The Futurism Issue (May/June 2013)

york the futurism issue may/june 2013

Editor,s Letter THE FUTURISM ISSUE When we initially gave away the theme of this issue it was met with slight confusion. ‘Futurism’ in a historic city such as York? Are we alluding to the art movement, the future or modernism of some form? Our answer was “All of the above.”

In a city like York we are quite rightly saturated with history and concepts of our past identity, yet there is something entirely different brewing on the horizon. With our increasingly forward-thinking scientists, businesses, design studios and companies within the city there is very much a sense that we are metaphorically retrofitting York. We will never wish to lose our past, as it is part of every one of us living here, yet there are the makings of a new infrastructure beginning to line our streets. Even City of York Council is on board with the grand retrofit of their West Offices.

As ever, we went on a journey through our theme. We uncovered an impending apocalypse, dystopian landscapes and our own interpretation of the future of York. We looked to the scientists making waves here, explored the city’s exploding science fiction scene and took a trip to a Blade Runner inspired fashion world in ‘Deckard’s Dream’.

We feel confident that the future is bright, with a sense of community and artistic excellence on the rise. This isn’t a dystopia we foresee, but something to celebrate, something to have fun with which will encourage forward thinking.

Cover Art: Illustration: Aled Haywood, Photography: Joel Smith Cover Stars: Sir Ron Cooke and Charlotte Burton (Boss Model Management)

VICKY PARRY Editorial Director

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Cover Illustration - Aled Haywood Nathan Markham Vincent Danks Rob Johnson

James Arden, Matt Keay Deborah Henderson Pete Wise, Max Gee Lewis Pennock, Millie Douce Ross Kennedy, Jack Harrop John Donnelly

Joel Smith at Abraxo Sam Forbes-Walker, Jackie Lisby, Flavio, Geraint Rowland Keith Laverac, Martin Pettitt Paolo Camera

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With special thanks to: Key Fund Yorkshire, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Ian Walker & Co, Jack Casling (Choir of Vision), The Beautiful Meme, Rural Creative, Urquhart-Dykes & Lord LLP, David Thompson (Versus Goliath) One&Other is published by: One&Other CIC, 3 Apollo Street, York, YO10 5AP

con tents INFORM The Brief New Plans for York’s Public Spaces Discovering the Undercroft

04 06 10

CULTURE The Considerate Trespasser Red Rhino The Crash

12 16 18

CONSUME Deckard’s Dream World Changers

34 40

DO Calendar May/June Theatre Listings Music Listings

46 50 60

THINK Unsilence the Violence Retrofitting York Festival of Ideas

66 68 74

4 inform / the brief

The Considerate trespasser

Red Rhino

T h e

the crash

sci-fi

harker

B r i e f

Life on Earth: An Alien’s View Local author Matt Haig’s latest novel, Humans, tells the story of life on Earth from an alien’s perspective. It has been described

by Jeanette Winterson as “Troubling, thrilling, puzzling, believable and impossible. Matt Haig uses words like a tin-opener. We are the tin”. There is also an upcoming film adaptation of

the book to be made by Tanya Seghatchian, who co-produced Harry Potter and the film adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which has been compared to Humans due to its thought-provoking tone.

Humans launches at Waterstones in York on 9th May.

Park & Pedal City of York Council have teamed up with local businesses to launch a new Park & Pedal initiative - the first of its kind in the UK. Taking inspiration from a successful system in Indiana, USA, York’s own attempt aims to encourage commuters to leave their cars behind and cycle into the glorious city centre. As

encouragement, commuters will be able to park in the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet car park for free before they cycle into town. On top of this free parking, those who sign up to the initiative could get a 10% discount at several shops within the Designer Outlet.

Zeitgeist Bleak Flamboyance

Looking Great with Gatsby

Black is back. Seen at Marc Jacobs and Celine, amongst others, a cacophony of monochrome delights is set to stun the High Street over the coming months. In a society obsessed by colour and ‘brightening’ our wardrobes, we are quite happy to wallow in raven-like hues. For those of us that want to further this flamboyant edge, go and try Saturday night at The Pink Pony on Gillygate for their Paradise Showgirl’s drag show. Or alternatively put your troubles aside and revel in the glory that is Priscilla: Queen of the Desert as its tour lands in Grand Opera House in May. Feeling too slobbish now? There really is no excuse.

With the imminent release of The Great Gatsby on the big screen, the style of the dandy/flapper has never been more in demand. Veiled looks from the likes of Roberto Cavalli and Reed Krakoff can be bought from the wonderful array of vintage shops in town. This idyllic image needn’t be a pipedream, as Pure Lindy congregate every Wednesday evening at Pitcher & Piano to teach Charleston and chat in a relaxed and thoroughly nostalgic environment.

DEVELOPERS BUY CHOCOLATE WORKS The city has welcomed the news that two of the UK’s leading property companies have bought The Chocolate Works - the former Terry’s factory.

Henry Boot Developments Ltd and York housebuilder David Wilson Homes have acquired the whole 27 acre site, creating up to 200 new construction jobs as residential units, offices, hotels and shops look set to be built on the site.

The first step for the new owners is to safeguard the listed buildings on the site which have fallen into disrepair in recent years, such as the iconic Terry’s tower.

Want to resemble Gatsby and the gang without the bank burning price tag? Head down to Britain Does Vintage at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall on 19th May.

York to star in new BBC One series Screen Yorkshire has joined the production team for the television adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s award-winning novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

They will be working alongside production companies such as BBC America, Endemol Worldwide Media, and more to produce the seven-part series for

BBC One. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell blends fantasy and mystery with 19th Century history to weave a complex and compelling plot. Much of the story is set in Yorkshire, and its most iconic scene takes place at the York Minster. The drama is due to begin filming in the UK and Canada from this summer.

6 inform / new plans for york’s public spaces

Grand Designs for , York s Public Spaces

We’re said to be currently living in the Urban Millennium, with the world reaching a tipping point of more urban than rural inhabitants.

On top of making things a little crowded, the milestone raises some important questions, not least of how we choose to live together.

Following the lead of renowned urban utopias such as Berlin, Barcelona, and San Francisco, Reinvigorate York has been busy making subtle improvements to our open spaces and movement throughout the city centre over the last couple of years. It’s a mix of serious sustainable urbanism policy in action and a desire to generally make the place look prettier. All whilst making the most our peerless inherited backstory.

This transformation of York’s economic, cultural and recreational offer is to take on a whole new guise soon, with plans for a trial to restrict access to Lendal Bridge for motor vehicles during the daytime hours going to cabinet vote in May. Running for six months from August, it is hoped the trial will complement other public space initiatives already underway to unclog the cultural artery of the city. These include the recent uplift of Library Square and a whole lot of de-cluttering and improvement of signage, seating, pathways and lighting on the route between the Station and Minster, which constitutes many people’s first impression of the city if arriving by train. Bit by

bit (and assuming the trial goes ahead), the creation of a promenade from the station to York’s cultural heartland will do justice to the significant investment (over £14m) that is taking place around the Art Gallery, York Theatre Royal and St Leonard’s Place. Acting as a microcosm of the city’s offering, the area’s allure to shoppers, tourists or businesses day and night - will receive a big boost.

York Art Gallery and its frontage Exhibition Square are currently undergoing major refurbishment and extension work but are blighted by heavy congestion. It’ll be interesting to see the impact of the trial on the freeflow of people’s movement and whether it can awaken us out of autopilot on our daily commutes. Mind you, it’s not a new concept.

A similarly bold intervention was made in the 1980s with the creation of the city centre footstreets and we’ve never looked back.

For that reason it feels like a generational rethink rather than an overthink of the relationship between people, place and traffic within York. Naturally it will evoke a very personal perspective, however for us it instinctively feels right.

8 inform / new plans for york’s public spaces

And dare we say it… better. When you take a step back and start thinking as an architect it’s not hard to see how the area currently repels any meaningful interaction between people. One can only glean so much joy waiting for a bus in the rain as the current space permits.

If the future dictates we have to live together in more confined spaces it’s important they function happily and safely. Why not inject a little human warmth into the equation too. Moving away from the cocoons of privacy that cars provide towards more shared spaces - shared, that is, by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians - will encourage more social serendipity and general meandering.

As advocates of the Slow Movement and firm believers in the power of communities, we’re sold.

the people holding them, so do public realms about their inhabitants. Caring and daring to think beyond the next few years may well breed a new generation of more demanding residents who want to play an active role in shaping the city in which they live. Should they wish to see change, they spark it.

Of course it will be a nuisance for some and others will question the level of investment. Bringing the argument back to traffic for a moment, it is perfectly reasonable to predict the closure of Lendal Bridge to private motor vehicles will cause some initial upheaval and displacement of congestion. However, that is presumably the purpose of a trial - to test a theory in the real world before making a more permanent decision.

Shared spaces encourage more social serendipity

On that front it seems as if York’s transformation is much more than a few noteworthy developments. There seems to be a real ambition to change the way the city lives and breathes.

It’s said that good design is demand-led. So what might be on our collective wishlist for a liveable city of the future? One might start by looking beyond the human element for a moment. The urge to redevelop is also a statement of York’s offer and ambition. Just as magazines say something about

The reinvestment in our public spaces bodes well for the longawaited redevelopment of other areas of the city such as Fossgate, Parliament Street, Coppergate/Piccadilly junction and the redesign of Newgate Market. All are due to begin next year with a Micklegate makeover to follow in 2015. All are in need of some TLC. If, like us, you believe in the romance of city life, it’s an exciting prospect.

In Brief:

The Lendal Bridge Traffic Trial Cars and motorbikes would be prevented from using the bridge between 10:30am and 5pm every day

The two-way restriction would be enforced with ANPR cameras based at the Rougier Street end of the bridge

The trial would commence during the summer holiday period in August 2013

The trial would cost £170,000, funded by the Government’s Better Bus Area Fund and council’s capital programme for infrastructure schemes

10 inform / discovering the undercroft

discovering the undercroft

We’re lucky to be in one of the most archaeologically rich cities in the country. The many excavations during major development projects over recent decades have revealed Roman roads, the Viking City, and create a vivid picture of medieval York.

However, it is only when you get to the heart of the city that the layers of history can be peeled back one by one - and nowhere is this more true than in the ground beneath York Minster.

Work started on the current medieval Minster nearly 800 years ago, but this magnificent cathedral was not the first incarnation of the building - York’s first Minster was constructed from wood in 627 AD as a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. Even before Edwin’s Minster, the site played a crucial role in York’s history as the Headquarters of the Roman Army where Constantine, first Christian Roman Emperor, was based, and today archaeologists are still discovering the earliest origins of York Minster, from the Roman to the Viking Age.

On 25th May at 12 noon, Revealing York Minster, a new underground attraction beneath the cathedral will open to the public. The surprisingly vast space that it occupies, known as the Undercroft, is thoroughly modern, not only in its use of the latest 21st Century interpretative techniques, but in features such as the impressive 20th Century concrete footings, a 1970s engineering innovation supporting the Central Tower, which was found to be at imminent risk of collapse in the late 1960s. Following rescue excavations, underground chambers were created which have now become centrepieces of the new visitor attraction; they may not have the Gothic arches that you see above ground level, but instead provide the opportunity for a much more interesting and fully immersive historical journey that tells the story of two millennia at the site.

In the new attraction, walls from York’s Roman barracks, which housed soldiers and statesmen, can be seen preserved beneath contemporary glass walkways, a painted plaster mural has been reassembled in the place where it stood over 1600 years ago; all fingerprints of the past which remained buried for centuries. And more recent discoveries - including a tiny Anglo Saxon coin discovered last year during the construction of a lift shaft - join the displays, filling in some of the historical gaps found in most guidebooks of York.

This space feels so different from the haunting cathedral that sits above your head, but let your mind wander and you can feel the ghostly echoes of York’s glorious past all around you.

If it was located anywhere else in the city, this behind glass cases; here, although beautifully subterranean attraction may be viewed simply as a displayed in cabinets built around the stone arches, museum capturing the essence of York. However, you get a sense that they are simply waiting to be its location beneath the working church transforms used once again and, indeed, those attending key it into a vibrant experience where you are services in the cathedral today may see priceless surrounded by living treasures. You might expect chalices once again filled with wine as they continue The York Gospels - a 1,000 year old illuminated to place a role in ceremonial life. Here history is manuscript - to be in a alive and breathing: a sealed cabinet, never to rare place where all times be touched by human co-exist, where the legacy Revealing York hand lest the delicate left by people of the past pages be damaged, but is cherished and living.

Minster is a fully this remarkable book is immersive historical And this is what makes regularly used in services journey that tells in the cathedral above, Revealing York Minster when Deans and Canons well worth a visit. It does the story of two are sworn into office. not simply represent millennia history as something As you leave chambers locked in the past, it which reveal first the demonstrates how we history, then the living stories of those who continue to evolve our understanding of ancient currently work within York Minster, you step back history, and how new history is being made every into one of the original, medieval underground single day. chambers - York Minster’s Treasury, which houses many of the ceremonial items collected over the centuries to be used in services. Again, in any other Revealing York Minster will open to setting, these would be priceless antiques untouched the public on 25th May at 12 noon.

12 culture / the considerate trespasser

Meeting the considerate trespasser Indulging his sudden curiosity to find out what was inside while walking past an abandoned building led Sam Forbes-Walker to discover the delights of urban exploration. Four years on, the amateur photographer has created a stunning portfolio in the form of an award-winning blog.

14 culture / the considerate trespasser While living in Birmingham a few years ago, Sam walked past a clearly abandoned building. Seized by the sudden desire to find out what was inside, he simply jumped over the fence, let himself in and started taking pictures.

“It turned out to be an old piano warehouse, and nowhere near as interesting as I wanted it to be,” says Sam. “But it sparked something and I started looking for somewhere else to explore.”

He soon discovered the huge online community of urban explorers and stumbled across one of the biggest forums, 28dayslater.com, which introduced him to like-minded people, all focused on shedding light on forgotten and abandoned buildings all over the world.

Risky business In the UK, trespassing isn’t a criminal offence and Sam is clear that breaking in is not an option. “If I

can’t let myself in without damaging the building, then I don’t go in. It’s that simple.”

And although this has led to him missing out on some promising sites, he has found plenty of buildings to explore, including abandoned factories, schools, warehouses, convents and asylums. It’s clear that for Sam, this is about uncovering forgotten glimpses of the past, often before developers move into a site and its original use is lost forever. It’s an art form the last gasp of a moment in time.

Ghost buildings The beauty and richness of some of the buildings Sam has visited is extraordinary. His most recent urbex adventure was in a recently abandoned convent. “I do all the research after I visit so I wasn’t fully sure what to expect,” he said. “I didn’t expect to find beds still made, the power still on, books still on shelves... It was completely untouched.”

After Sam captured his haunting images of this beautiful, evocative building, it was sealed off, leading to the very real possibility that his pictures are a last glimpse of a rare and alien way of life.

kept rooms is always exciting. Abandoned hospitals and asylums are also completely fascinating, although I pretty much always find something of interest at every site.”

Sam was convinced by his girlfriend to start a blog to document his urbexing - and consideratetrespassing. blogspot.co.uk was born. A couple of years later he’d gained such a following that he found himself a Blog North Award Winner for 2012. Not bad for a hobby started on a whim!

Relying on word of mouth, research and tip-offs from the community has stood Sam and his friends in good stead - they have visits to hundreds of sites all over the world planned. He also draws on his strong family links with York and the surrounding area.

Sam has his eye on sites in Scotland, the US and Ukraine, where he’s very keen to explore Chernobyl.

Although it’s a criminal offence in other countries, it’s not going to stop him cataloguing these buildings before they disappear forever.

“My favourite sites are probably the religious ones, as there is always so much to document,” he says.

“Stumbling across statues, frescoes and beautifully

Check out consideratetrespassing.blogspot.co.uk or follow Sam on Twitter (@c_trespass) for an endlessly fascinating insight into the abandoned buildings you never even knew were there.

Written by Deborah Henderson

The closed order convent had recently moved its three remaining sisters to other premises and for a few weeks, perhaps months, it remained a ghost building, complete with large cemetery for the sisters who died there - a shrine to all the women who lived, breathed and died within its walls.

16 culture / red rhino records

Red Rhino: The Post Punk Record Revolution Nowadays it seems like most people’s conception of what a York-based record label can achieve is restricted to local successes, niche victories and noble flashes in the proverbial pan. History begs to differ.

The fact of the matter is that from the late 1970s until 1988 York was home to one of the most successful and nationally influential underground record labels in the country. Red Rhino Records was founded by Bradfordborn Tony Kostrzewa (that’s ‘Tony K’ to you tongue-tied sorts) and operated from a record store base on Gillygate a la London’s Rough Trade. Red Rhino operated as part of The Cartel, a wholesaling cooperative of independent labels/record shops from around the country.

Using this nationwide framework, Tony K and his label succeeded in facilitating the rise of numerous iconic bands and sub-genres, providing archetypal dance-floor art-rockers and all-round cultural giants Pulp with the platform for their first record releases and putting out efforts by counter-culture colossi like Butthole Surfers, The Mekons, and Front 242 along the way.

Operating from his Gillygate store, Tony K managed to balance running a truly national enterprise with maintaining a real engagement with York’s local music scene. At its height the label operated a warehouse on Eldon Street as its centre for distribution and relocated its record shop to a larger premises on Goodramgate. In the words of The Creepers frontman Marc Riley: “Red Rhino was a brilliant place to be. The warehouse was full of enthusiastic kids bouncing around, with records everywhere and bands industriously putting records in sleeves.”

Tony Kostrzewa sadly passed away on 1st May 2008. His legacy is a pretty considerable one, as without the work done by Red Rhino Records in York throughout much of the eighties, a generation of talented underground bands would have gone largely undiscovered.

It just goes to show what a local record label in York can achieve with a little drive and belief.

With support from our community, I find it hard to see why York’s independent labels (Bad Paintings and Well Weapon for instance) couldn’t go national, global, do a Red Rhino and export our finest musical talent to the wider world. Now we just need the next Tony K to step up to the plate…

Written by Pete Wise

Tony Kostrzewa and his wife Gerri racked up some pretty major achievements as the driving force behind Red Rhino Records from 1979 until the label’s unfortunate demise in 1988, driving 500k+ sales (slightly bizarrely) for punk act Toy Dolls’ cover of ‘Nellie the Elephant’ whilst helping to spread the word

about ultra-credible acts like The Wedding Present, Sisters of Mercy, Chumbawumba and (your correspondent’s personal favourite) Red Lorry Yellow Lorry.

The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is one of York’s medieval marvels Set in beautiful gardens, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is open to the public as a museum, wedding and hospitality venue and meeting place some 650 years after construction began in 1357.

Discover the Hall and its unique collections through a free audio tour and interactive exhibits.

The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall Fossgate, York, YO1 9XD www.theyorkcompany.co.uk

Get in contact at: 01904 654818 enquiries@theyorkcompany.co.uk

Serving craft/world beer, rare spirits, bespoke cocktails, fine wines and charcuterie.

Available for corporate/private hire.

Opening times, 5 until late Wednesday - Sunday. 01904 620230

1, little stonegate York yo1 8ax.

twitter@sotanoyork

Sotano

a short story by max gee

Callie enjoyed floating by the Minster on her lunch break. She out-stared the gargoyles, chewing sandwiches, wondering what it was like only seeing them from ground. The gothic cathedral was now below the water level, surrounded by a huge flood wall built to stop York’s canal system pouring in.

As she idled, a courier on a jet-cycle - an amphibious cross between a jet-ski and a motorcycle - sped out of the Petergate Canal like a demon. They saw each other too late. Bang! They crashed with such force he was flung into the water, followed by her sandwich and bags of coffee. Callie braced to keep the boat upright, just managing to grab the coffeegrinder before it dropped into the murky depths.

Furious, she rounded on him as he came spluttering up. His helmet was cracked, leaking water around one of his blue eyes. The eye looked so apologetic that she stalled. The courier remembered his job, scrambled onto his jet-cycle and was gone before Callie noticed the twisted dent on her boat.

Panicked, she checked the engine, gas tank, coffee making equipment - no major casualties.

An alarm clock buzzed. “B****cks,” Callie spat.

Time for her next shift. She fought between her anger to chase him and need to do her job. Money was tight; Callie’d been sleeping in her boat. “Gotta do what you love, lass”, her Dad said when he taught her the waterways. She was a canal brat, floating

barista to the core, so despite the struggle, there wasn’t anywhere Callie would rather be. “You can catch that water rat while you work”, she grumbled, tacking away from the Minster.

She served cappuccinos to the solicitors in slick offices, followed by espressos to students late for classes. A courier rattled past too close. Her courier?

Callie shouted after them. But as they turned she realised it was a female courier.

On Coney Canal Callie slipped between two brimming tourist ferries. A chirpy guide recited the York story: ice caps melting, water levels rising, dwindling funds for flood defences so the York residents found a radical solution. York really was the new Venice of the North. Callie blew the smell of coffee at the tourists and did a nice bit of extra trade before catching up with her next customer, the Barnitt’s hardware barge. The huge behemoth spluttered along covered in everything from toiletseats to spanners. Callie flicked the filter coffee machine on and prepped a take-out cup.

“Yo, Kyle.” She shouted. A grey guy’s head popped out between some lampshades.

“Just dealing with a customer.” Kyle disappeared.

Callie heard him negotiating prices with someone out the other side followed by the telltale noise of a jet-cycle. Callie nudged her boat out of the barge’s

shadow and caught a flash of the courier with a cracked helmet as he shot into the alleys. “Where’s he going?” Callie asked Kyle, chucking him the coffee. “Veg towers, why?”

Callie slammed the throttle and shot up Coney Canal to cut him off before he got near the Swinegate Municipal Farm AKA Veg Towers. No noise or pollution from engines was allowed near the skyscrapers covered in edible walls; hanging gardens, allotment style. Fate wasn’t on her side.

Callie saw his jet-cycle wake by the entrance.

Knocking the engine off, she bobbed in on the artificial current.

At the floating market it was impossible to see the courier amongst the wooden boats piled high with fresh veggies. When she finally found him he was collecting a bag, laughing about his cracked helmet with the vendor. There were too many boats between them. She’d never catch him that way. But Callie wasn’t beaten; she swung into a different exit then gunned it down the Goodram-Expressway.

She darted between boats, ignoring their owners’ curses, focused on revenge. Livid, she burst out by the Minster and spotted him idling ahead. She’d show him. Callie rushed the courier at ramming speed. He heard and turned, that blue eye terrified.

At the last second she swung right, soaking him in spray.

Laughing, she pulled alongside. “That’ll teach you to watch where you’re going.” He removed his helmet, damp strands of hair clung to his face.

But he looked, to Callie’s confusion, relieved. “I hoped you’d pass here again.” He held the dripping bag towards her. Callie eyed it like an unexploded bomb. “Sorry... my first day and I did this...” Callie suspiciously opened the bag. It was brimful with sandwiches, all different flavours. “I didn’t know what you’d had.” He rubbed his hair, awkward. He opened the jet-cycle’s storage and pulled out metal patches, nearly falling off. Callie burst out laughing.

After a nervous moment he joined her.

Callie inwardly groaned, unable to stay mad. She rummaged for a sandwich she liked then threw the bag at him. “Want a coffee?”

Max Gee is predominately a screenwriter and was represented by the Bohrman Agency in Los Angeles. Her scripts have made her a quarter-finalist in The BlueCat 2013 Screenplay Competition and a finalist in the 19th TV Writer People’s Pilot Competition.

Max also enjoys writing both prose and plays. She currently teaches creative writing to secondary school pupils and is a founding member of the York Screenwriters Guild.

20 create13

CREATE13 The talent of graduating Faculty of Arts students will be on display between 13th May and 1st June as York St John University and key venues across the city open their doors to the public to exhibit work from their final year of study in the Arts as part of the University’s Create13 festival.

Work on show during the festival will include music, theatre and dance performances, fine art and product design exhibitions, and film and TV screenings.

Most performances, exhibitions and screenings are free of charge (or great value), with some requiring booking in advance.

Dance Dance Trail 21 May (13:00-16:00)

Blink One 22 May (18:30-20:00)

The audience are taken on a tour of the city of York to view innovative dance performances and site-specific work.

A performance event presenting four new choreographic works, celebrating the eclectic and experimental work made by YSJ dance students.

Lean On Me 22 May (14:00-16:00)

Blink Two 23 May (18:30-20:00)

Theatre, dance, music and writing based on the Bill Withers song ‘Lean On Me’.

A performance event presenting four choreographic works by Year 3 Dance students, with a finale in partnership with Dance United.

Film & TV

Short Film Showcase 18-23 May (10:00-16:00) Public screenings of final year short films. No booking required, just call in and take a seat!

Annual showcase of the creations of Product Design graduates before they take up key design positions across the world.

No booking required.

Fine Art Exhibition 18 May - 1 June (daytime) Graduates of BA (Hons) Fine Arts at York St John University explore art in all its dimensions and across wide-ranging contexts. The works on show are as eclectic as the artists.

No booking required.

MUSIC Lunchtime Concerts 13-16 May (12:30-1:15) Four lunchtime concerts in one week: feast your ears on solo and ensemble playing from YSJU musicians, including new music by student composers.

No booking required.

Evening Music Concert 21 May (19:30) Tickets £5

End of Year Concert 30 May (19:30) Tickets £5

Hear Karl Jenkins’ ‘Mass for Peace’, arguably his finest work to date, in York’s beautiful Guildhall.

The final opportunity to hear some of the outstanding work of the year, presented by YSJU music staff and students.

Theatre

FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT:

www.yorksj.ac.uk/create Booking [where required]...

Theatre performances 13 May - 1 June An eclectic mix of performances created from a theatre programme that asks students to be contemporary, relevant, creative and aware of the world around them. With over 40 shows on offer, please visit the festival website for further information.

Dance danceatcreate13.eventbrite.co.uk Music yorksj.ac.uk/performancetickets Theatre theatreatcreate.eventbrite.co.uk

Image by Erika Glover

BA (Hons) Product Design 18 May - 31 May (daytime)

Art & Design

22 culture / Sci-fi in york

Sci Fi in York: The Demise of Consensus Reality

Image by Nathan Markham

We had the chance to talk to Alex Willmott, composer of the Selah Trilogy and a herculean presence in the genre. Alex currently breathes life into his adopted hometown through scripting his action right in the centre of our city. His most recent contribution, A Beautiful Fall, locates the narrative in contemporary York, wrapping the city into the mortar of his plot.

He says, “I guess it’s about trying to anchor a stream of reality throughout the fantasy. And my reality is very much in this great city. York lends itself to fantasy.” Frankly, we agree with Willmott, “It’s not hard to imagine a furry little Bimsong scurrying down Stonegate to flee a fallen officer-priest.”

He insists “York has mystery. And it’s this elusive essence of historical wonder that can be seen in the Selah books.”

“Anyone who spends more than ten minutes in York and fails to find inspiration is probably clinically dead.” We concur, they haven’t even lived. “In Selah, it often feels like the realm itself is whispering to the creatures. I’d like to think York does more than whisper. York is a canvas for a creator. But like any place of wonder, it is the people who provide the pulse. And I’ve met enough pioneers, adventurers, teachers, poets and thinkers here to fill a thousand books. Sadly, Selah is just a trilogy.”

Another local sci-fi author and avid blogger, Jessica Meats proffered a few opinions on our unlikely community too. Jessica uses York as the bedrock for her prose, manipulating an amazing amalgam of terror, tech and the extra-terrestrial through the cobbled lanes of York. “I set Omega Rising in

York because it amused me to picture York as the site of alien activity. York as a city is known for its history. It’s not likely to be pictured as the setting for a conflict between alien forces…” As the voids of space empty their bowels into York, Jessica spares a little time to chuckle at the juxtaposition which exposes the pretensions of perception. York is more versatile than some would have you believe. Jessica is certainly a little tongue-in-cheek when it comes to warping the typecast of the city. But, that’s our favourite place for a tongue to be.

Jessica isn’t the only one to spy York’s potential.

The independent videogame developer Insomniac Games did too, setting the first map of the 2007 release Resistance: Fall of Man in York. Jessica believes in the power of sci-fi, firstly to enable “people to explore human behaviour under circumstances that people never experience in normal life.” (Fleeing mutilated alien-brutes as sporadic gunfire gutters overhead is certainly one of those circumstances.)

And secondly to navigate our imaginations to the future, “so we can build the future we want.”

James Jarvis planted himself firmly in the annals of Jorvik achievement, not only by contributing to sci-fi but by building such a future. Jarvis graduated from the University of York with a History degree, a voracious thirst for fantasy and an imagination that played host to the enrapturing paragon of prose, The Midgard Knight. Sadly, James died in 2011, leaving the legacy his amaranthine imagination promised incomplete. But his opus lives on. The novel stands as a progenitor, inspiring those who encounter it and affirming a towering standard for York authors. All profits from The Midgard Knight go to a bursary, provisioning York university students, and his efforts stand as a beacon of encouragement for authors the nation over.

Thanks to authors like Jarvis, Willmott and Meats, the beneficent relationship between sci-fi and York is unmistakably confirmed. With a little luck, the city will continue to enmesh its horizons with the inimitable world of science fiction.

Written by John Donnelly

Atop the battlements of York or snarled within the labyrinthine crypts beneath us, it is easy to consign oneself to the belief that the city is defined only by the rich history forged within its walls. All parishes, pubs and limestone, wrought with spectral sojourns that pepper the night in toothless competition. But there are forces at play within the walls beyond castellation and turgid antiquity. Science-fiction is rampant.

24 culture / Harker

The Lighter Side of Crime York is hardly a city starved of creativity. Throw a decently-sized rock and you’ll hit at least one of the writers, filmmakers, musicians or actors filling up the pavements with their steely determination and infectious joie de vivre. Among these creatives, however, are a number of individuals less celebrated, less noticed, perhaps. Meet Roger Gibson.

Gibson is a writer and currently works for Titan Comics from the heart of York. His new graphic novel series in partnership with illustrator Vince Danks, Harker, is a marvellous patchwork cop drama, complete with bickering partners, a mixture of moody and hopeful settings and a dark, dark humour. Gibson claims that “The starting point was to attempt to create the best British TV detective drama we could come up with, but doing it as a comic strip.”

Harker is an interesting beast, as Gibson has chosen to mould the title into a “reaction to the unrelenting grimness of current TV police dramas, and the even darker, often violent nature of much of the crime genre in comics and graphic novels these days.” I ask him if the importance of humour plays much of a part in the writing process, if some comic relief is required to break up all the melancholy. “I felt there was room for a return to lighter, breezier dramas; the kind of things I enjoyed in my youth.” Gibson is a fan of Columbo, and it shows

wonderfully through his writing. In fact, he told me, “There’s nothing else like it on TV, it has a formula that’s only ever been used in that show, and for me it’s pretty unbeatable.”

The set-up of Harker is deliciously simple and Gibson’s writing lifts the story off the pages. What he has achieved is the transposing of all the interesting bits from your favourite TV dramas - Cracker, Wire in the Blood, Waking the Dead, etc.

- into one story, deftly cutting out all the flabby, unnecessary, gratuitous parts. Gibson adds, “Crime seems to always have to equate to dark, rainy alleyways and far too many people getting shot and horribly beaten up... It’s the solving of clues and the light humour between our leads that most interests me.”

Harker began life as “one of these self-published comics, initially appearing as a twelve issue monthly series”. Gibson and Danks have worked tirelessly on it since that time,

Gibson seems to agree with me on the attractiveness of York as a setting for Harker, and recognises the universal appeal of London. “There are certain cities in the UK which have a specific feel about them, a specific character – York is one of them, obviously, and then there’s London, Edinburgh, Manchester – but everyone knows London well, so it seemed the ideal starting point before we send them off on their travels.” Gibson also discussed his love of futurist architecture. “Or at least the ideal of it,” he remarks. “The built reality often seems to look a little brutal and uncompromising, but some of the early futurist drawings are just sublime. I have a general interest in any unusual architecture, and it does figure in Harker, though in the first book we’ve strayed more towards the gothic.”

Harker is the kind of graphic novel that the kind of person who doesn’t read graphic novels should pick up. Everyone is familiar with ‘teatime and beyond’ police dramas, saturating the market since Dragnet, but what Gibson has managed to do it distill the tired tropes of these over-familiar programmes into a sound, entertaining, inspiring tome. If that doesn’t get him noticed, what will?

Images by Vincent Danks www.vincentdanks.com

Written by Matt Keay

and are now being published in book form by Titan Books, with a new 120-page graphic novel coming out every year. The Book of Solomon has already been released, and Gibson told me that they are “working on the third book as we speak, with Book Two due out around August of this year.” I ask him if the action will stay in London, or if the characters will be solving crimes in other parts of the world, as York, in particular is crying out for a quality drama to be set within its walls. He replied, “We’re actually going to be moving them around a lot. Book Two takes place in Whitby, and for Book Three we’re taking them to New York.”

One&other Tv Listings

www.oneandother.tv

The Playlist York Acoustic

The Culturalist Behind the scenes of Smoko

Discover the process behind the production of an ambitious branded dystopian fantasy inspired by seminal 80s sci-fi epic, Blade Runner, featuring some of the best filmmaking talent in the region.

York Acoustic collaborates with local musicians to showcase their music through personal and intimate videos. York Acoustic is set to return to One&Other TV with more sessions featuring local artists and groups.

Once

The Brief

the Leather shop

An Old Boy Goes Racing

We take a glimpse into York’s past above an old city centre leather shop, a former base of operations for a thriving saddle-making business.

The Guestlist Are you a filmmaker and want to appear on One&Other TV?

Get in touch at hello@oneandother.tv

Follow York’s very own budding Schumacher on his petrol-fuelled journey around Britain’s favourite circuits.

For Good Macmillan Raceday

Macmillan’s single biggest fundraising event is entering its forty-third year and One&Other TV will be there to see the drama unfold and reveal the personal stories at the heart of it.

York City Market Update Local Trends With a property market that’s holding up to the pressures highlighted by the economy, York is one of the North’s star performers.

Ben Pridden, Residential Director at Savills on Micklegate takes us through the details.

Applicant levels up on 2012 “This has been one of the most promising starts in the last 5 years, and we are looking ahead at this year with reasonable optimism.

Savills York office has seen a very positive start to 2013, with an increase of around 32% of new buyers.”

Value of the regions v London “The value gap between London and the country is currently at it’s widest ever level.

We feel we have now reached a ‘tipping point,’ triggering more interest from outside Yorkshire and towards London. Indeed so far this year we have witnessed nearly one in four (24%) of our viewing customers coming from out of the region, which is higher than at any point in the last 12 months.”

Sensible valuing leads to sales “In recent months we have achieved in excess of 95% of our guide prices. We believe in giving realistic advice, which is not always what owners want to hear. This maximises the vendor’s chance of selling their home in a reasonable period of time. The market is price sensitive, but there is currently a greater chance of achieving a premium in town than out.”

We only deal with one type of home: Yours.

“We are lucky enough to deal with all types of property, from apartments and town houses Ben Pridden Residential Director 01904 617820 bpridden@savills.com

savills.co.uk

Where do our UK buyers come from? n n n n n n n

York 33.3% North Yorkshire 21.9% West Yorkshire 12.5% Greater London 6.3% East Riding of Yorkshire 6.3% South Yorkshire 2.1% Rest of UK 17.7%

Source: Savills Research

to pretty country cottages and large country homes. Many clients think we only deal with the latter, yet in fact last year our average home sale value was £630,000. In York most of our clients’ properties are under £750,000.

So whether you own a city centre apartment, town house, country cottage or larger family home, we will do our best to put you in touch with the right buyer.”

28

culture / Apocalypse york!

Written by James Arden, Image by Rob Johnson

APOCALYPSE YORK!

Read the news lately? Snow in spring, financial woes and economic collapse, increased resistance to antibiotics and nuclear threats. Sometimes, the future - despite any perceived scientific and cultural change - hardly seems promising.

The apocalypse might not be here yet, but Yorkbased production company MilesTone Films has been exploring such a scenario since 2008. Their

Worldwide nuclear war has come and gone. The air is breathable again. Luckily, York’s structures remain intact for the most part. Where do you choose to live?

MW: I’d go somewhere grand like the Mayor’s Mansion, but I’d probably rapidly realise it’s a bugger to heat and find somewhere smaller. Like the Hairy Fig; somewhere cosy with lots of food.

TH: The Minster. Just for laughs.

HB: Perhaps my old flat behind a church in the centre of town. No neighbours, possible rooftop access and it’s secure. That or the Treasurer’s House.

cult comedy-horror web series, Zomblogalypse, follows three hapless survivors - Miles Watts, Tony Hipwell and Hannah Bungard - after a zombie outbreak in York.

With a trip to Cannes in May and a highlyanticipated feature film adaptation in the pipeline, we felt that a catch up with the trio was in order.

You’re running dangerously low on supplies. Where are the best places to stock up?

MW: Let’s get this whole ‘searching for the last Twinkie’ thing out of the way and head straight for Candy Avenue. The sugar rush would either give me super energy or put me in a coma. Either could be beneficial.

TH: Anywhere with canned food. Poundland is a safe bet.

HB: Assuming all the Tesco Expresses are cleaned out, I’m heading straight for Hotel Chocolat and Love Cheese.

Uh oh. Zombies are everywhere. Your group needs somewhere new to hole up and make base. Where do you go?

The post-apocalyptic scientific community has banded together to discuss new technology. What great invention have you always wanted to make a reality?

MW: Somewhere high up. With alcohol. House of The Trembling Madness would do, we’d have an outside chance of escaping over the rooftops if the zombies got in. Plus we could mount some zombie heads on the wall.

MW: The TARDIS. I want one. I want one so bad.

Can we crowdfund one?

TH: Travelling Man. Might as well see how far The Walking Dead crew got before you get chomped.

HB: Jetpacks. Backed into a corner? Cut off in an alley? Nowhere to go? Straight up, my friend, straight up.

HB: Aviva on Rougier Street. It’s massive, I used to work there and there’s a cafe downstairs.

TH: The Cata-Zom. You load a flotilla of deadies into a trebuchet-like device then launch to smite their undead brethren.

So there you have it! Would you fare any better?

Read more about the Zomblogalypse movie at www.zomblogalypse.com

A LIFE OF MATCHMAKING Few people experience York’s enviable draw as often as the city’s estate agents. We speak to Tanya Coffey, Associate Director in the Residential team at Savills York about property, provenance, and the sometimes-peculiar moments of her job.

Does York’s architectural mix make your job more interesting?

Do buyers generally think with their hearts or their heads?

What is your favourite property on the market at the moment?

This is what makes York so special for me, we have the history but we also have very unusual new builds - every property you go to can be very different. One day you could be dealing with lovely Victorian houses, then the next it’ll be an apartment by the river or a modern eco-house.

I’ve got to admit, there is a divide with women often thinking with their hearts. Men generally know a property’s history and they know the numbers but women have a great feel for a property’s potential.

One stunning townhouse on our books springs to mind (pictured). It offers a lot of space with great period features and a fantastic large garden and garage. It has been a loving family home but now is ready for the next people to put their mark in it.

Getting to know people and property properly and selling is still the way , forward and I don t see that changing.

Tell us about a strange encounter from your working life!

You just never know what’s going to happen when you walk through the door! I’ve shown a property to an old couple where the client forgot we were coming and was naked. Another memorable day involved the police thinking I was breaking into a home after a gate was locked.

How do you think buying/ selling your home will change in the future?

There was a time a while back when certain people thought you could just sell your home online on your own, but you do need your old-fashioned agencies to guide you. Getting to know people and properties properly and selling is still the way forward and I don’t see that changing.

Tell us something surprising about Savills?

People do tend to think that we only deal with ‘top end’ properties. In reality, we deal with all sorts of properties.

It’s all about location location location.

www.savills.co.uk

Innovate York Is it any wonder York is one of the country’s most forwardlooking cities? With an historic backdrop and dynamic and resourceful companies and residents, this city boasts a real abundance of ideas resources and drive. To capitalise on this, City of York Council and SCY have developed a new project entitled Innovate York.

What is Innovate York? Innovate York is an exciting programme of activities and initiatives looking at new ways to do things in the city. This could be including how the council deliver services to the the residents of York, or bringing together groups of people who normally wouldn’t share a coffee, let alone develop an idea into a real solution to benefit the city.

This programme will only work with input and engagement from people of all walks of life within the city. And that includes you!

“This is all very nice but how

does it affect me?” you may ask.

Do you ever come initiatives and products in the region and think “Wow that’s a good idea, others should be doing that”? Be it a service a company is providing, a new product, project or event - we would like to include it on our innovation map. Visit www.scy.co.uk/news/mappinginnovation-in-yorkshire to view the innovation we’ve mapped across the city using responses to our initial surveys. The plan is for residents to be able to upload their innovative ideas and sightings to the map in the near future.

Alternatively, check out the GeniUS! website at www.geniusyork.com where challenges are posted on difficulties the city is facing which could be solved by you, the community. If you’ve got a great idea, you can use GeniUS! to share it with others. You can also chat with other contributors and help develop real solu-

tions, the most viable of which will be fast-tracked into pilots within the city. If you’re not sure you want to post online, you can always contact us at innovate@ scy.co.uk with your ideas on the current challenges, or challenges you think we should be discussing in the future.

Ready to get involved? The current challenge is on healthcare - specifically managing your own healthcare and GP surgeries.

Visit www.geniusyork.co.uk and sign up to let us know what you’d love to see changed or improved when you contact your GP’s surgery.

Let’s collaborate on a better future together!

Take a Ride on the Joyous Side If you’ve a keen sense of adventure, the perfect companion might just come in the shape of a Bobbin bicycle.

Born out of a desire to recapture the magic and excitement of your first bike ride, the Bobbin world of bicycles features something for everyone, including the upright and practical, feminine and graceful, the handsome, sturdy or cute. Beyond being a reliable sidekick, a hefty dose of playfulness is applied to the craftsmanship, bringing joy and spontaneity to the daily life of its master.

Sitting upon a Bobbin will make you feel alive and be all the temptation you need to detour from the usual trap of rushing from A to B. In return, you'll learn to rediscover your childlike love of travelling on two wheels.

Now that spring has shown its face, make sure you pop along to local Bobbin specialists Cycle Heaven instore or online at www.cycleheaven.co.uk.

Cycle Heaven 2 Bisphopthorpe Road 01904 636578 / 651870

JUNE

The Knavesmire, York Racecourse Sales & Exhibition Marquess Tryout Events Arena Giant Cycle Jumble Bike Auction Day Rides Children’s entertainers Vintage Bike Catering Court

ADULTS

CHILDREN [5-16]

FAMILY [2 ADULTS-2 CHILDREN]

www.yorkcycleshow.co.uk yorkcycleshow@ctc.org.uk 07765070120

34 consume / deckard’s dream

,

deckard s Dream

Photography:

Joel Smith

Styling and Art Direction:

Vicky Parry

Stylist’s Assistant: Laura Hair:

Varley

Bang Hair

Make-up: Chloe

Furze

Models: Charlotte Burton and Stephanie Slater both of Boss Model Management

Charlotte Leather Top: Deep Leather Skirt: Urban Outfitters Watch: Time Out Watches

36 consume / deckard’s dream

Charlotte Sheer Top: Deep Leather Skirt: Stylist’s Shoes: Stylist’s own

own

Stephanie Glittery Dress: Urban Outfitters Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters Shoes: Stylist’s own

38 consume / deckard’s dream

Charlotte Cropped Top: Urban Outfitters Leather Trousers: Urban Outfitters Shoes: Stylist’s own

Detail Shots Hair: Bang Hair Watch: Time Out Watches Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

The Future of the world begins on our Doorstep This issue has been a great beckon to our future.

When considering the nature of York our minds often naturally run through layers of history, to the point where the forward-thinking initiatives that infiltrate our walls go slightly unsung. This is however,

becoming less and less of a default mindset. Now is York’s time for science, technological advancement and robotics. This is our ode to the people within this very city that are making steps towards shaping the future of the world.

Plasma physics is about to change the history of the world

An imaginative and impassioned journey - that arrived at him creating YDS

01 York Plasma Institute

Converting everyday waste into a useful product

03 BDC biorenewables

02 YDS Connect

Aiding our future understanding of brain function

04 YORK NEUROIMAGING CENTRE

01

York Plasma Institute In conversation with Howard Wilson In order to understand the immensity of the work carried out by Howard and his team at York Science Park, we first need to contemplate the meaning of plasma. Referred to as the fourth state of matter, plasma stands alongside solid, liquid and gas and has the potential to be one of the key sources of energy for the future of the world. The science of plasma began in the 1960s when the planet’s dwindling reserves of fossil fuel were acknowledged; physicists have since established a science which seeks to create a green, sustainable energy source.

This is where York Plasma Institute comes in. As part of an international team of scientists, the people at the institute are working towards a form of ‘fusion power’.

The Sun is one of the most commonly known sources of natural fusion plasma, and across the world people are trying to recreate our star’s

conditions here on earth by essentially making ‘mini suns’ (Tokamak.) The largest one to date is at the Culham facility in Oxfordshire (JET), at which Howard worked for seventeen years, before moving to York in 2005 to educate the next generation of fusion scientists. From their York institute (the only plasma institute in the country), Howard and his team have a control room direct to the Oxford JET. With the help of a vast new facility being built in the south of France by 2020, the science of plasma physics is about to change the history of the world.

It is suggested that by 2040, the extensive research carried out since the 1960s will reach its climax, and thanks to fusion scientists across the world notably including Howard and his team in York an ecologically viable, man-made source of energy will finally exist.

02

YDS Connect In conversation with Mark Fordyce York Data Services Limited MD Mark Fordyce’s story is one which has involved many creative twists and turns - an imaginative and impassioned journey that led him to create YDS Connect ten years ago this month.

A former member of 80s pop band The Mood, Mark was surrounded by computer-based technology in its advent. Using synthesizers (of which he is now a collector), he became infatuated with the technological side of the music business, and it was therefore a logical progression to move into computing. He moved into the field of technology for over twenty years, initially working in web consultancy in the London banks, before launching a lifestyle website at the time of the early 90s internet revolution. Turning his attention to York in the year

2000, he founded the multi-award-winning ISP and data support company: York YDS. One of the leading providers of internet to businesses in the North of England, the company - alongside the likes of BT and Virgin - is a tier two ISP (internet service provider), which is as big as it gets in the UK. They are however an exception due to their status as a micro-company.

Given the nature of the industry, the technology used at YDS has needed to be ground-breaking.

Currently innovating in the field of fibre-optic broadband, they are sitting on the team of researchers at the vanguard of international change, working towards technology two years ahead of what we know today.

03

Biorenewables Development Centre In conversation with Joe Ross The BDC, much like York Plasma Institute is concerned with advancing the field of sustainable fuel resources, but unlike the YPI they are looking specifically to waste products as a means of changing the planet we live on.

The art of converting everyday waste into a useful product is one that has existed for many years and looks to change the future of the planet. Amongst many other achievements, one of the movement’s greatest success stories was the discovery of a particular species of plant that produces a chemical which cures malaria. Frustratingly, the plant only makes a tiny amount of the chemical, so biologists are now looking for a way to produce this chemical on a much larger scale. This is where the BDC and its Director Joe Ross come in. On a smaller scale than industry, yet on a much larger scale than most academic research, the team are able to analyse and test the products and chemical extractions they are studying. Working with businesses such as coffee shops and orange juice manufacturers, they take excess waste products and make renewable sources of chemicals, up-scaling the process to a level at which it can be tested and proven in effect to people in industry.

At York Science Park BDC scientists are applying the process to revolutionising the pharmaceuticals industry, manufacturing drugs using sustainable raw materials in place of the finite resources we have used over the last century. Today, if you buy drugs from a chemist, most of the chemicals in those drugs are likely to come from fossil fuels. Clearly, this simply isn’t going to last. Through finding new chemicals in plant extracts and working out ways of making them sustainable, the BDC could well hold our future health in their hands.

04

YORK NEUROIMAGING CENTRE In conversation with Gary Green York Neuroimaging Centre is a £4 million research centre at the University of York; one of the largest of its kind in the country. Launched in 2005, the centre was built to serve many of the university’s departments, helping them to better understand the chemistry, physiology and psychology of human brain function.

The centre was initially funded through a £4 million grant from the Higher Educational Funding Committee to the University of York through the SRIF initiative. A generous additional £1.2 Million grant from the Wolfson Foundation has allowed the YNiC to specifically develop research that exploits magnetoencephalography (brain mapping by means of magnetic fields).

This technology allows researchers to look at the brain without using invasive and potentially harmful methods - an opportunity seized upon by the

scientists at the YNiC. Professor Gary Green (director of the centre) and his multidisciplinary team are currently working towards important cures and advances in the field of brain disease and brain dysfunctions. Their findings could do much to aid our future understanding of brain function.

Since November 2011, YNi Ltd has also offered a clinical MRI screening service to people from across the Yorkshire and Humber region using the University’s 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner, which is twice as powerful as the average hospital scanner. Not only could the results found prove life-saving to individual patients, they provide a wealth of invaluable data for the furthering of the facility’s research projects.

We provide professional accountancy services – clear and simple From our offices within the fantastic new Heslington East site at the University of York, we service a varied client base across the city of York and the extended locality. We provide clear, timely and concise services incorporating financial reporting, taxation, advisory and planning services to businesses and individuals alike.

Why not contact us for an informal, no obligation introductory meeting at The Catalyst.

RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? Could you learn from fellow business owners?

Is decision-making sometimes lonely?

Running a business is hard; it should also be rewarding Find out how to tap into hard-won knowledge at:

Ed Reid EReid@TheAlternativeBoard.co.uk 07850 970777

Ian Walker & Co. Chartered Accountants The Catalyst, Baird Lane, Heslington York YO10 5GA T: 01904 310241 F: 01904 357588 E: office@ianwalkerandco.co.uk www.ianwalkerandco.co.uk

Calendar 2013 may

17

8

3

Moulettes (Fibbers) Lucy Rose (The Duchess)

1

Marcella Detroit (Fibbers)

Baba Yaga & Other Suspected Cannibals (York Theatre Royal) Sharks & Dead White Doves (The Duchess)

7

Dinosaur Pile-Up (The Duchess)

2

While She Sleeps (The Duchess)

Dave McPherson (Fibbers)

10

From Sirens to Celebrations (Beningbrough Hall)

5

YO1 Festival (York Racecourse)

11

The Mousetrap (Grand Opera House) Skaters (The Duchess)

15

Dark Inventions (NCEM)

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY (York Explore Library)

16

Lady Maisery (Black Swan) The Blueprints (The Basement)

Sean Lock (York Barbican) Bo Ningen (The Duchess)

Elliott Morris (Kennedy’s Café Bar) Tom Copson (The Basement)

Nell Bryden (The Duchess)

12

Oxford Muse in York (York Cocoa House) Birmingham Royal Ballet (York Theatre Royal)

Jules and the Gang (Victoria Vaults)

Diversity Day 2013 (YSJ Business School)

Hyena Lounge Comedy Club (The Basement)

6

Priscilla queen of the desert (Grand Opera House) Create FESTIVAL (York St John University)

14 9

Angels & Insects (Theatre Royal)

13

8

The Fall (Fibbers)

4

Maiden England (Fibbers)

Malcolm Middleton (The Duchess)

Dick Valentine (Fibbers)

3

The Lumberjacks (The Barbican)

17

19

27

York Does Vintage (Merchant Adventurers’ Hall) Steve Cassidy Band (Joseph Rowntree Theatre)

18

Spring Plant Fair (Beningbrough Hall)

Buskival: York Busker’s Festival (citywide) Freeze The Atlantic (The Duchess)

23

York Guildhall Orchestra (York Barbican)

19 25

(The Duchess) Jack Jones (Grand Opera House)

26

The Misanthrope (York Theatre Royal)

22

Spear of Destiny (Fibbers) Horrible Histories: Vile Victorians (York Barbican)

Atomic Blondie & Money for Nothing (Fibbers) Buskival: York Busker’s Festival (citywide)

27

Andy Carins (Fibbers) Githa (York Theatre Royal)

29

The Family Rain (Fibbers) Rutherford & Son (York Theatre Royal)

30

Medieval Castle Life (Clifford’s Tower) Revealing York Minster [OPENInG] (York Minster)

OPM

21

York Rocks Against Cancer (Grand Opera House) INSPIRATIONS EXHIBITION (York Explore Library)

Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors (York Barbican)

28

Beans on Toast (Fibbers)

24

20

Chris Sargeant (Black Swan)

Kids In Glass House (Fibbers) Bruce Molsky (Black Swan)

31

The Supermodels (The Ainsty) Bastrad Album Launch (Fibbers)

Calendar 2013 June

16

8

4

National Agricultural Conference 2013 (The Racecourse) Chocolate Connoisseur Club (York’s Chocolate Story)

1

John Cooper Clarke (Grand Opera House) Liz Lawrence & Shenade (House Concerts)

2

York Carnival (Citywide)

Alice in Wonderland (Beningbrough Hall)

Father’s Day Fun (Beningbrough Hall)

6

7

Delphic (The Duchess) English Youth Ballet's Coppelia (Grand Opera House)

9

10

Play Reading Circle (York Theatre Royal)

13

11

The Oxford Muse in York (York Cocoa House) Less Than Kind (York Theatre Royal)

Mid-Summer Raceday (York Racecourse) Tantrum/The Feud (Victoria Vaults)

15

Polo 65th CELEBRATION (York’s Chocolate Story) WORLD GIN DAY (Sotano)

Barnes Wallis Exhibition (Merchant Adventurers’ Hall) Ed Harcourt (NCEM)

York Festival of Ideas (University of York) Observatory Open Day (Museum Gardens)

Alne Street Fair (The Village of Alne) Scampston Hall Does Vintage Festival (Scampson Hall)

Ebor Lecture (St John University) Comedy Open Mic (The Gillygate)

14

4

Across the North Sea Exhibition (Janette Ray Rare Books)

12

8

Ben Marwood (The Black Swan) The Dublin Legends (York Barbican)

5

The Trench (York Theatre Royal) Eeze Goin (The Roman Bath)

Race For Life (The Knavesmire) THE PATH TO PARADISE (Whitby Abbey)

3

1940s Dance Night (Memorial Hall)

York Musical Society (York Minster)

16

21

27

Love Architecture festival (Citywide, until 30/06)

The Wave Pictures (Basement, City Screen)

The Babies & Fawn Spots (The Duchess)

Henry VI: The Houses of York & Lancaster (York Theatre Royal)

17

Elvis Costello & The IMPOSTERS (York Barbican)

22

Emily & The Woods (The Duchess)

18

Lucinda Williams (Grand Opera House)

BluesBeaten Redshaw (Kennedy's Cafe Bar)

23

Alternative Ascot Day Lunch (York Racecourse) University of York Choir & Symphony Orchestra (York Minster)

21

York Cycle Show (The Knavesmire) Medieval Music (Rievaulx Abbey)

24

Blue Rose Code (The Basement)

20

27

York Cycle Show (The Knavesmire)

THE BOY FRIEND (Joseph Rowntree Theatre)

19

Watercolours: Landscapes & Gardens (Museum Gardens)

Fusenet PhD Event (York University)

28

An Evening of Dirty Dancing (The Barbican)

From North to South (NCEM)

25

Birds of a feather (Grand Opera House) Hayseed Dixie (The Duchess)

26

Alice in Wonderland: The musical (Joseph Rowntree Theatre) Henry VI: Harry the Sixth (Theatre Royal)

Poizon (Fibbers)

29

Apollo festival (York Sports Club) panic room (The Duchess)

30

Tuberama (York Racecourse) Charity Walk for Parkinson’s (Beningborough Hall)

50 do / music listings

Theatre listings THE MISANTHROPE

An Evening Experience With Alice and Friends

There’s always cause for celebration when Molière pays a visit to York, and true-to-form, this May’s production of the French wit’s magnum opus The Misanthrope is sure to provide ample gratification for the city’s theatre-lovers with a cracking interpretation from Robert McGough and bawdy laughs aplenty. This production is a joint venture between English Touring Theatre & Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, so acting and staging pedigree is assured. Magnifique!

This interactive, outdoor theatre event will take place against the epic backdrop of Beningbrough Hall. Brought to you by We Are Theatre, the promenade performance will allow you to play croquet on the lawn with the Queen of Hearts, find characters such as Miss Muffet and wander the gardens to immerse yourself in the live experiences of Lewis Carroll’s eccentric and intoxicating world.

Tea will come courtesy of the Mad Hatter himself.

YORK THEATRE ROYAL [21 MAY-25 MAY] £8-£22

Beningbrough Hall [8 June] £8.50-£38

WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND

Henry VI

Don your flatcap and gird your loins for a romanticised trip to the weather-worn British countryside of yesteryear, courtesy of this York Stage Musicals production of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber stage adaptation of Whistle Down The Wind. With lyrics from the bombastic Jim Steinman and a YSM cast in fine voice, this show promises a fabulous spin on a grainy and beautiful tale of childhood, trust and fading rural traditions.

We advise keeping a hanky within arm’s reach for some of this production’s more tear-jerking moments!

This is a fantastic opportunity to see Shakespeare’s Globe here in York before they take the production to London. The plays sees Shakespeare’s Henry VI create a world without ideology; a savage time, when the heroes are not kings, but formidable women, such as Joan of Arc, or rebels, such as Jack Cade.

Bold characterisation, black comedy, rhetorical power, the personality of Henry VI and touching pathos combine to great effect in Shakespeare’s powerful rendering of a country wracked by civil war.

JOSePH ROWNTREE THEATRE [25-31 May] £11

York Theatre Royal [26 June-13 July] £8-£20

A bloody war with France, power struggles in the highest levels of politics, a rebellion and a country descending into Civil War. Shakespeare’s Globe at York Theatre Royal chart the turbulent reign of Henry VI and the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VI Three Plays 26 Jun - 13 Jul £8 - £20

See the three parts of Henry VI, played over three weeks exclusively in the White Rose County, before storming the capital.

See Shakespeare’s Wars of the Roses concluded in November, when York Theatre Royal and Nottingham Playhouse present Richard III.

Box Office 01904 623568 www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Birmingham Royal Ballet return to York Theatre Royal with an outstanding programme of dance.

A three part evening, including:

TAKE FIVE

The music of Dave Brubeck

THE GRAND TOUR

All aboard for the roaring 20s!

BITESIZED BALLET

Favourite moments from some of their most popular ballets

TUE 14 - WED 15 MAY £10 - £22 £8 STUDENTS & U25S

Curry of the Month: Patia Masala ®

Truly great food goes further than simply tasting wonderful. It tells a story.

Around eight centuries ago, members of the Parsi race fled religious persecution in their homeland and migrated to the Indian coastal state of Gujarat. Here on the shores of the Arabian Sea they settled, readily adopting local customs whilst preserving some of their own unique traditions. The result was a fusion of cultures which gave rise to new relationships, new ways and new flavours…

This month’s Rafi’s Recipe of the Month, the patia masala is the culinary embodiment of this historical collision of cultures. Combining Indian conventions with staple Persian tastes, the dish mixes herbs, spices, palm sugar and tamarind to lip-smacking effect. Try using Rafi’s patia masala spice mix to recreate this eastern symphony in your own kitchen, with prawns, chicken or lamb. Perfect for those warm spring evenings!

For the whole of May it's available for just £3.20 [that's 25% off ]

food listings Coeliac Food Fair

York Asparagus Festival

York Food Festival Taste Trail

Can’t eat gluten? Well suffer alone no more! The Coeliac UK group are joining forces with York Food & Drink Festival to give you the chance to meet people on a gluten-free diet and hear their opinions on a range of issues regarding gluten. Coeliac UK group events are always extremely popular and are attended by many members and friends of the society, making this a great chance to share culinary tips and get involved in the local coeliac community.

Celebrating seasonal, local produce at the famous Food Festival, York showcases the humble asparagus in its many guises, with demonstrations, classes and a real ale bar. The classes will offer attendees the opportunity to learn a range of skills and recipes to try at home, from Simon Phillips who’ll be challenging your pre-conceptions about sushi to Sharmini Thomas, who’ll be doing asparagus the Indian way.

Pick up a booklet at the start of your adventure and discover the delicious and eclectic tastes York has to offer. Canapés, cheese, chocolates, mini cakes and samples of drink are to be but a few of the culinary delights available for sampling. If that doesn’t tempt you enough, each booklet contains a voucher for a freebie at each participating business, ensuring this will be a kaleidoscopic voyage of flavours for all comers.

bar convent [11 may]

parliament street [26-27 May]

Citywide [1-2 June]

54 do / dance listings

dance listings

Image by Ceward Brice

Birmingham Royal Ballet

CREATE 13 BLINK ONE

English Youth Ballet’s Coppelia

The Birmingham Royal Ballet will return to York with two shows after last year’s successful visit. The first breathtaking programme presents a work from British choreographer John Cranko, alongside a brand-new ballet by Jessica Lang, and thrilling excerpts from some of the world-famous classics. Whilst the second show focuses on an outstanding programme of Dance, including; Take Five, The Grand Tour and Bitesized Ballet.

York St John University has a growing reputation as a hotbed of dance and choreography talent, with a number of recent alumni now making waves in the notoriously competitive industry.

This performance event showcases some of the finest third year performers currently studying at the university, and features a piece by 70/30 Split, a duo comprising former YSJ students Lydia Cottrell and Sophie Unwin who explore issues of gender and sexuality through the art of contemporary dance.

The English Youth Ballet present their production of Coppelia by Leo Delibes, a ballet adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman’s story Der Sandmann, in which a doll maker believes that his favourite doll is alive. The English Youth Ballet has adapted the three act ballet to accommodate their large cast by adding four musical pieces from the ballet Sylvia, also written by Delibes.

York Theatre Royal [11-15 May]

YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY [22 MAY]

Grand Opera House York [7-8 June]

film listings The Great Gatsby

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Baz Luhrmann

J.J. Abrams

Much Ado About Nothing

Sheffield Doc / Fest

Joss Whedon Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the inimitable Gatsby in the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. The story follows Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), as he leaves the Midwest and ventures to New York City. He is quickly swept up into a world of bootlegging and loosened morals, which pulls him into the intertwined affairs and deceits of Jay Gatsby and his acquaintances.

After being called back home, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Enterprise find a seemingly unstoppable force, which has attacked Starfleet and left Earth in chaos.

The team is tasked with leading the deadly manhunt to capture the enemy responsible for threatening the galaxy with a weapon of mass destruction, but will they be able to settle an old score?

Joss Whedon updates Shakespeare’s classic tale to a chic LA setting with impressive gadgets and stunts, yet retains the original’s authentic language.

The focus is on Leonato who is visited by fellow dignitary Don Pedro and his two immediate officers. As the story unfolds, we learn that scandalous past affairs and antagonistic relationships dramatically affect the lives of all involved, and a shocking political disruption is in store…

Also this season, Yorkshire filmmakers should be aware that the Sheffield Doc/Fest brings the international documentary family together to celebrate the art and business of documentary making for five intense days in June. Sheffield Doc/ Fest is famous for its fabulous parties and endless networking opportunities, welcoming a variety of nationalities and talents.

[10 May]

[17 May]

[7 June]

[12-16 June]

Open nearyou Drop in and meet us to find out more about study with The Open University.

We will be at

Explore York Library Learning Centre, Museum Street, YO1 7DS on Saturday 11 May and Saturday 15 June 10.30am until 1pm.

Or to find out more

0845 300 6090 www.opennearyou.co.uk

INSPIRING LEARNING The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England and Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).

listening to stories An evening in Wonderland with Alice and friends Saturday 8 June 6.30pm - 9pm Open air performances with We Are Theatre

Currently open Tuesday - Sunday plus bank holidays Visit our website or phone for details of other exciting events 01904 472027 @NTBeningbrough nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough

Š National Trust Images/Stuart Cox. Registered Charity Number 205846.

Beningbrough Hall & Gardens, York

Step into Yorkshire’s rich story We’re blessed to have such a rich assortment of castles, gardens, priories and abbeys, monasteries, and even Iron Age fortifications and Cold War bunkers on our doorstep, each with its own story to tell. These attractions will be brought to life in an exciting season of English Heritage events - you’ll find some of our favourites on this page.

And now that all English Heritage properties have switched to summer opening hours, you’ll have even more time to enjoy your visit!

Helmsley Archaeological Store 24/5 - 21/6 Tour

Clifford’s Tower 25/5 - 2/6 Medieval Castle Life - Family Fun Trail

Brodsworth at War 17/5 - 18/5 Blackout Brodsworth, 25/5 - 27/5 The Home Front 21/5 - 23/5 Forties Fête [evening only on 21/5]

Scarborough Castle 25/5 - 2/6 Pirate Trail

Whitby Abbey 25/5 - 2/6 The Path to Paradise

To discover more days out in Yorkshire, please visit english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

Rievaulx Abbey Every Sunday in June Medieval Music & Minstrels

58 do / comedy listings

comedy listings Sean Lock

Matt Reed

Julian Clary

Being Tommy Cooper

As part of his Purple Van Man tour, former panellist of Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats and British Comedy Award winner Sean Lock; described as one of Britain’s most original comedians, hits York Barbican, having recently appeared in the documentary The Real Man’s Roadtrip: Sean and Jon Go West.

Sunderland comedian Matt Reed is quickly gathering a huge fan base across the UK; time to see what all the fuss is about at the Hyena Lounge Comedy Club (City Screen Picture House) on 25th May, where he will be doing what he does best alongside fellow comics Phil Ellis, Ben Van Der Velde and Steve Shanyaski.

Back by popular demand following his 2012 tour, Surrey-born actor, novelist and comedian Julian Clary - a regular on British TV screens since 1989 and panellist on Radio 4’s Just a Minute - brings Position Vacant: Apply Within, his most successful show in over 30 years to York’s Grand Opera House on 26th May.

Set in Las Vegas in 1954, Being Tommy Cooper tells the story of the legendary British magician and comedian and his first ever encounter with failure. Written by Tom Green, the ‘painfully funny’ and provocative play explores the pressures and loneliness of one man’s life in the spotlight.

York Barbican [12 May]

HYENA LOUNGE [25 May]

Grand Opera House [26 May]

Grand Opera House [29 May]

exhibition listings

Julian Stair

The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren

CROWNING GLORY

Julian Stair’s pottery has been described as ‘astonishing, portentous and beguiling’. His latest collection will arrive at York St Mary’s this May, an exhibition of pieces delving into the theme of death and addressing the containment of the human body once we pass. Expect stoneware, porcelain and brick clay in this contemporary and innovative exhibition.

Over 200 cities in 40 countries have hosted The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren in their galleries. This June, York welcomes the exhibition to The Guildhall, a collection of paintings inspired by the spiritual discipline of Falun Gong. The nine artists that make up the exhibition provide their representations of the discipline that was banned in China in 1999, and some of the terrifying ordeals that practitioners faced following the ban.

Fairfax House is the host of Crowning Glory, a gleaming exhibition of Yorkshire’s most prized historic jewels. The collections of treasures have each been passed down through the bloodlines of Yorkshire’s longestablished families and each tells its own unique tale. Tiaras, coronets and jewellery will be on display to give a dazzling representation of the county’s history.

York St Mary’s [10 May-7 July]

The Guildhall [7-18 June]

Fairfax House [TILL 23 June]

60 do / music listings

music listings

BUSKIVAL

Ed Harcourt

York Ukulele Festival

Showcasing a wide array of talented street performers, this free festival promises to wow intentional attendees and bemused passers-by alike with a splendid army of quality musicians and entertainers taking to the streets of York to air their talents. Expect everything from balladry to ball skills and much else besides.

Our street performers deserve a more fitting celebration than the occasional jingle of pocket change, and this could be it.

Ed is touring to promote his sixth album Back Into The Woods, which was recorded in just six hours at the iconic Abbey Road recording studio and was released in February. He is currently touring England’s finest churches and concert halls where he will be playing the piano to create a sublime musical experience. He is also accompanied by special guest Catherine A.D.

The Red Cow Music store has organised the 2013 York Ukulele Festival and they are inviting everyone to take part. Whether you’re a musician, school group, a lover of music or just wanting to sit back and enjoy the music, you are welcome to attend the workshops and performances taking place all day, including renditions from The Grand Old Uke of York group.

Citywide [25-26 MAY]

NCEM [10 June]

Citywide [15 June]

Elvis Costello

Extra Curricular

England’s finest hero of new wave Elvis Costello is making a long-awaited return to York Barbican, playing the venue for the first time in almost twenty years. Performing on stage with The Imposters, the bespectacled icon is set to perform a multitude of hits from his widely acclaimed back catalogue, which boasts over 30 studio releases. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be a fantastic and unforgettable event; one of a string of tour dates ahead of his appearance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this summer.

Extra Curricular are a unique band of musicians who blend a range of genres into a distinct sound including rock, electronica and soul. The band have so far released two EPs which have garnered them a lot of radio attention with many plays on BBC Radio 1. The band blend soulful grooves, bass driven beats and luscious melodies together to form deep and meaningful songs, sufficiently well crafted to see them reach number 11 on the iTunes electronic chart. The band’s stage presence has to be witnessed live to understand exactly what they are capable of.

York Barbican [17 June]

The Duchess [17 May]

62 do / charity and cause events

Open Letter Dear York, We’ve long expressed our ambition to make the most of our platforms to give something back, and the appointment of our first Community Manager is an important step towards hopefully making a real difference.

Michael Storey has joined us on the back of a professional journalism career around the globe.

He’s spent April immersing himself in some of the city’s most pressing issues, often joining the support services on the frontline and hearing from those affected

firsthand. It’s been a real eye opener of a month.

We want to reach out to more charities and community groups to tell their stories and help them achieve their agendas with the support of our readers. We call this breed of news “Solutions Journalism” and it’s our raison d’être.

This initiative, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is already creating everyday opportunities for our readers and

the community at large to get involved, lend their support, and work towards a better future for us all.

Seebohm Rowntree paved the way for philanthropy and social change on our very doorstep, and why should that slow down now? Moving our society forward is just as important now as it was then.

To get involved, visit: www.oneandother.com/categories/causes

We want to help you by: Raising Awareness:

By Providing a Voice Acquiring Volunteers: On Your Behalf

Providing Solutions: to the issues you face

Be a part of your community’s revolution and tell us your stories at michael@oneandother.com or 01904 236161

charity and cause events a summary of good cause HAPPENINGS running in and around york

Race For Life York

York Rocks Against Cancer

Apollo Festival

Race For Life has come a long way since the first event in 1994 and this year organisers are expecting to raise more than ever for Cancer Research UK to help develop new drugs and treatments. Entrants can choose between a 5k and 10k circuit, and women of all ages are encouraged to get involved. Ladies of York, it’s time to show cancer who’s boss.

The Guvnors, York Turnpike Trust and The Supermodels are appearing alongside special guests to raise money for local charity York Against Cancer.

The gig promises to be an electric evening, and aims to raise in excess of £10,000 for the charity that has been giving hope to cancer patients in York since 1987.

The first instalment of Apollo Festival brings together a line-up of York’s finest acts and cover bands across two stages in an effort to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust. The festival will also include stalls, a fairground and a cocktail lounge; just a handful of the other attractions on offer. Organisers are promising an unforgettable day with something for everyone to enjoy.

York Racecourse [2 June]

Grand Opera House [15 June] £18.50

York Sports Club [29 June] £6-£10

Be inspired...

Be challenged...

Get involved

Book now through York Theatre Royal Box Office

01904 623568 www.shift-happens.co.uk

Celebrate as the streets of York come alive

Sponsored by

The festival of street entertainment in the city centre returns!

Saturday 25 May, 11am-7pm Sunday 26 May, 12noon-5pm Join in the fun - over 50 buskers and street entertainers perform around York.

Enjoy free workshops and family activities.

Come along to help us pick York’s Favourite Busker!

For more information visit www.yorkfestivals.com www.facebook.com/Buskival www.homesense.com

66 think / unsilence the violence

Raising awareness of domestic abuse

Unsilence the Violence

The redefined term ‘domestic abuse’, which now includes teenagers in abusive relationships and coercive control, can encompass hitting, bullying, threatening, criticism, and sexual abuse. In York, an average of 3,000 cases of domestic abuse are reported to North Yorkshire Police each year, and it is also believed that only 10% of cases are reported.

Safer York, North Yorkshire Police, City of York Council, Specialist Domestic Abuse Services and the CPS have clubbed together with many other local organisations to produce a Domestic Abuse Strategy for 2009-2013 to deal with the issue. Prior to 2004 there had been little strategic direction to tackle domestic abuse, but groups like IDAS have noticed a difference in the way the subject is being perceived on all fronts. If anything, it’s opening up.

IDAS alone have helped 600-700 people in York, and a further 40 families are in refuge from abusive relationships, most of whom are referred by the police, with the 18-25 year-old age bracket for women being identified as the most vulnerable.

However, it can happen to anyone irrespective of religion, race and or economic status.

Misconceptions around the subject are plentiful.

“When people are often thinking or talking about domestic violence they always associate it with fists,” says Tina; “Abuse is [not] just hitting and there’s more to it than that. We tend to use the term ‘abuse’

because it includes the emotions and the financial struggles around that. But [emotional] abuse is something that can be harder to report or tell because it’s not as tangible as domestic violence... people feel embarrassed.”

The Government’s injection of £40 million for the next two years to end violence against women and girls is welcomed and has been put into place to help local support services and national helplines.

But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Men too have been known to suffer, in both homosexual and heterosexual relationships - an issue which has been brought to the eyes of the nation by ITV’s Coronation Street, where the character Tyrone has been silently suffering at the hands of his abusive partner Kirsty.

“It’s knowing there’s a way out”, says Tina, who’s adamant that sufferers should, where possible, talk to people they trust. “People commonly say, ‘if only someone would have asked me’, so if you know someone suffering, keep asking”.

IDAS also recommend calling confidential hotlines for domestic abuse when recognising the warning signs such as; controlling actions, hitting, jealously and nervousness about the way an abusive partner may react to situations.

At the moment, representatives of the organisation are going into schools and teaching people from the age of 11+ about the subject, how to raise the question and recognise the warning signs associated with domestic abuse. If domestic abuse is causing you or someone you know to suffer, you can get confidential help from the contacts provided below.

IDAS 24hr Helpline: 0808 2000 247 York Advice Line: 01904 646 630 Samaritans Helpline: 08457 90 90 90

Written by Michael Storey

“It’s not just about the physical - bruises heal, but emotional strains can leave a lasting impression.”

It’s a sad and sobering thought from Tina Orme, an Outreach worker for IDAS, Independent Domestic Abuse Services, a York-based charity that helps support people day-in-day-out who are suffering from domestic abuse. But recent changes to the definition of domestic abuse, financial injection from the government, as well as plans from local organisations are now aiming to dramatically change the way we talk, think about and deal with this complex and sensitive metaphorical white elephant.

68 think / retrofitting york

Retrofitting , York s historic buildings

York’s first railway station opened in 1841, inside the City Walls. Built by legendary railway entrepreneur George Hudson and designed in the Italianate style, it was imposingly impressive.

Sadly, neither Mr Hudson nor his company, York and North Midland Railway, had anticipated just how popular rail travel would become, and by 1877 a new station was needed, leaving the original to fade into obscurity.

Changing times After a long stint as offices, the Old Railway Station got the chance to rise from the ashes when City of York Council decided it would make the perfect site for their new HQ. Convincing English Heritage and the Victorian Society may have taken some time, but three years later the new West Offices were unveiled, effortlessly fusing historic features with provision for contemporary needs – the culmination of a complex project to meet council requirements and keep the historic heart of the building alive.

Buildings cause roughly 40% of CO2 emissions across the UK, and given that approximately 75% of the buildings predicted to be in use by 2050 are already there, it’s clear that retrofitting existing buildings rather than building new ones is vital.

The architects Local firm CSP Architects won the contract to retrofit West Offices. Managing Director Matt Parkins stated, “Our brief was to transform the building into flexible, open plan offices. The timing was perfect and it was a good fit from the start.

“Our work is split about 50/50 between new builds and retrofitting, and as we’re based in the heart of York, we’ve worked on many historic and listed buildings over the years. It’s the best way to make use of existing buildings and make sure they’re sustainable and treated in a respectful manner. Fusing the needs of the future with the need to stay sympathetic to the fabric and core of the original building fuelled our design.”

The challenge

Why retrofit?

Offsetting carbon emissions is the most urgent priority in fighting back against climate change.

When looking at pictures of the pristine, futuristic yet aesthetically pleasing end result, it’s difficult to imagine the challenge facing the developers and

Written by Deborah Henderson

architects at the start of the project. “At first, the building just didn’t look like it would work,” says Matt. “After the short lived station, the buildings became offices and were a rabbit warren of narrow corridors where rooms and walls had been built with no cohesive plan. The floor levels were all over the place and of course, it’s a Grade II listed building so we knew we had to take certain factors into account.

“One of the main complications lay in the canopy that used to run over the tracks towards the City Walls. It’s one of the main recognisable features left (outside of the general shape of the main building), but was also obstructing the plans to make the building fully accessible, light, modern and airy.

“We appealed to English Heritage and persuaded them to let us physically move it outside of the building,” says Matt. “Our goal is always to give historic buildings a realistic future - and sometimes changes have to be made. We stripped away all the modern additions to the building after identifying all the original fixtures, and built our design around those.

“We’re happy with the end result. After all, it was a public building when it was built and now it’s been returned to public use - a fitting symmetry for Hudson’s station.”

SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS The Council now has just two offices (West Offices and Hazel Court), versus the previous count of 17, which means improved and centralised services. Sustainability with rainwater harvesting, solar panels, bio fuels for heating and loads of natural daylight and ventilation have meant a high energy performance rating and the move is predicted to save around £17m over the next 25 years.

Back To The Future...

York today is such a vibrant, forward-looking city ...but of course it has its rich and fascinating past too.

Our regular daily open-top bus tours take you on an entertaining journey through York’s amazing history.

Every weekend our live guides bring their own unique knowledge to certain tours whilst every day our hourly TERRIBLE TALES tour recounts the bloody battles and restless ghosts which litter our city’s timeline.

every

15

Tickets are valid for 24 hours, so hop on & off as often as you want.

mins!

more info: visit us at Bootham Tower in Exhibition Square or at www.city-sightseeing.com

An Urban , Commuter s Guide to Cycling ometimes the prospect of taking to two wheels in and around York might seem a little daunting. Rush hour springs to mind.

As an antidote to the blame game that can occur between cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians, we’ve long proposed an alternative highway code. The new ‘Urban Commuters Guide to Cycling’ from the Yorkshire and Humber Road Safety Partnership team is just that - a survivalist’s guide to our streets for all involved.

We’ve picked out a few of the handy tips contained in the guide to get you going…

When you approach a junction and you come up behind a large vehicle such as HGV or bus indicating left then stay behind that vehicle to avoid being squeezed off the road when it makes the turn.

Should you arrive first at the junction, pull into the middle of the lane a little way in front of the vehicle so that you block the space whilst allowing the driver to see you clearly.

When travelling alongside a line of parked cars, you can use the wing mirrors of the cars to look for individuals in the driving seat which may indicate that the vehicle will pull out or that a car door may be opened. After checking it is safe to do so pull out into the middle of the lane, into the primary

position to avoid being clipped by car doors or people exiting the vehicle.

Also the direction the wheels are pointing on the road may give an idea of if the car is stationary or ready to pull out into the road.

TO REQUEST YOUR FREE DVD, EMAIL:

road.safety@york.gov.uk

love architecture love architecture festival 21–30 june 2013

Ten days celebrating creativity and design and the great buildings around us.

Love Architecture Festival is for everyone, with over 300 events in more than 20 cities across the UK, including York, Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and Harrogate.

Go to www.lovearchitecture.org to find out more about our great walks & tours, all the films & exhibitions, family fun days, beer and architecture trails, the Places You Love photo competition and our Meet an Architect events.

Nest.co.uk is supporting Love Architecture Festival 2013 in Yorkshire

www.lovearchitecture.org

York Architectural Association and DLA Design bring you

The York Beer & Architecture Trails for the Love Architecture Festival 2013 Visit the web site and download a walking tour

www.lovearchitectureyork.org 21st - 30th June

74 Festival of ideas

The North, The South and the inspiration of Ideas “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas” - Marie Curie The Festival of Ideas has come a long way since its beginnings in 2011, growing from 24 events to 122, from its 4 initial partners to 30 partners today including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

With an abundance of support on both local and national levels, it in one of the stand-out festivals of curiosity in the UK. ‘The cult of the idea, innovation and inspirational thinking is the path to the future.’ It is exactly this concept that the Festival of Ideas explores. An idea should never be taken for granted.

Although our minds are rife with them there are a few that really stand out; those that are diverse, life-changing, pleasureinducing and enriching to the intricate tapestry that is the

human condition. The festival pays homage to those thinkers who challenge, inspire and question, as well as the thoughts themselves. This year explores the North/South divide as a key theme.

Celebrating York’s status as ‘capital of the North’, the festival will explore, question and celebrate ideas of ‘North’, both as a stand-alone idea, and in direct comparison with ideas of ‘South’. With talks from figures as well known and widely respected as Melvyn Bragg, Michael Wood and Brian Sewell, this festival promises to be a rich and varied celebration of vibrancy, heritage and discovery.

Accessible to all, The Festival of Ideas is a citywide collaboration.

It emphasises the fact that York is not just a heritage city, but one which is innovative and intellectually curious.

Throughout June, the events that will take place across the city will draw upon this intellectual curiosity. The festival’s partners, many of whom hail from York’s cultural, business and charitable sectors, aim to bring together the worlds of academia, business, culture and curiosity all under one banner. Most of the festival events are free and all are aimed at non-specialist audiences.

Over the coming pages we will take a look at some of the debates that are set to become central components of this event.

Festival HIGHLIGHTS Literature

FOOD

Sat 15 Paul Morley Wed 26 Seamus Heaney Sat 29 Passions, Parsonages and Persistence: Literary Heroines in C19th

Mon 24 Fair Shares for All? Black Market Britain, 1940-54 Fri 28 History of Food in 100 Recipes York Cocoa House and Borthwick Recipes Exhibition

Humanities Sun 16 Arts and Societies in Crisis: A Play from the Theresienstadt Ghetto Tues 18 Brian Sewell in Conversation Wed 19 Michael Wood Talk Time Sat 22 - Sun 23 LUMA Film Festival Sun 23 Richard III - History’s Man and Shakespeare’s

Music

LUMA Film Festival

Tues 13 - Sat 29 Music at York Minster Sun 23 Brahms and the Gypsy Time

Science and Economy Fri 14 Economy, Entrepreneurship and Equality Day Sat 15 Chemistry, Collections and Conservation New Writer’s Sat 15 Granta, Best of Young British Novelists 4 Sat 29 How to get Published

76 Festival of ideas

Undressed: The Socio Economic Impact of the North South Divide When looking at the United Kingdom and its economy there seems to be an elephant in the room, and one which economists can tend to either over-emphasise or totally write off - it’s the North/South divide.

This year’s Festival of Ideas at the University of York will bring together businesses, charities, volunteers and the general public to discuss, analyse and pioneer ideas on how we can support and business and entrepreneurial efforts of the North, as well as putting a number of economic clichés to bed. All of the events, which will be held on Friday 14th June at the University of York’s Ron Cooke Hub, are free and offer an ideal opportunity for businesses, charities, volunteers and anyone who is affected by the age of austerity to come together and debate the issues. Celebrating York’s status as ‘Capital of the North’ and as a city of prosperity, these questions and more will be discussed and compared with southern ideas. With differences in culture, social issues, and history deeply rooted in the geographical divide, the Economy/Equality Day offers a series of keynote addresses exploring global and local issues centred on how you grow an economy whilst trying to create a fair and equal society.

With differences in culture, social issues, and history deeply rooted in the geographical divide, Economics/Equality day aims to explore whether there really is a ‘Two Speed Britain’ - a clear split between London, the South East and the rest of the country.

In a time of a double dip recession the discussions are not only current, but an important chance to explore whether the North/South divide is as prevalent as some believe. So, what can be done to make this difference less apparent?

The Festival of Ideas will look at all the key ingredients in a strategy for economic growth, both nationally and locally, honing in on investment, both in infrastructure and perhaps even more importantly in education, skills, and human capital.

Financial journalist and Business Editor of The Spectator Martin Vander Weyer will take part in the panel for ‘Two Speed Britain - myth or reality?’

As a Yorkshireman he will argue more on the side of it being a ‘myth’ suggesting to us that it is not even so much a myth as it is a ‘distortion’ due to an ‘incorrect economic indicator’. He feels that ‘in many respects the quality of life in the North is higher than the economic indicators suggest.

According to Vander Wayer the whole idea of the North/South divide is not a truthful concept and the clichés of the North are often incorrect.

On the other hand, Jonathan Portes, Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research believes that there is a divide and that ‘although it is overstated, there is no question that on average the North of the UK has lower economic output, pays less in tax and receives more (on most measures) public spending, has worse educational outcomes, lower employment levels, etc.’ than the South.

Portes supports his claim with a number of reasons: the legacy of ‘deindustrialisation’, the better connectedness of the South (and especially London) to the world economy in an era of globalisation, and failure of successive governments at national and local level to develop an approach to economic development that is not mostly London-centric.

Portes does however agree that “the crude idea that the North is all poor and the South all rich is wrong. There are lots of very deprived areas in the South (and indeed in London) and very prosperous ones in the North.” He sees that when it comes to individuals, what matters above all is socioeconomic status not geography. Your life chances in the UK are fundamentally determined by who your parents are (especially how much money they have and how well educated they are), how you do at school, how far you progress in education, and so on; not by where you are born. You are far better off being born rich in the North than poor in the South.

To get involved with the debate, be sure to attend the Economy/Equality Day on Friday 14th June.

Events will run all day in the Ron Cook Hub and there will be a café open from 9am.

78 Festival of ideas

Discovering and celebrating new novelists When we’re choosing what to read next it can be so easy to rely on established classics and old personal favourites. It’s a negative pattern and a habit worth changing, with a whole universe of wonderful new fiction out there that’s literally begging to be read.

A welcome prompt lies just ahead for York which just might help us to change our ways and embrace the new…

This year’s Festival of Ideas is to feature a whole afternoon dedicated to the celebration and discovery

Why is it so important for us to keep discovering new authors?

It’s important for us to keep discovering new authors because we need stories. I think that one of the things fiction can do is tell us about the world we’re living in, through the way things are approached and the things the author chooses to tell us about. We learn about ourselves from books, just as someone can learn about the ways of George Eliot’s generation from Middlemarch. At Granta we are always searching for new stories and new voices.

What makes a great Young British Novelist?

We had submissions from over 150 different writers for our Best of Young British Novelists list, and I think that all of the judges were looking for somebody whose work was arresting, who was serious

of new writers. From noon ‘til early evening on Saturday 15th June, the festival will showcase a series of fascinating readings and interviews. Renowned literary periodical Granta Magazine are to support the event in a partner role, putting forward talent from their list of the ‘Best of Young British Novelists’.

We spoke with Granta Magazine’s Deputy Editor, Ellah Allfrey about the forthcoming event and her publication’s involvement.

about their craft, and who made us want to stay up at night reading more. We were looking for writers we’d want to be reading in 10 - 15 years time, who were brave in terms of how they presented their characters or the stories they chose to tell us. It comes down to skill, craft and intelligence.

What’s the dream outcome of the event as far as you’re concerned?

We want people to engage with the writers - it’d be great if we have lots of difficult questions to ask and answer. There’s a point you’re aiming for at which you look up and the audience is staring at the authors, asking questions or queuing for book signings. Being in a position to bring those writers to the readers is a dream outcome in itself.

Why are people dying sooner up north?

Should a person’s place of birth dictate their life expectancy? Do health trends directly mirror economics? How can we tackle the disparity between North and South? This year’s Festival of Ideas offers you the opportunity to discuss these questions and more.

Allow us to introduce the debate: For many years there has been a suggested inequality in the health of those living in the North and South of England. Tim Doran, Professor of Health Sciences at the University of York claims that “The divide goes back at least 1000 years (you can see evidence for it at the time of the Norman Conquest) so it is unlikely to go away any time soon. The issues of health inequality and the North/South divide periodically come into vogue and policies are put in place to address them, but they are not often well thought through or sustained.” It seems that this disparity is completely entrenched, and headlines have recently suggested that this inequality is still increasing.

This year the Festival of Ideas explores this concept further. In 1965, those living in The North were 16% more likely to die before the age of 75 than their southern counterparts. This had risen to just over 22% by 2008. The researchers who took part in this study looked at the age of death across the whole population of each region explored. This research was deemed shocking at the time as it bucked the trend of a decrease over the years leading up to it from the early 1980s to the late 1990s, in which the North/South divide was seen to narrow significantly across both sexes.

The late 20th Century advance of health amongst northerners coincided with a boom period for the economy and significant investment in northern cities. Professor Iain Buchan believes this to be no coincidence: “These differences are not because those in the north are not looking after themselves... this is because of social, economic and health care resources controlled by government. For example, there are fewer GPs in deprived areas.” The idea that the provision for a person’s health could be dictated by the place in which they are born is nothing short of scandalous. So what’s being done about it?

The Department of Health claims to be committed to reducing health inequalities: “We are also providing a ring-fenced public health budget, weighted towards the most deprived areas, to ensure resources are spent on preventative work, with incentives to improve the health of the poorest, the fastest.”

Fine words, but until the figures reflect a country in which northerners no longer die younger, they will remain bereft of any real substance.

Whether you’re a healthcare professional, a follower of politics or simply an impassioned citizen, all are invited to join the debate in the Ron Cooke Hub at the University of York’s Heslington East Campus, on 26th June.

Claire Mullen Plaskitt & Plaskitt

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