza.

Barack Obama will have to address the issue of Gaza in the upcoming year, as it is quickly becoming one of the biggest problems he has to face with his second term of presidency.

The relationship between him and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has become frosty during the past year due to disagreements over how to deal with problems in the Middle East. Last year Netanyahu asked for US aid with a military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, a request that Obama was quick to turn down.

Hamas is also emboldened after the truce following the most recent conflict, as they

didn’t give in during the Israeli offensive. The massive losses suffered are overshadowed by recognition of other Arab leaders, and the fact that Palestine was upgraded to a non-member observer state at the United Nations in a largely symbolic move recognising the state. This will undoubtedly influence their actions in the future, as now their cause is attracting international support.

Furthermore, Netanyahu’s party won Israel’s general election on Tuesday, an election in which hardline nationalist parties did well - a sign that Israeli policy towards Palestine will remain stringent in the future. Hostilities between Palestine and Israel often appear in the form of an Israeli strike a few months before an election, with the last time being in 2009. Netanyahu’s shows of power help his party secure the election.

Tension in Syria and Egypt also influences the already volatile situation, notably because Egypt has been the one negotiating ceasefires between the two parties, and political reform in the country could influence its attitude

towards the situation. The Muslim Brotherhood has been increasingly critical of Israel’s actions, releasing statements in 2012 calling Israel a ‘Zionist occupier’ and ‘racist state’.

Such tensions could compromise the peacekeeping process, as more countries are getting involved in the ArabIsraeli conflict.

Many have voiced concerns that a humanitarian crisis may escalate in Gaza due to economic sanctions and increasingly poor

have clashed many times over borders, oil and accusations that each is funding armed rebels on the other’s territory.

In 2011 South Sudan voted overwhelmingly for independence, in an election agreed in the terms a 2005 peace deal that ended a protracted Sudanese civil war.

Both countries’ economies rely heavily on oil production, but

they suffer a unique problem in that while most of the oil fields are in South Sudan, most of the facilities for exporting it are in its northern neighbour.

Having agreed to co-operate over the production of oil, there have been disagreements over details and the South have accused Sudan of delaying exports as a political bargaining chip. A year ago, Sudan stopped

living conditions. The United Nations released a report called “Gaza in 2020: A livable place?” that outlines the plight of the people there and states that Gaza will not be habitable by 2020 unless drastic action is taken. This is due to the rapidly increasing population which the infrastructure cannot support.

Israel’s blockades have also crippled the Gazan economy due to isolating it from the outside world.

Israel also recently withheld

all tax money that they had been obliged to collect on behalf of Gaza. Gazan authorities were unable to collect it in the aftermath of Israeli military strikes. Due to a culmination of all these factors Gaza is utterly reliant on external aid.

The report also highlights that 39% of Gazans live below the poverty line, a statistic that will surely become worse in the upcoming years. Ultimately, Gaza’s prospects for 2013 look bleak.

under-reported: talks ease sudanese troubles

Matthew Gilley Newspaper News Editor

THE leaders of Sudan and South Sudan have met for a series of talks in the Ethiopan capital Addis Ababa in an attempt to resolve on-going conflicts between the two nations. Since South Sudan seceded in July 2011, becoming the world’s newest country, they

oil exports completely when a deal could not be reached on export and transit fees. The two countries came close to open war last April over border clashes in the oil-rich Abyei region and exports have not resumed since.

Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan, and Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of Sudan, signed a deal in September agreeing the setup of a demilitarised buffer zone around the border, a key condition of restarting exports, but this has not yet been implemented. On 17th January the South Sudanese government announced that it had begun withdrawing its troops, “demonstrating its full compliance with the signed security agreements”. It was unclear, however, whether the withdrawal actually took place, and talks have since stalled with both sides accusing the other of making new demands.

Distrust between the two countries is deep. Rebel militias operate on both sides of the

border, notably the SPLM in Sudan who have vowed to topple al-Bashir. The SPLM operate out of South Kordofan, a region of Sudan that is ethnically more similar to the African-dominated South than the mainly Arab North. The Sudanese army has frequently shelled the region in recent assaults on the insurgents, with reports of civilian casualties and displacement.

The Southern division of the SPLM, which fought in the civil war, was incorporated into the South Sudanese army and government after independence. Sudan accuse the South of funding the insurgents in its territory. Kiir denies this and has responded accusing the North of supporting Southern militias and of bombing inside South Sudan’s borders.

The talks between the two countries are scheduled to continue on 13th February, with some optimistic of progress and both presidents saying they are willing to make concessions despite their deep divisions.

Comment 7

is intervention in syria the right way to go?

Caitlin Lindsay Noble

THE arrival of 2013 has brought with it all the typical resolutions, hopes and aspirations, yet whilst we try and work off that Christmas tummy and scrabble together brain cells for another term of procrastination and deadlines, the Syrian people are locked into a brutal civil war, a ruthless campaign of violence waged by a regime against its own people.

In his latest speech, the Syrian President Bashar–al-Assad, whose defiant and insular tone mirrored his delusional dismissal of the true realities of the situation, quashed international hopes for peaceful negotiations.

“With whom should we talk?” he asked. “With those who have an extremist ideology, who only understand the language of terrorism? Or should we negotiate with puppets whom the West brought?... What we started will not stop.”

Since the start of the violence, 22 months ago, a moderate estimation of 60,000 Syrians have been killed, with a further 600,000 registered as refugees.

Even this is likely to be a low figure though, due to fears of reprisal for registering on the database.

Surely it is time to bring a solid demonstration of Western opinion and policy towards Assad’s regime? Unfortunately, this looks as unlikely in 2013 as ever. The United Nations are locked in a stalemate over the intervention issue, which when combined with the impact of a global recession and national cuts, is making it hard to rally both government and public support.

Past intervention attempts may also be to blame for present reluctance. NATO’s actions in Libya last year may ultimately have helped to free a nation from an oppressive and violent dictatorship, but with the emerging allegations of torture and revenge killings under the new regime, the true success of Western intervention is questionable.

In Syria, rebels have been accused of torturing and beheading Assad’s soldiers, so the uncertainty of Assad’s replacement remains key.

So should the West realise we’ve intervened enough? Does the imposition of Western involvement take the future of Syria out of the hands of the Syrian people?

Despite the numerical rhetoric of Western governments about humanitarianism and human

Syrian rebels celebrate next to the remains of a Government plane. Taken from Atlantic.com

rights, these remain real people who are dying in the streets, not mere statistics.

The recent bombing of Aleppo University, which left 82 people dead as students sat their first day of exams, is an undoubtedly moving example.

These students, along with all Syrians, are being denied the right to a life free from fear, one that we in the West take for granted.

As the conflict unfolds on our

TVs, we must avoid becoming desensitised and ignorant to the real suffering of others.

The importance of history is to learn from our past and our mistakes; many crimes against humanity have occurred while the world quietly watched, but in Syria we have a chance to prevent further atrocities.

At the very least, the West has the ability to prevent another humanitarian catastrophe, regardless of a

pro or anti-intervention stance, demonstrable through the simple forms of medicine, food and aid.

When will the statistics of the dead, injured or displaced be high enough to make us act? The situation in Syria should not become a question of calculated politics or consequences, or even the potential cost of aid, but of easing the real suffering and human cost of this war; that of the Syrian people.

getting to the bottom of the fiscal cliff Kerrick Whalley

MUCH ink has been spilt recently over the impending Armageddon that is the US fiscal cliff, particularly its disastrous implications for the world economy. Such is the role of the US in the global economy that its problems

quickly become everyone’s problems. Crisis in the US will affect Britain’s economy, which means less growth, higher prices and fewer jobs.

So firstly, what is the fiscal cliff? It refers to the time at the end of 2012 when tax breaks brought in during the George W. Bush administration

expired and automatic new tax rises and spending cuts came into force. It was widely feared that the combination of these two events would push the US back into recession, with disastrous implications for the global economy.

In order to avoid harsh automatic spending cuts and tax rises, Congress was obliged to reach its own plan to reduce spending. They succeeded, though not before the US had spent a day at the bottom of the fiscal edifice.

There remains much more to come, as the core of the problem, the deficit, remains.

Currently, USA spending commitments total around $3.6 trillion, $1 trillion of that money being borrowed. Unfortunately politics and economics are frequent bedfellows and this is certainly no different in the US. Party positions remain predictable; Republicans favour less spending and lower tax

increases, whereas Democrats want to avoid large spending cuts and favour greater tax increases. From the moment the crisis broke, solutions have been frustrated by belligerent bipartisanship, testing the reputation of Congress as a decision making body.

Although the Republicans often take most of the criticism, Chris Berg of the Sydney Morning Herald has recently argued that Democrats may be equally if not more to blame, for their unwillingness to concede to significant spending cuts.

Berg quotes Barack Obama as having “reportedly told Speaker of the House John Boehner, that ‘we do not have a spending problem.’” Spending has doubled since the end of the Clinton administration and has increased faster than inflation or populace. In 2010 those earning over a million in the US accumulated $840 billion.

Even if Obama confiscated the

wealth of the US’ richest it still wouldn’t be enough to plug the gap.

So what comes next? Another budget crisis is scheduled for two months’ time and the threat of automatic cuts lingers on. Due to the US’ huge budget deficit, it will once again hit its self-imposed borrowing limit or ‘debt ceiling.’ Again, a new deal will have to be struck in Congress to raise the ceiling, unless the US is willing to make drastic spending cuts, or risk default.

Like the rest of the Western world, the US is struggling to control a deficit bloated by years of accumulated commitments.

Slash spending and the US risks recession; maintain spending and the hit to creditworthiness may also trigger recession. This is the now familiar Catch-22 situation faced by all Western governments. Ultimately, this crisis is closer to home than we might like to think.

8

Comment

who is cut the deepest by child benefit reform?

Stuart Fry

CUTS, cuts and yet more cuts!

Sickening to many – although not unforeseen given the debt left behind by the previous government – spending cuts have been a pivotal role of the Conservative-led coalition since they gained power in 2010. One of the latest money savers sees further alterations to the welfare budget; namely reforming the child benefit system.

The poor and unemployed traditionally feel the strain under a Conservative government, who have a tendency to see them as idle and undeserving. This particular piece of welfare reform instead

affects the children of families with a modest to wealthy income.

The amendments stipulate that if one parent earns between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum, the maximum amount of claimable child benefit will be reduced, whilst those who earn at least £60,000 will entirely lose any entitlement. The Institute for Financial Studies estimate that the changes will save the government around £1.5 billion in spending for the 2013-14 financial year.

Is this fair? Well, it is undeniable that the coalition were left with a mammoth task in their mission to reduce the national deficit, and with the welfare system accounting

for approximately 30% of government spending, its provisions were inevitably going to be affected.

Many will argue that this is denying thousands of children a decent start in life due to parents simply not having enough money to provide for them without the aid of child benefit. Whereas this may be true in some cases, the decision to not dish out aid to every parent regardless of how much they may earn is correct. The old system meant that even multimillionaires had the potential to claim child benefit, perhaps to treat their kids to a couple of life jackets for the new yacht.

This was clearly ludicrous. The wealthy do not need financial

aid and it is a huge waste of government funds.

A far better question to ponder is whether or not £50,000 is a high enough salary to warrant reductions to the maximum amount of claimable benefit.

Only one parent has to be earning this amount for their benefits to decrease, whilst the other could be unemployed, meaning that as a couple they would effectively be earning just below the national average for annual income. There is also another issue, a moral one that many wealthier families will no doubt question: Why should I be penalised for working hard, whilst others get handouts for doing very little?

Despite what your average

Tory might tell you, not every unemployed parent is content with his or her lack of work. Some find themselves struggling to survive financially through no lack of trying; these people both require and deserve aid. Meanwhile, those fortunate enough to have considerable wealth, despite the hard work they may have put in to obtain it, usually do not require financial aid. Ultimately, reform was needed to the system and cuts for the wealthy do seem the right way to go, but the newer system is still not entirely fair. The government needs to rethink the thresholds for when maximum allowances start to reduce, and to consider who actually needs help.

do willets’ university recruitment tactics vinyl on the rise and the miss the point for working class students? digital honeymoon period

Layla Haidrani EDUCATION Minister, David Willetts, has recently stated that white working class boys should be targeted for university recruitment in the same way as ethnic minorities.

After witnessing a vast decline in applications from men, Willetts argues that white working class teenage males should be placed in the same disadvantaged category as ethnic minorities and should be targeted for recruitment to universities. However, the government needs to reassess their policies and better accommodate working class perceptions of university.

Willetts may be right when stating that the absence of male working class whites in university is ‘the culmination of a decades-old trend in our education system, which seems to make it harder for boys and men to face down the obstacles in the way of learning’. Figures show that working class white males who entered university in 2011 were 13% down on the

previous year. In addition, a mere 30% of male school leavers applied to university in autumn 2012, UCAS figures have recorded.

The performance of working class boys has always been of concern to Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, so why have no preventive measures been created to ensure that white working class boys are not falling through the system?

Mr. Willetts appears naïve in his assessment of class in contemporary Britain. It would not be unreasonable to suggest that some working class males internalise the negative expectations of the society around them.

The decline in university applications may be attributed to the apparent demonisation of the working class, subtly present in many institutions across the country and conveyed in popular culture and media.

With shows such as Little Britain, Some Girls and The Jeremy Kyle Show presenting the white working class as barely interested in schooling,

it is little wonder that these prejudices are created, putting off many potential students.

The accumulation of debts of over £25,000 for a three-year course could deter students from poorer backgrounds, but a report published by the National Audit Office suggests otherwise.

Aiming to recruit such students to attend university between 2001 and 2008 by investing £329 million, they failed to produce results, with a mere 2% increase in applications from working class students.

Perhaps what is needed is a better understanding of class consciousness. The Tories need to realise that the relationship between working class communities and universities is necessarily placed within systems of class.

To get a white-collar job, a university education is probably necessary, but for blue-collar workers there just isn’t the same need.

Although Willets is correct when arguing that students from white working class communities have potential that should be taken advantage of, the main fact is that if universities need to be reformed, it should be in a way that adequately accommodates the requirements of varied economic communities. If this is not sufficiently exercised, then any efforts to expand the reach of university education to further socio-economic backgrounds will be a vastly expensive failure.

Harriet Cash Newspaper Culture Editor

I remember the day Reveal Records in Derby finally closed its doors to the public. I was there, rummaging through the racks of leftover stock, trying to make my last haul as fruitful as possible. “Huh”, mused the shop assistant as I went to pay, “You’ve found the good stuff in that lot, eh?” Few things in my short life have made me as proud as that comment.

As a teenager I worshipped at the feet of the staff there, I loved the place not least because – to come to the point of this article – they had a large stock of vinyl records. When the shop closed, I had to venture further afield for my black plastic fix, only to be dismayed when Nottingham’s glorious Selectadisc and Jack’s in Sheffield followed Reveal to meet the spirit of John Peel at the pearly gates.

I was heartened, then, to read that last year sales of vinyl albums increased by 15.3%.

Although total sales of LPs still number only 389,000, the increase is a positive sign for a supposedly dying format.

We are, to some extent, still attached to having a physical product, as much as we want to put the content onto a digital device. The fact that sales of physical copies of books fell last year by 4.6%, though, would seem to contradict this. On the one hand, we want to hear the crackle of the needle dropping, but on the other, we have

apparently less desire for the feel of 400 bound pages in our hand. So what’s going on?

My feeling is that we’re tending towards whatever format allows the most engagement with the material.

So for those of us used to having headphones on just about everywhere we go, vinyl offers a different experience. Most of the time, you put the needle down on a record and listen to the whole thing. It encourages listening to an album almost in the way you read a book, cover to cover. On the flip side, the rise of e-books and digital reading technology allows us not only to access more of the printed word than ever before, but to take it wherever we go.

You want to read The Brothers Karamazov on the train? No problem, because now it can fit in your back pocket. Similarly, you want to read a mildly trashy self-published novel about a stuck-up New York CEO who runs off with a cowboy? Also fine, and you can even avoid judgement because nobody can see the cover.

At the moment we’re in the mp3 phase with books; the digital honeymoon period.

We have access to everything, everywhere. But there may come a time when, like with music, we realise we’ve become saturated, and we turn back to the experience of the old technology. Physical formats might become niche in the future, but we’ll always have need for them.

Comment 9

should choosing death really be so taboo?

Joel Tennant

THE universe is our credit company, we are the users of atoms taken out on loan without our consent. Call it what you will, from a purely physical standpoint, we are no more than a lump of matter and every bit identical to the world around us – all except, that is,

for our addiction to control life.

Whether we are endeavouring to prolong it or trying our very best to shorten it, the ability to do so is at the forefront of the news and many peoples’ concerns from day to day.

Perhaps it should be murder or overpopulation, and all the other elements that involve the delicate case of existence, but

Veteran broadcaster John Simpson admitted to obtaining suicide pills.

what actually seems to grind the moral gears is the itchy subject of suicide.

Not only can it be the unfortunate sign of a deep sadness that no one noticed in time, but now it is increasingly shown to be something quite different, a source of relief when someone suffers from ever-deteriorating health.

Resolute that his six-year-old son will not remember him as a “gibbering wreck”, veteran broadcaster John Simpson has this month reportedly acquired pills that would enable him to end his life if he were to lose mental and physical abilities.

But he is not the only public figure to be taking such steps. Iconic author Sir Terry Pratchett, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, has also begun proceedings of a more medical nature to end his own life in a suicide clinic in Switzerland if, or when, his mental prowess leaves him.

Should this really make us feel

uncomfortable? After all, are we not the pilots of our own lives?

From the first moment we started making decisions for ourselves, we began a long road to gaining some sort of importance and a power to direct our own existence.

We can choose to take mindaltering drugs, to get into fights or to drink until we vomit; we can choose to work twelve hour days, to allow our social lives to dwindle to nothing, and to view happiness as a luxury that resides within our bank account - but still the taboo remains when it comes to choosing the Big Sleep.

Fair enough, the grim responsibility of your postmortem existence rests with those you leave behind, but if you are faced with an unrelenting disease or a definite threat to a comfortable standard of life, surely it is your own right to make the decision to bypass such a limited way of living?

Of course, those with faith may have their own ideas

about what suicide does to the chances of an afterlife – the religious community has long stood in opposition of euthanasia, most notably Pope John Paul II remarking that “true compassion leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear” - but the choice is undoubtedly that of the sufferer, whether assisted in suicide or not.

Famous for his non-belief, Evolutionary Biologist Professor Richard Dawkins offers a simple but thoughtprovoking idea: “We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born.”

We beat the odds to see life and to experience it. Perhaps then it is time we begin to respect not only the wonder of birth and new life, but also the majesty in death, in the timely reminder that we are lucky enough to know we are part of the universe at all.

exploited sharia laws widen the wedge of understanding between islam and the west

Deema Al-Mohammad

SHARIA Law is the subject of great speculation and interest in the United Kingdom. To most people it is completely alien, and their perception of it is most likely founded on the blubbering ramblings of some internet troll, throwing around words like, ‘apostasy’ and, ‘polygamy’ without really understanding... well, anything.

Unsurprisingly, such views are also aggravated by the manipulation of Sharia in order to suit the whim of conceited leaders.

Suaidi Yahya, mayor of Lhokseumawe, Indonesia, recently ordered women not to straddle motorcycles, claiming that such a provocative display would endanger the, “morals and values” of Islamic Sharia. This regulation will be evaluated in a month, where it is expected to turn into a bylaw.

Of course, there is no such law in Sharia that denies a woman the right to straddle a motorcycle. In fact, in a Hadith (the second most important source of rulings in Islam)

narrated by Hazrat Ibn Umar, the Prophet Mohammad said: “Teach your children swimming, archery and horse riding.” Did you note the lack of a gender specific offspring mentioned? Apparently Yahya didn’t.

Nonetheless, to say Sharia Law is outdated by Western standards would be an understatement, but its mistreatment in Islamic states only widens the wedge of understanding between Muslims and everyone else.

For instance, an undoubtedly inhumane punishment for adultery in Islam is stoning, yet to reach this conviction there are several essential components of evidence that must be presented. Two male and two female witnesses, who will then receive punishment for witnessing, must be willing to speak in court before a jury and a judge. There must also be a confession freely made by the accused. If neither of these things are provided, the punishment cannot be inflicted.

Countries such as Iran insist that despite this, the accused can be convicted on judicial

knowledge, i.e. the judge may act upon his own knowledge.

When Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, was sentenced in 2010, she was a victim of this corrupt and careless handling of an ancient law.

Her case has attracted international attention and she remains imprisoned with her fate uncertain.

It is because religion is such an inaugural part of millions of people’s lives around the globe that no one can ban it or its influence without denting the facade of democracy and freedom that is held in such high esteem.

Clashes between society and religion range from the comical - the ethics of straddling a

motorcycle - to the cruel and brutal, stoning as a form of punishment, and they will continue to rock the boat of western tolerance.

Yet the fact remains that once religion and politics mix you find yourself in a muddle of corruption, because you can’t get a much better excuse than “God said so”.

The ban of women riding side-saddle in Indonesia is the latest in corrupted Sharia laws.

10

Editorial

heightism - a tall order to discuss Neil Bone InQuire Writer YOUR editorial on “heightism” made me chuckle and appreciate how difficult life is if you are shorter than average.

However, at least your height doesn’t mean you run the almost daily risk of physical injury.

Being 6’ 6” tall means walking through a department store at Christmas and the time of the January Sales is a slalom course of ducking and diving to avoid head butting low slung SALE banners and dangling Christmas decorations.

I have a more or less permanent cut on my head from those sneaky lower - but only just lower than average - door lintels, or the booby trapped ones that just when you think you are safe and have made it through unscathed, catch

you with the metal door closer hidden on the other side.

I would love you to literally spend some time in my shoes (size 12).

Try finding them in a world that stops at size 11 for anything apart from deeply unfashionable builder’s rigger boots!

Not to mention trying to find 35” inside leg trousers when everything in store always stops at 33”.

When I went to visit family in Columbia, South America, I literally had a crowd of two dozen shoppers and store assistants waiting expectantly outside the changing rooms in a department store to see if “El Grande Gringo” would find a shirt and trousers that would fit him.

So if you ever wondered why tall men wear shorts even when there’s snow on the ground, now you know why.

When I go to the loo, the urinal seems to be mounted

somewhere down near my ankles.

Don’t even get me started on trying to sit in a standard legroom seat on a plane!

The last flight I went on, I had to mount a sit down protest in the isle immediately after the seat belt sign went off because

of the pain in my kneecaps caused by the seat in front being jammed against them, just so I could get put in an emergency exit seat with more leg room; which you have to pay extra for, how ‘fare’ is that? A stealth “height” tax.

Once you arrive at your

holiday hotel, you find a bath that makes you feel like you’re sitting in a basin or a cubicle with a shower head fixed on the wall at a height that means you have to get on your knees and pray you’ll be able rinse the gel suds out of your hair.

Nighttime means stretching out and looking at your toes poking out of the end of the bed.

The tall are the servants of the small when it comes to shopping.

No trip to Tesco is complete for me without at least one (the record is five) requests by “vertically challenged” little strangers for me to get them an item off the top shelf.

Now how do you think I would get on asking a shorter person to bend down and pick up something off the bottom shelf for me? I’d probably get a slap in the face... if they could reach!

You are indeed right, there is “heightism” in the world, you just need to make clear that it’s “average heightism”.

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3 1 0 2 T S E F D L R WO UARY R B E F 4 2 0 2

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Worldfest after-party at The Venue 10pm till late.

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IQ Features 13

your thoughts: InQuire letters Bethany Turvey

If I were Emmeline Pankhurst, I would be rather ashamed and offended by an article I recently read.

The article asks the question: has the meaning of feminism changed?

It once meant women fighting for equality amongst the sexes, but now is it something to be laughed at?

The author begins by telling us she is a feminist who likes Glamour magazine and make-up. I assume she believes this would be some kind of shock.

If Glamour magazine promoted unfair treatment of women and tried to persuade readers that men are the superior sex then yes, I could see how it would be a shock. But they do not.

This was when I first began to suspect she doesn’t entirely understand the meaning of feminism.

I then read: “Does my love of trashy TV automatically denounce me from being a feminist?” And my suspicions were confirmed.

By this point I can feel Emmeline Pankhurst turning in her grave.

Then comes another puzzling question: “Do I follow fashion because I have patriarchy to believe that woman must be aesthetically pleasing to men?”

Probably yes. Heterosexual females are brought into the world with a biological code that tells them to look good for the opposite sex.

In an article about feminism I would expect to see a question more along the lines of this: If you want to look pretty does that mean men have the right to give unwanted or inappropriate attention e.g. wolf whistles, bum pinching?

Obviously not but luckily the majority of males can control themselves.

Nothing about feminism says you can’t make yourself look pretty with the underlying motive to attract a male partner.

“To me, being a feminist is simply being an individual” was the penultimate sentence. She finishes with “If that means my new floral pink trousers are only there to please men, so be it.”

So let me get this straight. Being a feminist has apparently none of the usual connotations and is now about being an individual (an idea she seems to have plucked out of nowhere).

Also, being an individual/feminist means maybe her fashionable trousers are only there to please men but that’s okay, she’s happy with that.

inquire puzzle Easy

Despite the rest of the perplexing article, there’s one issue raised that I agree with: the word feminism has somehow managed to become a signal for guys to produce a wave of “get back in the kitchen” jokes.

I believe the reason for this ridicule and mocking attitude is that the concept of feminism is outdated. The actions of the original feminists are what often come to mind when the subject is raised.

Consequently, when the extreme behaviour of the suffragettes is placed in the context of the world we live in today, you can imagine why some find it humorous.

Perhaps feminism in the 21st century needs a new name and a new outlook altogether if it is to be taken seriously by more people. Males and females.

Modern day feminism is about supporting specific issues regarding equality such as equal pay and equal treatment in all aspects of life.

Not the same, just equal. There is a difference.

And sorry, but “being an individual” and whether you like Glamour magazine or not are completely and utterly irrelevant.

Charlotte Wright

In response to the above letter about feminism...

be taken seriously. How would one go about re-branding a politcal and social revolution to make it more appealing in the 21st century?

I have to say I disagree that the ‘concept of feminism is outdated’, though. I wonder if Emmeline Pankhurst would agree. There are still many countries in which women are very much oppressed and the revolutionary action taken by Western women over the last century is desperately overdue.

I have to thank you for the unintentional support you have given to my article by proving that feminism is, indeed, a paradox- to the point where women criticise each other for not being feminist enough, or focusing on what they feel are the wrong issues.

Grace Beard

Thank you for your response to what the word ‘feminism’ means to youthis is exactly the question I wanted answered when I wrote the article. The nature of the article was light-hearted, and from your letter it seems largely that you agree with me. Maybe I should have been more explicit, but the point that there is nothing anti-feminist about reading Glamour Magazine, and it is irrelevant to feminism altogether, is precisely the message I wanted to give.

It is the reactions of others who believe it is relevant that I was criticising.

Perhaps the sarcasm behind my questions did not quite translate.

There are some things in your letter that struck me as contradictory. I feel that it is a somewhat sweeping generalisation to say that ‘heterosexual females are brought into the world with a biological code that tells them to look good for the opposite sex.’ It brings to mind the ridiculous idea that men are biologically programmed to pay, as you mention in your letter, ‘inappropriate attention’ to women.

I’m intrigued by your suggestion to change the name and outlook of feminism altogether in order for it to

I know I should probably write to InQuire about something a little more high-brow, but I feel like I should share my petty but incredibly annoying nitpick with you. Yes, my friends, I’m talking about shop cashiers putting your loose change on top of your receipt. Next thing you know, change everywhere, and you’re scrabbling around on the shop floor trying to find that two pound coin that has rolled under a nearby shop display.

The situation is only worse when you’re in a long queue. The action of receipt before change will either have you diving for the shop floor or performing a sort of sway from side to side in an attempt to balance your coins and then slide them into your waiting purse. This, of course, takes time and, before you know it, that ‘in-a-hurry’ commuter is breathing down your neck while you try to use the shop counter as support.

Luckily, most shop cashiers understand your pain and ensure the change before receipt procedure is carried out correctly. But, I’m sure seeing a grumpy customer crawling across the shop floor has its advantages...

Want to have your say?

Email Nat at Newspaper. features@inquiremedia. co.uk!

14

IQ Features

keynestock 2013 Jenny Laishley Audition slots for this year’s Keynestock are starting to fill up.

Keynestock is a mini music festival and the biggest battle of the bands on campus. It is traditionally organised by the Keynes College Student Committee to raise money for charity.

This year’s chosen charity is The Canterbury Umbrella Centre, which is a local charity that work with and for people with mental health problems.

They have helped over 4,000 people locally since its foundation in 1988 and are completely reliant upon donations, so any money raised will have a huge impact.

Auditions will take place in the attic on 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th March.

Last year’s winner Alexa Harley beat seven other acts and won the chance to perform at the Kent Union Summerball alongside Noah and the Whale and The Saturdays. The same opportunity is available this year.

Previous winners have also played at Artsfest and Ellie Goulding was scouted after her win.

This year’s event will take place outside Keynes College on 25th May. If you would like the chance to audition email Keynestock2013@gmail.com to book an audition slot.

UPCOMING RAG EVENTS Raise and Give have lots of events coming up this term.

Here are just a few of them.

Head along and donate some money!

1st of February - Moulin Rouge/Safer Sex Ball - The Venue 2nd of February - Lakeside Raid Lakeside Shopping Centre 14th of February - Take Me Out - The Attic 23rd-24th of February - Escape and Evade

inquirers: my life in books Laura Ricchetti Websites Features Editor Best Childhood Book: Enid Blyton -The Twins at St Clare’s

When I was younger I read all of the books in the Twins at St Clare’s series

by Enid Blyton and loved them!

I also had a collection of tapes of the stories (tapes - God, I feel old) and my sister and I would listen to them over and over again before bed.

Despite being written in the 40’s, and me reading them as a 90’s child, I still adored them, and the tag-rugby in the cold of my junior school days definitely felt inferior to the jollyhockey-sticks style of St Clare’s.

The books are children’s literature classics innocent, wholesome and comforting.

Best Teenage Book: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - The Alice Books These are an American series of books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, following the life of Alice McKinley through her teenage years. I have no idea where I Roy Lavender Best Childhood Book: Raymond Briggs - Fungus the Bogeyman

It was a close-run thing, but I think this gloriously filthy tale just inches it over Where The Wild Things Are for my favourite childhood book. And I mean ‘filthy’ in the most literal sense – the reader spends a day in the life of Fungus, the titular Bogeyman, as he goes about his Bogey business as a scarer of ‘Drycleaners’ (the Bogey term for humans) while experiencing mild existential woe over the pointlessness of said job.

The disgusting details are lovingly depicted, with particular care lavished on the toilet scenes. Let’s face it, all kids love dirt, and this book (we had the pop-up edition, aptly titled ‘A Plop-Up Book’) delighted me and my brother endlessly as children.

Best Teenage Book: David Levithan – Boy Meets Boy I think it was the cover of this slim novel which enticed my 13-year-old self in. Plain powder blue with three small love heart sweets at the top, which spelled out “Boy Meets Boy” – I have never been a sentimental romantic, but the simplicity of the dust jacket appealed to me amongst the embossed dragons and glittery lipsticks that

first discovered them, or if they are particularly well known or popular, but I read every single one about 20 times as soon as it was released.

I was of the age that I could properly relate to the dramas of Alice’s life, and now looking back I can better appreciate Naylor’s talent for portraying the fear, joy and innocence of the teenage years.

I have recently discovered that Naylor is still publishing books in the series to this day; Alice has grown up and gone to university too!

The first thing I’m going to do when third year is over, and compulsory reading is a thing of the past, is read all of them.

Best Required Reading: Herman Melville - Moby Dick Most people doing the English and American literature degree will endure Moby Dick in second year, and yes, I say endure, because that is what the novel requires: endurance.

Call me sad, but the end of the film Matilda, when she begins to read the opening lines of the

novel, gave me slightly romanticised expectations of it.

I was soon proved wrong; it actually reads very similarly to an encyclopaedia, and is, in parts, just as boring.

There were many points in the book that I was tempted to give up on it, however I carried on and, by its end, was enraptured. It is more than just words on a page, it is a reading experience and I genuinely felt like I had been on a similar journey to that of the novel’s ship, the Pequod.

Book That Taught Me Something: F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read. I dare anyone not to be moved by the evocation of Gatsby, in chapter six, left behind as detestable Tom trots into the distance with his beloved Daisy.

This novel teaches lessons on love, loss, money, corruption, envy and maturity, but perhaps most importantly, it teaches how a whole time period can be encompassed in literary form. Nick Carraway’s poetical prose is more than just a narrative, it is an aesthetic emblem of the glamour of 1920’s America.

adorned the covers of most young adult fiction on the shelf. And I’m glad it did, because this beautiful little book probably changed my life. The story of Paul, a high school sophomore, and the almost utopian town in which he lives is overflowing with pop cultural references and poetic turns of phrase - a cut above so much teen fiction. Levithan’s subsequent novels are all equally wonderful, but this one will always occupy a special place on my bookshelf.

Best School Required Reading: Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day I remember my A Level English class being pretty evenly split between those bored witless and those completely enthralled by Ishiguro’s tale of a decaying old ideal of England, embodied by butler Stevens, whose obsession with dignity and social order have been the pride and also the great sadness of his life.

I was in the latter camp; as the novel unfolds you realise

how much Stevens has sacrificed for Darlington Hall and its masters, the fascist-inclined relics of a declining class, and his self-delusion is poignant and painful to witness.

Book That Taught Me Something: Richard Dawkins – The Greatest Show On Earth One of my biggest regrets is not persevering with science at school; at the time I was bored and longed to spend the time doing something creative, but these days I am increasingly fascinated with the ways science can explore and explain the world around us.

Dawkins’ engaging explanation of the evolution of life on earth is readable even for a scientific neophyte like myself, and the rewards are great.

From the age of the earth and the fossil record to human evolution, biogeography and the tree of life, the book left me completely in awe of the history of this planet, not to mention with a better understanding of it.

Essential reading.

IQ Features 15

spotted: venue presents devlin

& events The Venue Saturday 26th January - SOAP: Boot Camp Tuesday 29th January - Tinchy Stryder FREE gig Wednesday 30th January - FLIRT: Ahoy There Pirates Photos by InQuire Photographer Attina Zarnani

Saturday 2nd February - SOAP: Blizzard Beach Wednesday 6th February - FLIRT The Attic Friday 25th January Grandmaster Flash Thursday 31st January - Blue Rinse Tuesday 5th February - Comedy Central

16

IQ Features

introducing: blogging on glipho InQuire Newspaper Features Editor, Natalie Tipping, interviewed the CEO of new blogging site Glipho, Roger Planes, about the site and his plans for the future of the new platform...

Can you give us a brief outline of Glipho and what you can use it for?

looking for a good read or to write down your thoughts.

Why do you think blogging has become such a huge phenomenon in today’s world?

Glipho is a social network meets blogging platform, it’s a place to publish your content directly to your followers and engage in discussions with your readers and other writers. You can use Glipho while still maintaining your blog by importing your blog posts, or you can write from scratch using our desk feature.

What made you want to create Glipho?

I always believed blogging platforms were still stuck before social media times, you haven’t really seen an evolution since Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr began to dominate the internet.

I had this idea of a site where you could just sign up and write without the hassle of maintaining a blog. Me and the team re-thought blogging from a social perspective and Glipho is what we came up with.

What benefits are there from signing up to the site?

There are two types of benefits, the first one being how simple and easy to use the platform is compared to

everything else at the moment. It’s as simple as signing up and starting to publish in a matter of minutes. On Glipho you won’t find yourself spending time with themes and plugins, it’s all about the writing. Then you have the benefit of reaching bigger audiences.

In Glipho you will find an already established audience that comes back every day to find new writers to follow, long gone are the days where you actually had to work to find an audience.

How can people get involved with the site?

As a writer they only need to go to glipho.com, sign up and start publishing, as simple as that. If you are

more of a reader you can also join to follow writers and topics that interest you and don’t get much coverage in news outlets.

What are your long-term goals with the site?

Since our first launch two months ago we have been rapidly increasing our number of users and daily visits, so our first priority is to keep increasing this numbers as much as we can.

We are going to release our mobile apps in the first half of 2013 so this should help us to reach even more people. In the long term we would like to play in the same league as the other big social networks and mainly become your favorite destination when you are

Everybody has an opinion and they want it to be heard, so it’s not a surprise that people enjoy blogging as much as they do.

People are also interested in reading about topics that your typical digital news outlet won’t write pieces on, so there is a big opportunity for bloggers to write about them and to be read.

What sort of topics do people write about on the site?

Absolutely everything! We actually keep getting surprised about what people write about.

You have the more common topics like fashion & beauty, films, travel, books ... Then we have some upcoming authors that publish excerpts or full novels, users writing about their personal lives and so many amazing food recipes.

environment campaign charity fundraiser Tom Currie

As you know, the last week of the autumn term can sometimes be the most hectic period of the year: it’s the time when it’s nearly impossible to find a free PC, the time when the printer jams just when you need it most and it’s also the time when all your essays are due or when all your exams are taking place.

What you probably didn’t know though, is that this is also the time when large amounts of international students finish their studies and return home. As a result of this, the last week of term can also be a period when vast amounts of items are thrown away due to the fact that students simply don’t have enough luggage space to take all their items home. Not only does this create a vast amount of unnecessary rubbish, but the items thrown away are often those that can be utilised by the less fortunate such as the local homeless.

In order to resolve this, the Environment Campaign decided to hold a collection drive during the last week of term so that students could give their items to us, and we in turn could give these items to the local homeless

who are in desperate need, especially during the winter period. To do this, the campaign provided collection tables to all of the colleges across campus and asked students to leave any unwanted items at these points rather than throwing them away.

Taking place between the 10th and 15th December, the collection consisted of seven collection points spread across the University in Rutherford, Eliot, Darwin, Woolf, Tyler, Parkwood and Keynes.

During the day, students would drop their items off at the collection points and during the evening myself and other volunteers would visit them and move the items to a storage point on campus.

What was originally intended to be a fairly large collection quickly became one of unimaginable proportions. In total, we managed to collect 75 items of food/toiletries, 250 items of clothing, 15 duvets, 30 bed sheets, 12 books and a range of other items.

These items were donated to Catching Lives, a Canterbury based charity that does what it can to alleviate homelessness in the local area by

running a homeless outreach centre and by providing accommodation during the winter months.

Since the economic downturn, this charity has become a vital lifeline for some of Canterbury’s most vulnerable and I would encourage all students to do what they can to help this amazing charity.

The Environment Campaign would

like to thank Hospitality and the masters and committees of the colleges for allowing us to hold the collection, as well as to everyone who donated.

Student Media will be holding a fundraiser for Catching Lives on the 14th/15th of February - keep reading InQuire for more details of how you can get involved!

IQ Features 17

look-forward: trends of 2013 Rebecca Jackson

It’s a new year, full of exciting new trends and a whole new excuse to go on a mad shopping spree with that shiny new student loan that’s just hit your account. From the catwalks of the Milan, Paris and London fashion weeks, to the much loved high street brands, InQuire has got 2013 covered!

Bold Thick Stripes Stripes are back, with black and white headlining this sophisticated edgy print.

Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang

and panel wonderful tailored clothing by the likes of Karen Millen, Rag and Bone and DKNY. This alteration offers a much more feminine yet sharp statement. It still oozes confidence, as seen in items such as the leather biker jackets and boots which are a must have for any woman working the alternative look, just with an ‘I mean business’ twist. Topshop, Oasis and H&M all mimic this look to perfection, offering a much more student friendly price alternative.

Skater Skirts The high street’s ultimate skirt trend for spring 2013 – from statement block colours to cute printed designs, skater skirts are everywhere.

hit. Boutiques and other high street stores soon caught on to Topshop’s success and followed the statement sweatshirt trend.

Of course, Boy London is also hugely on trend, offering a fashionable urban feel to the look. For that sought after city look that Boy London offers, wear the sweatshirt with some fantastic high tops (still a hugely sought after shoe, even after several seasons of being in fashion). For those days where you just want an effort free good look, wear with some leggings and a woolly bobble hat.

Perfect for those extra chilly days we’re still experiencing.

Trench coats We’re now at that point of winter where we’re about to get eager to put away our big coat and say hello to a new spring one, and with Hunter releasing Burberry styled trench coats, how could we possibly resist?

(without doubt the designer to watch this year) have stormed their latest collections with gripping eye catching pieces that really get a woman noticed for all the right reasons. The high street has not let us down either with this trend, Hearts and Bows have some fantastic pieces.

If you’re not too sure about daring black and white stripes, House of Holland has some beautiful spring shades of pinks, a look being copied by many high street stores, which offers a pretty and delicate appearance.

Leather Leather was huge at the end of last year, and it’s not ready to be put away anytime soon.

Not only are there a range of designs for you to seek out and try on, but also a variety of materials to explore such as dainty lace and fierce looking leather.

This cut is amazing for all types of figure, highlighting the waist without gripping any unwanted areas, and giving an overall simple yet flirty look.

Team with a pair of heeled ankle boots and a tucked in t-shirt and you’ve got a fantastic look. For a subtle alternate vibe add a studded belt and bowler hat to your outfit. Miss Selfridge by far has the best skater skirts in town at really reasonable prices, as well as New Look, River Island and Republic.

Sweatshirts

It has, however, taken a new form.

Away from items made purely of the material; it is instead being used to line

Another trend the high street fashion stores can’t seem to get enough of is sweatshirts, everywhere is selling them and everyone is buying one. It all seems to have roots from Topshops ‘geek’ sweatshirt designs which were a huge exceptionally comfy

Trenches are timeless, classy, and the ultimate light-weight coat.

There is no denying when Mulberry and Burberry get their trench coats out on the catwalk we’re all melting with envy at the models wearing them, they just look so well-tailored.

Wear yours with plain black or nude heels and a chiffon scarf for that fresh spring look. Remember, keep your look minimal; let the coat make a statement on its own.

So there you have it, five core looks of 2013 that you can feel incredible wearing.

Go raid those shops, get experimenting and have fun while testing fashion’s latest!

the fashion round up Amelia Bundred

California-based designer Raquel Allegra has collaborated with London fashion house Matches. The summer collection is said to incorporate the designer’s shredding technique with Matches’ smarter wear and subtle colour pallet. The collection will be available online from the end of January.

Premier Model Management have become the first to launch a free phone app, in which top models, photographers and industry experts give their fashion and beauty advice.

This includes hair and makeup tutorial videos and a guide to future trends.

Rumours have surfaced that Beyoncé Knowles is set to be the new face of H&M after being spotted in the Bahamas wearing a floral swimsuit, in what is believed to be a photo-shoot for the brand. If true, the iconic singer will follow Lana Del Rey’s collection which was released in stores last year.

Matthew Williamson is set to collaborate with heritage label, Ballantyne Cashmere.

The collection will be branded as ‘British Heritage’ and will be unveiled at the Milan Fashion Week in February.

The Golden Globes were last week, and as usual the red carpet saw a flurry of beautiful and not-so-beautiful outfits.

See the www.inquirelive.co.uk/ features for the best and worstdressed celebs.

18

IQ Entertainment

music

albums in brief Girls’ Generation - I Got a Boy

inquire sound of 2013

As 2013 peeks around the corner with its shaggy head, beckoning us ominously into another year of music, Chad Greggor, Newspaper Entertainment editor, takes a look at some of the bands to watch...

After throwing up rainbows and unicorns for several hours, I was finally able to gather the strength to turn off the latest album from K-Pop girl group Girls’ Generation. I Got a Boy is a ten track collection of all the joy in the world kidnapped and trapped inside an album that requires absolutely no mental input from the listener whatsoever. My favourite bit? The correct use of the apostrophe in their name.

Joel Tennant

Villagers Awayland Awayland is the second album from Villagers – vehicle for singer/songwriter Conor O’Brien – following 2010’s much acclaimed Becoming a Jackal. Their folky, airy tendencies are less prominent here, as the band experiments with a whole host of musical tricks: jaunty electric guitars, subdued electronic beats, a rumbling piano. O’Brien’s lyrics are poetic, sometimes more beat poetry than singing. Despite the frequent inspiration the songs do sometimes slip into shallow intellectualism – a lot less clever than they think they are.

Matthew Gilley

A$AP Rocky Long Live A$AP A$AP Rocky’s debut album contains enough collaborations to rival Gorillaz. A$AP’s friends include Kendrick Lamar, Skrillex, and Florence Welch among others. LVL, Goldie, Long Live A$AP and Pain are great tracks. The focus of the lyrical content, however, can be summarised in one song: PMW (pussy money weed).

Joseph Christmas

Toro y Moi Anything in Return Don’t be fooled by the album cover resembling will.i.am, this is not will.i.am. This is Chazwick Bundick, the hip electro artist from America. Say That and So Many Details are worth a listen off this hypnotic, clever album.

Chad Greggor

Peace

I don’t want to like Peace. Not only because they have chosen the band name Peace, but also because NME (a magazine who have lost a lot of credibility by quoting Noel Gallagher far too often) fervently recommend them.

On listening to their new EP, Delicious, however, I find it impossible not to like them.

Their psychedelic-indie reaches perfection with Blood Shake, and hits an expansive climax in the 10 minute epic 1998 (Delicious). The Birmingham quartet have been compared to such trail-blazers as The Maccabess and Wu Lyf. Peace are sure to give indie knockoffs a run for their money with their unique and yet referential style.

Azealia Banks and Angel Haze

Azealia Banks, who was on the BBC

Sound of 2012 list, recently found herself in a Twitter feud with Angel Haze, this years’ angry-female-rapartist entry on the BBC’s list. Angel Haze’s flagship track New York finds her claiming sovereignty over the Big Apple with mucho swearwords and a rapid-fire flow.

Azealia Banks has still not released an album, but has debuted several tracks with the help of some of the most interesting producers around including Machinedrum, Hudson Mohawke and AraabMuzik. The two artists share many similarities, especially in their excessively aggressive lyrical styles (Angel Haze: ‘I’ma beat you till you die’, Aezalia: ‘I’ma ruin you c**t’). Perhaps they should forget all the animosity and team up! They could be called Azealia Haze.

Earl Sweatshirt

Earl Sweatshirt’s group Odd Future blew up massively in late 2011 - 2012.

Earl, however, having been sent to a Samoan therapy camp for ‘at-risk boys’, was completely disconnected from all the fuss that he and his group had created. Now, he’s back, and set to debut his first proper album titled Doris.

Chum, the pre-release sample track from the album, sees Earl cut down on his earlier gross out juvenility and dig down into a mature, bleak emotional territory. Arguably one of the best rappers from Odd Future and son of the South African poet-laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile, he is definitely one to watch.

CHVRCHES

This is electro synth-pop at its best, in the vein of M83. The band name is spelt using a V so that Google would not confuse the group with actual churches, which would be awkward. The solemnity of their namesake permeates their melancholy yet danceable music although I can’t imagine a CofE service going footloose to CHVRCHES anytime soon. The band from Scotland have only released three tracks, each a finely hewed piece of work, and carefully selected. On The Mother We Share lead singer Lauren Mayberry cuts through crashing synths with a kind of sweetness, while Lies has a grungy electro feel. Hopefully we will soon hear more from this CHVRCHES. Haim

Winner of the BBC Sound of 2013 award, anointed with the sacred oil of critics and tastemakers, Haim is most certainly a band to watch. Their folk-rock-synth-pop, Fleetwood Mac inspired music verges on the corny, but manages to pull off an improbable feat: combining all these genres into one.

The track Forever features a prominent bassline and jaunty afrobeat rhythm. Don’t Save Me is just contradictory, with the lyrics ‘Say you will save me’ almost immediately followed by ‘Don’t save me.’

If you think the three band members all look the same, it’s not just because they have identical hairstyles, but also because the three are sisters – like a modern, all sibling and female orientated version of The Jackson Five.

I’m still trying to figure out which one is the future MJ.

IQ Entertainment 19

music & theatre devlin: “our music is more accepted now” Alex Cassidy, Newspaper Sports editor, interviews veteran grime artist Devlin...

Photograph by Attina Zarnani

If you take a second to read through

Devlin’s resume, it’s hard to believe that he’s only 23 years of age. He worked his way up from the bottom, spending most of his teenage years making a name for himself in the UK’s underground rap scene, benefitting from the experience of veterans such as Dogzilla and Ghetts.

Making a move toward performing on pirate radio stations in his midteens and selling his mix tapes on the street, Devlin quickly rose through the ranks of Grime.

In 2010, aged 21, he was named on the BBC Sound of 2010 list, his debut Bud Sweat and Beers proved a commercial and critical success, being certified gold.

Fast-forward two years and Devlin’s second album, A Moving Picture, is set for release next month.

In 2013, SBTV and YouTube have

created a whole new platform for young artists to exploit; many have lamented the loss of the underground grime scene as a result, a route which Devlin took at the beginning of his career: “I think it definitely ain’t the scene that I grew up in. The pirate radio scene was strong when I was young. That really was the training ground for MCs. And for the kids yea I’d like them to have that, it was a big part of the underground scene.”

With the change however, a new appreciation for English rap music has emerged, something that Devlin and collaborator Ed Sheeran have been vital in orchestrating: “From the days of So Solid Crew and Maxwell D and Garage music we’ve been trying to push this genre of music through. It ain’t happened over night. But everyone’s

laid a brick and we’ve all stepped up and I’ll lay the foundation for someone else to come through, probably another young kid. I think the attitude is changing and our music is more accepted now.”

Devlin, despite the hype and expectations that have been placed on him from the grime scene, isn’t close to buckling under the pressure, and by the sounds of it he’s ready to move on to bigger and better things. “If I can go gold again I’ll be over the moon. I was over the moon when I went gold, to be fair, but my dream is platinum, if it ain’t this album, next album, but I’ll just keep chipping away. Whatever we get, we get an inch more we’ll perform off that level, it’s step by step with me you know.”

The sense of emotion and story that run through most of the Dagenham born rappers songs is what sets him apart from his peers that are currently in the charts: “I suppose that’s all I can draw on really, my own life experiences that I’ve seen growing up and going on around me. I always try and put in my heart and soul and instil some meaning into the song.”

With A Moving Picture scheduled for release on February 2nd, all signs point towards a big year for the lad from Essex, whose lead single from the album, Rewind is out on January 27th.

second term theatre preview

Rango Chazwick Terry Alderton – Gulbenkian 2nd February

You might not be sure whether to laugh at Terry Alderton or tie him up in a straight jacket. On Michael Macintyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Alderton spoke to an alter ego/schizophrenic other, and also revealed something he calls ‘the monster’, where he contorts his body, accompanied with grunting noises, to Arthur Miller look like a kind of

mechanical crab. Winner of The Sun’s Comedian of the Year award, Terry Alderton’s live show is sure to be an eventful, if very strange, night out.

T:24: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible – Gulbenkian 5th to 7th March Drama society T:24 put on Miller’s shocking, thought provoking play The Crucible. Chronicling the true story of the Salem witch trials, the play cleverly satirises the communist witch hunt in America during Miller’s time, standing amongst George Orwell’s Animal Farm as one of the greatest satires addressing communism in the 20th century. The story extends beyond this allegorical definition, delving deep into the human psyche.

Petrol – Gulbenkian 14th to 16th March Gregory Motton, the royal court playwright, brings us his new play: Petrol. This comedy thriller follows two bickering wives waiting for their husbands to return home.

It is revealed that the car

has broken down, and the men are fixing the car out in the snow, helped by some peeps called Knob and Jesus. The play is directed by David Wickes, and stars Mick Ford and Rudi Davies.

Krapp’s Last Tape – Marlowe Theatre 19th February Anyone who loves Samuel Beckett’s absurdist dramas will appreciate his masterpiece, Krapp’s Last Tape. This funny, tragic tale is a one man show starring Tom Owen, dealing with the pains of growing old, while examining life’s pivotal moments. Sure to be a brilliant, thought provoking play with a strong lead performance from Owen.

csr fm what’s hot

Rhian Stone Tom Odell – Can’t Pretend Making a big splash in the music industry and consequently Radio 1, Chichester born Tom Odell has recently been nominated for the Brit Awards’ Critics’ Choice Awards. His single Can’t Pretend is a stripped back piano based track, complete with sweet, haunting vocals, epic bouncing chords and a phenomenal choral chorus. We at CSR believe Tom Odell is going to do big things this year. Watch this space.

Everything Everything – Kemosabe Their latest single off the new album Arc is full of multifarious riffs and skittering synths. Using spluttering beats and breathy, enthusiastic shouts, complete with frontman Higgis’ soaring falsetto, Kemosabe proves to be Everything Everything’s catchiest song yet.

Biffy Clyro – Black Chandelier CSR couldn’t be without the slow and grungy, softly pulsating Black Chandelier that slowly builds to a dramatic chorus and tearing bridge.

With rippling hooks and licks, the crash of symbols and the repeated words ‘drip, drip, drip’ Biffy Clyro’s latest song is sure to be on the station for a long time.

Frank Ocean - Lost Not a usual choice for CSR but Frank Ocean’s Lost is one of the best tracks on this month’s playlist. Mixing smooth ambience with funky R&B beats, Ocean’s softly mumbled, honey vocals, glide effortlessly over the tinkling beat with a soulful groove.

Example – Perfect Replacement Spilling into the areas of drum and bass, Perfect Placement is complete with sizzling synths, rolling warping drums, pinging guitars and Example’s classic rap and rhyme style. A crowd mover if ever there was one.

Jessie Ware – If You’re Never Gonna Move Jessie Ware’s sophisticated soulful voice balances easily against the blend of electronica, chill wave and pop within If You’re Never Gonna Move.

A pulsating, tinkering beat that flows throughout, this song is sure to have everyone in the studio and at home dancing in their seats or singing along to her beautiful, moving vocals.

20

IQ Entertainment

film

review: tear-jerker les misérables

Bethaney Rimmer

The musical masterpiece that is Les Misérables has finally been immortalised on film in an equally staggering portrayal directed by Oscar nominated Tom Hooper. In the words of prison guard Javert, prisoner 24601’s time is up and his parole has begun.

Cue 150 minutes of turmoil, battles for survival, love, sacrifice, some stellar renditions of the musical’s well-known classics, and wishing that you knew the

reason why Gavroche, a Parisian boy, has a cockney accent.

The story primarily follows ex-convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) as he sets out to be the best possible version of himself, prison officer Javert (Russell Crowe) is on a relentless man hunt because Valjean has broken the rules of his parole. Despite becoming Mayor of Montreuil, Val Jean doesn’t ignore the needy and unfortunate. From the moment he promises a desperate

mother called Fantine (Anne Hathaway) that he will look after her child, the rest of his life is entirely altered. The second half of the film also involves a student uprising in Paris, and one of the most exhilarating finales I’ve ever experienced outside of a live theatre show.

Jackman was even better than I anticipated; his storytelling through song was second to none. His fellow Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway was also extraordinary and her Fantine will break the hearts of any who are exposed to her rendition of the iconic I Dreamed a Dream. As for Russell Crowe, at least when the film comes out on DVD we have the luxury of volume control.

Having said that, he did have moments where the singing ability took a backseat and I was just too impressed with his acting performance to care which notes he was attempting to hit. Put it this way, I doubt you’ll find his vocals anywhere near as bad as Monsieur Brosnan in Mamma Mia.

It was fantastic to see cameos from original Les Mis legends such as Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Jean Valjean on stage in London back in the 80s. Speaking of ‘back in the day’, Hooper’s decision to have the cast sing live for every take, rather than dubbing their pre-recorded voices over the top, hasn’t been used in film since around the 1930s, and it really worked in this film’s favour. The spontaneous acting choices while singing live allowed for more raw and honest performances, especially when Eddie Redmayne sang Empty Chairs At Empty Tables and whenever Hugh Jackman opened his mouth. This approach also benefited the comedic timing of the Thenardiers, portrayed with memorable gusto

by Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.

I will undoubtedly be making another trip to see this masterclass in film making.

oscar nominations analysis events spot Emma Greenacre

The Oscars are a bit frustrating this

year. Lincoln, Steven Spielberg’s biopic of Abraham Lincoln, is the hit with 12 Oscar nominations.

The trouble is that it doesn’t come out in the UK until 25th January - the day after the Oscars have been awarded, so we can only guess at how worthy a film it is. Daniel Day-Lewis is the hot favourite for Best Actor with his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln and if he does get the award, it’ll be his third, setting the record for most awards for Best Actor.

This is very much a year of record breaking mixed with a lot of predictability (there’s no major breakthrough acting performances/ directing). We have the oldest ever nominee for Best Actress (Emmanuelle Riva in Amour, age 85) and the youngest (Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of The Southern Wild, age 9) but their chances are very slim.

The frontrunners

in that category are Jennifer Lawrence (who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy) and Jessica Chastain (who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in A Drama).

My money’s on Chastain as a woman trying to track down Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty, which is also out on 25th January.

As for Best Actor, Day-Lewis is surely a shoo-in. America loves films about America and what could be more American than Lincoln? The others aren’t much competition - Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper are first time nominees, Joaquin Phoenix dissed the awards last year, and Morgan Freeman’s role has none of the Oscar bait that the other candidates have.

If there’s one award that is a cert, it’s Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress.

Her performance in Les Miserables is a bit mannered at times but she does a good job with Fantine- a character which can be forgettable even though her song (‘I Dreamed A Dream’)

is world-famous. It really is quite heartbreaking to watch, though I would attribute a lot of the credit to Tom Hooper, who didn’t get a nomination for Best Director. There’s a new song for Les Mis which was clearly written to try and get the Oscar for Best Original Song but Skyfall is the deserved recipient.

Unlike some of the other films, Life of Pi is already out. From the look of things, it should bag the visual awards but competition looks too strong for it to win anything else. Django Unchained is out on the 18th and has caused a lot of controversy in the US with Tarantino’s treatment of slavery and obligatory violence.

Poor Leonardo DiCaprio got snubbed for his role as a plantation owner, despite sporting a great Southern accent. He might have to wait until next year, as long delayed film The Great Gatsby comes out in May. The Oscars are a little weak this year - there’s nothing really inventive or surprising and the film with the big buzz isn’t even released until after the ceremony - but I’ll be watching, mainly for awards like cinematography which have a more interesting mix and aren’t so swayed by standard Oscar clichés.

highlights Gulbenkian 1st February: Moon Fools Titania 1st February - 5th February: Amour 2nd February: Terry Alderton Season 4?

7th February: Magwitch and Great Expectations Double Bill 8th February: Seven Psycopaths Marlowe Theatre 29th January - 3rd February: Cinderella on Ice

7th February: Harry Hill Sausage Time Beer Cart Arms 28th January: Joanna Gruesome + Play Lounge + Chewing Gum The Lounge 9th February: Theme Park & The Centurions Alberry’s Wine Bar 29th January: Halfway (House, Dubstep, Garage)

IQ Culture

cultural events calendar Sat 19th January - Sun 17th March Faith at Whitstable Museum Fri 11th January - Sat 9th February From Grimm to Reality at Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury Fri 25th January Comedy Club at Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable Sat 26th January Inspired By The Past: Creative Writing Workshop at The Beaney, Canterbury Sun 27th January Pot Luck at Gulbenkian Theatre Wed 6th February Kent Film Foundation Presents: Section 28 Youth Film Club at Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable

film 2013: the cinema year ahead

Harriet Cash Newspaper Culture Editor

While the imminent release of new Star Trek and Hobbit instalments this year is big news, I’m sure you’re all aware of that. With this in mind, here’s my look ahead to some films which might slip under the radar, but are equally worth watching out for.

The Rover (David Michôd) Michôd’s film follows 2010‘s sensational crime thriller Animal Kingdom, and stars Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. The focus moves from urban Melbourne to the Australian desert in what is, according to Pattinson, an “existential Western”.

Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt) Anything new from Reichardt is fine by me; she’s surely one of the most talented auteurs of the American indie scene. Slightly disappointingly, it seems original casting choices Paul Dano and Rooney Mara have been replaced by Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning, but either way this is high on my list for this year.

I’m So Excited (Pedro Almodóvar) The trailer is a minute of pure, unadulterated Almodóvar camp, with more echoes of his earlier films than

recent thriller The Skin I Live In. Set almost entirely on board an aeroplane and described by Almodóvar as a “very light comedy”, this will also be his first film in which regular muses Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas have appeared together.

Struck By Lightning (Brian Dannelly) Glee star and bestselling novelist Chris Colfer’s screenwriting debut follows recently deceased Carson Phillips as he recounts his high school life after being struck by lightning. This promises to be a teen comedy more in the vein of the 90s classics than recent High School Musical-based phenomena.

No (Pablo Larraín) Starring Gael García Bernal, this film completes Larraín’s trilogy, begun with Tony Manero and Post Mortem, looking at Chile under Pinochet’s rule. The

return of the thin white duke

Jenny Stalker

For those heathens unfamiliar with the musical behemoth that is David Bowie, 8th January was, most likely, just another miserable day in this ever gloomy and grey 2013.

Sure, there was a rambunctious environmental protest in New York and I suppose someone from One Direction probably did something spectacularly non-newsworthy and landed themselves in the gossip pages of the Daily Mail.

But for millions of dedicated Bowie fans around the world, it was Hanukkah, Christmas and Diwali all rolled into one. The emotional equivalent of finding a scratchy in the street on your way to work and winning a grand. Announced with little pomp or circumstance through his official website, Bowie’s first new track in a decade, Where Are We Now?, and news of an album to follow in March, soon had the internet all aflutter – and spread quicker than a viral infection during Freshers.

In an age where it seems albums largely come into the public arena through huge marketing campaigns, months of hype and pre-release leaks, the low-key nature of the single’s release is typical Bowie – an artist

21

who “writes and performs what he wants when he wants”, disregarding the usual mechanisms of the industry.

Despite Heroes adding swagger to the achievements of British athletes throughout London 2012 and a personal plea from Danny Boyle, Bowie turned

down the invitation to perform at the Olympic Opening Ceremony as well as an opportunity to curate an upcoming V&A retrospective of his career.

The track itself is strangely beautiful – a simple piano chord progression dripping in melancholy and interwoven with echoing synth and drums. While perhaps not the greatest introduction

to Bowie, Where Are We Now? is an understated and nuanced return to the public arena. Filled with a sense of nostalgia, the song is a look backward to the late 70s and Bowie’s time spent in Berlin. It was here that his ground breaking Berlin Trilogy (Low, Heroes and Lodger) was created, seen by many to be Bowie’s peak as a musical innovator. But Where Are We Now? is clearly a different Bowie – his voice hauntingly poignant, with a touch of the fragility that only comes with age, examining his past and questioning the present.

Despite the upcoming release of The Next Day, it seems it was more than a little optimistic to assume Bowie would tour the new album.

The album’s producer and long-time Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti told NME that the idol wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin with their stadium tours and big ticket festival appearances. In fact, it seems the Thin White Duke is “fairly adamant” he will never perform live again. Disappointing indeed, but the unexpected 30th studio recording from Bowie is nothing if not a spectacular gift to fans who had resigned themselves to his apparent withdrawal from music entirely.

story of an ad man (Bernal) working on the anti-Pinochet campaign for 1988’s national referendum, it looks set to round out a challenging body of work.

Mood Indigo (Michel Gondry) Audrey Tautou is a woman made ill by the flower growing inside her lungs.

Likely to divide the twee-haters from those who can embrace a little whimsy, this looks like a return to Science of Sleep territory after Gondry’s foray into the big-budget mainstream. Which can only be a good thing, I say.

London Project (Joanna Hogg) An as-yet untitled project which will continue to explore Hogg’s fascination with the “blurred line between the comic and the horrendous.” One of the key voices of the British arthouse (if there really is such a thing), her third feature film stars Tom Hiddleston and ex-Slits guitarist Viv Albertine.

Twelve Years A Slave (Steve McQueen) McQueen is by now well established as a key contemporary British artist.

His latest effort, starring regular collaborator Michael Fassbender as well as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Cumberbatch, is a mid-19th century tale of a New York man kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South.

this week in...

25th January 1981 Labour MPs form SDP Labour cabinet ministers Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, William Rodgers and David Owen, the so-called ‘Gang of Four’, made public their intention to form a new political party, which became the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

26th January 1969 Riots in Prague over student protester’s death Violence broke out in the capital of Czechoslovakia as police tried to disperse crowds gathered in remembrance of student protester Jan Palach. He had burned himself to death in protest at the Soviet occupation of the country.

29th January 1959 Fog causes transport problems The worst fog for seven years caused widespread disruption. The Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956 as a response to the Great Smog of 1952, which was caused by fog made worse by thick smoke.

22

IQ Culture

the art roundup Julia Smith picks the best New Year offerings in the art world.

So, a new year, a new you? I can’t promise to help you clean out your wardrobe or motivate you through your liquid detox, but for those of you who have decided to go for a culture kick instead, I might just be able to inspire.

Already 2013 is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting year in art.

With major international artists and impressive home grown talent set to go on exhibition, there’s never been a better time to explore the mad and marvellous world of the creative arts.

And with one of the world’s most diverse cultural capitals a mere 56 minutes away by train, there really is no excuse!

Possibly not one to ease you or your wallet - gently in to new classy, cultured sensibilities, the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition Manet: Portraying Life presents an immersive look at the stark approaches of the progressive French artist. Deemed one of the forefathers of modern art, the show is set to be a massively important survey of the vast career of the enigmatic Edouard Manet. On from 26th January to 14th April, this impressive exhibition is well worth the £10 student ticket price.

If you’re not one for paint and brushstrokes, then Juergen Teller: Woo may be a better option for your first foray into the arts this year. A visionary photographer, Teller has created a remarkable name for himself not only in the commercial world of fashion, but in the contemporary art world too.

Providing an intriguing look into his private life through personal family images, this ICA exhibition also displays the most intriguing celebrity portraits. Kate Moss has been a staple throughout his career, but who doesn’t want to see a shot of 68-year-old Vivienne Westwood with her legs akimbo, ginger pubes and all? On now until 17th March, Teller’s controversial oeuvre is sure to make you think.

from grimm to reality

Julie Peppiatt

Lots of things have been torn apart.

The wasp’s head hangs suspended from invisible string where a minuscule fairy has ripped it from its body. The Grimm tales have been brought to reality, punctured at the surface and torn apart to make room for new interpretation to be sewn in between the gaps. A mix of physical pieces, print and moving image are composed to form this new exhibit at the Sidney Cooper Gallery.

Many artists have displayed their interpretation of fairy tales throughout the gallery. It begins with print, a few sketched images that would probably do better breaking out of their frames. The exhibition does seem a bit stagnant at the beginning. However, moving further into the gallery there is greater variety, with the most immediate image being a cockerel wearing rabbit fur!

Each image is presented in relation to a tale that has been morphed to the artist’s interpretation. One particular piece stood out to me; rows and rows of fresh roses are preserved beneath glass, an attempt to preserve beauty, and yet inevitably the beauty is fading, dying as time passes. When the glass is taken away the dead roses will fall and hit the floor. As with all the Grimms’ tales, darkness is prevalent; the surreal image

of pressed flowers towering nine foot high is tainted by inevitable death.

Sketches turn to physical art and physical art turns to coloured photography as the exhibit is followed around. Artist Majuri uses stills, as if from a film, to portray narrative.

I’m still unsure if she has used an underwater setting or applied this effect afterwards, but it is exquisite and a

favourite of my friends who also toured the room with me.

The exhibit ends with a moving image piece. This is something to experience even if the rest is not your cup of tea. Fairy tales do not seem to be the focus of this piece; it is more about artistic inspiration and interpretation.

However, the ‘Grimm’ aspect remains.

Sound is used to flesh out the slow moving images, and provide an unnerving setting within the dark room.

Short clips of mumbled voices, ideas and repeated phrases combine to bring about the sound of the thought process.

The ‘spirit’ of writing is thrown out as an idea that shadows the piece like a murder. The idea is never fully explored as the film is only 10 minutes, but it is still explicitly present throughout the changing images on screen. A fear of losing the ‘good spirit’ of writing is actually a haunting one; a concept I could kind of believe once I’d spent 10 minutes in what seemed a mad chamber.

You should see this exhibition if you have any interest in fairy tales, the darker side of childhood myth and art. Leave your mind open, have some patience (the image of a slowly moving cloud did last three minutes), and be ready to experience something new. It’ll be a talking point at least!

looking back at lichtenstein

Sophie Austin

Known for its innovative yet often perplexing displays of modern art, the Tate Modern at London’s Southbank is to host an exciting retrospective exhibition. The show is to celebrate the work of one of Pop Art’s most definitive artists, the American Roy Lichtenstein, whose name you may not be familiar with but whose iconic paintings and sculptures you will most certainly recognise. As the first comprehensive

Lichtenstein exhibition to be hosted in the UK for 20 years, the rarely-seen 125-piece display will no doubt excite art enthusiasts whilst introducing Lichtenstein’s work to a new generation.

With rivalling peers including Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein had a distinctly minimal approach to colour, using a primary colour palate and heavy black outlines which took inspiration from the aesthetics of 1960s comic illustrations and industrialised printing.

Adhering to the comic strip format, the majority of Lichtenstein’s paintings feature a speech bubble of dialogue, usually an outcry of despair, as well as onomatopoeic accompaniments to scenes of destruction.

Lichtenstein’s most idiosyncratic technique was his use of the Ben-Day dot, greatly resembling the pixelated digital images that surround us today, leading his work to transcend eras and sustain relevance. Accordingly, Lichtenstein’s work is frequently adapted for nostalgic advertisements which depict the conventional domesticated housewife, as well as for television sequences such as Desperate Housewives; there are elements of Lichtenstein to be found all across the media.

For readers who are more familiar with traditional fine artists such as Cézanne and Van Gogh, later in his career Lichtenstein began to explore and reproduce masterpieces by such artists, in his habitually opulent colour schemes and outlines. Though we may value the original brushstroke paintings, their transformation into the Pop Art style challenges us to appreciate the pieces as a separate entity.

The retrospective runs from 21st February to 27th May at Tate Modern.

IQ Culture

23

new year’s culture resolution pause for

Chris Wallis

New Year’s Resolutions are hard.

Every year, it’s the same: to trim that waistline, to give up chocolate, to go on a trip around the world. This year, however, it was time for something different: to learn a new language. The idea is that this is something that can be used in later life and will actually be of benefit.

According to one episode of Glee, Spanish is an up-and-coming language that will be the second most popular second language in Europe, after English. With some 400 million speakers, Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. Only Mandarin, English and Hindi have more speakers. Spanish is an official language on four continents and is the mother tongue in 21 countries. The sheer number of Spanish speakers and the language’s rate of growth make learning it a smart choice.

Spain is my parents’ favourite holiday destination and, at 21, I love it nearly as much as they do. Knowing the language makes the

native population even friendlier than they already are. But bear in mind this only works when you are not in a tourist-rich area. You wouldn’t believe how annoying it is when you try the hardest you can to speak a foreign language, only to be answered in return in broken English. So to make it easier, I want to be able to speak it nearly as well as a local. It’s a big aim, but I’ve got a year.

Of course, there is research that indicated knowing and using two languages reduces your chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Other studies show that learning

languages can improve your memory and slow age-related decline in mental acuity. Plus, studying another language makes you smarter! Your critical thinking skills will be improved as you learn to view things through a different lens. Learning a second language stimulates creativity.

Spanish is becoming more and more important with regards to business, and learning it will enable you to better communicate with Spanish speaking employees or co-workers. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to offer your product or service to the 350 million people whose mother tongue is Spanish? In North America, Hispanic consumers are the fastest-growing market segment.

As for job opportunities, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have Spanish on my CV. One thing is certain: If I make myself bilingual, I make myself more marketable and with more career choices than my monolingual counterpart. It’s clear that those with language skills will have the edge in the near future.

my favourite cult film: priscilla

Allison Vernon-Williams

I will never forget the moment, the first time I watched The Lord of the Rings, when the Fellowship first appeared on screen and I snorted my drink in amusement at the sight of drag queen extraordinaire Mitzi Del Bra dressed as an elf. While most people are, I imagine, tickled to see Elrond in a dress the first time they watch this archive choice, I was unaware of the Hugo Weaving role in LOTR; for me, he will always be Antony ‘Tick’ Belrose from Stephan Elliott’s 1994 comedydrama-drag-musical The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

From itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny budget cult movie to massively popular West End show, Priscilla is a camp classic that digs a little deeper under the surface layer of sequins, feathers and insane headpieces. For the uninitiated, a brief summary: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp are two drag queens and a transgender woman travelling across the Australian outback in a beat-up old bus they have christened Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Their destination is Alice Springs, where Tick has secured, through a mysterious connection, a three week run performing their drag act at a casino hotel. En route they

break down, dress up, rehearse their show and gradually wheedle out of Tick how exactly he scored the gig in the first place.

One of the principle joys of Priscilla is its razor-sharp script, with ice-cold ripostes and zingy one-liners dished out 10 to the dozen. The only way to watch this film is to give yourself in to it completely, to just enjoy the madness.

The road trip is a perfect vehicle, as in so many movies, for a look at issues around family and identity, but Priscilla stops short of descending into mushy sentimentality, another perfectly timed dick joke or Abba story there to bring it back down to earth. Where, for the

most part, it stays. The costumes may be outrageous, the music fabulous and the jokes bitchy and hilarious, but at its heart Priscilla is a grounded tale of three friends who have an adventure and learn a bit about life in the process.

Although Priscilla is definitely a stereotypical film in certain respects, it doesn’t have to be defined by that label. Its campy, drag show setting has undoubtedly helped it cross over into more mainstream territory, but it is largely an uncompromising film, far from the trite cliché it could have been.

Camp and superficial in places it may be, but underneath there beats a heart of gold (lamé).

thought

The days are short, the sky is bleak

and the wind is icy at the moment - winter is still in full swing, but without the promise of the bright lights and warmth of Christmas to get us through. Here, then, are a couple of short poems from two great Emilys, which embrace the dark and sometimes ominous winter.

Spellbound The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow.

And the storm is fast descending, And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go.

Emily Brontë

- 1075 The Sky is low – The Clouds are mean.

A Travelling Flake of Snow Across a Barn or through a Rut Debates if it will go – A Narrow Wind complains all Day How some one treated him; Nature, like Us is sometimes caught Without her Diadem.

Emily Dickinson

24

Sport

LEGENDARY CRICKET JOURNALIST DIES AGED 67 Lisa Gheysen Website Culture Editor THE first days of this new year have been ones of mourning for the cricketing community, as they bid goodbye to two of cricket’s best-loved commentators, Tony Greig, former England Test Captain, who passed away of a heart attack on 29th December, and Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who lost his battle against cancer on the 1st January, aged 67.

CMJ, as he was known to listeners on Radio 4’s Test Match Special, embodied the spirit of cricket. Described as “a true gentleman” by many, including former England Captain, Ian Botham, he really was the personification of the values of the sport, the traditions of civility and good sportsmanship it tries to uphold. He was well known for his kindness, especially towards newcomers to his field, though he could have seen them as rivals for his position, and his idiosyncratic and creative style of swearing, notably the curses, “Fotheringay Thomas!” and “Fishcakes and buttercup pie!”

Despite his reputation for absent-mindedness (he once turned up at the wrong ground

on the day of a match, although he was the game’s organiser), lateness and a remarkable proficiency in breaking his technical equipment, he was renowned for his knowledge and scrupulously detailed commentary, playing the straight-man to fellow commentators, such as the fanciful Henry Blofeld with his penchant for describing wildlife around the ground and public transport outside it.

Radio commentary is a difficult art to master and not many can do it. Since there are no visual images to draw the radio listener in, the commentator is relied upon not only to describe what is happening on the pitch, the strokes played by the batsman and the style of ball the bowler gives him, but also to convey the atmosphere of the game, so that the listener can picture the scene and feel a part of the action. Regardless of his lack of professional experience, CMJ’s love for, and commitment to, the game meant he accomplished this with ease. The respect he was given is clear. He held some of the sport’s most prestigious media positions over the years, including cricket correspondent for the BBC, the Daily Telegraph

and the Times. He was, moreover, elected President of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) from 2010 to 2011, a rare honour for a journalist and non-player. As Jonathan Agnew has said, “he was one of cricket’s most respected writers and broadcasters. With modern media now preferring the views

and experiences of former Test cricketers, Christopher’s authority and respect was gained not through a highprofile playing career but a deep-rooted love of the game”.

No one will be able to replace either his soothing voice over the airwaves or his incisive writing for the newspapers. The new

President of the MCC summed up the sense of loss when he said that his organisation “shares the sadness being felt by the cricketing world that [CMJ’s] live commentaries will never be heard again”.

I think I speak for many a cricket fan when I say he will be sorely missed.

LUIS SUAREZ ADMITS DIVING Matthew Leclere

TOUR DE FRANCE RETURNS TO ENGLAND Matthew Mckew THE Tour de France will return to England in 2014.

Leeds will host the Grand Depart, while other stages will run through York and the Olympic Park in London.

Tour Director Christian Prudhomme told the BBC: “Since the resounding success of the Grand Depart in London in 2006, we were very keen for it to return to the United Kingdom.”

The 101st Tour will begin in Leeds on the 5th July. It then starts properly in York, passes through Huddersfield and heads

down towards Sheffield. The third stage will then encompass a route through the Olympic Park and conclude on the Mall.

Support for the globally watched event should be higher than ever as Britain currently has the Tour champion, Bradley Wiggins. Wiggo-mania gripped the country during last year’s Tour and the ensuing London Olympics. Children and adults alike sported the famous sideburns as the Sports Personality of Year 2012 rode to claim Gold in the road time trial.

Popular 23-time stage winner, Mark Cavendish is also likely

to compete, while Chris Froome is expected to lead Team Sky, in his own bid to win the famous Golden Jersey.

The precise route will not be released until nearer the date, but Yorkshire will be keen to show off its rolling hills and aesthetic countryside.

The northern region had to fend off bids from both Edinburgh and Florence.

Businesses will be hoping the Tour can bring about economic benefits. Back in 2007 both Kent and London accrued a huge £150 million after thousands of spectators lined the route.

LIVERPOOL FC manager Brendan Rodgers has said Luis Suarez will be dealt with “internally” by the club after the Uruguayan admitted to diving.

Last Wednesday, the 25-year-old striker told Fox Sports Argentina that he had dived to win a penalty against Stoke in October.

He said: “I was accused of falling inside the box in a match, and it's true I did it that time, because we were drawing against Stoke at home and we needed anything to win it."

But his manager has responded by saying that diving is totally “unacceptable”.

Rodgers said: “It is not something we advocate.

Our ethics are correct. I have spoken to Luis and it will be dealt with internally.

“He has been totally understanding on where I am coming from as manager of the club.

"This is a big club and whatever people do say goes around the world, and what was said was wrong and not acceptable.

“There is no-one bigger than the club or the club's image."

Until Suarez’s admission this week, Rodgers strongly defended his talismanic striker from claims he was a diver

by Stoke boss Tony Pulis.

It is another moment of controversy in Suarez’s career in England that has seen him accused of racially abusing Manchester United captain Patrice Evra.

More recently, he was in the spotlight for scoring a goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 win in the FA Cup against Mansfield.

He appeared to handle the ball in the build up to the deciding goal.

But Suarez believed he was unfairly treated. He said: “The other day a ball hit my hand with no intention at all, and everybody criticised me because I kissed my wrist.”

Sport 25

GUARDIOLA SNUBS CHELSEA FOR BAYERN MUNICH Matthew Mckew PEP Guardiola has announced his return to football.

But, the former Barcelona mastermind has not chosen money-spinning Chelsea.

Roman Ambramovich must have choked on his glass of champagne or triple filtered vodka, as the favourite to take over from the unpopular Benitez snubbed Chelsea for Bayern Munich.

The German club has reached two of the last four finals in the Champions League and currently sit at the head of the Bundesliga table.

The man who both played and coached the Spanish giants could find life hard at Munich, as club favourites like Beckenbauer still have a great deal of sway with the German club’s board.

Even so, these influential legends could prove much easier to handle than the trigger happy Russian, Ambramovich.

Guardiola quit the Catalan giants for a sabbatical at the end of last season, but it seems has had enough of the coffee and hot dogs famously served in his retreat of New York.

The challenge should be a good one. Although the former defensive midfielder managed Barcelona to Champion’s League

success, he will be without the likes of Fifa World XI Iniesta and Xavi, not to mention four time winner of the Ballon D’or, Messi. Bayern Munich boast the likes of Neuer, Ribery, Robben and Schweinsteiger.

But it remains to be seen whether Guardiola has what it takes to manage a club he has no experience of. Despite his

impressive record of 14 trophies in four seasons, he will have to prove he recreate the magic in a different league. Tottenham Hotspur boss Villas-Boas is a classic example of a young manager doing well in one country, but taking a while to adapt to a different league and playing style in another.

With the Spanish maestro

heading off to Germany rather than the Premier League, Chelsea fans will be wondering if their current boss will be given an extended contract.

This would be an unpopular decision especially after poor results against Swansea and Southampton.

Rumours have linked Jose Mourinho to his old job, but

will the Real Madrid boss welcome a return to the Bridge?

The former-Chelsea man has always expressed a love of the club but will he want to reignite the allegedly poor working relationship with the Blue’s Russian supremo?

It was suggested that Roman’s signing of Schevchenko and his failure to acclimatise to the Premier League was a key factor in the back-to-back title winning manager’s fate.

Jose Mourinho could be available despite two years remaining on his contract at Real Madrid.

His already controversial position has come under further scrutiny by a series of poor league results. Chelsea fans would certainly welcome his return; making their feelings heard by chanting his name alongside “Super” Frank Lampard who looks to be on his way out.

Recruiting a different manager to the Bridge could be difficult as the next boss will be Ambramovich’s 10th manager since 2004. Who else would dare to take the increasingly warm hot seat is no longer certain.

Benetiz was appointed as interim-boss after Champions League winning Di Matteo was sacked after a run of poor league and cup results.

VARSITY DATES ANNOUNCED OLYMPICS DOMINATE NEW YEARS HONOURS Alex Cassidy Newspaper Sports Editor THE date of the annual Canterbury competition, Varsity, has been announced, with the action kicking off on Saturday 2nd March. Varsity is a sporting bonanza, featuring Kent vs CCCU, in a battle over all sports to see who is the best in the city. Historically, the tournament has been dominated

by Kent, who have never lost since the event’s conception.

Last year resulted in another win for UKC, with standout squads such as Netball putting together resounding victories, including a 53-19 1st team win. With Netball now firmly established as Kent’s only BUCS Premier League side, the onus is on for another big win.

Kent’s student media will be in full force, covering the entire event for those who miss any of the action.

InQuire will have a featured

pullout special in the newspaper, as well as continuous updates via the website and twitter feeds.

Also, new to 2013 will be KTV’s video coverage of events, which will feature match of the day style programmes, roundup shows and will cover all the big varsity events.

CSR will be updating throughout the competition as to the overall score of varsity, and will be broadcasting live commentary at matches.

This year’s Varsity will be the first to feature Team Kent, launched earlier this season, and with a more streamlined uniform look among UKC’s sports teams, the expectation is on for another Varsity victory for Kent.

Visit www.inquirelive.co.uk for more sporting news from across the University. If you’ve got an opinion we’d love to hear from you!

Edward Wading THE annual New Years Honours List, which announces those who have been awarded various titles including Knighthoods, MBEs and OBEs, featured a throng of Olympic and Paralympic athletes who excelled in the 2012 London games.

The knighthoods featured Tour De France and Gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, as well as sailing maestro Ben Ainslie. Two surprising new Sirs were British cycling director Dave Brailsford and

British rowing director Dave Tanner. One paralympian was also honoured, with multi-sport gold medallist Sarah Storey receiving the only damehood on the list on the back of her impressive four Gold medal haul in cycling last Summer.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Bradley Wiggins was the headlining act this year, who spoke of his surprise and shock at being included: “I never ever imagined that I would ever become a knight so it’s an incredible honour. But there’s a slight element of disbelief and it will take a while to sink in.”

The other awards heavily featured the games stars, with 14 receiving CBEs, OBEs and MBEs. Notably iconic medal winners Jessica Ennis and Mo Farrah who were appointed as Commanders of the British Empire and tennis hero Andy Murray who received an Order of the British Empire to cap off his most successful year to date.

It has been a long-standing tradition to decorate our sporting heroes in the Honours list, and with the 2012 London Games such a major success for the country, it is no surprise to see so many feature this year.

visit our website at - www.inquirelive.co.uk/sport

InQuire sport LANCE ARMSTRONG ADMITS DOPING TO OPRAH

Sam Clemence DISGRACED cyclist Lance Armstrong’s highly anticipated interview with TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey started with the brutally honest admissions that everybody expected.

Oprah didn’t waste time getting to the facts that the sporting rumour mill had been churning around since the news first broke about Armstrong’s deceit: Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance? Answer: “Yes.” In all seven of your Tour de France victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood dope? Answer: “Yes.” The sporting world shook with the one syllable answers, as one of the greatest inspirational stories tore at the seams, transforming into one of the most extravagant cover ups in sporting history.

Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace has been incredible.

He was hailed as one of the greatest athlete’s of his

generation, after surviving testicular cancer he was nearly unstoppable in cycling, winning seven straight Tour De France titles from 1999-2005.

Those titles have all been vacated, now left blank in the record books. At the time of his retirement in 2005, he was praised for his ability to overcome adversity, his outstanding consistency in racing, and his longevity in one of sport’s toughest competitions.

Yet, despite the accolades, there were allegations of doping throughout his career, which with the benefit of hindsight were grossly under looked. A book titled, ‘L.A Confidential, Les secrets de Lance Armstrong’, was released by reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh.

The book claimed to detail the ways in which Armstrong perpetuated a lie and the ways in which he used performance enhancing drugs to aid his performance.

The Times subsequently serialised the book,

leading to a lawsuit from Armstrong, claiming libel.

As Lance Armstrong said at the time: ““I have never had a single positive doping test, and I do not take performance-enhancing drugs.

“We’re sick and tired of these allegations and we’re going to do everything we can to fight them.

They’re absolutely untrue.”

The Times lost the case at the time, settling out of court. In December they filed a lawsuit claiming $1.5 million, seeking a return of the original settlement, plus interest and the cost of defending the original case.

In 2010, following a comeback to cycling, a U.S Federal inquiry was launched into Armstrong’s history, basing it’s investigation on testimonies from former teammates who confirmed they had taken drugs with Armstrong.

However in February last year, the investigation was dropped without any charges.

A followup investigation, led by the United States Anti-Doping Agency found Armstrong guilty

of taking banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions dating back to 1996. The failure to appeal the decision for his titles to be stripped, and the subsequent media pressure led to Armstrong’s interview with Oprah.

The degree to which Armstrong denied and derided those who claimed he was a drug cheat has only added to his soiled reputation.

He was part of a cover-up that has deceived the public for his entire career, and with allegations now emerging of his cancer potentially being caused by abuse of drugs early in his career, his legacy will never recover. Oprah herself posed the question of legacy and lying to Armstrong, stating: “You were defiant, you called other people liars.” To which Armstrong answered: “I understand that. And while I lived through this process, especially the last two years,

one year, six months, two, three months, I know the truth. The truth isn’t what was out there.

The truth isn’t what I said, and now it’s gone - this story was so perfect for so long. And I mean that, as I try to take myself out of the situation and I look at it. You overcome the disease, you win the Tour de France seven times. You have a happy marriage, you have children.

I mean, it’s just this mythic perfect story, and it wasn’t true.”

It was certainly the perfect story, one that we can state is now too good to be true.

The admittance of Armstrong and the uproar that has come along with it has dramatically affected cyclings reputation, a set back that will take a while to recover from, leaving a very uncertain future for the sport.

One certainty with Lance Armstrong however, is that the man once hailed as the greatest athlete of the 20th century, will go down in the history books as one of the biggest drugs cheats in the history of sports.

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