Palatinate Issue Indigo 714

...The Future... complete with predictions for Durham in 2010.

This edition’s Indigo inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of music, TV and t’internet we’d like to share: ‘You’re Beautiful’ - James Blunt Pop Star to Opera Star - The Spotify Advert Take Me Out - ITV’s dating show ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ - Glee Hound Banter/Fittest Freshers

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“Prediction is hard, especially about the future” KRISTIN DOS SANTOS

W

elcome to the jazzier, snazzier Indigo, with arts reviews and feature’s views, plus random odds and ends from the bubble to keep you amused - we hope. If you’d like to get involved, send us an e-mail at indigo@palatinate.org.uk. Also, look us up on Twitter (twitter.com/PalatiINDIGO).

In this edition, what with all the media preoccupation with the Noughties, we thought we’d push the boat out and peer into the dark and misty world of...

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LOOP_OH

indigo

Indigo

I saw you...

You were in front of me in Greggs. You didn’t have enough money to pay for your chicken bake. I lent you 20p and you smiled.

You smiled at me in Subway. You were with another Rah. But I won’t lose no sleep on that, ‘cause we can meet in Trevs Bar.

My laptop lead was across an aisle in the library. You stumbled over it, twice. Both times you said, “Oh gosh”, as if you were trying very hard not to swear.

In the Viaduct, we’ve been sharing tea breaks through our windows. Next time do you want to put your sugar in my mug?

If you’ve been seen/seen someone with any of these people, or have seen anyone else and would very much like to be reunited, drop us an email at indigo@palatinate.org.uk.

Overheard at Durham Uni Girl 1: “I found this gorgeous little bakery on Silver Street the other day, we have to go.

They’ve got so many lovely little yummy cakes and donuts”.

Girl 2.:“Oh let’s go, what is it called?”

Girl 1: “Greggs”.

Anonymous Rah: “Oh my god. I went on a hill college bar crawl yesterday and Collingwood looks just like a STATE school...”

Cuthbertian Rugby Player in Klute after Social: “Klute on a Saturday night is pretty much an all-you-can-rape buffet”.

Person: “I had to pay one pound for this bottle of water!”

Me: “Why didn’t you fill a bottle up from the tap?”

Person: “But drinking tap water... isn’t that, like, dangerous?”

Guy 1: “Let’s try this bar”. apparently it’s pretty decent”.

Guy 2: “Is it cheap?”

Guy 1: “Think so”.

Guy 2: “Well we definitely don’t wanna go there then”.

E4’s new show, Glee, has everything you could possibly want from bitchy cheerleaders to oblivious geeks, to the female sports teacher with a masculine desire to be the best. Oh, and of course a cappella pop songs. By the end of the month Klute will almost certainly have a Glee medley, playing at the far too early hour of 11 pm.

Charles Saatchi is taking over Facebook with his ‘The Saatchi & Saatchi Summer Scholarship 2010’ groups.

The interns with the most members in their groups by 7th Feb will get through to the next round. This is fickle and ruthless but effective... we predict that by the end of the year he will have a cult following of 1 million Saatchites.

DURHAM ACADEMY

We were queuing in Shakeaholic, you let me go before you, I was the girl in the Durham hoody with the pearl earrings.

In Revolver. You said “Hi” to me on the dancefloor. You were looking very “dinky”.

GREG CHAMBERS

Naked, we shared one passionate night. I never managed to get your name/course/ college/if you did a gap year, but I still think we could have a future.

Break in normal conversation. Then, Boy: “There’s a restaurant in Neville’s cross called the g-spot”.

Girl: “Take me!” ......

Silence.

In John’s Dining Hall, a pretentious male rah: “It’s only because I’m over-educated, thats why I don’t understand”.

In Hound. Guy and Girl getting off with each other.

Guy: “So.. Urh, what subject you studying?”

Girl: “I’m actually doing my GCSE’s”.

Guy: “..... Oh God”.

Guy 1: “She’s a bit fit.....”

Guy 2: “Yeah but she wouldn’t swallow”.

Guy 1: “How can you tell?”

Guy 2: “Because she’s holding her drink in her right hand, they never swallow”.

Guy 1: “Oh? And is this an exhaustive study you’ve carried out?”

Guy 2: “Well...all my girlfirends have been right handed and they’ve never swallowed”.

Greg Chambers (Aidan’s) is on a mission to have the DSU- shop-that-was renamed ‘Greg’s Luscious Garden’. DSU President Natalie Crisp said, “if 5,000 students genuinely feel that strongly about it then it’s my job to represent their views”. We reckon it’s almost certainly definitely in the bag – and have a strong feeling that the renaming of DSU’s Riverside Café to ‘Riverside Motherfucker’ is on the cards.

Has anyone actually been to this dubious sounding night at the equally dubious looking venue? Or its tweenage night, Twilight, for that matter - for which we won’t go into predictions. However, we shall inform you of the highly probable eventuality that it will close in the near future. Not at 2am tomorrow morning – although maybe that will be the time.

But it will silently slip away into the Durham fog.

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Lifestyle Features NIEK BECK

Don’t get S.A.D. this winter

Futuristic vision

Mei Leng Yew

As we turn into this millennia’s second decade, Indigo takes a last look back at how science has developed since the turn of the century and speculates over what readers might hope to see in the years to come.

Developments over the last decade not only have the potential to give greater independence to paraplegics but could affect how we all behave in our everyday lives.

During the noughties, scientists made a number of small yet significant steps in the technological world, turning the sci-fi glamour of Hollywood from improbable dream into a very possible reality.

While scientists at the University of Washington have been using neural implants to bypass damaged sections of the nervous system in the hopes of eventually restoring complete physical control to paralysed limbs, engineers at Duke University, Carolina have been exploring the practical applications of this work to create a wireless connection between brain and machine.

A chip implanted in a lab monkey’s brain records the firing of neurons as it manipulates a cursor with a joystick to play a computer game. The monkey can later direct the cursor’s movements with only its thoughts, leaving the joystick aside untouched.

Since then, John Donoghue has led a team at Brown University, Rhode Island to develop a 100-electrode chip that has been implanted into a human known as MN. MN is paralysed from the neck down but with the BrainGate 1 technology, he not only used a robotic arm successfully but performed simple everyday tasks without using his limbs. This included operating a television, switching lights on and off and checking his e-mails.

Although brain fluids had eroded the chip by the end of the trail, it seems fair to say that the power of acting by thought alone could soon be in a brain near you.

This will inevitably be taken one step further as robots become increasingly sophisticated and humans gain the ability to control these advanced computersystems-cum-servants over vast distances

with only the transmission of their brain signals. Already seps are being taken in this direction.

Two years ago, Miguel Nicolelis and his colleagues at Duke University trained a rhesus monkey in the USA to control the movements of a robot in Kyoto, Japan. Using only her thoughts, Idoya watched the robot on a computer screen and directed it to walk and run on a treadmill. As engineers strive to create the ultimate artificial friend, the days of worrying whether you’ve locked the front door or left the gas on may soon be over if thought-controlled robots become the new household help.

Another exciting project that scientists have been working on is using synthetic skin to deliver gene therapies. In Maryland’s National Institute of Health, Jon Vogel’s attached a graft of cells onto the backs of lab mice. The genes they had included in the cell-matrix layers pumped atrial natriuretic peptide, a protein which dilates blood vessels and lowers blood volume, into the mice’s bloodstreams. As a result, the mice had a low blood pressure even after being placed on a high-salt intake diet.

The implications of this could be immense with Vogel asking diabetes sufferers to “imagine insulin being released at a constant rate”, thereby removing the need for those with type-1 diabetes to inject after every meal. For the rest of us, gene therapy could be the step before drug storage, with each of us literally carrying a medical kit from adrenaline to Zovirax in their arms.

On the less physically invasive side, and something which may excite the Facebook fanatics out there, you may one day be able to keep your eye on your news feed at all times with the development by scientists at the University of Washington of a contact lens that contains a biologically-safe electronic circuit and lights. It would not be surprising if in the future, we could monitor our own heart-rates, zoom into objects in the distance or even have e-mails arriving in our eyes.

So Indigo readers, with the tensies before us and technology flourishing, let’s look forward to living the sci-fi dream.

January can be so…urgh. Long gone is that Christmas glee which previously compensated for the blistering cold and, after plummeting from the festive season high, we are now overcome with inflated waistlines, diminished bank balances and resentment towards New Year’s resolutions.

Yes, I know I sound like a miserable, middleaged woman but I’m certainly not the only one afflicted with the winter blues at the moment. Apparently, up to eight out of ten of us Brits get them.

And the mathematicallycalculated ‘Most Depressing Day of the Year’ always falls in January – Monday 25th this year. Cheery stuff.

If it’s any consolation, your persistent desire to vegetate, and feelings of acute loss when separated from your bed do not simply render you an idle slob – at least, not during the winter anyway. The scientists reckon it’s the light’s fault. Many surmise that light stimulates a part of the brain which controls mood, appetite and sleep, amongst many other things. Our lack of exposure to light in the winter months, therefore, causes us to feel lethargic, get the munchies, and stress.

Some people experience these symptoms to a more severe extent in the form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression. SAD affects one in 50 people

NIEK BECK

Emily Hodge

in the UK. Most sufferers fall into the 18-30 age group and more develop it before the age of 21 than after. The condition initially makes its presence felt in the autumn, worsening as the days become shorter, and gradually easing away with the arrival of spring. Symptoms include lack of motivation and energy, mood swings, anxi-

ety, overeating, oversleeping (or having disturbed sleep) and social withdrawal.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. There are certain things you can do to pick yourself back up. So now for the perky approach, spewing of clichés and indispensable advice…It’s time to be positive, productive and take control. Here are my five top tips for boosting your mood and beating those blues!

Top tips to beat the winter blues 1.

Work It Out Exercise – it really does help. Studies show that exercise is an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. It increases energy levels, so vanquishes that sluggish feeling, enhances the immune system, helps to combat anxiety and releases endorphins to give you that ‘natural high’. Plus, if you do as much exercise as you can outside in the open air, you expose yourself to more natural light. Bonus!

2.

Mood Foods According to those clever researchers, omega-3 fatty acids can also help to improve your mood. Think oily fish (mackerel, salmon, tuna, sardines and herring), linseed oil, nuts and seeds. B vitamins are also supposed to be mood boosting. Good sources include meat (especially liver and turkey), tuna, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chilli peppers and Marmite. Finally, don’t starve yourself in an attempt to shed the mince pies – low blood sugar levels can make you feel worse.

3.

Sleep Tight Don’t oversleep but make sure you’re getting enough kip. Try to maintain a fixed body clock by establishing a pattern of seven to eight hours sleep a night. If you’re having trouble sleeping, avoid caffeine, nicotine and watching television before you go to bed. Take a bath to unwind and try lavender scented oils and sprays to help you drift away to the land of nod.

4.

Show Me the Light The most common and efficient form of treatment for SAD is light therapy - sitting in front of a light box which mimics outdoor light. Light boxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They start from £100 but there are some much cheaper alternatives, such as Verilux bulbs and lamps, which are specially designed to shine some well needed light onto anyone who’s growing tired of these dark winter days.

5. Flap Your Wings It’s the beginning of a new term – time to break out of hibernation and release your inner social butterfly back into the Durham wild. Doctors prescribe socialising as an anti-depressant. Find some funny friends. Alternatively, stay home and rent them; nothing beats a good comedy.

For more information visit: Nightline: 0191 334 6444, www.dur.ac.uk/nightline www.dur.ac.uk/counselling.service www.nhs.uk www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk www.mind.org.uk www.sada.org.uk

Indigo

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Features Undercover Being bi - the best of both worlds Agnostic The Alpha course describes itself as “an opportunity to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting”. It began at a church in central London in the late 1970s, initially as a means of presenting non-Christians with the basic ideas behind Christianity. By the nineties, the course had grown into something of an international movement, with denominations across the world taking it up in the hope of appealing to non-churchgoers.

Now, there’s an Alpha for everyone: courses operate in prisons, the armed forces, large companies and senior citizens’ groups. I’m attending the student Alpha, designed and marketed with university-goers in mind.

In Durham, the course has been run as a joint venture between local churches for the past few years. Financed through wealthy donations to the national Alpha machine, Christian students volunteer to promote and lead the course. From an impressive poster campaign, to tasty home-made curries, those involved work extremely hard to make it as appealing as possible to potential converts.

I’d been asked to go along by a close friend – a life-long Christian and member of King’s church. Since meeting him on the first day of University, I was very aware that faith was a large part of his life. In freshers’ week, as well as enjoying the typical activities, he and other Christians were busy deciding on which Durham church they’d like to join. Whilst this never got in the way of forming a brilliant friendship group, it was clear that the churchgoers wouldn’t feel at home until they’d found a place to suit them.

Inside, Alpha’s stated aim to help participants feel comfortable and relaxed shone through. Home-cooked food, background music and chatty hosts meant that at times I forgot what the evening was really about.

Opening the meeting, we were shown a video promotion for the course, featuring Bear Grylls, professed Christian and celebrity figurehead for Alpha.

“That’s the cheese over with” laughed the speaker, clearly uncomfortable with the commercial side to the course.

“Christians” he said, “want to be asked the worst questions”. The volunteers relished the opportunity to talk to others about their own case for Christ, asserting “There’s nothing we want to avoid”. I believed him, trying to formulate a devastating question in my head.

Asked at that moment, it would have been “is there any korma left?”

I was persuaded – I’m going to take the full course, do the homework and ask the questions. If I don’t buy it, I’ll come out a well-armed atheist. If I do, then Bear Grylls might just have changed my life.

Thom Addinall-Biddulph

I

my life with a guy or a girl, really depending on who happened to be the One. People do seem to get confused about bisexuality though; either seeing it as being ‘greedy’ or willing to sleep with anything that moves, or as being ‘straight-plus’, i.e. really heterosexual but open to other things (or,

have had a strange experience over the past five years of sexuality, inasmuch as I’ve had to come out twice. Once, as being gay, in 2005; and then again in 2008 when I realised that I was in fact bisexual.

Of course only the first one was potentially fraught with “Being bi means being, major difficulty, though in fact it wasn’t, as it transpired more or less, at the everyone at my school had apparently made the centre of the spectrum” assumption I was gay years ago anyway. I can’t say I exactly went out of my way to hide it. On coming out at university in for that matter, first year at Durham, I was asked if it might gay-plus). be simply because I hadn’t encountered Now I do girls much. I attended a boys’ school, believe only gaining girls - for the first time in 400 sexuality years - in the Sixth Form. I didn’t think this is a specwas the case, but since being at Durham, trum: where inevitably I have far more contact some with the other sex, I have found that I really people am attracted to both sexes, and - here’s the are key - both physically and romantically. I’ve only actually been in love with guys, but have now had crushes on girls.

So this was the important thing for me: the realisation that I could see myself spending

entirely straight or gay, some fully bi, others generally straight but happy to have gay experiences, or vice-versa. But, for me,

sexuality just like hetero or homo, not, as people I’ve encountered often seem to believe, an inability to decide between those two poles. I’m know I’m not straight (just ask anyone who “People do seem to get confused went to my school), but I also know I’m not gay, as in attracted about bisexuality; either seeing exclusively to men.

For a long time I did waver it as being ‘greedy’ or willing to about this- I’d come out as gay, and was strangely embarrassed sleep with anything that moves” about deciding and revealing that I was happy to date girls as well. I feel extremely strongly being bisexual about gay rights, and found myself wormeans being, rying that anti-gay campaigners would more or less, use examples like mine to prove that it is at the centre a choice, or that gay people are really just of that confused heterosexuals. That is, obviously, spectrum, fundamentally wrong: I couldn’t choose not vastly not to be in love with the (male) person preferI loved throughout Sixth Form, nor can I ring choose not to find, say, Lily Cole attractive. either I am genuinely equally attracted to both sex. genders, in both the primitive sexual sense, It is and in the spiritual and aesthetic sense; a and as far as I’m concerned that places me firmly as bisexual.

Durham LGBT’s annual Q Week, with events and discussions, launches 8th Feb. To find out more visit www.durhamlgbta.org.uk KATIE GIBLIN

14 Feb: A day of desperation th

Daniel Dyson

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when surrounded by the plethora of couples in Durham is hardly the best feeling in the world. But it seems a step too far to jump into bed with just anyone when feeling vulnerable just

ebruary is a strange time of year.

The unpredictable weather, the odd number of days in the month, and the abandonment of every standard one has when looking for their prospective partner once February 14th rolls around. What is it about that day which causes people to hook up with the first thing that shows some interest? My friends, I say one word. Desperation.

We all do it. When it comes to Valentine’s Day, the normally reasonably intelligent people of Durham seem to lose their brains and revert temporarily to primal instinct. College bars and the few clubs Durham has as watering holes are the home of many a stupid decision. All that’s missing is the “It’s practically possible to soothing David see the self-respect Attenborough seeping out of the room as commentary on the indiscretions the night goes on” of man. It’s practically possible to see the self-respect seeping out of the room as the night goes on and depressing when, because come February 15th, many a person will somefind themselves wondering what on earth body told us that today is the day that they were thinking when they wake up we celebrate romantic love. Certainly, it’s next to Mr or Miss Wrong. hardly a responsible thing to do.

Sure, Valentine’s Day is a bit of a drag.

Whilst promiscuity has its benefits, the Finding yourself single and feeling lonely end result has got to be that all involved

end up feeling good about themselves rather than perpetuating a cycle of negativity and self-disgust which is

UNDERGROUND IMAGES

Palatinate every fortnight becomes a spirituality shopper in the marketplace of religious groups in Durham.

This week our writer attends Alpha at King’s Church...

too often the case this time of year.

What’s more, thanks to the dark side of the Durham grapevine, word about any misdemenours will eventually get out onto college and lecture hall gossip-train and

you’ll constantly seem to be doing a walk of shame.

I think the problem is that most people in Durham have major ambition and aren’t used to failure. Valentine’s Day can remind people that, despite their stellar marks or track record at college sport, life isn’t perfect for them and this can be a bitter pill to swallow. Yet despite most of the population being in their early 20’s, barely legal adults in the grand scheme of things, there can be such a rush to settle down. Many people I know have started thinking about moving in together or getting married, which, whilst good for them, can seem alarming if you’ve never had a second date.

At the end of the day, Durham is hardly known for its diverse range of backgrounds. We are all quite similar to each other really and this makes comparisons between our own lives and that of our friends all the more easy. It’s simple enough to say that we should try and judge ourselves by our own standards, and not by the ones of others around us, but hard to put into practice.

Getting overattached to somebody who throws a crumb of affection your way when you’re the only one left single never ends well and it’s probably for the best that Valentine’s Day falls on a lazy Sunday this year. If you’re feeling down, grab a group of friends and do something worth celebrating rather than commiserating.

Life, and time at Durham is way too short to spend depressed. And, as the old adage states, good things come to those who wait.

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Features Google Nexus: The new Apple of our eye?

Harriet Bellamy

The new decade of 2010 has brought the unthinkable, an answer to the unrivalled iPhone. The internet company Google, who until now held the monopoly on all things web based, have come up with a physical product for its consumers; The Nexus One. The phone was finally show cased at the Google Californian headquarters turning all previous speculations into a firm reality.

The Nexus One is only available in the US for the time being, but hopes are that it will reach UK markets in the spring through Vodafone.

Unexpectedly the search engine giant hasn’t attempted to fund the phone through web based advertisements to reduce the price for its consumers.

Instead the Nexus one is on sale unlocked for £332, or on a two year contract for a smaller sum of £112.

Admittedly this will limit the demographic but Google hopes to lower the price with further sales and become a more competitive option.

The iPhone in comparison costs £449 on a Pay as You Go basis but undercuts the Nexus One, as on the same two year contract the iPhone is available free of charge.

The main question is what can this phone do compared to other androids in the market?

It sports a 5 megapixel camera, a touch screen, removable battery and is driven by the Google android system. The phone itself is only 11.5 mm thick and practically weightless.

There are an expanded number of home screens available, from three to five, and the Nexus One has a voice enabled device on all text boxes enabling users to put together e-mails and tweets as opposed to old fashioned typing.

The use of a SnapDragon chip makes the phone operate at high speeds between the multiple applications, and the Nexus One has a high

resolution OLED screen making it power thrifty.

However there are a few details apparently lacking in the Nexus One, the music player application has undergone no change and the soft keyboard has also been shown at times to be inaccurate.

For gamers, the Nexus One leaves a lot to be desired and only excels at limited basic titles.

However as Mr Gartenberg, of Interpret explains “The landmark news here is that Google is now a consumer electronics retail company,” and this explains most of the hype around the Nexus One.

“Despite looking exactly like an iPhone, Google have dubbed the Nexus One a ‘Super Phone’” Despite looking exactly like an iPhone, Google in their marketing campaign have called the Nexus One a “super phone” in an attempt to set it apart from its biggest competitors.

Apple, in a bid to counter Google, have announced a deal to buy mobile advertising service Quattro Wireless.

Whilst there is no denying that Google’s Nexus One marks a large milestone in the smart phone market, many of the industry’s experts believe it is not an iPhone killer, but will instead force Apple to raise their game.

This seems to spread good news all round for consumers as 2010 appears to bring choice and a genuine increase in the quality of the products to come.

On Oprah & Cheryl Frankie Everson

It has not even been a century since women were empowered to vote in Britain in 1918, and yet it is astonishing how many inspirational and highly influential women can be found today, not only in the UK but throughout the world.

These leading women, be they singers, television stars or politicians, can be seen as role models throughout the female world, and indeed throughout society as a whole.

For me, there are two women in today’s society who particularly stand out: Cheryl Cole and Oprah Winfrey. Cheryl Cole has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks with the release of her new single and album.

Her popularity as a member of Girls Aloud, X Factor presenter and now a solo singer grows and grows.

Despite critics complaining of Cheryl’s lack of vocal talent, she managed to secure a double number one in the charts after the release of her debut single, ‘Fight for this

Love’ and her album, 3 words. She became the twelfth female artist in the UK ever to achieve this double success.

She has been voted one of the top role models for children in a recent survey, second only to David Beckham. Cheryl Cole’s rise to fame is remarkable considering her humble roots: born in Newcastle to a relatively poor family, her brother has stood before a judge on more than one occasion and her sister still works in Pound Land.

Even with her great success, Cheryl’s life is far from perfect, and she allegedly has a

very difficult and turbulent marriage with engage with a large audience. footballer, Ashley Cole; yet before the As Trisha Goddard, a daytime TV public she remains admirably calm and host in the UK, said to the BBC, “there cheerful. Cheryl Cole is an example to all were talk show hosts before her, but they people of personal strength, showing that talked. She listens”. no matter whether or not you have had The show focuses on important cona head-start in life, it is always possible to temporary issues such as family, children achieve success in your own right. and women which many feel they can Oprah Winfrey is another example relate to. of a successful and inspiring woman in Focusing on issues that her audience today’s society. To the disbelief and disapcan relate to has made Oprah unbelievpointment of thousands of fans, Oprah ably successful and popular worldwide. recently announced that her immensely Not only has Oprah been a huge part popular chat show, which is shown in over of American culture, she has also been 140 countries throughout the world, will an inspiration to young African girls - she come to an end gave £40 million to set after its 25th up the Oprah Winfrey “Cheryl is an example season in 2011.

Leadership Academy, a Winfrey, like school near Johannesto all people of personal burg which is designed to help underprivistrength. Oprah, of leged young women.

Her popularity is success and charisma” evident in the fact that, according to The Star, Cheryl Cole, tickets to a motivational talk scheduled for was born in late November in Johannesburg sold out poverty in within minutes. Oprah’s success and chaMississippi, risma knows no bounds: she has also set but her adup a book club, Oprah’s Book Club, which mirable skills has encouraged previously unknown in business authors to become best-sellers. have led her to Furthermore, having openly struggled become one with her weight, she has now formulated of the wealthiher own weight-loss programme to inspire est women women struggling with their body-image. in the world.

Although celebrity culture is often Over the years, derided, these two women show that she has been celebrity and real achievement may go recognized for together. her warmth and Both Cheryl Cole and Oprah Winfrey openness, and prove that anything is possible and the her ability to route to success for these women was not an easy one.

Given grit, determination and real talent, they show what can be achieved starting from the humblest of beginnings to the dizzying heights of fame.

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Food & Drink

Recipe: Sausage Stew

Cooking with confidence...

New year, new life skill? Palatinate heads to Darlington for a day of culinary creativity LADY G’S COOKERY SCHOOL

This is the perfect hearty winter warmer, ideal when it’s cold and grey outside. It’s a wonderfully easy stew that tastes as if it has been bubbling all day. Serve with some creamy mash or buttery baked potatoes.

HILLARY MICKNELL

Serves 4 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil 2 medium onions, finely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon of dried thyme 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary Georgina Anderson and Caroline Whalley of Lady G’s Cookery School. That’s ‘G’ for gastronomically great, not Gaga

Emily Betournay

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or the majority of students, attending university is their first experience of life away from the comforts of home, where a new world of cleaning, food shopping, bill paying and cooking awaits. Most manage to become fairly adept at the former, necessity and the desire for good personal hygiene acting as the general driving forces.

It is with cooking, however, that many students’ efforts seem to fail which, whilst good for the local takeaways, can easily give some a firm push onto the slippery slope of poor diet and nutrition. Whilst the excuse of lack of funds and occasionally laziness play their part, for what I’m sure is a significant number of people, it is the fact that they simply do not know how to cook which makes this area of independent living so difficult to cope with.

“...attending university is often a student’s first experience away from the comforts of home...”

Not all is lost however, help is at hand.

In order to prove this, four days before Christmas, I found myself retracing my steps north, getting off the train one stop early in Darlington to attend an open day at Lady G’s Cookery School.

Recently opened in October 2009, Lady G’s specialises in student cookery courses, providing courses for the complete beginner student chef, gap year students and chalet cookery courses for those embarking on chalet seasons before

or after university. Situated in the beautiful Georgian mansion of Middleton Lodge, Lady G’s is run by two Cordon Bleu chefs – Georgina Anderson and Caroline Whalley – whose experience in both the restaurant and catering trades makes them highly qualified teachers for the budding student chef.

On arrival at Middleton Lodge, I found myself seated in one of the Lodge’s reception rooms with a cup of tea and a menu of what we would be making that day whilst I waited for my fellow students to arrive.

My initial impressions were of a warm and friendly environment, and whilst the house was large and grand, it was not at all intimidating, creating a welcoming and easy going teaching environment.

The menu which we would be creating throughout the day ranged from lamb meatballs with tomato and chilli sauce to white and dark chocolate brownies with raspberries, containing a varied collection of sweet and savoury dishes, useful for any chef to have in their repertoire. Furthermore, the recipes seemed simple and their instructions easy to follow, perfect for the average student with little to no cooking experience.

My fellow students arrived, an even mix of young men and women, ranging from Sixth Form age to those already attending university, a clever representation of Lady G’s target group for the various courses.

After introductions were made, we were led into the Lodge’s kitchen, a large room dominated by a central island counter around which ten stations, one for each student, easily fitted. Whilst the kitchen itself held the charm of the rest of the Lodge, the equipment within was modern and of a good quality which anyone with any kitchen experience will tell you makes the whole process of cooking a lot easier.

Each station contained most equipment for one, with some to be shared for pair work, providing students with knives, peelers, spoons for mixing and measuring, chopping boards and an excellent quality hot plate between two, all essentials which generally speaking, even the most basic of student kitchens provide.

“Lunch, which we had of course made ourselves, followed along with a tour of the lodge” The morning was spent creating two recipes, the lamb meatballs mentioned above and apple cupcakes with cinnamon frosting. For those concerned that their complete lack of cooking experience would hinder them on a cookery course, there is no need to worry. It was immediately clear that even the most basic of culinary skills would be covered, be that chopping an onion or slicing a chilli.

Each step was first demonstrated, then walked through and guided as each student proceeded in cooking their meal.

Patience seemed to be a virtue which both Georgina and Caroline had in abundance as they repeatedly demonstrated to certain members of the class how to peel an apple demonstrating again just how much lack of experience is not an issue, but if anything, is a reason to attend such a course.

Lunch, which we had of course made ourselves, followed along with a tour around the Lodge, which we were told is primarily used for weddings and other functions, but had been specially opened for Lady G’s cookery courses. Again it must be reinforced that if one is going to take the

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped plunge and finally learn how to cook, there are few environments which I can think of that would be more enjoyable to do so in.

The afternoon was full of more clear and patient teaching as several more meals were created including the aforementioned brownies, along with a chicken and leek pie and chicken chowder, all student friendly recipes when it comes both to ease and to the cost of ingredients.

It was during this time that I got the chance to talk to G (as she prefers to be called) to find out what exactly the four day residential courses run specifically for students would involve.

There would be cooking of course, although probably not in the whole day long setting we experienced on the open day, but either in the morning or afternoon, with the remainder of the day being taken up with various activities.

They hoped that these would involve things such as lessons teaching students how and what to buy when it came to ingredients, sessions with up-and-coming celebrity chef Tiffany Goodall as well as activities around the grounds of the Lodge such as clay pigeon shooting.

The idea of the courses provided by Lady G’s is not to overwhelm students with a vast wave of culinary information, but to give the basic and knowledge and skills to be adapted and manipulated within a kitchen setting. “Cooking with Confidence” is the school’s motto and what both G and Caroline hope to inspire, something which, from what I experienced on the open day they very successfully manage to do.

If you feel inspired to improve your culinary skills to impress your friends and family then visit www.ladygscookeryschool.com for more details.

10 medium sized Cumberland or Chorizo sausages 1 tin of white cannellini beans 1/4 cup dry white or red wine 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock 1 tin of chopped tomatoes A couple of pinches of chilli pepper, season to taste 2 cups of packed spinach 1) In a large casserole dish heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, half the herbs and half the garlic and cook on a low heat for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.

2) Meanwhile, add the sausages to another saucepan and cover with 1/2 cup water. Cook over high heat until water evaporates.

3) Remove the sausages and slice them into large pieces. Add the pieces to the casserole dish with the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes to allow the sausage to brown all over.

4) Add the beans, wine, broth, tomatoes, a pinch of chilli and the remaining herbs and garlic. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.

5) Add the spinach and cook another 6 minutes, until the sauce is somewhat thickened, the greens tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Indigo

Features

Food

Time to get experimental

Travel

Fashion

Travel

StylishTravel

Palatinate looks at an alternative approach to travel and its possible future JESSICA BURMAN

Kathryn Balls

B

ored of trekking the Andes? Hitchhiking across New Zealand proving a killjoy? Relaxing on a Hawaiian beach boring you senseless? Or was reaching the summit of Everest just a drag? All in all, has travelling just got a bit too ‘conventional’?

If so don’t you worry, the answer has been found.

While the word ‘experimental’ is often used to describe novel changes or trends (for instance the standard parent’s reaction to a child coming out; ‘you’re just experimenting, it’s a phase’), experimental travel proudly hails itself to be here to put the adventure back in your travel experience.

Right now you might be thinking that travel doesn’t need jazzing up. A timeless concept, we never really seem to get bored with it.

However, experimental travel offers an alternative to the usual format. Rather than visiting beautiful places and spending our time exploring them, experimental travel suggests we try out ‘any type of travelling that deviates us from the norm’.

Founded by Joel Henry in the 1990’s, experimental travel offers ‘anachronistic adventure’. The suggestion is that rather than pack a guidebook, why not pack something aiding to anarchy like a penny farthing?

Before undertaking in your own travel experiment you could purchase a guide to experimental travel or you could, like me, opt for the more budget-friendly web resource that Lonely Planet offers. The rules are simple and all you have to do is choose a given travel experiment on the website or come up with one of your own.

Now, when choosing your experiment Lonely Planet offers a star ranking for difficulty. Options include you and your lover travelling to a romantic city separately and then spending the day trying to find each other or getting on a train randomly and then staying on till the last stop wherever that stop may be. So, whilst hiding from my

Kathryn looks out to the horizon, and sees little more than darkness ahead

dissertation this Christmas holiday, I decided to follow the footsteps of Henry, and give anachronistic adventure a chance.

Having always been a fan of a challenge, I chose an experiment with five stars for difficulty. Titled ‘Blind Man’s Buff Travel’, the site laid out what I needed to do like any good experiment. The mission was to spend 24 hours exploring a new place whilst blindfolded with only a guide to help.

Now I’ll admit here to my first rulebreak, I had in fact been to the location, Edinburgh, before. However, to keep authenticity to the experiment, my guide Jessica promised to take me round the roads less travelled. I met my guide at the train station and she then tied a black scarf around my eyes. As the experiment claimed, the world was now all but a dark room to me.

As we departed from the station I heard

Culture clashes...

Izzy Barker

tries, Nicaragua in particular have ent on

and Guatemala become dependtourism as their main industry,,

A Beginner’s Guide to Sledging Step 1: Locate a hill.

Step 2: Slide.

Step 3: Land or fall.

leaving other income-generating sectors at the sidelines. Stray slightly from the beaten path and be confronted with the reality of countries trying to keep up with the influence of a Westernised consumer obsessed society and by doing so, slowly eroding their own traditional ways of life.

RA

Without wanting to sound like a piece of talking GCSE Geography coursework, one must ask what the cultural impact of this influx of tourists is on the region.

How truly authentic is your exotic Central American adventure? Long gone are the days where you can stumble across a market filled with local people, buy some handmade jewellery or a traditional trinket. Nearly everything on sale is mass produced and imported. McDonalds and Subways litter the streets, having taken the place of traditional eateries, while local people in colourful garb are almost a pastiche of themselves, dressing up for the benefit of foreigners. Tourism, with all the good intentions of experiencing something new, has destroyed the authenticity of tradition.

I’m not claiming that Central America is bereft of any culture, but the future of tourism in Central America is something that needs addressing. Despite the attempts of ecotourism and sustainable travel indus-

Sledging is...

When you slide over a surface, normally snow, on a carriage of some sort.

What did you use to sledge?

A blue tray which slid very well. Chad’s rugby boys recommend using rugby tacks though.

What were the pros?

I can’t feel my bottom half anymore so its like I’m floating on air. It is also very fun and exciting.

What were the cons?

We nearly sledged into a tractor. And it was quite cold and wet by the end.

Would you rather walk or sledge?

Sledge. I’m considering attaching sledges to my feet in the future so that I can sledge at all times.

Any words of wisdom to other sledgers out there?

Wear trousers and be brave.

How would you rate sledging out of ten?

14/10

E DALB

For many of the Central American countries, tourism is not just an industry, it’s the industry. Rich tourists will pay good money for an exotic adventure and that is what the major cities and villages around the natural landforms across the region have become geared towards. Most activities are now possible if you have the right change.

And so there it was, my deviation into the world of experimental travel. I lasted 4 hours and 52 minutes before I took the

E PIERR

“Tourism’s future in Central America is something that needs addressing”

“In the future I might just be boring and climb Everest”

blindfold off and in this time I explored Edinburgh Castle, visited a few famous statues and gazed at my opaque view of Arthur’s seat. I drew a line when my guide suggested we go into the contemporary art gallery.

The lack of content written on the actual experiment reflects how much there was to report back on.

I realise that perhaps ‘Blind Man’s Buff Travel’ wasn’t best suited to the big freeze.

My knees bare the scars of this experiment and in the future, I might just be boring and climb Everest. However, what experimental travel does offer is a novel change, especially for those meticulous planners out there.

Personally, I’ll opt for a diluted version of experimental travel, Forgetting to pack the guidebook and catching a last minute flight might not be strictly experimental but they do adopt a bit of its quirky ethos.

JEAN

Before embarking on travels through the Central American region, I naively thought that it was a relatively unknown tourist destination. Areas of Mexico, of course (Cancun, Playa del Carmen) have always been popular with the American ‘Spring Break’ crowd as the Ibiza of the Americas, but aside from the odd expat, I believed Nicaragua and Belize et al to be relatively free of Western tourism.

In hindsight, this was a belief largely based in my own lack of geographical knowledge; why would a region on the doorstep of the United States, filled with a vibrant volcanic landscape and both ancient and colonial architecture, not be a hugely popular tourist destination?

In the last decade particularly, tourism across Central America has boomed and not just in the fairly affluent Costa Rica but in poorer countries such as Guatemala and Nicaragua as well. In the most recent

years, these destinations have been at the top of backpackers’ lists, thanks to the relatively low living costs and the increasingly romantic notion of getting away from the Western world of all work and no play.

bagpipes and felt the cold breeze on my face. If anything, the experiment felt more like a lesson in understanding the handicap of being blind than a recreational activity.

However we persevered and I was led to and around Edinburgh Castle. Up a hill, all I can really report back regarding the castle is that it was made of what felt like brick.

Each edition we test out one of Durham’s many forms of travel. This week our author tries out sledging.

Photography: Tom Welch

Indigo

Features

First Ladies of Fashion

Food

Travel

Fashion

The front line of the fashion world is changing, and 2010 is taking its style cues from a very different angle Flicking through fashion blogs of 2009, I came across ‘Mrs O: What and Whom she is wearing’, a continuous feed dedicated to the first lady’s ever-evolving wardrobe. What really struck me about the coverage was that it had a new and more credible persona as its style inspiration.

The trend started with the original Mrs O – Jackie Onassis – but was short lived and faded into sartorial obscurity.

Instead, the media and public looked to the Cheryls and the Gagas out there, for their style cues, but it seems that public favour has begun to swing in favour of powerful female figures in our society, and it is the PWAGS (Political Wives and Girlfriends) that are set to be in the spotlight for the year to come.

Here’s a quick round up of the golden four, and what covetable looks we can steal to update our wardrobes for the next year...

Michelle Obama Championing young fashion talents, from Jason Wu to Thakoon, Mrs O’s enviable wardrobe sticks to staple basics in rich, jewel coloured fabrics. Forgetting the highly body conscious silhouette of 2009, fuller skirts with jewel embellished cardigans and soft jackets are the order of the day.

Statement pieces such as ornamental belts or beautifully cut coats bind outfits together and help classic daywear morph into sleek, tasteful, eveningwear.

Finally, there is a strong sense of playfulness here, with key pieces selected from unusual colour palates and thrown together to create a look of sassy sophistication.

Carla Bruni –Sarkozy The epitome of French elegance and subtlety, Mme. Sarkozy’s personal style rarely strays from the demure and polished. Although many of us are not on first name terms with France’s premier couturiers, we can take note of how she achieves that effortless poise with her clothes.

Strong, clean cut tailoring is a must, with soft unfussy accessories and detailing. Boring, utilitarian pieces like the shift dress and wide legged trousers are transformed into high fashion essentials with nude colour palettes and ultra-feminine necklines. Finally, those sky-high heels that dominated the runways last year are replaced with the classic ballet pump to compliment the look.

Samantha Cameron She may not be our first lady yet, but SamCam’s role in the fashion stakes has grown as quickly as her husband’s election campaign, and her publicity has certainly rivalled his on several occasions. While the media lauded and critiqued her outfit choices throughout the Conservative party conference last year, we saw some very confident selections, particularly from the high street.

Look for candy coloured blouses paired down with denim blazers and cocoon skirts, and yummy (yet inexpensive) cashmere knits.

Dresses like this one are given that extra edge with a modest belt. Her handbags created a bit of a cult following for her line at Smythson – find a similar look on the high street with soft leather totes in canary yellows and classic brown satchels.

Sarah Brown The queen of reinvention, Mrs Brown upped her game over the past year, much to the pleasure of the fashion world. Gone are the dowdy two-piece suits in grim fabrics and colours which attract attention only for the wrong reasons.

Instead the Prime Minister’s wife heralded a new and exciting moment in British Fashion.

Think graphic prints on satin dresses like this one, which look fantastic on her curvy figure. She has also tried and tested and brilliantly bold statement necklaces which jazz up a simple outfit no end.

Each outfit also takes it’s cue from young, home grown designers – quirky detailing as seen at The House of Holland gives a certain edge of originality to many a look, and means she is associated with fashionable individuality. Glamorous silhouettes, as epitomised by the Erdem dress worn to the Labour Party conference last year are the final piece de resistance pulled out of the bag, and are complimented by a relaxed hairstyle suggesting calm elegance.

JONATHAN ALLEN & ANNA GOLIKOVA

Blossoming Beauty Our Resident Beauty guru lets us take a look into her spring beauty box...

Katie Service

This season is going to be all about getting back to the basics; less is more, as they like to say. Complexions are key. They are fresh, dewy, sporty looking faces, that have that ‘I just got out of the spa’ glow. Gone are matte, dull bases that were sported this winter, instead the velvet texture is lighter, wetter, more breathable.

Secondly the smoky eye is back (to be fair when did it ever go?) but this time it’s a different breed. Upgrade your generic matte black smoky with splashes of bright metallics which will look less heavy on your fresh base.

Another thing I would suggest this season is to mercilessly cull your mascara.

Yes that’s right- you can live without it...

On such a clean base mascara can look dirty and cloggy.

Simply swipe some Vaseline over your lashes with your finger and viola!

Defined lashes without the weight, and it’s much better for them too. Or if you feel confident enough, apply false lashes onto your top lash line for natural but perfectly shaped lashes.

So what do you need to get this look?

Follow these theree golden rules...

1. Moisturise Any good structure needs good foundations, and moisturising is especially important in cold and windy Durham.

Prep your skin with a dollop of the luscious Steam Cream (£9.99). This brand new wonder product will have your skin screaming for more. The cream itself is produced with steam so that the ingredients fuse together more effectively and melt onto your skin, diffusing instantly to the cells that really need it most. Smelling of neroli, lavender and orange blossom- it’s a gorgeously wintery fragrance yet fresh rather than musty to make your face feel as alive as it will look.

2. Your base To get that really glowing look mix your foundation with a tiny drop of facial oil for that really dewy complexion. Always pick a waterbased foundation- it will be light on your skin, yet still have good coverage- I love the myface.cosmetics mymix foundation (£12.71). Splurge out on Decleor Cleansing Oil (£26.50) or try the more economically friendly version Bio Oil (£14.99).

3. Seasonal metallics Spring green, pastel pinks and tarnished gold. Play to the Christmas spirit with these shimmering metallics. To keep this a sophisticated look as opposed to tacky one, use an eyeshadow that is pearl based rather than one that contains mica (the spangly glitter that drops all over your cheekbones the moment after you apply it). The myface.cosmetics single blingtones (£9.98) contain 80% crushed pearl and a special binding oil that means they won’t drop or sink into your lines and creases. ** One for the boys I am told reliably by my guy friends that clinique Cream Shave is “the shit”! It recently won the GQ.com Reader Award.

In fact the entire range is pretty highly regarded as the most reliable of men’s skincare ranges, and it’s affordable to boot.

It’s not overly fragranced and is made up of a foolproof regime- perfect for those guys who are relatively cosmetically challenged! And I quote “It’s like a Saville row suit: inconspicuous but a solid performer”.

What more could you want?

CLIFF

Dipal Acharya

Seasonal metallics are the key to achieving this spring’s look

Indigo

Features

Food

Travel

Fashion

Runway Spy

Dipal Acharya takes a look at the newest trends taking off on the runways for Spring/Summer 2010 Underwear as Outerwear

With a shift back to the 80s last year, the runways show no sign of letting up this year. The underwear trend has been spotted from the red carpet to the high street – sensuous fabrics, lace trims and barely there dresses. Try the trend with translucent sheath dresses, with gothic print detailing and peek-a-boo necklines. For the slightly more conservative, work the trend in with gorgeous seamed tights and luxurious stockings.

Ladylike

Harking back to the golden age of dressing, the ladylike trend takes its cue from the feminine silhouette of the 40s and 50s. Capture the romance in ruffled blouses and pretty bow details, and PLENTY of necklaces. The trusty pencil skirt in nude colours will also be a great investment piece for transeasonal trends.

BURBERRY S/S10

Graphic Tees

From post recession gloom, we see the humble graphic tee making a strong comeback. Affordable and versatile, the tee has fast become the most accessible way to wear vintage pieces, not to mention adaptable for any body shape. It also provides the perfect medium for customisation and DIY prints for any budding designer out there. Dressed up with denim and statement heels or adapted for daywear with pretty floral skirts, the tee looks set to be a staple item in any spring wardrobe.

Multi-faceted work wear

Finally, a trend that is a lot more fashion savvy and exudes confidence. The humble suit is rejuvenated in a variety of fabrics and colours, to create pieces, which are as wearable in the evening as in the office. Harder lines from last year are blurred with a plethora of soft, spring jackets, that are perfect thrown over tapered trousers or a flirty shift dress. Forget about the fashion world’s penchant for the utilitarian look, tailoring is given a new edge with its versatility, and gives any girl major fashion points!

TEMPERLEY S/S10

FASHION EAST S/S10

LUELLA S/S10

MULBERRY S/S10

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF STYLE.COM

Sorbet Palette

Delectable colours are everywhere this season, and will have you watering at the mouth. Burberry set the standard with their gorgeous reworked vision for the trench coat, and the high street looks set to follow. The trend is wonderfully set off with sheer fabrics and soft leathers, and is the perfect start for a fresh, clean spring look. Lemon, jade and pink separates

worked in together will have passers-by watering at the mouth.

Visual Arts

Film & TV

Arts Visual Arts

Stage

Music

Books Visual Arts Arts

Deciding the artists of the future T

oday, like any other day in the twenty-first century, artists will emerge from dusty, unassuming alleys with a self-conscious sigh as they wonder if anyone will ever appreciate their genius. Others will swagger confidently through the halls of their art school, deep in thought or conversation about meanings of art and life, and in the old chests in the corners of their minds the dream of recognition pushes at the heavy lids. A select few will take a turn in a grandiose gallery with a little more mature confidence as they know that there, on that huge wall for everyone to see, is their work.

In the past wealthy patrons had the most sway over who or what was worthy of the utmost praise. Looking at the Titians and Monets and Rembrandts that we have today, their decisions were not unwise, and we all feel very intelligent and blessed with intuitive understanding when we see a painting on a wall or a sculpture on a pedestal and are able to say, “Oh, do look here dear, it’s a Vermeer. It caught my eye from across the room” (I confess that I fall into this group). In the storage rooms of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, there are enough works of art to fill the gallery proper many more times over. So, how will we decide which works of today will be exhibited above ground, and of which will be said, “It’s a what?”

BBC 2’s School of Saatchi propounds my theory of how the revered come to

be revered: the winner, Eugenie Scrase, wowed the judges with a ‘found object’.

Admittedly it was striking and shouted at you from across the room, but it was not so much art as a media stunt. And it seems to be, by and large, the media who decides which category each artist drops into.

Art competitions are less affected by this, however. They exist in their multitudes, acting as financial incentives the individual to explore and exploit artistic talent.

“... a select few will take their turn in a grandiose gallery...”

After speaking to Peter Monkman, the 2009 winner of the prestigious BP Portrait Award, I’m beginning to think that my assumption that all artists want to join the museums of the masters is itself commercial, or anti-aesthetical. Art is an expression of thought, marks on paper become the intangible and bizarre ideas that shape our lives. To suggest that the aim of all artists is to achieve recognition as he plays in the pots of gold at the elusive end of the rainbow is perhaps a little naïve on my part.

For Monkman, an art teacher who had been entering the competition since 1996 before winning last year, the greatest reward of competitions is the external acknowledgement of his work’s brilliance, itself “an incentive to keep going”. Without

What’s On? Until 31st Jan BALTIC, Newcastle presents Korean artist Kimsooja’s first solo exhibition in the UK. Kimsooja’s work combines performance, video, and installation, addressing issues of the displaced self. Kimsooja brings together a conceptual, logical, and structural investigation of performance through immobility which suggests that the artist is not the main force in a work of art.

18th Jan - 19th Mar Van Mildert College is exhibiting four stunning batiks by the renowned artist, Thetis Blacker, and has a further nine pictures on loan from the Blacker Estate.

25th Jan - 12th Mar ‘Carrbridge to Perranporth’, a collection of the works of exciting new landscape artist Amelia Humber, is on display in Trevelyan College, hosted by the college’s Fine Arts Committee.

Until 7th Feb Damien Hirst’s 1992 work ‘Pharmacy’ is on show at BALTIC, Newcastle, in conjunction with Tate Connects.

showing off to those outside your family it is hard to “[objectify] things. Competitions help you to move on” from a piece you might be lingering over unnecessarily.

Winning the award has not lessened Monkman’s desire to develop his work.

Despite being a “fairly well established artist previously, winning has opened up [his] work to different strata of buyers, and there is more pressure” as a result. In fear of becoming “typecast” as a portraitist, he has “played around with other ideas and media”, such as the video art he created for the Venice Biennale. Far from nestling into the comfy, cosy corner of a style familiar to him, Monkman has reacted to his success by keeping up with, even ahead of, forms of expression.

Richard Wright, winner of the 2009 Turner Prize, expressed a slightly different view in an interview with The Guardian: “It’s a double-edged thing, I feel very happy… but also a strange sadness as well”, he said with a shrug of the shoulders, as if, on attaining the pinnacle of recognition, all dreams slid slowly down the side.

In spite of the potential financial gain of artistic competitions, what they stand for is something greater: the fulfilment of potential in both the artist and his style of choice.

Undoubtedly Monkman and Wright are exceptionally talented and their work will outlive both them and us. We can only hope that long-standing competitions such as these will continue to highlight true excellence, allowing talent to emerge in force rather than be submerged by aesthetically unappealing media whims.

In ‘Changeling 2’ Monkman potrays adolescence in an unsettling light

Entertaining art

Is the artistry behind video games enough to define them as Art for the next generation?

Kiron Choudhury

Indie road movies came to Hollywood.

MySpace musicians took over the charts.

But video games have so far remained a product of the corporate machine.

Countless franchises have dominated the market this past decade – Halo, Pokémon and GTA to name a few – yet it is the little known Pixel Junk Eden which appears to buck the trend.

This downloadable PlayStation game looks more like a Paper Rad installation than the latest Mario Bros. The whirlwind of colours coupled with minimalist techno music creates a somewhat surreal experience as you explore each level, called gardens, in search of the mysterious spectra. Often located far above the starting point, dormant seeds must be “woken” and rejuvenated with pollen in order to reach them.

The setting is quite intriguing. Placid gardens inhabited by sleeping wildlife seem a world away from the cosmopolitan

pursuits of the average gamer. There is Bond and Transformers shall continue to perhaps a desire to escape embedded here; follow the banal formats of their predecesa longing for a more tranquil existence. sors – much like their box-office counAnd apparently it’s not a bad game either. terparts. But the recent rise of interactive Gamespot guru Tom McShea calls it both installations, notably those housed at the “serene” and a “blast”.

Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern, would Of course, aesthetic beauty alone does at least suggest a willingness to embrace not constitute art. Most would argue a even more experimental art forms. If an true artist challenges perceptions. Tatsuya unkempt bed can cause a riot, who knows Suzuki and Jun Fujiki’s simple yet elegant what will happen next.

Echochrome perhaps comes close. The stark black and white design creates a deceptively uncomplicated backdrop to a truly exhilarating experience.

Visual perceptions are not simply challenged but warped as a budding contender attempts to guide his stickman to the finish line.

It is no doubt far too early to crown video games the new art form of the 2010s.

Additions to mainstream An artistic education is not to be found in mainstream games franchises such as James

JONATHAN ALLEN

Rosanna Boscawen

PETER MONKMAN, OIL ON CANVAS

Palatinate asks who and how the artists of our age will be chosen

Visual Arts

Film

Film & TV

Stage

Music

Books

Film and Television Arts

The end is nigh or a brave new world?

Ben Swales reviews Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian future in The Road Dimension Films; The Weinstein Company

««««« Ben Swales

Everything declines: there was a long shear of bright light, then a series of low concussions. Oh no! The fourth seal has been opened! The Apocalypse is upon us!

Cue music: Carl Orff’s ‘O Fortuna’ – aka the epic music overused on just about everything, including X Factor. It’s also the most famous piece of music composed in Nazi Germany, which is fitting. Carmina Burana, from which ‘O Fortuna’ is taken, was inspired by Medieval songs written by minstrels, scholars, monks and jesters in the years of bloody war and plague, joining hordes of homeless men and women traipsing across broken Europe.

Ingmar Bergman cited this piece as the inspiration for his dark classic, The Seventh Seal: essentially a road movie in which a Medieval knight deals with death: the final judgement, famously playing chess with the Grim Reaper on a beach.

What he loved was the idea of people travelling through the downfall of civilisation and giving birth to new music – and hope. In The Road it is ‘The Man’ (Viggo

Mortensen) who takes the role of the knight, along with his son, ‘The Boy’ (Kodi Smit-McPhee). These two unnamed characters are our heroes – unknown soldiers in a constant battle with hunger, cold, and the cannibalistic ‘bloodcults’ which prowl the stark, ashen lands of America. An America in which the sun no longer shines, so they must ‘carry the light’ - this is their charge and they preach it religiously.

First and foremost this is not a sci-fiapocalypse-nuclear holocaust movie. The Road isn’t about a dystopian future; it’s just set in one. This is something the first trailers forgot with all their disaster movie iconography: footage of tidal waves, riots and hurricanes. All it was missing was shit hitting a fan. You’d have been forgiven for thinking The Road is another sanctimonious global warming ‘we’re all going to die’ film, preaching that if we don’t act now, this is what will happen.

It’s just not about that. Seeing it as some sort of social commentary misses the point entirely and sells the whole thing short. If it was about that the film would be painfully depressing, and very boring indeed. Thankfully, the newer trailers get to the kernel of the film’s actual meaning, as intended by Cormac McCarthy when he wrote the book: the limits of our humanity – what would you do? It’s about The Man’s devotion to his son and his eternal,

constant fear. The fear of leaving his child alone without the knowledge he’ll need to face the world; a world more dangerous, violent, bleak and doomed than the one he was brought into.

sic I’ve ever heard. It gets under your skin and builds tension until it snaps, exploding into a properly dystopian tribal beat. For the most part the music works, although the sentimentality in some areas is unnecessary, or at least shouldn’t be so explicit.

By far the most impressive thing about The Road is its cinematography, which is as expressionistic as they come.

It’s almost black and white.

What’s more, no CGI was used.

The awful world in which the story is set looks so realistic precisely because it is real.

My only real criticism of this film is its omission of some of the more gruesome aspects of the book. They nailed the singleminded senti-

“The Road isn’t about a dystopian future, it’s just set in one” McCarthy has a young son and is in his 70s now; this was the inspiration for his book – indeed it is devoted to his son – and now the film, which has been respectfully and cleverly adapted for the screen.

The film portrays a lot of the emotions of the book, enhanced by the somewhat controversial voiceover, something director John Hillcoat and Viggo Mortensen were dead against, but that writer Joe Penhall and McCarthy were all for.

Another controversial aspect of the film is its music. My friend complained it was terribly soppy and sentimental, and some of it is, where it needs to be. The soppy stuff is counterpoint. It’s entirely at odds with the world created so convincingly by the film. The rest is about the filthiest, grungiest and darkest accompanying mu-

Viggo Mortensen offers an impeccable performance in Hillcoat’s new film

All aboard HMS Torrin

What’s On?

In celebration of the WWII patriotic classic, In Which We Serve If ever there was a British war film produced during the Second World War with a message so relevant to the tragic loss of servicemen in today’s overseas operations of the armed forces, it would be In Which We Serve (directed by David Lean and Noel Corward, 1942).

Nominated for two Academy Awards, this is a film that has maintained its

popularity through the years. The film’s content and message of service aboard a British destroyer is relevant not only to an audience of fathers and grandfathers who saw active service during this period - and can therefore readily identify with the portrayal of the crew of HMS Torrin and the families of its crewmen and officers but will also resonate with those who have relatives and friends serving in the armed forces today.

“the film-makers were not afraid to show suffering in order to project realism”

Lean and Coward’s propaganda masterpiece follows a crew aboard a British destroyer

Weds 27th Jan from 7.40pm Holocaust Memorial Day - The Gala Cinema The event includes a screening of Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of Bernard Schlink’s The Reader, alongside French documentary short Night and Fog. The films are introduced by the University’s very own Dr Ruth Wittlinger, whose research focuses on the role the Nazi past figures in the German national identity.

Student tickets: £5.25

In Which We Serve was a Two Cities production made in 1942. The celebrated playwright, Noel Coward was approached to write a script on a suitable subject for the Royal Navy which was based on Louis Mountbatten and the sinking of his ship HMS Kelly in the Mediterranean during May 1941.

Concern was expressed that Coward with his notorious playboy reputation was somewhat unsuitable for the portrayal RADIO ROVER

Dean Rowell

mentality of the film, so they could afford to throw in some of the more disgusting elements of the story. This is not to say that the film avoided them altogether – parts of it still made me squirm. I mean, it’s not as if anyone’s ‘actually’ going to watch the film; they’re all too busy fawning over the computer game graphics of Avatar.

So, as usual, a film of such intelligence and feeling is going to be far outlived by a thinly veiled social commentary in which oil is renamed “unobtanium”. Sixteen years of development and that’s the best they could do? Welcome to 2010.

IVAN G

The Road John Hillcoat

of a respectable Royal Navy officer, but his outstanding performance as Captain Kinross, commanding officer of the Torrin, succeeded in confounding the critics.

He later secured an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for the role.

By today’s standards of CGI special effects, the film may seem a little dated, however for its day, the film had a remarkably extensive budget and a special studio set was built at the Denham Studios. In a memorable combat scene, where the Torrin is bombed by the Luftwaffe, the stories of some members of the crew are told in flashback.

We see a selection of class backgrounds presented here. Noel Coward as Captain Kinross, the Chief Petty Officer Walter Hardy played by Bernard Miles, and a convincing performance by John Mills as Able Seaman ‘Shorty’ Blake. Richard Attenborough makes his screen debut as a young rating who deserts his post. The film also stars Dame Celia Elizabeth John-

son, who features in Lean and Coward’s most famous collaboration, Brief Encounter (1945).

The film’s message of a united Britain working together to defeat the enemy accorded with the propaganda objectives of the government’s Ministry of Information Films Division (indeed the film was made with their assistance), and presented a filmic image that civilians on the home front were also suffering from the effects of the war.

Following its general release, the film was a commercial and critical success and found some success in the United States too. If In Which We Serve represented the turning point in wartime cinema propaganda during the Second World War, it was because the film makers were not afraid to show suffering in order to project a realism with which cinema audiences could engage and thus the message of victory borne out of endurance could be understood.

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Looking at the darker side of the Durham Stage world

The technical elements of a Durham student theatre production may be a lost art if we are not careful about it TAMAKO HONDA

Ben Saunders

T

his is the view in the dark. The voice of the feedback. The invisible movement of the hand across the stage to clear and construct. We are a minority dressed in black. We build, rig, light, run and make noise for those who cannot see us. We are still, however, students. Our recognition comes from the fact that we are asked to do shows in advance, we are respected in our views and that the company buys us beer afterwards.

We put on one show every week during term time. This is obviously a vast commitment of time for all concerned. Production companies will generally start working on getting a play ready around two to three months before show week. On the Monday the technical staff will rig the lanterns, sound equipment, and build the set.

“...the start of the week is a write-off for degree work” There is then a technical rehearsal on Monday or Tuesday night, with more work being done throughout the day on Tuesday and if there are problems on Wednesday too. The dress rehearsal will be on the Tuesday or the Wednesday and then the run begins. This effectively means that for the technical team, the director and the producer, the start of the week is a write-off for degree work. We run the show and then after you have all left on the Saturday night, we de-rig the theatre and tidy up, generally finishing around midnight.

Over the last few years this system has worked fine, as there has been enough organisation to ensure that there are enough technical staff to cover the show. It was rare that a techie ended up running three or more shows consecutively, which allowed them to catch up on their degree work or to just sleep. The same was true of the props, costumes and make-up department who were mostly able to spend a week in the theatre and then a week out again.

“We work quickly and effectively to produce what are usually technically competent shows” Due to this system Durham has some of the best student theatre technical workers: one of our students won the highest technical award at the National Student Drama Festival. Because we work so much in the theatre and have such tight deadlines, we work quickly and effectively to produce what are usually technically competent shows. We are in general as professional as we can be. So are the majority of the production companies who we work for.

However over the last term there

Without the help and support of Durham’s technical geniuses, opening lights like this would remain any potential producer’s fantasy

has been a change in views. No longer, it would appear, do companies organise their technical work before the week of the play. In the Michaelmas term, at the point of writing, there have been eight shows in the Assembly Rooms alone. Four had competent enough production companies to organise a crew beforehand, making the running of the show slicker and easier for all concerned. Of these shows two were the sketch comedy groups at the start, This Theatre Company’s production of Doubt and the respected DULOG showing of Iolanthe. The other shows have been stuck for crew on the Monday of the show week, and occasionally also on the Tuesday. This has meant that crew who have already worked three weeks consecutively in the theatre are being asked to work again, to the detriment of their academic and private lives.

Added to this is the fact that there are productions outside of the Assembly Rooms which need technical staff. Despite this, all

of the shows that have been short of crew have, by the gargantuan efforts of three or four techies, still been a success.

Normally the reaction of most of our technical staff is to keep quiet and keep going: the true spirit of the show must go on. It has now reached the point where it is not fair on them to do this. All production companies must realise that the technical staff in theatre must be respected.

“...technical staff in theatre must be respected” I write this article not out of malice or any personal attacks but out of genuine anger that we are being taken advantage of. I write in the hope that all production companies will understand that we are not just going to turn up on the Monday

and everything is going to be rosy. I also write this to inform those who come to see shows just how much work going in from the technical side. This does not diminish the work of the production team, the cast and the costumiers, make up and props people. The effort put in by all sides is vast and theatre would not be the same without it. Yet all of the above mentioned are brought in months before the run. It would be stupid to expect an actor to come in at the start of the week and give a performance of quality. It would be even more foolish to expect them to do this having been in three shows in the last three weeks.

Why, therefore, do production companies do this to technicians? It is unthinkable to us that a show could not happen and so we work until we cannot work anymore.

The Technical Director of the Assembly Rooms has not just helped with the last eight shows, and three others outside of the theatre; he has been actively involved nearly every night of this term and a lot of

the days because production companies have not organised themselves and due to the late notice, he is the only one available. It is unfair and unjust to expect us to always be there. We understand that for the director and producer of a play, the show

“It is unfair and unjust to expect us to always be there” week is just as long, tiring and stressful as it is for us, possibly more so, as are the two weeks beforehand. However we are now in that situation every week. If Durham had a theatre degree, it would be acceptable for those involved to have to work every week but it does not. Those involved do it for the love of theatre. And that love is dying.

Rekindle it or in a few months, your shows will be in deep problems.

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Looking closer at Shakespeare’s flawed king

Does last term’s Collingwood interpretation of a prequel to King Lear match up to the Bard’s tragic masterpiece?

PHIL BROWN

Seven Lears Collingwood WoodPlayers Collingwood College ««««« Sarah Johnson

S

even Lears by Howard Barker is an imaginative interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Barker depicts Lear during seven different periods of his life, from a care-free youth to a king struggling to be good in the midst of war and poverty-stricken Britain. Lear is portrayed as a man in the ‘pursuit of good’ who cherishes honesty and truth, but who ultimately through ineptitude causes much pain and distress to his loved ones and his country. Besides the many unnecessary deaths caused by his wars, he imprisons innocent subjects, tries to drown his own daughter and sentences his mother-in-law to death.

“...An atmosphere of sustained unease & repression. . .”

“A brave choice of material for a college production.”

As you can imagine, this is something of a dark and dour play and it goes without saying that this was a brave choice of material for a college production. Whilst Barker is a much-renowned playwright, he is known for his controversial and challenging material. Personally, I think it was an unwise selection.

Firstly it seemed that to fully comprehend the play one needed a level of prior knowledge of Shakespeare’s original, so any audience member not sufficiently well versed in the works of the Bard would have

King Lear (Jamie Kitson) is taught more than one lesson in how to seize power effectively in the latest Collingwood Woodplayers production

missed certain references and plot points.

Secondly, comprehension was further hampered by Barker’s script, which is made up of many short exchanges between characters with a lack of any real fluidity or plot development. This is a theatrical device intended by Barker, who often fragments his work and refrains from making obvious points or explaining characters’ motives in order to allow personal responses to the play. However, this led to unexplained

character developments, leaving the audience confused, and meant that scenes seemed to run into one another with little feeling of continuity, whilst momentum struggled to be maintained. Add to this the very dialogue-heavy script, in which much was said but little actually seemed to happen and this makes for a tricky and often bewildering experience for the viewer.

However, the numerous failings of the script were greatly redeemed by direc-

Are you scared of the stage?

You might be after this bout of Durham musical madness Scared Scriptless Durham Improvised Musical The Assembly Rooms

««««« Charlotte Wake

A purely improvised musical must be one of the hardest things for a performer to undertake, armed only with a chair and a piano against expectant, critical onlooker.

As I sat in the Assembly Rooms not entirely sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised with the amusing outcome, although I half expect some of that was due to a lively audience.

After much deliberation from the actors with the audience the title and location of the nights performance was decided on, as well as the main song. We were to enjoy a performance of ‘The Devil Finds Out He’s Gay’ set in a motorway station near Benidorm. An unusual title, but not

mother and also Lear’s former lover, was played wonderfully. Comic relief was provided by a fleeting appearance from shepherd Phil Davies, whilst Toby Leston’s portrayal of Kent showed much promise.

The ensemble of ragged peasants, who are ever-present on stage, reminding Lear of his guilt, were successful in creating a sustained atmosphere of unease and repression, with the help of some clever staging from director Gareth Davies, placing them underneath the stage beneath Lear’s feet. Davies should be credited for drawing some excellent performances from his cast despite the difficult material he had to work with.

wholly unexpected for a play starting at ten o’clock at night. The performance started off fairly well, the opening song sung in the traditional musical style, was ‘On Holiday’.

The cast came together fairly well, complementing the song well with mimes and each actor giving themselves a unique identity. The song itself was quite amusing; there were a few dry patches, with jokes missed and pauses during the songs, which were to be a running theme throughout the performance.

“Ben Starr took the role of the Devil. . .

‘Lucy’ for short.”

Ben Starr took the role of the Devil, known as Lucifer or ‘Lucy’ for short. He gave a wonderfully camp and exuber-

ate performance, which was amusing to watch. He very much led the whole musical, acting as the glue which held the show together, organising the next scene and trying to pick the show back up when someone’s imagination faltered.

The storyline of the performance was a little confusing, not aided by the strange title of the main song ‘She Loved Me When I Was A Goat’. Fortunately for the actors, the audience ignored the small discrepancies in the story line, as they were too busy laughing at the madcap antics onstage, mainly orchestrated by Ben Starr and Michael Shaw. The songs were well harmonised, humorous and even rhymed.

The pianist, Joanna Cichonska, ensured each song was different and gave a true musical experience.

For an hour I was entertained, the songs and characters, though funny, were not memorable. However, it delivered exactly what it intended on doing: it made an audience laugh.

tor Gareth Davies’s excellent cast. Fresher Jamie Kitson was a particularly impressive Lear. He played this challenging role excellently, and his portrayal of the mental instability of the King towards the end of the play was very convincing. Hayley Parsons’ Clarissa, Lear’s wife, successfully handled the transition from a whimsical bird-chasing youth to a monarch and the difficult relationship between Clarissa and Prudentia (Sinead Lehy), Clarissa’s

Colour was used successfully by costume designer Alice Graves, with Lear dressed in black and white throughout, whilst the other leads were dressed in colour, creating a stark contrast and emphasising Lear’s dark state of mind and joyless existence. Some inconsistencies though, such as imprisoned peasants dressed in rags sporting silver jewellery and summer festival wristbands, should have been addressed.

Ultimately I think this play was a poor choice for a college production.

Something more mainstream would have been more enjoyable for the audience and may have drawn greater performances from some promising cast members.

However the cast and production team at Collingwood must be credited for producing an original and convincing performance from difficult source material.

What’s On? Tues 26th Jan - Sat 30th Jan West Side Story -DULOG -Gala Theatre The classic American musical interpretation of Romeo and Juliet is this year’s DULOG offering at the Gala Theatre £10.50 concession, £7 First Night, £8 Matinee Thurs 28th Jan - Sat 30th Jan The Shape of Things - The Assembly Rooms - 7.30pm This innovative play lacks the publicity machine of DULOG, but has just as much to offer in the coming week.

See online for preview. £5.50, £5 NUS, £4.50 DST Thurs 4th Feb The London Community Gospel Choir -Gala Theatre If you like your music loud and proud, then this new show to the North East should be right up your street £14 (concession)

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The death of the book as we know it? The debate begins Alice Graves

2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year in literature. It may be due to Jane Campion’s film Bright Star about the life and work of Keats, but poetry is slowly re-entering the public consciousness - which is fantastic news - and we have the first female Poet Laureate in Carol Ann Duffy. There are some thrilling new releases from heavyweights in literature such as Ian McEwan, Don Delillo and Martin Amis, and due to new technology, books are becoming more accessible than ever.

“...aesthetically & ergonomically beautiful...”

Part of this technical revolution in literature is down to the Kindle, Amazon’s new digital e-book reader and its competitors, such as Sony’s Reader. These readers are aesthetically and ergonomically beautiful, giving the impression of over-sized iPods, and, with that, all the associations and connotations of design of the highest quality. Yet is this really the future of books, or are we on the brink of a technological nightmare?

In my opinion, reading is a multi-sensory experience. I love the tangible familiarity of reading a book. To feel the pages between my fingers. Seeing it crinkle and warp. Holding up an old book by the spine so it falls open at the raunchy bits. I love the smell of a new book. Readers such as the Kindle embody nothing of this. Now, if giving a book as a present, the thrill factor will surely decrease significantly if you receive a virtual gift via email as opposed to a solid package wrapped up in paper that you can recklessly tear off, with your teeth if you so wish.

The Reader certainly has its attractions.

Most evidently, there are the supposed space-saving advantages of carrying around a whole library at once in a relatively small device. But who really reads more than one book at a time? For those bookworms out there, like me, who usually have a couple on the go, the Kindle is annoyingly heavy, much in the same way that a hardback can feel awkward and a strain to hold, so it’s probably more kind on your wrists to have two paperbacks anyway.

There is the mind-numbingly irritating small keypad, the insuppressible screen flashing every time you turn the page, the lack of functionality that means if you want a particular chapter or section, you often have to turn each page one-by-one to get to it, or my personal fury at not having the ability to doodle notes in the margins.

However, what has really been most disconcerting is the fact that books, after having been paid for and downloaded onto the device, have suddenly disappeared.

It appears that there had been problems with copyright in certain editions of books that had only come into light after many people had bought them, and, at the time, Amazon made the rash decision to recall the purchases.

“...is this really the future of books, or are we on the brink of a technological nightmare?”

Another important part of reading is sharing. As humans, we naturally want to share our experiences, and in particular experiences that have evoked an emotional response, whether that be from a gritty

thriller, a beautifully written piece of art, or a silly Mills & Boon. If a friend has problems, I’m more likely to prescribe a poem or a novel over anything else. The Kindle eliminates this element of community, as effectively, all of your books are in one book, which makes it impossible to pass them on.

ANNALENA MCAFEE

Kindles, Readers, and new novels by some literary heavyweights: welcome to a new decade in the literary world

“The book is an incredible piece of technology...”

The book is an incredible piece of technology, thousands of years in the making. It is the original space-saver, and, as opposed to the ‘scroll’, enabled several sections in a long text to be read simultaneously with incredible ease.

But what else does 2010 offer us apart from the refining of the techno-book?

Well, new novels from two Brit-lit heavyweights. Ian McEwan’s new novel, Solar, is out this year on March 18th.

For McEwan fans out there, it will be very welcome news that this new novel is a return to the satirical style of his Booker Prize-winner, Amsterdam. Solar continues McEwan’s tightly plotted brand of fiction, as a ‘freak accident’ decides the fate of the protagonist Michael Beard, a fat, Nobel Prize-winning physicist. As with Saturday, the novel has a political flavour, here focusing on climate-change. Despite choosing very rarely to write in this way, McEwan does black humour incredibly well, with an ease that is at times heart-stoppingly funny, and a style that distinguishes it completely as his own.

McEwan’s friend, and fellow heavyweight, Martin Amis has his twelfth novel, The Pregnant Widow, also out next month.

The novel is said to be semi-autobiographical, following a sexually motivated, intelle-

Ian McEwan’s new novel Solar is due to hit shops in March

ctual and bookish young man, Keith Hearing, on a trip to an Italian castle in 1970, where women are just beginning to embrace their new sexual freedom, featuring cameo walk-ons from Christopher Hitchins and the late poet Ian Hamilton. The ‘pregnant widow’ in the novel is feminism, which Amis has described as “still in its second trimester... I think it has several more convulsions to undergo before we’ll see

the child”, and the title refers to a comment by “the father of Russian Socialism” and writer Alexander Herzen that in destroying the old order before giving birth to the new, revolutions leave a pregnant widow.

The Pregnant Widow should be a welcome return to form, and to Amis’ youthful outlook. So there we have it. Both the year, and the decade, spells lots of exciting things to come. It is not to be missed.

Andrew Motion’s book that changed Larkin’s reputation

How does the most infamous biography of the nineties fare as we enter a new decade? Palatinate takes a look Philip Larkin: A Writer’s Life Andrew Motion Faber and Faber «««««

James Underwood

Andrew Motion’s 1993 biography of Philip Larkin caused a stir in literary circles for its unflinching exploration of the less savoury aspects of the poet-librarian’s life. But nearly 25 years after Larkin’s death, and more than fifteen years since the publication of A Writer’s Life, does Motion’s biography still have the same impact?

The book’s sympathetic depiction of this confusing figure is perhaps its most lasting accomplishment - stemming partly from the acute self-consciousness of writ-

ing that both Motion and Larkin have experienced. The Hermit of Hull, as Larkin was known, underwent periods of selfloathing that were the result of his inability to write well. Larkin once declared himself

“Larkin declared himself ‘incapable of becoming an artist.’” incapable “of becoming an artist. I am filled with waves of self-disgust and doubt...I know what shit is, and won’t write it; on the other hand, I can’t write anything else”.

More interesting was Motion’s comic revelation to the Durham University English

Society that his friendship with Larkin at Hull, where Motion first lectured, left him too terrified to write his own poetry. This kind of understanding with his subject makes for a compelling biography.

But the connection between the two extends beyond literature. Motion’s portrayal of the more unpleasant details of Larkin’s life is controversial – but also empathetic and sensitive. Celebrated as one of the greatest poets of his century, in private Larkin espoused xenophobic beliefs, had a passion for pornography, and caused great pain in his love affairs – details fans of his poetry might find hard to stomach.

Motion, however, elucidates without aggressive explanation. Larkin’s xenophobia, for instance, is shown to be a consequence of childhood holidays to Germany with his father who had a soft spot for fascism.

Ultimately, though, Motion realizes that the thought of high windows remains a powerfully poetic image with or without biographical trivia.

“Motion’s book is also empathetic and sensitive...”

Another striking feature of the biography is its portrayal of Larkin as a master of deception, who often shrouds true feelings in evasive and circumlocutory writing. His fears about Larkin at Sixty, a collection of essays by friends and critics, were concealed by his trademark humour. On first

seeing a copy of the book, Larkin wrote: “I like the jacket...though it reminds me not so much of Reynolds Stone [the engraver] as his lesser-known but equally talented brother Tomb”. On the surface a lighthearted quip - but the language of mortality betrays his terror that Larkin at Sixty would mark the end of his writing career, and the countdown to death. It is this manner of writing which leads Motion to the conclusion that reading anything by Larkin is like being shown “round the rooms of his mind without opening any secret compartments”. Motion’s ability to open these compartments, to see through the smoke and mirrors and get to the heart of his subject, ensures his biography still has the impact it did in 1993. In his exploration of this extraordinary writer’s life, Motion is very much the less deceived.

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Crossword Challenge

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Samurai Sudoku

Combining the central letter and at least three other letters, find as many words as you can! There is at least one nine-letter word.

10 Words - Okay; | 20 Words - Average 30 Words - Legendary

Crossword Clues

Down

Across

1. Violent weather 4. Canal routes (also 4 down) (5,4) 8. Equine steering (5) 9. Titanic’s sister (7) 10. One french cake (1,6) 11. West American college (abbr) (4) 15. Wicked (4)

18. Ant’s buddy (3) 21. Under the influence of alcohol (4) 23. Vertically erect (7) 25. Filled pasta cases (7) 26. Romantic appointments (5) 27. Nonsense (inf) (5) 28. Doglike African mammals (6)

1. Small river (6) 2. Paper folding (7) 3. Gained complete knowledge (8) 4. See 4 across (4) 5. Conversational subject (5) 6. Differences between sub-divisions of species (6) 7. Chef’s hat (5) 13. Daily (8) 16. Decrease weight (7) 17. Winged angelic child (6) 19. God of love (5) 20. Period of no change (6) 22. Auctioneer’s hammer (5) 24. Solitary (4)

Samurai Sudokus contain five overlapping Sudoku grids. Standard Sudoku rules simply apply simultaneously to each individual grid.

Maths Puzzle

**Solutions for all puzzles are on our website.**

There are seven circles of different sizes, arranged as shown, such that their centres are aligned on a straight line. The total distance they spanned from end to end is 60cm.

What is the sum of the circumferences of all the circles?

Photography Competition Winner Thomas Welch

Theme: Black & White

This photo called “The End of the Drought” I took in Ghana on my gap year. It is of my friend Bernard. This was Bernard’s natural reaction when the rain finally came to end the drought.

Camera: Minolta Dimage Z1 Lens: Minolta 38-380mm f/2.8-3.5 lens Exposure: 1/40 sec @ f/3.5 ISO 200

Dan Jeffries - Compact Nikon P5100 “The quality isn’t always defined by how good your camera is but the subject being photographed.”

Next Theme: World in motion Deadline: Sunday 31st January. Send photos to photography@palatinate.org.uk