Indigo 774

+ What we’ll miss most about Durham + Coming of age in films and books + Durham Pride: an international student’s perspective

Leaving the nest indigo

1 1 J U N

Kate Wilkinson (dept. Sraddha Venkataraman) - indigo@palatinate.org.uk

2

INDIGO

3 V I SUAL ARTS International abstractionism and the St Ives School.

4 & 5 F E ATURES The Durham Pride and the pride of Durham.

6 & 7 S TAGE Spotlight on the Durham showcase.

8 M U S IC A review of a selection of up and coming artists.

9 FILM & TV The recipe for a quintessential coming of age film.

1 0 FA S HION ‘Setting sail’ photoshoot.

1 1 B O O KS The best bildungsromans from a range of eras.

1 2 & 1 3 C R EATIVE WRITING Why write?

1 4 F O O D & DRINK Mumbai’s street food.

15 TRAVEL Reflections before a year abroad.

Cover illustration by Julia Sanderson For more arts and lifestyle articles please visit www.palatinate.org.uk www.facebook.com/palatindigo @palatindigo

‘So what are your plans?’

Pause.

‘Ummm…’

I’m graduating in under a month and I still have very little to say for myself when that polite small-talk staple of a question inevitably emerges from the mouths of my friends and family. When freshers and second-years ask me about the imminent prospect of leaving the so-called Durham bubble, I can see in their eyes a mixture of complacency and anxiety as if my existence both threatens their illusion of a never-ending undergraduate life while simultaneously sustaining it: as long as someone else is doing the graduating, the whole dire process of moving on can be ignored. And now that someone else is me. Sigh.

‘How does it feel to stare into the abyss of the real world?’ is a question these half-scared, half-curious underlings occasionally ask me. This ‘real world’ cliché is baffling. Most of us can’t expect to glimpse ‘real world’ until we’re at least in our thirties with a baby and a mortgage. For most people, the twenties are years of relative irresponsibility. We’ll be leaving the Durham bubble and stepping right into another bubble world of sorts. Certainly, if you think your cushy graduate scheme in the city is the ‘real world’, then you’re mistaken.

So is our education finally over? Throughout most of this last year I’ve been compiling a little list on my phone entitled ‘To read when it’s all over’. As an English undergraduate, practically everything I’ve read has been examined on as part of the course. Now my education has no structure beyond what I set which is a worrying and exciting prospect. I have a whole range of languages, theories, historical epochs, and political movements I want to learn about. Education is for life!

No matter whether it’s your last summer in Durham or not, the time between exams and end of term is always sacred. This post-exams season has already been eventful with the history-making Durham Pride parade. Our international writer shares a personal account of the day (p. 5).

Everyone likes a chance to say good-bye. In Features, our writers share what they’ll miss most about Durham (p. 4) and Stage shines a spotlight on our outgoing theatrical talent (p. 6&7).

Don’t be too sad though - there’s so much to look forward to! Travel looks ahead to the prospect of a year abroad (p. 15). Bon voyage!

KW

INDIGO EDITOR Kate Wilkinson

i

N D I G O

DEPUTY INDIGO EDITOR Sraddha Venkataraman BOOKS EDITORS Atifa Jiwa Florianne Humphrey CREATIVE WRITING EDITOR Celeste Yeo FASHION EDITORS Jessica Ng Megan Magee FEATURES EDITORS Zosia Eyres Ellen Finch (deputy) FILM & TV EDITORS Jonathan Peters Caroline France (deputy) FOOD & DRINK EDITORS Adrian Chew Shalaka Darshane MUSIC EDITORS Anastasia Symecko Will Throp (deputy) STAGE EDITOR Isabelle Culkin TRAVEL EDITORS Oliver Collard Naoise Murphy (deputy) VISUAL ARTS EDITOR Frances Marsh

W R IT E R S Janelle C Adamas Adrian Chew Shalaka Darshane Ottoline Spearman Rosie McLellan Francesca Dale Caroline France Jonathan Peters Imo Rolfe Dai Khue Le Duong

Atifa Jiwa Florianne Humphrey Isabelle Culkin Tuki Daniel Yashodhara Trivedi Rasia Bashar Francis Stewart Cecilia Villacis Will Throp

PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATION

Julia Sanderson Kate Wilkinson Mariam Hayat Anisha Mohan Florence Chater Venus Loi Lydia Woodward

N D I G O

i

Frances Marsh - visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk

3

V I S UA L A RT S

1 1 J U N

setting sail into abstraction

Francesca Dale examines the St Ives School who set sail on a path towards international abstraction

W

ith the complete revolution of the artistic world after WWII, in Britain, international abstractionism became a leading movement. Artists were moving into new regions and thus new subjects, landscapes and artistic viewpoints were being explored. The small Cornish seaside town of St Ives became the epicentre of British abstractionist art in the 20th century.

St Ives became a colony for modern British art. Its artists, such as Alfred Wallace, Patrick Heron and Christopher Wood, produced imaginative pieces that differed from the unrealistic and patronizing images that the Victorian artists had depicted of the place. The art world became extremely curious about St Ives and, with time, the location was propelled to a level of importance equivalent to that of the art capitals of Europe, like London and Paris. British artists, mainly young men, flocked there with inspiration for pieces based on the dazzling blue waters and rich yellow sands that were unobtainable before the emergence of the modernism they celebrated.

Ben Nicholson first visited St Ives in 1928 prompting his return during World War II to settle there with his wife, Barbara Hepworth, and create abstractionist artwork. Hepworth was one of the first great female sculptors, and she soon invited Naum Gabo, innovative Russian sculptor, to join them. They created the culture of the publication Circle which explored international constructivism in painting and sculpture.

Nicholson’s oil paint and graphite piece 1943-45 (St Ives, Cornwall) represents the beginning of a series of landscape pieces that Nicholson created in Cornwall as he moved away from his white reliefs of the 1930s. He explores the placement and perspective of different objects and how they can be positioned in picture space in an abstract and unrealistic format. The Union Jack symbolism on the mug reflects a celebration of the post-war world and of Britain. The different grounds of the painting create a sense of realism and the movement of the water in the distance produces dynamism, reflecting the life of the town.

N i cholson created the basis of what became the St I v e s School of arti s t s w h o f l o cke d together during the 1950s and 1960s. The re-

sult of these artists coming together saw a new gallery built in St Ives, which today exhibits the Tate collection of St Ives School art. At the forefront was Wilhelmina Barns-Graham who arrived in St Ives in the 1940s and stayed in her studio there until her death. Barns-Graham developed her power as a modern painter in St Ives, focusing on abstractions based on perception in her famous glacier paintings. Barns-Graham’s Glacier Crystal, Grindelwald (1950) is a renowned piece in the abstract movement as the image employs a notion of liberalism and abstraction through the exploration of different tones, complementary colours, depths and shapes. The reflection of the glacier is conveyed through the opaque and transparent application of paint to the canvas.

Visible brush strokes also create a sense of reflected light, dynamism and movement, celebrating the seaside town of St Ives.

Photographs Flickr IDs: SamPeel1993, jpbrewer1963

The St Ives School were not all painters though.

Barbara Hepworth created the most internationally well-known work of the group: Single Form (Memorial) (1961). Her earlier sculpture Pelagos (1946) reflects her environment as the title translates from Greek to English to mean ‘sea’; the beautiful water surrounding her clearly inspired her artwork.

The entwining nature of the spherical object reflects the arms of the land, which encase the sea in the middle in a sort of globe like replica.

Hepworth stated that she wanted the strings in the middle of the construction to represent ‘the tension I felt between myself and the sea, the wind or the hills’ thus linking the piece to the important natural elements of the much cherished St Ives.

Ultimately, the St Ives artists combined their appreciation of Modernist artistic developments with the inspiration of their surrounding environment. This unlikely Cornish coastal town was transformed from a small fishing community to an artistic hub that enabled internationally renowned artists to set sail into an adventure of abstraction.

1 1 J U N

4

i

Zosia Eyres (Ellen Finch- dept.) - features@palatinate.org.uk

F EAT U R E S

I N D I G O

what will you miss most about Durham?

As the year draws to a close, we ask students what they will miss about being at university when they graduate or leave for the summer.

I

n graduate life I will miss visiting Jean with another girl as part of SCA’s Generations Together project. It would be wrong to call Jean an old lady (though she’s 87) because she does not see herself that way. She’s caring, vibrant and twinkly (and her biscuit selection is unrivalled), but she has a wicked sense of humour, teasing me mercilessly and pulling the odd prank. When I started visiting Jean I suspected that she might become a sort of surrogate granny to me, but I did not expect her to become such a close friend.

Catherine Wallis In my case, these few weeks will be the last spent in Durham for a year - as I venture on my year abroad. I will miss the quaint cobbled streets and the cafés and the sunlit cathedral, the college bar crawls and the inability to leave the house and not bump into multiple people you know. I’ll also miss the limited nightlife and outrageously cheap college drinks.

Ottoline Spearman

“I will miss the nice people in club toilets who lent me an eyeliner or complimented my shoes. You’re all great”

I’ll miss the nice people in club toilets who lent me an eyeliner or complimented my shoes. You’re all great. I’ll also miss the locals, who bring so much relief to the endless tide of red-trousered braying southerners, and I’ll miss the fact that I could buy a double amaretto for under £2.50.

Hannah Fitzpatrick In Durham, it takes a maximum of twenty minutes to get from A to B, so there is no need to have a car, or even a bike. I will look back at Durham fondly when I am flung headfirst into cruel reality and forced to start taking driving lessons. I get the feeling it will be harder to drive in real life than it is on GTA or Mariokart.

Patrick Brennan

I’ll miss the people. Bumping into people in the library and around town, knowing that there’ll always be someone around you can chat to.

Ellen Finch

I will miss the kooky professors who taught their subject with such passion! A lecture that particularly stands out was on the English Renaissance module. It started in darkness with a candle as two lecturers proceeded to enact a Senecan tragedy - complete with a fake knife and blood.

This kind of quality kinesthetic learning will be sorely missed.

Kate Wilkinson

I’ll miss sub-editing Palatinate!

Isabel López Ruiz

As a graduate, I miss the boredom of university life. Two years ago my freshfaced form, would – in pyjamas – tiptoe across the empty bottles and crushed cans to perch upon a neglected sofa to watch The Daily Politics. The routine would then continue with watching the news, a tussle between The Chase and Pointless, and then Come Dine With Me and the news again. I really just miss being bored and having so little to do (at least until the mad rush that started in April when my father’s comforting revision advice of “it’s already too late would” ring in my head).

Hugo White

I will miss the beautiful scenery as I casually walk to lectures - it will be really strange living in a ‘proper’ city once more! I have had a wonderful time and have met some truly amazing people that will be sorely missed! Shout out to the late nights singing to cheese in Klute and rowing on the river (even if falling in once was not the best!). I won’t miss the hours of studying for exams but, despite all that, Durham was such a great experience throughout!

Georgina Layton

“I’ll miss the people.

Bumping into people in the library and around town, knowing that there’ll always be someone around you can chat to” I’ll miss the fact that people who have become very close friends are no longer only just round the corner.

Jacob Ratcliffe I will miss: being in walking distance from everywhere, living so close to all my friends and always having someone to talk to, my student loan and discount and all college and uni wide events like formals, etc.

Shalaka Darshane The thing that I will miss most about Durham is the freedom that it has offered me. As an Arts student, the amount of free time I have will definitely be looked on as a luxury when I enter the working world! Some of my best memories of university are simply afternoons of lounging around with friends.

Of course, I will also miss being Features Editor of Palatinate and Indigo so I’ll use my final issue to thank all the people on the Editorial Board and everyone who has contributed to this section.

Zosia Eyres.

Illustraton by Mariam Hayat

I N D I G O

i

Zosia Eyres (Ellen Finch - dept.) - features@palatinate.org.uk

F EAT U R E S

Pride: fun, fabulous and free

5

1 1 J U N

Janelle C Adamas describes her experience of Pride and why the day meant so much to her.

T

he monumental success of Durham Pride 2015 was the closest thing to a carnival that a Caribbean-born and raised gal such as I could ever hope to experience across the proverbial pond. Mother Nature made her presence known by kick-starting the day’s proceedings with the onset of brief showers. Rain, however, often tends to be followed by a magnificent rainbow. This certainly was the case when a plethora of rainbow-painted faces, banners, flags, and the like were to be seen progressing from Palace Green. The procession was led by two colourfully-bedecked stilt-walkers while a police escort and live instrumental accompaniment enhanced the fun of the atmosphere.

The parade made its way along Saddler and Silver Street before settling into the dozen or so stalls erected in ‘Rainbow Square’ (Millennium Square) for this epic occasion. It was there that members, supporters, and passers-by curious of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community were greeted by friendly volunteers and sponsors. The ensuing twelve hours involved fun, ‘fabulosity’ and the dissemination of free information on all things LGBT. Legal representatives, wedding planners, adoption agencies, housing advisors, mental health counselors, and promoters of safe sex were but a few among those accounted for throughout the day. They all eagerly responded to queries while distributing pamphlets and goodies to patrons who, in return, donated generously to the cause.

The sultry vocals of Lorraine Crosby and other live acts ensured that patrons of nearby eateries such as Nando’s, Slug and Lettuce, and Ebony were well entertained until the day met its climactic end inside The Loveshack. It was there that Miss Tess Tickles and The Dragettes, among

“Students of varying backgrounds have gained a cultural perspective which might not have been otherwise accessible.” others, rendered what can only be described as top quality performances before an appreciative crowd, while deejays carried the positive vibes into the wee hours of the morning.

I must admit, had I anticipated that during my postgraduate studies at one of the finest universities in all of England I would have had the opportunity to witness history in the making, I might have complained much less during the processing of my student visa. Durham Pride 2015 has held true to the ethos of Durham University. The involvement of various colleges, such as Hatfield and St Cuthbert, has further endorsed an atmosphere which already welcomes students of diverse, cultural backgrounds.

Students of varying backgrounds have, as a result of Durham Pride 2015, gained a cultural perspective which might not have been otherwise accessible.

Students who saw fit to engage in the day’s activities

Unfortunately, many of the archaic traditions which have contributed to the homophobic atmosphere in my homeland and the wider Caribbean region have been fastidiously retained. The intense fear and social intolerance of the LGBT community therefore continue to hold many socially hostage.

Many have, as a result, been forced to turn their attention to daily survival while abandoning the luxury of pursuing dreams in fear of social, familial, and professional rejection.

Durham Pride 2015 has set a bar in England to be met only by Durham 2016. It has made a mark on the eager minds of the local student populace which hopefully will be reflected in their respective homelands. It is also hoped that as students pursue professional endeavours as future world leaders, efforts are made to discover creative ways of enhancing greater tolerance for the LGBT community on a global scale.

Those students who won’t be returning to Durham in any capacity at the end of this academic year are returning to their respective communities not just as graduates, but as sensitized ambassadors for the LGBT community.

The knowledge gained as a result of studying in Durham, including that resultant of Durham Pride 2015, may be adapted towards effectuating social transformation across the globe.

The organizers of Dur-

experienced an event which will leave an indelible mark on their scope of life and which will surely be reflected in their social skills as global citizens.

Locals were similarly proud to make a contribution, however large or small, to the promotion of social tolerance in what is already a culturally friendly zone.

For me, an international student who was born and raised in the West Indies, Durham Pride 2015 was the chance to witness, firsthand, the unfolding of positive interaction between the LGBT community and the general public. I watched a group of persons who have been socially persecuted for centuries walk the streets without being shunned, ridiculed, or condemned. As the descendant of a former British colony, the lingering doubts I held concerning the possibility of a similar event gracing the streets of my country were appeased, if only slightly.

Unfortunately, many of the archaic traditions which have contributed to the homophobic atmosphere in the wider Caribbean region have been fastidiously retained ham Pride 2015 must be applauded for a job well done. We are only left with the sole regret of waiting for an entire year in anticipation of an even bigger and better Durham Pride 2016.

Photograph by Kate Wilkinson

1 1 J U N

Isabelle Culkin- stage@palatinate.org.uk

6

STA G E

the curtain call

i

N D I G O

Isabelle Culkin talks to the cast and crew of the Durham Showcase about their time in theatre at Durham and their aspirations for the future

Ellie Gauge How early did you get involved?

I spent my entire Freshers’ in Elvet Riverside corridors waiting for auditions. I went with people who slowly started filtering off, but I stuck at it.

What makes you keep going after rejections?

You have to do every possible audition and then you will get something. I’ve been on the other side, and I always tell people, you’ll say you’re never going to audition for anything ever again, but once you’ve caught the bug, then you just keep going.

Do you have any theatre highlights?

My highlight would be Guys and Dolls at the Gala. I also had the most fun on Educating Rita. It was just Lily, Hugh and I, and we just had a blast.

How about the success of ‘Congestion’?

Congestion was a personal endeavour. We were just trialling and erroring it, it wasn’t meant to be like ‘the best thing ever’. I feel like it worked because we didn’t have too many expectations. We didn’t even have a full script when we entered it.

What’s the best production you’ve seen?

I thought Agnes of God was amazing. Thrust Stage were really good when they were in Durham in my first and second year. DDF in general was awesome.

What do you want to do in the future?

I started saying for the first time this Easter… director. Hopefully, or a theatre-maker, but friends back home are just like ‘Ellie, that is not a thing’.

Have you got anything lined up after this?

I’m putting a play on in September in London. It’s nothing that exciting, but it’s a play written by my dad called My Life as a Hooker.

Clara Duncan

When did you get involved?

I started in my first year, in a college production, which is a nice way into it.

What’s been your favourite role?

Barbara in Run for your Wife.

What’s the best production you’ve seen?

The Boy James.

Any words of wisdom?

Try out lots of different things, they don’t even have to be acting related, everything links.

Izzy Osborne

How do you deal with rejection?

Not very well. At the time it’s horrible, but you soon just get over it. Having been on both sides of the table, I appreciate that it’s not anything to do with your talent, but who’s right for that specific show.

Any personal theatre highlights?

Cabaret – it was the first time I directed. I felt like everyone got on really well. There was such a nice atmosphere of everyone wanting it to be a success.

Russell Lamb

How do you deal with rejection?

It’s a bit of a hard dynamic to get used to, because at school you’re used to getting something in a show, whereas in Durham that’s not the case. It takes a while to get into the swing of that and realise that it’s not always going to go your way.

Any words of wisdom?

Get involved early, because I feel I missed out in my first year, and as the years have gone on, I have done more, and it’s just got better and better.

Julia Xavier Steir

Do you read you reviews?

I think looking at other people’s opinions is good because when you’re in a cast and you’re together you feel like it’s on fire, so you’re not always going to know just how good the show actually is.

What’s been your favourite role?

Paulina in The Winter’s Tale, it was great to try my hand at sassy Shakespeare.

What do you want to do in the future?

Try my luck at acting.

Izzie Price

Have auditions always been a success?

No, absolutely not. Everyone gets rejected. You can easily not get a role you’re good enough for.

What is the best thing you’ve seen?

I really liked Our Country’s Good.

What do you want to in the future?

I would like to act, so I’ve been applying for drama schools, and have some callbacks.

Why drama school?

Unless you’re lucky, you have to. To get an agent you need to do stuff, to do stuff you need an agent.

Elissa Churchill

What’s been your favourite role?

Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

What’s the best production you’ve seen?

A Streetcar Named Desire- that was really good.

Have you got any plans for the future?

Musical Theatre at Royal Academy of Music. I’ll be unleashed into the big, scary world.

Any words of wisdom?

Get stuck in, as early as you can, and if that doesn’t work out, make your own opportunities.

Rory Bowe

When did you get involved?

I was a latecomer. I properly started in third year. I freaked out and realised this was the last chance I had to do it before I went out into the world.

What’s the best production you’ve seen?

Werthers and Wrinkles -I thought it was impeccably acted and produced.

Any words of wisdom?

It’s hard graft. University gives you more humility, you just have to view it as an opportunity to work with ridiculously talented people in the long run.

N D I G O

i

Hugh Train

How do you deal with rejection?

You just view it as you weren’t right on the day, there’s no point beating yourself up about it, or else you’ll just feel bitter and vindictive. Just keep plugging away at it, and you will succeed. I got rejected from a lot of stuff in my first year, it happens.

You just deal with it and move on.

Do you read your reviews?

You always do, but the best advice you’ll get is don’t read and especially don’t believe your own press.

What’s the best thing you’ve seen?

A Streetcar Named Desire, or The Glass Menagerie.

They were excellent; it was sad not to be involved.

What do you want to do in the future?

Act. I’m going to apply to drama school next year probably. I’ll try and work in that year and gain some other skills in case my very dreams come crashing down in front of my very eyes.

Sophie McQuillan

Did you know about the Durham theatre scene before you got here?

I don’t think I did at all, and when I got here I remember going to the meeting in The Assembly Rooms and thinking ‘Oh my God, this is such a big theatre, this is so cool’ and then calling my mum saying ‘Thank God they’ve got a student theatre, that would have been awkward, what would I have done? I would have to had taken up a new hobby and do my degree’.

What about rejection?

It’s just swings and roundabouts, isn’t it? I think it reflects a lot about what people are like, because you can choose to not get your dream role and let other opportunities come out of that.

What’s been your favourite role?

Probably Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls.

What is the best production you’ve seen?

The Drowsy Chaperone.

What is so special about Durham?

Durham teaches you to be a mover and a shaker.

You’re not just in plays because a teacher is putting on a play at school. It’s where you meet your best friends, because they’re passionate about what you’re passionate about, and support you.

What do you want to do in the future?

Make theatre happen. Just make theatre happen, I want to take what I’ve learnt and use it in the world. It’s really hard to admit what you want to do, especially if you want to be an actor, because it could easily not go your way.

Isabelle Culkin - stage@palatinate.org.uk

7

STA G E

Jessica Bray

Why didn’t you get involved earlier?

I just didn’t get involved, and I really regret it. I knew I couldn’t act, and I didn’t know I wanted to write. I then got involved in DDF this year.

What made you want to write?

I’ve always enjoyed storytelling. There was a lack of things that I saw that I found funny. I wanted to write something that I found funny, and if other people also found it funny that would be a bonus.

What’s the best thing you’ve seen?

Cabaret was brilliant. The Boy James was also amazing, it just blew me away. It showed me how I should have seen more whilst I was here.

Any words of wisdom?

Everyone should write.

What do you want to do in the future?

I want to try my hand at writing, it’s taken me a while to say that. I’d love to write for TV, I think that’s my dream. Anything really, I love writing.

Callum Kenny

How do you deal with rejection?

You just have to be resilient and persevere. There are people who are already established when you arrive. You can’t just expect great things to happen.

Do you read your reviews?

You can’t not read the reviews, you’re only human.

I’ve never experienced one really, really negative review in Durham, and ultimately it reflects more on the reviewer than the show itself. If you can’t see one good thing in a student show then you probably shouldn’t be reviewing it.

What’s the pest production you’ve seen?

I loved Agnes of God, it was really fantastic. My favourite thing has been Motherland, it was phenomenal, I really couldn’t sing my praises for it enough, it was absolutely amazing, really brilliant.

Allegra Dowley

Ros Bell

Lucy Rahim

Florence Chater

How did you get involved?

I started off stage managing but producing is what I wanted to do. As soon as you do one play, and know people, it’s much easier to do what you want.

What are the best things you’ve seen?

Anything Goes was amazing, really impressive. Posh in first year was brilliant. Motherland was really good. Sweeney Todd in in the indoor market was a really interesting adaptation.

Any words of wisdom?

Anyone can get involved.

How do you handle rejection?

I auditioned for fifteen things in my Freshers’ year and got into one thing. Just keep on going.

Do you have any theatre highlights?

The Tempest. It was my first show, and the cast made it. We were with each other all day, every day, it was just fantastic.

What’s the best production you’ve seen?

Bent in my first year. Rent was really good, which I was gutted not to get into. I really enjoyed Cabaret.

1 1 J U N

Any personal theatre highlights?

Fringe last year. It was super stressful and there were loads of problems and I came home bankrupt, but it was just fab. It was my turning point, where I thought ‘This is stress, but it’s good stress.’

What is the best thing you’ve seen?

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens - phenomenal.

Any words of wisdom?

From a production side, think outside of the box.

Creativity is so important. It’s also the best part of the job, to be able to create stuff.

Why did you get involved with theatre photography?

I’ve lived vicariously through Ellie Gauge for three years. I’m actually fulfilling a role now instead of being a groupie, which is a pleasure and a privilege.

What would you like to do in the future?

I’d like to continue doing script development, and ultimately go into production development.

The Durham Showcase will perform at The Assembly Rooms, Mon 22 Jun, 19:30

1 1 J U N

8

Anastasia Symecko (dept. Will Throp) - music@palatinate.org.uk

MUSIC

New Music Special

Mac DeMarco Will Throp

Y

ou’d be forgiven for taking Mac DeMarco at face value. Goofy eyed, cap permanently lodged backwards over his disheveled

mane, notorious for his distinct lack of clothing during gigs – DeMarco is nothing if not quirky. But behind the swagger and the nonchalance, there lies

Honne

Dai-Khue Le Duong

I

f you haven’t heard of Honne yet – firstly, where have you been? And secondly, don’t worry, you most definitely will be hearing them everywhere within the next couple of months.

The duo is made up of Andy and James – music teachers by day, soulful music makers by night.

Signed to the same record label as Bondax and AlunaGeorge, their electronic/soul beats are sensual, seductive and incredibly catchy. Their hit song to date ‘Warm on a Cold Night’ will do mre than enough to keep you warm on a typically British, chilly summer evening in Durham. With its synths and Andy’s soulful tones, the song is ‘perfect babymaking music’ (the duo’s words – not mine!) - make of that what you will.

‘The Night’ and ‘All in the Value’ are also two great songs to listen to from their earlier releases, to help you unwind and relax. Their most recent EP, which came out earlier in May, shows Honne experimenting with a more upbeat sound. Their cover of ‘Didn’t I’ by Darondo and ‘Coastal Love’ definitely evoke summer vibes, and will be perfect when accompanied with warmer weather, so expect these songs to be on the radio very soon. If you preferred the more soothing sounds of their ‘Warm on a Cold Night’ EP, you’ll definitely like the sound of ‘Too Long’, which has some great falsetto sections.

If listening to their recordings isn’t enough, never fear. Honne will be making their debut at some pretty big festivals this summer. They’ve most recently played at Radio 1’s Big Weekend on the BBC Introducing stage, and will alo be making appearances at London’s Field Day festival on the 6-7th June, and Latitude on the 17th-19th July.

a young man capable of making tunes as infectious as his gap-toothed grin.

Mac DeMarco’s first full length LP, 2, broke in 2012 to critical acclaim. His signature licks provided a heartfelt backdrop to his lyrical explorations of love and loss growing up in average-joe suburbia. The sparkle of songs such as ‘Cooking Up Something Good’ - in which Mac explores “his Dad’s meth amphetamine habit” – and ‘Freaking Out the Neighbourhood’ underscore the work of a craftsman who, for all his seemingly laissez-faire attitude, possesses a striking attention to detail.

On Mac’s second record, the stakes were higher.

World-weary after completing an intense year and a half of solid touring, DeMarco decided to retreat to his apartment in Brooklyn in order to make a more meditative, introspective album. The result was Salad Days. 35 minutes in length, the record shows Mac at his indubitable best: the opening title track is a catchy-as-hell ode to lost childhood, while ‘Let My Baby Stay’ offers as personal a side to DeMarco as we have seen, all loss and longing for his girlfriend (the couple had serious visa problems upon moving to the U.S.). Musically, the album takes its nods from ‘Sgt. Peppers’ era Beatles as much as it does the lighthearted surf pop of The Beach Boys. Released in 2014, Salad Days was an instant hit with critics and fans alike, cementing

All in all, Honne are a great band that I think will appeal to a lot of people, so why not give them a listen? And when they do inevitably become big, don’t forget you heard about them here first.

Otto Knows Adrian Chew

I

t would be no understatement to say that I was blown away when I first heard ‘Next To Me’. Granted, it was 4am, I was in Bill Bryson, hopelessly cramming an entire module’s worth of Microeconomics in a single night when it first appeared on my Spotify. Nevertheless, this was an impression that was re-affirmed upon later, less sleepdeprived listens.

You have the hauntingly melancholic vocal efforts of Simon Stromstedt, singing lyrics that are surprisingly coherent for a dance track - a laudable endeavour undertaken by Otto himself. Then, in comes a strings arrangement that hits you where it counts, violin chords that will make you soar and dip alongside with them. Finally, it crests into a minimal but satisfying plateau that ties the song together. Here and there, you have hints of heartbeats mingled amidst the bass, rounding out the more soulful aspects of this amazing tune.

Of its brilliance, there is no doubt. The issue stands: who is Otto Knows and why haven’t I heard of him before? It didn’t take long to figure out that he hasn’t come out of nowhere. You may have heard of his last song “eh eh eh eh eh, ah ah ah ah ah, uh uh uh uh uh”. Okay, it’s called ‘Million Voices’ (2012) if you really want to know, but admit it, it was a lot of fun singing that out in your head.

As to his relative obscurity after his breakout suc-

i

N D I G O

DeMarco’s presence on festival stages across the globe.

All of which leads us to 2015 – the year in which Mac DeMarco will hit the big time. The release of ‘Another One’ in August, a new mini-album featur-

Behind the swagger and the nonchalance, there lies a young man capable of making tunes as infectious as his ap-toothed grin. ing “eight freshly written songs” is an indication of just how prolific DeMarco is becoming. The release of new single ‘The Way You’d Love her’ suggests a continuation of Mac’s trademark vibrato guitar sound, complete with an effortless croon that would make a more than fitting soundtrack to anyone’s summer.

With a UK tour lined up for early September, a ticket to one of his shows is a must. On current form, early single ‘The Stars Keep on Calling My Name’ may well turn out to be just about an accurate portrayal of Mac DeMarco’s meteoric rise to the summit of the indie rock pantheon.

Image: Captured Tracks

cess, one can point to his seemingly paltry body of work – 5 official singles and 6 remixes since 2010 - that has failed to capitalise on his initial celebrity. Put together, they hardly form an informative picture of who he is as a musician and producer.

Interviews – which by his own admission, were already far and few between – invariably gravitated towards asking him about ‘Million Voices’.

Some of them even occurred in 2015, essentially asking the man how he felt producing a song that was released 3 years ago!

For some reason, they also tended to fixate upon the rather trivial factoid that it was produced in the back room of the studio where Alesso and Ingrosso produced ‘Calling’ (2012). My money is that this is due to journalistic laziness rather than an over-repeated set of premeditated questions.

Rather curiously, his fan Snapchat Q&A yielded more information about him than all the previous interviews put together.

Whatever the case, the name Otto Knows still evokes a muddled image. We know he has the skill and talent. We know he has the connections and the financial support. But since ‘Million Voices’, he has been seen as a one-hit wonder, doomed to play his signature track at every single festival or club night he showed his face at. ‘Next to Me’ will clearly change that.

Hopefully, this is a sign of greater things to come, and that Otto is ready to fulfil the talent and promise that will make him a household name. After all, his friend and label-mate Alesso just dropped a stellar debut album last month. Failing this, we might see a familiar pattern repeating itself, with Otto Knows graduating to the rarer, but distinctly less catchy descriptor of the “two-hit wonder”.

I N D I G O

Jonathan Peters (Caroline France - deputy) - film@palatinate.org.uk

i

F I L M & TV

four classic action movies

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Judgment Day is not only the the greatest Schwarzenegger movie and the greatest Terminator movie, but arguably the greatest action movie ever made. Nearly a quarter of a century since its release, the special effects look better than most modern blockbusters (including its own sequels), as the screen fills with unstoppable machines including Arnie’s protector Terminator and Robert Patrick’s terrifying T-1000. We open with a world consumed by fire, portending to the coming Judgement Day that must be prevented at all costs, and strap ourselves in for nearly three hours of nonstop breakneck action, from the hospital shootout in which director James Cameron reintroduces a scarred Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), to the truck chase on an LA freeway, to the famous gattling gun sequence on top of the Cyberdyne laboratory. Underpinning the still-unmatched fight scenes is a surprisingly emotional performance from Schwarzenegger as he learns what it means to be human (a perennial theme in most good science fiction), and a thoughtful examination of our ability to shape our own destinies: ‘there is no fate but what we make’.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Steven Spielberg and George Lucas set out to pay loving homage to 1930s B-movie serials, and ended up with an action adventure classic for all time. Oft-imitated but never bettered, Spielberg presents some of the most legendary set-pieces ever committed to celluloid, captivating audiences with the opening boulder chase, and maintaining the sense of wonder and excitement as Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Marion Crane (Karen

Allen) fight Nazis and sword-wielding Arabs through an abundance of exotic locations. In a CGI-free era, every action scene is all the more impressive owing to the practical effects and stunts employed to deliver the onscreen mayhem, set to the tune of John Williams’ iconic ‘Raiders March’.

In Dr Jones, Ford made archaeology instantly the most desirable profession on the planet, and created a new archetype for the intrepid (except when it comes to snakes) adventurer onscreen.

9

1 1 J U N

Clane finds himself trapped in a labyrinth of violence, vulnerable in his bare-footed tank top state, but also the only person capable of ensuring that everyone in the building is saved. With a charming yet badass central hero, state-of-the-art stunt action and visual effects, and Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber proving to be one of the greatest villains in cinema history, this film becomes a high-octane and unstoppable thriller which goes from zero to sixty right from the start, and stays at that level of tension and excitement until the very end.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Die Hard (1988) Die Hard is the seminal action film. If you look up the word ‘action’ in the dictionary, a picture of John McClane’s face should appear. When an office Christmas party is invaded by terrorists, Mc-

In this belated third sequel, George Miller’s world is harsh, deformed yet beautiful, his most fullyrealised post-apocalyptic universe yet. Characters travel through thundering sandstorms and marshy wetlands, battling once again over resources including oil, water and human beings. There’s a level of carnage here that makes Fast and Furious look like the Hazard Perception test, and Miller keeps the intensity ramped up with intricately designed cars and contraptions, from vehicles with hedgehog spikes to a truck complete with a shredding guitarist strapped to the bumper. Fury Road is essentially one long, visceral car chase, yet its triumph also lies in the subtle character development that takes place amidst the explosions. Tom Hardy plays the most tortured Max yet, beyond the brink of insanity from the first moments of the film as he flees from both a literal prison and the ghosts of his past. However, he arguably plays second fiddle to Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a toughas-nails heroine who by the end has set a strong case for her place in the pantheon of great action heroines. ‘What a lovely day’ indeed.

By Jonathan Peters and Imo Rolfe Illustration by Imo Rolfe

recipe for a perfect coming of age film The coming-of-age film has been a perennial favourite amongst filmgoers since the dawn of cinema.

They document a universal experience which is all the more poignant at a time when many are going through the transition of graduating from university to beyond the Durham Bubble. Centring on an adolescent (usually male) protagonist, they explore the progression from youth to adulthood and what really constitutes ‘growing up’. Within these films, there are a number of tropes which crop up time and time again which help to define the genre, making it easy to create an archetype. Here are my key ingredients for creating the ideal coming-of-age narrative.

1. Loss of Virginity – Having sex for the first time is seen as a primary indicator that a teenager has matured, while being an important factor in social status for American high school students. Modern comedy classics such as American Pie and Superbad present characters whose main goal is to pop their cherry, although they typically discover things like true friendship or a meaningful relationship are

more important.

2. Updating a Literary Classic – Finding out what the classics teach us and applying it to a high school setting has been a popular choice for many film-makers. The adaption of Jane Austen’s Emma into teenage favourite Clueless is one of the first which springs to mind, while Easy A is based on Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (while also being a twist on the ‘loss of virginity’ trope).

3. Standing up to Parents or Authority Figure – This trope is concerned with the realisation that those in authority aren’t always correct, usually involving a timid character finding their inner courage. The true journey in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is Cameron’s decision to stand up to his dad, while the climax of Dead Poet’s Society constitutes shy Tod being the first one to (literally) stand up for unorthodox teacher Robin Williams. It shows that growing up means thinking for yourself and having the courage to assert your opinions in the face of opposition.

4. Realising that being different is okay – The strict social hierarchies of American high schools make it difficult for those characters that do not fit in easily to a particular stratum. Trying to fit in can lead to you pretending to be someone you’re not (see Grease) or getting caught up in the nasty side of high school politics (see Mean Girls). These films usually conclude that it’s better to just be yourself and have done with what others think.

5. Prom Night – The build-up to a big event (usually prom) is a big focus for many films, including Pretty in Pink. It is seen as the pinnacle of the social calendar and the ultimate assessment of your social status. However, the obsession with a single event is typically found to be silly and pointless in the face of bigger life decisions. Notably Carrie took this trope to an extreme conclusion when the heroine’s night is ruined in blood and destruction.

By Caroline France Images: Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures

10

1 1 J U N

Jessica Ng and Megan Magee - fashion@palatinate.org.uk

FASHION

i

N D I G O

nautical nice As the final term draws to a close, prepare to set sail into summer with vintage-inspired clothing from Durham’s own Velvet Elvis.

With thanks to Venus Loi, Lydia Woodward and Brown’s Rowing Boats.

N D I G O

i

Atifa Jiwa and Florianne Humphrey - books@palatinate.org.uk

11 1 1 J U N

BOOKS

on graduation and maturation Atifa Jiwa and Florianne Humphrey review their favourite coming-of-age novels.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon Unlike many novels where the narrator is a poetic, literature-loving wannabe Shakespeare who is highly sensitive to the world around them, Christopher Boone is a fifteen-year-old “mathematician with some behavioural difficulties”, which, although never named, are hinted at being Asperger syndrome or autism. When Christopher discovers his next door neighbour’s dog, Wellington, has been killed by a garden fork, he plays detective and sets out to solve the mystery and find Wellington’s killer, on the way discovering secrets to his own life and learning to grow up in a world that is difficult and strange for a boy like him.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky The title says it all – a ‘wallflower’ is a late bloomer that, after water, sun, and socialisation, can eventually blossom into something beautiful.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is written like diary of teenage narrator, Charlie, whose coming-ofage story is that of a childlike, innocent freshman learning the truths of life through drugs, alcohol, rebellion, new friends, and first loves. But in the background of this seemingly clichéd tale of growing up is Charlie’s dark past of childhood trauma and repressed memories that threaten to effect his present and destroy everything he’s built up to protect himself from it.

Photograph: Simon and Schuster

Photograph: Jonathan Cape

Looking For Alaska - John Green

Winger by Andrew Smith

It is a truth universally acknowledged that The Fault in our Stars is not the only (and in my opinion, not the best) book by John Green. Miles Halter (also known as Pudge) is going to seek “a great perhaps” in the words of the poet François Rabelais- well, he’s going to boarding school- which is close enough right? And slightly predictably, he thinks he’s going to find this great perhaps in the form of the gorgeous, sarcastic heartbreaker that is a girl called Alaska.

But Looking for Alaska is anything but predictable, from its hilarious characters and heartbreaking plot line, John Green will have you both laughing and crying, falling in love and growing up all at once.

This is one novel that that will really pack a punch, not that you’d expect it from the frankly laddish book cover that suggests a story which is wildly different from the exquisitely written one you will find within its pages. Winger is an incredibly fresh coming of age novel about a boy trying to get to grips with growing up. He navigates peer pressure, alcohol, rugby, love, friendship and tragedy. All with a keen sense of loyalty, hilarious wit and the odd comic illustration. It follows the teenager Ryan Dean as he desperately tries to hold his own in a world that could so easily swallow him up. The final Gatsby-esque message of Winger is that change is inevitable. We grow up, we leave school, we gain friends and we lose them.

You can’t repeat the past, but you can create an even better future.

Photograph: Penguin

Photograph: Penguin

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Coming-of-age novels are not just a recent phenomenon for angst-ridden teenagers of the modern age – Victorian children also experienced these growing pains. Adapted multiple times for both the small and big screen, Great Expectations is certainly one of Dickens’ most popular novels and, like many of his works from Oliver Twist to Bleak House, follows the maturation of a child coping in the harsh urban world of Victorian London. It is a coming-of-age novel on a grand scale as it follows protagonist Pip’s life from seven years old until mid-thirties, where various events and the people he meets during his formative years help shape his adult self. And the ultimate message – you cannot change whom you are inside, despite what happens to you in your life or the various moulds you try and squeeze into.

Photograph: Penguin

Word of the Week

Bildungsroman: A novel dealing with one’s formative years or spiritual education.

12

1 1 J U N

i

Celeste Yeo - creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk

C R EAT IV E W R IT I N G

Why Write?

Letter to the Heart Thief

By Raisa Bashar

Dearest Graham, Have you ever thought of me, When in sorrow or in glee?

Were you ever lonely and blue, When you were sitting alone, too?

It has been difficult here, As you are far away, somewhere, my dear.

Could not your whims be put on hold And instead we could together grow auld?

Are you going to be back soon?

I only hear from you once in a blue moon.

Have you forgotten about us And all our wonderful past?

Do you still misplace your trust, On all the wrong friendships and lust?

Do you long for a human still, Who could be yours and someday will?

Photograph by Tuki Daniel

My Always Friend

By Tuki Daniel

My pen is a friend I adore, When I cry she opens the door, Gives herself to me completely, And I reach for her hungrily.

I hold her between my fingers And she rids me of my anger: She listens as I pour my heart Out, sometimes like a little brat.

I bleed my worries through her ink, She yields even when my thoughts stink.

I write because I am breathing And my mind is still functioning; I write because my pen is loud And raises my voice to the clouds; I write because my pen is bold And pricier than the finest gold; I write… But why would I not write When words are the blinding light That illuminates the dark room Of ignorance that portends doom?

Why should I keep my thoughts locked up Without sharing even a drop When I have fed on others’ thoughts And the good tidings they have brought?

I’d write as long as my hand moves, Not because I have things to prove, But because these words are my food And I can find nothing as good.

When I get old and my mind fails, And my strength goes on a long sail Leaving me with two tired hands And two frail feet that cannot stand, My pen will still be by my side, She’d still give me a sense of pride.

When time kicks the stool from beneath My feet and death freezes my breath, I’d leave because my work is done, But the times we shared will live on.

N D I G O

If yes, Then why do you not come back?

And, maybe then, I can tell you what we lack?

It has been a long time since I have seen you close, Last time you left me love, I was almost comatose; I cannot wait to see you here, by my side Where you belong, in rain and tide.

Yours Jenna…

Illustration by Bilgi Demirsoz

Photograph by Mikolaj Kundegorski

On Not Being Able to Write a Poem

By Yashodhara Trivedi

I hate how the light bounces off This sparse white sheet Which thirsts for words That may never come.

How funny would it be If it turned around And slapped me in the face For wasting its time with false promises?

Everything tests my nerves tonight The whir of the fan, The shadows it casts On its vigil around my battered ceiling; The grunts down the hallway As a sweaty stranger preys On daddy’s little princess; The unruly strands of spray-dyed hair That sweep across my brow.

Where is the madness promised to us?

That little spark to reanimate The rotting remains of intellect?

I will trade my soul For a few sorry rhymes, Spill blood and sweat As sacrifice To conjure words From emptiness.

They tell me to settle down, Find a nice, young man And ruin his life; Hang the apron-noose Around my neck And slip Into a life Of picket-fenced perfection.

On nights like this Of empty bottles and double vision, I almost believe them.

If my mother could see me now, She’d tilt her head and sing That old refrain – I told you so.

Illustrations by Mariam Hayat

N D I G O

i

Celeste Yeo - creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk

13

C R EAT IV E W R IT I N G

She is but Moon’s reflection

By Cecilia Villacis

She seems to shimmer as a floating isle of dusty lime.

Take upon yourself the thoughts arisen yesternight, That if you sail from up the hill across the falling light, Then you might reach the shoreline of that ever-open eye, For even now, she waits alone for that far twin to set, Revealing with a closer look that he does she reflect, Or else, like the setting sun melts in that orange line, Dissolve from his ivory form, bleaching the ocean blind.

Take up your hope that as the circle gazes up and wonders Whether he too is gazing down and who is wishing stronger, And who should in the coming day, become the first to fade away And who the last to stay, And then perhaps a ship would cast itself upon the dusty white That looking still above she’ll see with all these years despite, A darkening spot upon her brother where he had shone bright.

Lost of a sibling, with the waves’ abrasions, she will shudder, And you must be there, dreamer, to utter Lament of the desert you set off to find, So as to sweep fading trails across the sand, Whisked away by legend wind and again, Sweep again, by the palm, Finding your hand in the fluorescent dust, Bleached in the glow of that glowing calm.

How you wanted to watch as your gliding hand draws currents through the air, The grains spiral through, flashing crystalline faces, Calactic planes of these tiniest worlds, Speeding to catch each others’ light, dancing about your hand, Dancing beneath your eyes, Stephen, harbored at your shore.

A floating, shining, dry dust miracle, your sea dollar shore awaits.

Take up your hopes and speed, Stephen, to she your mind creates.

A tavertine building turned to sandstone and courted by the wind, So slowly fades that it might seem eternally to stay, But whispering fly the little grains, vanishing the stone away, And ages past, they have gathered here, And it is like you are sitting in the remains of the Sacre-Couer itself, Mixed perhaps with the temples of Attica, And even indistinguishably, borne for light-years’ traveling, There secludes the dust of the once true moon.

Revolve, revolve around the world, he’ll think in fortnight’s time.

Without the shimmer, he will turn away to face the sky.

Revolve, revolve and soon will come a shivering, splintered streak To rudely break across and back, Bobbing in the restless waves of starshine and black.

Stephen, take your wonderings and sail into the sea.

Join the liquid desert, glowing bright that is your shore.

Know your love, bear the dark, and raise your eyes no more.

Photograph by Francis Stewart

The Last Temptation of Žižek

(not a blasphemous but a purgatorial ‘poem’)

By Francis Stewart Draped in a purple towel, after showering, Hand tearing viciously at his beard, Mind reeling through the same hypothetical scenes.

Headed to the kitchen draws for his jeans Shelved corpus of work teetered in front of its author Obscenely close to his bare body, robed only in the towel.

Only now, stood next to such vulnerable nude, did it seem complete.

His distressed mind could only entreat, It to suddenly topple on to him, like an undead Oedipus Rex, Absolving him of the decision to be made.

No amount of neurotic hand-washing could stifle the spinning reel of suicidal fantasies.

None of those fantasies could close the gap, the horrifying ‘Reel’, between the shelved corpus, Totality; and its nude, fragile, erring author.

The only solace was laughter…

What happens when you realise you are ‘the exception that confirms the rule?’

The scapegoat of your own religion?

The dirty secret of your follower’s solidarity?

Suicide, he presumed…but dreamily and foolishly.

I observed all this in helpless schoolboy excitement, enjoying my symptom as I tried in vain to destroy it.

Assassinate Žižek?

He wandered perfectly into range, as if deliberately.

An arcane cross on the scope of the gun momentarily crucified him: a cinematic framing of his own fantasy.

Temptation to make a messiah, to kill a man.

I dropped the gun and descended the stairs from the bell tower into the chapel: to cold stone and warm, flickering flame.

He would see me there the next day and think me, again, a hallucination

Photograph by Mikolaj Kundegorski

I knew that only pulling the trigger would realise his dreamand hence destroy it. I can only pray I will miss.

1 1 J U N

N D I G O

i

Adrian Chew and Shalaka Darshane - food@palatinate.org.uk

14

FOOD & DRINK

1 1 J U N

stuffing faces in exotic places Before you head off on your next trip, Adrian Chew shows us how watching chefs travel can give us a fresh perspective on experiencing local cuisine.

I

n less than a decade, a veritable pocket industry has developed around the notion of dropping a chef in an exotic locale and filming what happens next.

The chefs, who alternately take on the role of foodie, tour guide and raconteur, shed light on an alien culture that would otherwise be impenetrable through language and sight alone by turning the sense of taste into a shared, universal human experience.

Or as Andrew Zimmern, chef and host of “Bizarre Foods” puts it, “If they haven’t spoken to me in three days, but I ate their mum’s cooking, …, sooner or later they are obligated to say, what do you think?”

Food tells a story What and how any given community of people eats or drinks is a confluence of so many things: local ingredients, history, culture, religion etc. And to seek out this local fare, one is offered an immediate lens with which to observe and learn about a foreign society. Case in point, in Hungary, it is customary to say “egészségedre” whilst clinking glasses of the country’s divine stock of wine. But to do so with beer is to provoke deep nationalist offence. After quelling Hungary’s 1848 uprising, Austrian leaders toasted beer over the executed bodies of Hungarian rebel leaders.

It is through understanding idiosyncrasies and local rituals like these that we are offered a much richer narrative of a foreign land during our short stay there. Shows like these, featuring chefs and their unique perspectives towards food and drink offer us valuable lessons about using the local fare as a medium to explore our destinations.

Be adventurous Travelling to a new place is to be surrounded by so many new sights, sounds, taste, and experiences, the potential for new experiences are boundless. As such, there are few things more confusing to me in this world than seeing travellers eating at a foreign McDonalds. Seeking familiarity defeats the point of travelling in the first place! Nando’s are a clear exemption, but only if it is followed by an ironic mention of #cheekynandos.

The best thing is, you don’t even have to be that adventurous. I’m pretty sure at this point there are videos of Anthony Bourdain scoffing down barely edible foodstuffs for any given travelable destination. South Korean live octopus. Check.

Fermented whale meat. Check. Half matured duck embryos in the Philippines. Check. He’s won Emmys for doing that sort of thing, so you know he can’t be that far off the mark. So, watch a few videos before you go, pick a few excitingly alien but palatable local specialties, then tackle them with the reckless abandon of a liver-out going out to a meal with their parents.

Local connections do matter Knowing somebody in the place you’re visiting opens so many doors when you’re travelling. “Being Frank” is a short but well-made series on Youtube that follows the travails of two New York chefs as they explore the globe and their place in the international foodscene. Time and again, the power of having friends who know the country or city you’re in has yielded surprising new experiences: a local chef showed them that pureeing Amazonian ants yielded a tangy but flavourful obsidian gel, and a chance conversation with their Italian driver led to them sitting in his apartment eating his mom’s Sunday ragu.

The potential for encounters like these are everywhere, all it takes is for you to introduce yourself. And if you want an even more effortless option, Durham is a much more diverse place than it is given credit for, so ask around for your friend’s recommendations for choice tips and spots. Or even better, meet up with them on their home turf!

Photograph: CNN/Turner

feeling chaat-y in Mumbai

Shalaka Darshane starts off our international food series by looking at her favourite street food

I

f you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit India, you will have heard of (and probably experienced…) the inevitable ‘Delhi Belly’. You will have been warned that, to avoid this, you must not eat the street food, no matter how tempting those pani puris look…

For those who are wondering, chaat is an assortment of crunchy savoury snacks that are mainly sold on the side of the road in stalls and roadside outlets in big Indian cities like Mumbai. Varieties include pav bhaji, bhel puri, pani puri, dahi vada, dahi puri amongst many others. Some of the foods are quite similar to one another and many regions have their own spin on them, but the common element holding them together is that they are all delicious.

Having visited my relatives in India many a time, it was always heart breaking to watch my cousins devour the mouth-watering snacks that were forbidden to me (and my stomach). But nowadays, chaat is sold in bigger outlets and has become common in upscale restaurants as a type of Indian tapas so, thankfully, I’ve been able to enjoy some of my all-time favourite foods without worry.

A favourite amongst Mumbaikers – and

myself – is the humble pav bhaji. Native to Maharashtra and with Portuguese influences, it is more filling that the other chaat varieties and can be eaten as a meal itself. Pav bhaji consists of a spicy mixture of mashed vegetables served with gently fried bread rolls garnished with a sprinkling of fresh coriander and red onion over the top.

Make sure to visit palatinate.org.uk for the recipe for pav bhaji, an Indian street food that you can make in the comfort of your own kitchen.

@palatinatefood @palatiFOOD Check out al cuisine

more articles online at

Photograph:

Kailash

Gyawali

on internationpalatinate.org.uk. via

Flickr

N D I G O

i

15

Oliver Collard (dept. Naoise Murphy) - travel@palatinate.org.uk

T RAV E L

1 1 J U N

setting sail: reflections on a year abroad

Ottoline Spearman considers swapping the harsh Durham climate for sunnier shores wears

off when you realise that there’s actually not that much t o do. The chance to go to university in a proper city, complete with a decent cinema - I swear the Gala cinema only shows about three films a year - and famous clubs (as opposed to infamous) seemed too huge an opportunity to miss.

The application process was far from easy. I effectively had to write three personal statements, pay god-knowshow-much in application and admin fees, and conduct an interview with a charming Aussie at 6.30 AM following a heavy night out, the dulcet tones of his lilting accent threatening to almost send me back to sleep. I guess I’ll Photgraph by Reading Tom (CC) never know whether the fact that I was still drunk was the only reason I he idea of a year abroad got in… came to me on a gloomy, blustery day in And so here I am, with a mere six weeks before I Durham as I battled against the elements venture across the world for an entire year. Dauntto make my way into town. Wouldn’t it be nice, I ing. thought, if I could have all the perks of university Things I’ll miss: the sticky floor of Klute, the unwithout this Northern weather? Then it occurred necessarily complicated sliding bookshelves of the to me that this was possible.

Billy B (they attacked me once and I had nightTravelling across the world for a year was a mares), the outrageous prices at Dunelm, Mary’s nerve-wracking prospect, but in the biting cold I prison-cell of a bar… need I go on? happily conjured up an image of revision on the Things I’ll actually miss: the scenic walks, ridicubeach, pen in one hand, cocktail in the other. It lously cheap college bar crawls, and the cafés. was one that I could not pass up on.

So, I’d better get my visa so that I don’t get deHaving been motivated purely by selfish tanported upon arrival, and I’d sure as hell better start related reasons, I started to think more seriously packing. about the possibility of a year abroad. Pros: tan (!), new experiences, and delayed graduating. Cons: leaving Durham, and the fact that most of my friends would have left by the time I returned. But upon reflection, the pros certainly outweighed the cons and I sent in my (lengthy) application.

So perhaps the idea of a tan was the main initial motivation, but for fear of painting myself in a vain, self-obsessed light, I’d like to stress that the idea of experiencing a new city on the opposite side of the world, away from friends and family, was the most exciting factor.

I’m obsessed with new beginnings, it seems, and what better way to have a fresh start than on the other side of the world?

The Durham bubble is all very well, but it can become rather claustrophobic when you go to Tesco in your pyjamas, only to end up bumping into about ten people that you know - not part of the plan.

Durham city holds a quaint charm, but eventually the breathtaking sight of the cathedral in the afternoon sun

T

holidays from hell

Rosie McLellan gets washed up trying to find Verona

Illustration by Mariam Hayat

P

ride comes before a fall. I learned this the hard way, interrailing around Italy last summer. Three friends and I attempted to travel from Bologna to Verona. This should have been a simple, hour and a half journey without any changes, but things didn’t quite work out. I sauntered into Bologna train station, and, wanting to prove my credentials as a geographer, announced to my friends that I had found the right train and my total confidence that it must stop at Verona. I was very wrong. Two hours later, we looked bemusedly out of the window, tentatively asking each other why Verona looked so oceanic.

Photograph by Anisha Mohan

comic by Mariam Hayatccomic by Mariam Hayat