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Thursday 16th June 2016

INDIGO

3 FEATURES What will you miss most about Durham?

Features finds out 4 C R E A T I V E WRITING Two students from Durham’s Creative Writing module share their poetry 5 STAGE Departing veterans of DST talk us through their memories 6 & 7 V I S U AL ARTS Stuck for things to do this summer?

Visual Arts has your culture needs covered 8 BOOKS Books interviews Durham graduate author Wyl Menmuir 9 FASHION Fashion finds your professional graduate wardrobe 1 0 F O O D & DRINK Now that exams are over, indulge yourself in some DIY cocktails 11 TRAVEL Kat Hind reflects on her year abroad in Jordan 1 2 & 1 3 F I L M & TV RIP: a roundup of the final films of some of the greatest late actors 14 MUSIC Rory McInnes-Gibbons reviews Radiohead at London Roundhouse 1 5 A D A Y I N THE LIFE Giacomo Paoloni chats to Trev’s College porter Brian Mollon WRITERS Ellen Finch Hannah Griffiths Rohan Perumatantri Jasmine Watkiss Effel Gao Harvery Comerford Lydia Feerick Nikhil Vyas Theo Harrison Eleanor George Carrie Gaunt Flora Stafford Jane Simpkiss Katie Harling-Challis Jess Dimaio Charlotte Payne

For me, this issue of Indigo is threefold in meaning. Firstly, of course, it’s the last issue of the year. Secondly, it’s my last issue as Editor.

And finally, it’s my last issue as a student at Durham University.

Graduating is weird. It felt like any other post-exam period until a couple of days ago, when it finally hit me that it’ll be the last time I ever see most of the people I interact with in daily life. Then I started thinking what else I’ll miss about Durham: the sense of not being able to go anywhere without seeing someone you know, the last-minute plans, the freedom, the societies, and the bustling hub of people that is our student community. I’ve enjoyed every part of my journey, even down to the latenight stresses and last-minute printer problems: even more, I’ve relished the opportunity to get so involved in organisations like Palatinate.

But this isn’t just about me. Features has a whole lot of contributions from students across Durham on what they’ll miss when they leave this place. The theme of this issue is ‘On Endings’, and elsewhere in Indigo, sections have interpreted it in all sorts of ways. Kat Hind reflects on her year abroad in Travel; Visual Arts has a round-up of the best artsy places to go if you’re travelling; and Books interviews graduate author Wyl Menmuir on his life after Durham.

It’s been a blast, and I hope the same goes for you. For non-graduates, I’m incredibly jealous. I met more people, made more memories and developed more friendships than I ever thought possible in my last year here, and I’m glad I put the work aside long enough to do so. A lot of these people were, of course, from Palatinate: and I’d like to round off my last editorial by thanking everyone I’ve worked with on Indigo this year. You made it all worth it.

EF

Special thanks to the photography and illustrations teams for all their beautiful work this year. This issue’s front cover is a collaboration between the teams: thanks go to Kenzo Ishida, Faye Chua, Grace Tseng and Verity Rimmer, and to Alexander Gottlieb for the page page photograph. www.palatinate.org.uk www.facebook.com/palindigo Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @indigodurham

#readpalatinate

INDIGO EDITORS Ellen Finch YC Chin (deputy) FEATURES EDITORS Isabelle Culkin Cristina Cusenza (deputy) CREATIVE WRITING EDITOR Sarah Fletcher STAGE EDITORS Sofya Grebenkina Simon Fearn VISUAL ARTS EDITOR Jane Simpkiss BOOKS EDITORS Hannah Griffiths Ellie Scorah FASHION EDITOR Sally Hargrave FOOD & DRINK EDITORS Charlotte Payne Ariadne Vu TRAVEL EDITOR Laura Glenister FILM & TV EDITORS Rory McInnes-Gibbons Hugo Camps-Harris (deputy) MUSIC EDITORS Jacqueline Duan Will Throp A DAY IN THE LIFE EDITOR Cristina Cusenza WRITERS (CONTINUED)

Kat Hind Rory McInnes-Gibbons Florianne Humphrey Hugo Harris Giacomo Paoloni PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATION

Anna Gibbs Alissa Cooper Anna Lermolaieva Isabelle Culkin Olivia Howcroft Charlotte Payne Jia Wei Luk Adam Jarvis

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Thursday 16th June 2016

FEATURES

Goodbye Durham

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Durham students share their memories of their time here at university

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Durham is such a pretty place, and I’ll certainly miss the cobbled streets and mismatched architecture when I’m back in Birmingham. I’ll miss the calf burn from walking up Durham’s many hills in flip flops (would not recommend), the feeling of lying in bed at night hearing other students shouting and laughing and knowing that you’re never alone here. I’ll miss the English lectures, which grow more and more eccentric over the years. And I will, of course, miss the many hours spent in the Palatinate office, the hard work that everyone put in to every edition, and the chats with people when they popped in to say hi.

Having health problems that limit my energy levels have affected my choices for third year

- Ellen Finch

More than anything I’m going to miss the people

“

As much as I love the city of Durham, more than anything I’m going to miss the people. The people I met in Freshers’ Week have become my best friends and it is reassuring to know that, through them, I’ll still have a little bit of Durham with me after I’ve graduated. I’m also going to miss the many amazing opportunities I’ve had while at Durham - they’ve been immensely helpful in job interviews, but they’ve also made my time here that bit more crazy, busy and exciting.

- Hannah Griffiths

- Artwork by Anna Gibbs

There once was a city called Durham And the drama there was lots of fun-ham I did lots of plays About angels and their ways And because Pitch is poor the costume came from Oxfam - Rohan Perumatantri

“

The whole Durham experience has a very special place in my heart. As a final year student I have now started feeling quite nostalgic. I already know I’m going to miss the little appreciated science site, coffees at Flat White, the solitary walks by the river which are not so revitalising.

I am not going to lie, my eyes got a bit watery the other day when I handed in the 25 books I needed for my dissertation into the library, and when seeing that my campus card was going to expire soon.

Durham is so special to me, I already know I’m going to come back to visit, and feel proud of my Hogwarts-esque time here.

- Artwork by Alissa Cooper

- Cristina Cusenza

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Thursday 16th June 2016

CREATIVE WRITING

‘You Have Seen Millions of Winters Pass’

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Jasmine Watkiss and Effel Gao, two Durham University poets who honed their craft in the English department’s Creative Writing module, share their poetry

Fool’s Gold

Thimble

Singular Amour

Gilt with motley golden paints from all quarters, Some waning tints of rose-rust, moss-green, And several dents with shadows only; What should its true colour be?

It weighs me down— Rough to the flesh, and cold like immortality.

Yet somehow I’m growing fond of its clumsy inborn waywardness.

It must have split itself from a rock far firmer and immovable.

Then perhaps it fell into the ready dyeing pool of the world, choked, And came out, to recognise itself no longer.

You have seen millions of winters pass; You restore a thousand grains of stardust gathered from a thousand stars.

What does it matter that people with automatic smiles when the shop bell clangs smeared you all over with this vain make-up and shoved you to the show?

You’ll gnaw away your own surface.

You are still one diehard core of the earth.

Tooth white, the enamelled shine Echoes the line of the classroom light In a Red Brick university.

The top a dimpled golf ball, The base a vase with a delicate rim, I imagine Flowers bending, wilting, Weighing less than a penny in my hand.

Worthless but for employment In children’s games; A fairy cup, a doll’s bucket, A stiff helmet for a Borrower policeman.

A tiny well in the past, A frippery so quintessentially English, From a long line of useless trinkets, A family tree of China figurines, Relics litter mantelpieces Across the nation.

I hold in my hand A chip in the teacup of history, A young wife darning a uniform, Glancing sideways at the photo on the sideboard.

I hold a world of Listening to the wireless, Corrugated Anderson huts, squat and Muddy in November kitchen gardens, And fear of the siren sound Growing in the stomach, Like the tide rising in a cave.

All this now dissolved, Flesh buried and gone, Leaving nothing much but English Bone.

My thoughts about you are as clammy and raw as the fume beneath the shoulder seam of your summer shirt.

My hatred of you fizzes through and spoils every phrase that possesses your name.

Love poems became mine fields; Chinese egressed; Another language from another country upholstered me.

You whisked away my eighteen-year-old pride solved my feelings with a dimple and strafed my best dreams.

How dare you, still, call me by that sobriquet whose sounds make young bracken curl.

Not a word came between us during that last thundershower in Ningbo when we stood before high French windows and watched the glacial skyscrapers dissolve into pearlgrey.

I was gazing down into the rotundity of human toil when suddenly the outer world dimmed much further and from the craquelure reflection I saw you gazing into me.

By Eiffel Gao

By Jasmine Watkiss

By Eiffel Gao

Meet The Authors Jasmine Watkiss has just finished her fourth and final year of Combined Honours (Spanish and English Literature), at Collingwood College. She hopes to become a journalist and creative writer after graduation this June.

Eiffel Gao is an English and Art History student

at Durham University. She has read at ‘For Kicks’, an event at Empty Shop, and as part of the Dead Women Poets Society at Norman Chapel in University College.

Photograph: ADTeasdale via Flickr

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Thursday 16th June 2016

STAGE

Curtain Call

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Departing DST veterans reflect on their favourite shows, their proudest moments in Durham theatre, and their plans for the future

Having performed in about fifteen DST productions during my time here, drama has made up much of my university experience. There are lots to choose from, but my favourite show was probably The Comedy of Errors, which I did with CTC last summer. I have such good memories of touring around country houses across southern England with mates in the sunshine. My proudest moment on a Durham stage is probably between Bent and Hidden. It was amazing to do such an important, albeit grim, play with Bent last summer, and Hidden was great last term, if only because we managed to keep the cast secret up until opening night. It seems very odd that it’s all coming to an end. Next year, I’m taking a year out to try and get as much acting experience as I can before applying to drama school.

Harvery Comerford.

Over the past three years, Durham Student Theatre has given me the chance to direct some of my favourite plays, write some of my own, meet some freakishly talented people and, pretentious as it may sound, discover a new calling I couldn’t have dreamed of before university. As a result, I’m certainly hoping to pursue a writing and directing career after graduating. Some of my fondest memories in DST come from The Lieutenant of Inishmore, where the weeks before my second year exams were filled with bad Irish accents, cat-searching expeditions and buckets of fake blood. However, my proudest moment would have to be the closing performance of That Face. The pin drop silence at the show’s finale was the culmination of not only months of horrendous stress but the support and dedication of an absurdly hard-working cast and crew. It’s memories like these that have really made my time in DST worthwhile.

Nikhil Vyas.

I have absolutely loved being i n vo l ve d with DST over my three years at Durham!

I have to say my first ever DST production, Motherland, has a special place in my heart because it was such a great verbatim play about the women left behind by the men and women who went to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cast was a big female cast and the amount of talent was incredible, not to mention Kate Barton and George Rexstrew’s fantastic direction. It made me love acting even more, which I did not think was possible! My proudest moment was being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for my role in Motherland at the D’Oscars and for being nominated for Best Actress for my role in the DDF verbatim play Congestion at the D’Oliviers - I think I cried both times! I intend to pursue a career in acting after I leave Durham in any way I can, drama school or otherwise. I’ve got to follow the dream!

Eleanor George.

“It was my first Assembly Rooms show and I remember standing in the wings and never wanting to leave that place.”

a v o u r ite show is a tough one because there have been so many brilliant experiences. I have been really lucky! As a mere fresher, I adored doing Thrust Stage’s all-female production of Henry V. It was my first Assembly Rooms show and I remember standing in the wings and never wanting to leave that place. More recently, I loved playing a messed-up teenager in Polly Stenham’s That Face. Proudest moment was probably getting cast in the 2014 DULOG fringe show, as it showed me I was capable of university-level musicals (despite my intense fear of dancing). I absolutely intend to continue performing after university - at the moment I am applying to drama schools. Wherever I end up, I’ll always be incredibly grateful to DST for everything it has given me.

Lydia Feerick.

Photographs (clockwise from top left): Anna Lermolaieva, Isabelle Culkin, Isabelle Culkin, Anna Lermolaieva, Anna Lermolaieva, Sea Grey Photography

D S T h a s been s u c h an integral p a r t of my D u r ham career and my own personal development! From shows in Chad’s to shows at the Fringe, the variety which I’ve been able to participate in has been truly fantastic. My favourite show has to still be Jerusalem just because, even as an actor, I felt totally transformed to another world through the fantastic work of the producers, set-designers and pretty much everything to do with the show!

Joe Skelton’s DDF play The Noctambulist was one of my favourite plays to perform in as not only did I win Best Actor, but our run at the Fringe has been my most successful to date. I now hope to go into acting, all I can really do is thank DST and all the people involved for creating such a fantastic and creative environment. Theo Harrison.

Picking just one favourite show is so difficult, but two plays that were very special to me were That Face and Orlando. I had the most amazing time rehearsing and performing both and it was amazing to get the opportunity to portray two such complex and incredibly written characters. My proudest moment in DST was performing in DDF 2015 - it was the first time I’d performed in DDF since 2009 and I was absolutely blown away by how much things had changed since I was an undergraduate; how much more innovative and brave the writing, direction and use of space was. DST has changed beyond recognition since I started studying in Durham - we didn’t really have any links to industry professionals and I hadn’t got a clue what NSDF was! I feel very lucky that my current job (I work as a children’s entertainer alongside my PhD) allows me to act and be paid to do it, but I would absolutely love to continue acting in the future. Being involved in DST makes me happier than anything else in the world and I’d feel totally bereft if I couldn’t prance about on stage in some capacity! Carrie Gaunt.

Thursday 16th June 2016

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Visual Arts

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Far from the End of the Line: Euro

Flora Stafford and Jane Simpkiss give you a whistle stop tour of Europe’s best an

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ith only a slice of the academic year left, many of you will undoubtedly have begun planning summer excursions. City-hopping around Europe has developed into a right of passage for post A-Level culture (and party) seekers, but if you haven’t been it’s an incredible and affordable way to spend those long summer days.

Art galleries and museums should be a staple on anyone’s list. Even if you have friends who aren’t interested, sauntering through a cool gallery to escape Europe’s fierce heat is bound to cure last night’s hangover, and they might even find some hidden gems.

Amsterdam A stunning, magical city, with a wide array of things to do, we recommend two to three full days here.

Van Gogh Museum

Floors upon floors of Van Gogh’s beautiful work from his early pieces to his time in Saint-Remy. It’s worth getting an audio guide here, as it allows you to become absorbed in the journey, generating a coherent picture of his fascinating and tragic life. A highlight would definitely be ‘Bedroom in Arles, 1889’.

Top tip: We queued for three hours in torrential rain, so I would highly recommend buying tickets in advance.

Rijksmuseum

A stunning museum containing wonders of the Dutch Golden Age. Everyone comes to see Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’, understandably. A colossal, intricately detailed masterpiece displaying a mind-blowing command of light and shadow. Tucked away down the hall is Vermeer’s ‘Milkmaid’, showcasing the artist’s stunning use of light with an almost photographic realism, which will undoubtedly leave you wanting more.

Top tip: the museum has its own, be it slightly temperamental, mobile app, so you can listen in for free.

Anne Frank House

Unless you book months in advance for this, you won’t be able to avoid the vast queue, which means that rising early is the only option. Do not under any circumstances let this put you off. The Anne Frank House is one of the most moving museums you will ever visit. Stepping into the exact place where her family went into hiding, you become immersed in her tragic story. Not one to be missed.

Copenhagen The vibrant multi-coloured Nyhavn is a photographers dream, as is the rest of this captivating city.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

If your travelling companions are more into beer than art, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, based around the collection of the son of the founder of Carlsberg, might be the museum for you. Filled with stunning sculpture from Egypt to Greece, and with the one of the most important collections of Rodin sculptures outside France, this museum is not to be missed.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

If you are willing to jump back on the train and head 30 minutes out of Copenhagen, the Louisiana is well worth a visit. One of my favourite galleries ever, the Louisiana is more sculpture park than gallery with fantastic pieces by Henry Moore and Alexander Calder set into its beautiful grounds. It also has a wonderful café stocked with delicious Scandinavian delights, which you can eat whilst enjoying panoramic views of nearby Sweden.

Munich One of my favourite cities in Europe, overflowing with culture and things to see and do, definitely don’t miss the surfers on the River Isa in the middle of the English Gardens.

Alte Pinakothek

A stunning collection of Old Master Paintings including Durer and Memling

Pinakothek der Moderne

This museum is really five museums in one as it contains a design wing, a jewellery wing, an architecture wing, a modern art wing, and the national collection for works on paper. The design and jewellery are well worth a visit but it is the modern art wing that is the jewel of the Pinakothek der Moderne.

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Thursday 16th June 2016

Visual Arts

pe’s Endless Artistic Opportunities

nd brightest galleries and museums for you to visit when interrailing this Summer Berlin From the Berlin Wall to Berghain, Germany’s eccentric capital is a hive of culture and fun.

Old National Gallery

Located on Museum Island, the gallery’s collection contains important Neoclassical and Romantic works, and puts on wonderful exhibitions. Students get discounted tickets. A defnite highlight is Friedrich’s ‘Monk by the Sea’. I studied this for my art A-Level, and every online version seems to be a different colour, yet this is a stunning work in real life!

Crone Gallery

Off the tourist trail, the Crone Gallery houses modern German and European art and often puts on insightful group exhibitions.

Prague A gorgeous city not known for its art, but nevertheless full of quirky cultural spots! A Segway or bike tour is a must for views from all angles, and the architecturally mind-blowing castle must be on your list!

National Gallery

The permanent collection houses an array of prestigious works from medieval art in Bohemia to contemporary pieces.

Jewish Museum and Jewish Cemetery

This is one of the oldest Jewish Museums in Europe, containing items that were salvaged from the synagogues that were demolished during the clearance of the Jewish ghetto. The Jewish Cemetery contains thousands of graves crammed together and is a sight to behold.

Vienna Aesthetically pleasing would be an understatement. Vienna is without a doubt our favourite city for culture. Searching for a bite to eat in the evening, we stumbled upon the annual Film Festival in Rathausplatz where there was an array of delicious street food, which we enjoyed during a complementary screening of Swan Lake.

mumok

Pop art and photorealism are the highlights of the mumok’s collection, with works by Warhol, Oldenburg, Picasso and Ono. I personally came for Richter’s photorealistic smudged masterpieces, which certainly did not let me down.

Leopold Museum

A stroll across Museum Square from the mumok, the Leopold Museum houses a huge collection of Austrian art from the secessionist and modernist era. Having heard little about Austrian art before arriving in Vienna, I was struck by the art in this gallery: Klimt and Schiele deservedly take centre stage, with their quirky, haunting figures.

Albertina

We saw a lovely ‘Warhol to Richter’ exhibition here with some of my favourite works. It’s a lovely building and definitely worth a visit.

Budapest One of our favourite cities, we were captivated by the beautiful architecture and enjoyed the baths to escape the scorching heat!

Kiscelli Museum

The Kiscelli Museum specialises in the Modern Age history and fine art of Budapest. Set in what appears to be an old baroque monastery and church in a wooded park in Obuda, the museum contains antique furniture, sculpture and contemporary photos. Temporary exhibitions tend to focus on photography, fashion, architecture and sports.

Illustration by Olivia Howcroft

@visualarts_palatinate

Thursday 16th June 2016

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BOOKS

‘The Many’ thoughts of Wyl Menmuir Katie Harling-Challis speaks to a former Durham student about writing his debut novel

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n June 15th 2016, The Many was published

by Salt Publishing. Although short, this is a challenging and thought-provoking debut novel from Wyl Menmuir, a Durham graduate. A month before the release date, I got the opportunity to talk with him about his novel and his thoughts on the writing process, as well as life after graduating.

Like Tim Fowler, the DJ Librarian who I interviewed back in February for Indigo, Wyl is a follower of the portfolio career path. Holding various degrees from four different universities, Wyl has worked as a journalist and a teacher, before going freelance as a writer, editor, and literacy consultant. In the midst of his busy life as a freelancer, he has fulfilled his dream of writing and publishing a novel — a book which took him three years to write, working only in the evenings, after a full day of work and after his two kids had gone to bed, stealing time when he could. ‘Part of it is just that discipline of sitting down, writing, experimenting with writing,’ says Wyl when considering his writing process and advice for other budding writers. ‘Lots of people talk about writing, but unless you’re actually writing, you’re not developing those skills as a writer.’ Wyl’s advice is to put aside time every day to write. ‘This sounds like facile advice, but even if it’s 15 minutes, and even if you haven’t got the perfect story idea yet, everything you’re doing is practice for when you do get that brilliant idea, and I think you’re much more likely to get that stunning idea if you’re already writing.’

His daily target was 500 words. Sometimes this would take as little as 15 minutes to write, other times it took 2 hours. The important thing was to meet that target. Writing a novel ‘is more of a marathon than a

sprint, and you have to learn how to trick yourself to keep going’. Walking also held an important role in his writing process. ‘There’s something about walking that means your mind starts turning the story over in the back of your head.’ For Wyl, walking provided a contrast to simply sitting and writing, offering time to think it over in a new environment, as well as helping with the context of his debut novel, The Many, set in a rural coastal town in Cornwall.

So what made him start writing The Many? Wyl has been writing short stories and poems ‘since forever. What kicked it off was that I took a short story along to an Arvon writers’ residential week.’ He showed his story to the writers leading the workshop, who said it was okay, but it certainly wasn’t going to set the world on fire. ‘They said to go and sit down in a room on your own and write the story that comes into your head, and I just did. I wrote a thousand words, and they were probably the most difficult thousand words I’ve ever written because they were raw and emotional and slightly based on things that had happened to me. And while I don’t want my writing to be autobiographical, I think I’d been pretending that my fiction had to be really, really fictional, and that it had to be nothing to do with anything that had ever happened to me… Afterwards, there was a lot of shaping involved. But to begin with, the words just kind of happened.’

The Many is described as ‘slipstream literary fiction, dark, surreal,’ and it certainly was an immersing and surreal reading experience. The atmosphere of gloom was particularly impressive, and is sustained throughout the novel. It is certainly not a book to read if you are looking for some light sum-

mer reading, but that’s not what Wyl was aiming for.

‘What I want it to be is a type of book that really makes people think. I think that there is a space for challenging literature, for books that really force you as a reader to think carefully as a reader about what’s going on.’ Life is complex and uncertain, it is about learning to live with complexity and uncertainty, with the fact that there aren’t any easy answers, and things are not resolved, and this is what Wyl tries, and succeeds, to put across in The Many.

Now of course, I had to ask, what book has really stuck with you? Wyl responded by listing off numerous titles, before settling on Fishboy by Mark Richard, a book that helped him when writing The Many. ‘It’s lyrical and adventurous, and just downright odd. I loved the way it challenged the reader.’ This one he recommends for anyone who wants a thought-provoking read that’s going to open up new possibilities for their writing.

Any final pieces of advice for the budding writers of Durham University? ‘Read books that challenge your expectations of what a novel can do, and push yourself.’ When it comes to writing, ‘write the book that you would love to read, the book that you have to write, and don’t think about the end goal too much.’ And importantly, for all of us here at Durham, we need to make the most of the opportunities available to us. ‘Seek out interesting people, interesting books, interesting and out of the way places.’ You never know what you may find.

Wyl’s debut novel The Many, published by Salt Publishing, is out now.

Images: Wyl Menmuir, Dave Muir, Salt Publishing

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Thursday 16th June 2016

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FASHION

Work It

About to start that graduate job? Jess Dimaio pinpoints your work wardrobe must-haves

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xams are over, Durham is finally forecast some sunshine, and many of you are looking forward to enjoying a few months of freedom before you start your first ‘real’ job. With countless opportunities to get your legs out and let your hair down this summer, putting together a work wardrobe might not be top of your to-do list, but it’s definitely not too early to start thinking about how you are going to look the part on your first day as a young professional.

Life after uni will be infinitely more enjoyable if you continue to embrace your individuality, regardless of which field of work you choose Even if fashion isn’t your favourite topic, any savvy graduate knows how to dress to impress – making sure you have a great selection of clothes for work is crucial for making a good impression, and with around 260 working days in the year, you will not regret having spent a bit of time and money on your corporate closet. Here are a few things to think about before you start...

Know the Dress Code

It goes without saying that appropriate work attire varies depending on what sort of workplace you’ll be entering into, so make sure you’ve checked out your company’s dress code. Even though it is becoming increasingly uncommon, some workplaces will expect formal business attire. This calls for a well-cut suit, a buttonup shirt, smart shoes and, for men, a good quality tie.

Stick to neutral colours such as black, navy and

brown, and be extremely conservative when it comes to accessories.

This doesn’t necessarily mean your work wardrobe can’t reflect your own personal style – after you graduate is a fantastic time to embrace those sophisticated designs and silhouettes you’ve always been drawn to, but had no use for at university. It is also a good idea to have a look at the other people in your office to see how they have made the classic business look their own. If your company requests smart-casual attire, you probably won’t be expected to wear a suit, but still aim to look polished and professional. Even though there is no strict dress code, most companies will still have a handful of unspoken guidelines which you will need to suss out and stick to.

It’s useful to acquire a few key formal pieces that you can mix and match with your regular clothes. For men, suit trousers with an ironed shirt with no tie would do the trick, and for women, a mid-length skirt or dress paired with a comfortable shirt or jumper. No matter what your job is (unless you’re lucky enough to work somewhere extremely casual), it’s a good idea to avoid jeans, trainers, strappy tops and short skirts. Ladies, use a threeway mirror to check out your outfit from all angles – that skirt that looks fine from the front may have a back slit which is way too revealing.

After you graduate it’s a fantastic time to embrace those sophisticated designs and silhouettes you’ve always been drawn to, but had no use for at university Buying on a Budget

Until you’ve saved up for some long-lasting, investment pieces, the best way to save money in those first few months of your new job is to gradually build up a capsule wardrobe. Stock up on a few basic items that can be worn often and interchangeably, so that you can avoid wearing the same look everyday without splurging on a multitude of distinct outfits.

For example, don’t buy

that pair of trousers you fell in love with at first sight unless you have at least three tops which could be paired with them.

It’s helpful to stick to a narrow palette of neutral colours so that you are less limited in terms of what you can mix and match. Black is your friend – you will be surprised how many pieces you already own which can be transformed from casual to corporate when paired with a smart jacket. It’s also brilliant at disguising design flaws such as poor finishing and uneven stitching so that you can achieve a chic, sophisticated look without anyone knowing that you didn’t break the bank. When looking for your work wardrobe essentials, it’s perfectly acceptable to go high-street (M&S, Next and Burton are great for low-cost suits), or even explore your local charity shops.

If you do decide to invest in some more expensive items, stay away from labels or anything too ‘status-y’ – your employer wants to see you for you and nothing else so it’s better to stick with a clean, modest look.

Be Yourself

It’s cliché, but life after uni will be infinitely more enjoyable if you continue to embrace your individuality, regardless of which field of work you choose. Entering the adult world doesn’t mean your fashion life has to end!

It’s important that you look the part, but equally important that you feel comfortable and confident, so aim to build a work wardrobe that is respectful of your company’s values, whilst remaining true to your personal style.

Images, from left: Ada Blazer, £49.50. marksandspencer.com Skinny Suit Jacket, £85, asos.com Lace Insert Blouse, £36, asos.com Jack & Jones Tie, £15, asos.com

Find us at: Instagram @palatinate_fashion Facebook: Palatinate Fashion

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Thursday 16th June 2016

TRAVEL The beginning of the end, and other clichés

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A bitersweet ending: Kat Hind on saying goodbye to life as a year abroad student

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t’s happening. You’ve finished exams, graduated or decided to leave university life forever and self-fund your one man play.

Either way, things are pretty fantastic in these sweet seconds of living in the moment. Then comes that ominous silence called decision time.

What comes next? What are you going to do to carry on this feeling of ecstasy? This feeling, in my opinion, crashes into nobody more brutally than a year abroad student. It may be narcissistic, in fact it most definitely is, but knowing the end is upon us and that on your return you will be in the same graduating year as the ones you once sneered at as they replaced you as freshers, while your original year are now adulting – well it’s daunting and depressing all in one fell swoop.

It’s never easy to say goodbye, to admit it’s the end. With a holiday it can be a relief as you knew it wasn’t a long term-thing. It was a one week stand, a hook-up that you didn’t want to last forever. The sunny glow can only last so long and then you’re relieved to be on your way back to your real life; in fact, your real life feels slightly cosier for the whole affair. With the year abroad, however, the aim is utter immersion. You want to create a new home, a new routine: you’re living abroad rather than just holidaying. You start to get accustomed to the way of life in this new faux-home. You make new friends, find a local gym, a local cafe and a local watering hole. Just as Durham so quickly became a home away from home a month into first term, so does France, Spain, Germany or Russia.

How then do you accept the end? Just as graduates may feel, this wave goodbye is bittersweet.

You’re obviously looking forward to the future, but it’s hard to let go of the past – that being said I suppose it would be easier if you’d had a horrible year of flea-ridden accommodation, no hot water and out of order street harassment (interestingly, all of these happened on my year abroad and yet still I maintain it was an incredible experience).

In order to ‘let it go’ a plan of action is always best. In grief, organisation can help comfort the soul. Not too long ago I left the beautiful country of Jordan. After just three short months it was time to return to the glitz and glamour of the United King-

dom. Before leaving I made my bucket list, though.

This list was not filled with classic tourist haunts – sorry Petra, you are beautiful but this was not that kind of thing. It was a short list – after all, I only had three days to get it done and dusted – and included things I’d kept putting off because they were either in Amman where I was living and ‘I could always do that tomorrow’, or they were activities my friends had told me I just had to do.

Just as Durham so quickly became a home away from home a month into first term, so does France, Spain, Germany or Russia.

The list was threefold; 1) Visit the black and white mosque Up on one of Amman’s beautiful mountains stands an equally beautiful mosque. Striking in any panoramic photo for its uniqueness, the black and white mosque, or Abu Darweesh, is exactly what it says on the tin: purely black and white. It reminded me of a chessboard, or perhaps something out of Alice in Wonderland, as it was so stark and intense amongst the yellows and beiges of the regular Amman skyline.

A few days before departure I headed up the mountain to meet a very good friend and tick it off my closure list. It turned out to be my favourite day in Amman. Upon arrival I found my group building a kite with some local children. Half an hour later and after a few up close photos of the mosque we headed off with our handmade kite to a random field, with a random shopkeeper and one Turkish chicken. Best of all... it flew! If there was ever anything more romantic than flying a kite, as the sun set, and symbolically saying farewell to a city with good friends in tow then I would have to bow down

in awe. Kite flying = an excellent way to greet the end.

2) Order from Queensburger Much as Durham has Urban Oven, Amman has Queensburger. 3am and on a rooftop, like any true Jordanian, I was able to phone Queensburger and order a free delivery of pepperoni pizza. My address?

The roof. Amazingly, and true to legend, they found me. Food is always a fantastic memory to have of a place, albeit perhaps not cheap takeout food, but if you have fond memories of a cuisine you never truly have to let it end. Bring the country to the kitchen and fry up some falafel chez toi.

3) Acquire a street sign Whether legally or not so much, I was always so jealous of the many houses I saw with authentic street signs from around Amman as part of their decor that I just had to have one. I suppose it’s again the need to not let go of somewhere fully, to hold onto a part of it that drove me to the street with a flat-headed screwdriver. My sign will stand proudly in my house next year as I marvel at the one vaguely daring activity I undertook over the year.

In short, this is a long winded way of saying don’t let the dream end. Keep it alive through sheer grit and determination. Whether it’s a trip back to Durham once every five years, or a long distance pen pal halfway across the world, the things you do to say goodbye to a place aren’t really serving this purpose. They’re done in a desperate attempt to forget the flea infestation and remember the amazingness of it all. Why bother letting it end if you can keep holding onto it, even just a fraction of it?

Photograph: Jia Wei Luk

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Email travel@palatinate.org.uk

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Thursday 16th June 2016

FILM & TV Alan Rickman Eye In The Sky

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Post-Mortem

Drone thriller Eye in the Sky saw Alan Rickman play devil’s advocate in a fine post-mortem performance as General Benson opposite an irate, irrational Dame Helen Mirren. While Mirren directed events on the ground at military HQ, Rickman was sitting aloof behind his laptop in the corridors of bureaucratic Whitehall. He conducts the symphony of the strike, but his role is primarily political, lobbying his superiors in order to justify direct action and eliminate the target. This is Rickman’s driest, desert tone, that thespian’s tongue flaring one final time in the face of his presumptuously inept political superiors. As last performances go, it was an understated, underplayed final throe, that resonated with the humanity Rickman had made his signature. Filling each of his characters to the very brim of their capacity, Rickman played on the edge of caricature, but always maintained the deftest of dramatical touches in order to create a person from a performance.While General Benson was certainly not his best onscreen role, a decent film with a great cast and a real twenty first century message, was a most fitting tribute to a man who will forever be remembered for the length of his robes. Rory McInnes-Gibbons.

Rory McInnes-Gibbons, Hugo Ca reflect upon the final films o

Heath L

The Dark K

In 2008, Ledger died from an accidental man’s The Dark Knight, where he played ance won numerous posthumous awards: an Unlike Hoffman and Walker, Ledger had finished filming w the use of CGI but the rumours that the role itself led to Led into character that he was ‘haunted’ by the Joker even after fi from absolutely believing what you’re doing. You convince y Caine said that, on set, the performance sometimes become seem unreasonable that playing a psychotic, murderous villa character came from hyenas, clowns, and the cruel protagon filming so he could play around with the character, whose Too Young To Die. Hauntingly, the diary even ended with ‘b Whether the rumours are true or not, what is certain world-wide tributes in his honour. For example, Kasabi their song ‘Vlad the Impaler’ and Ledger’s home town o

Paul Walker Fast & Furious 7 It is tragically ironic, but halfway through filming Fast & Furious 7, actor Paul Walker was killed in a car crash. Walker had only filmed half of his scenes, which returned the film to production for months. Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, was going to be in actionpacked scenes where the camera would be directly focused on his face. CGI and edited footage from previous films were insufficient. Walker’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, stepped in as body doubles and Walker’s face was digitally layered on top of theirs, his voice computer-generated. The team that created Walker’s CGI was Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital, who created Gollum from Lord of the Rings. If that’s not tragic magic, I don’t know what is.

Director, James Wan, said that it was necessary ‘to finish this movie to honour Paul’s legacy and his memories. It was about making this movie for Paul.’ Although many would find it uncomfortable that Walker’s own grieving brothers had to play his character, it represented their personal tribute to him. The entire ending was a tribute. After Walker’s death, the cast and crew felt it fitting to rewrite it as a farewell to both Walker and his character. The ending is a montage of Walker’s previous Fast and Furious films to Wiz Khalifa’s tear-jerker of a song, ‘See You Again’, which was commissioned for the film. The song is Khalifa’s most successful single and one of the longest running rap number-ones in the UK. Fittingly, Walker’s character was not killed off but retired, driving off along a different path to Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto. Florianne Humphrey.

Images: Andrés Álvarez Iglesias, teadrinker, Icaro Ferracini via via Piz

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Thursday 16th June 2016

FILM & TV

Performances

amps-Harris and Floriane Humphrey of some of the greatest late actors

Ledger

Knight Rises

drug overdose during the editing of Batthe infamously evil Joker. Ledger’s performAcademy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe. when he died. However, the controversy doesn’t come from dger’s death. Some people suggest that Ledger got so deeply filming. Ledger himself even said that ‘performance comes yourself, and believe in the story with all your heart.’ Michael e so frightening that Ledger forgot his own lines. It doesn’t ain could affect an actor, especially when inspiration for that nist of A Clockwork Orange. Ledger even kept a diary during excerpts appear in a German documentary Heath Ledger: bye bye’, which some say was a sign of his impending death. is that his death had such an impact that there were ian wrote the line ‘Joker, meet you on the other side’ in of Perth named a theatre after him. Florianne Humphrey.

ia Flickr; Alican Şahvelioğlu via YouTube; gravestone by Neopri izabay

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Robin Williams The Night At The Museum

Despite the tragic nature of Robin William’s death in August 2014 (and the outpouring of affection for the actor that followed), it would be disingenuous to say that Williams’ posthumous performances have had a particularly important impact on our overall perception of the comic. It is true that his last onscreen role in Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb wrapped up things nicely.

His final words as a wax statue of Teddy Roosevelt – ‘smile my boy, it’s sunrise’ – all too poignantly pointed to William’s history battling depression. The film’s director Shawn Levy, noted that ‘the Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb’s central theme is about letting go of something you love’ and that he ‘never expected it would also be about letting go of this actor we all love.’ Nevertheless, William’s final voiceover part as ‘Dennis the Dog’ in the critically panned science fiction comedy Absolutely Anything didn’t do justice to the array of talents the performer most famously showcased in the animated classic, Aladdin. As such it is perhaps right that we consider Robin Williams’s own will as his most significant parting gift. In containing a clause that prevents Disney from using William’s ‘Genie’ voice in future Aladdin spin-offs, the world will saved f r o m cumbersome and hackneyed manipulations of his most famous creation. All the same, it hurts that we will never have a friend like him again. Hugo Harris.

Philip Seymour Hoffman The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay The actor was praised as ‘perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation’. Sadly, in 2014 he was found dead in his Manhattan apartment from a drug overdose after a life-long battle with addiction. Unusually, he also died mid-way through filming The Hunger Games’ The Mockingjay, which left many fans wondering how the the producers would solve this tricky problem. The shocking answer: it wasn’t CGI. According to the director using ‘digital trickery’ to create a mock-Hoffman would have disrespected his legacy, so his remaining two scenes were rewritten and the dialogue given to other actors. When the dialogue was only appropriate for Hoffman’s character, Plutarch, the producers cleverly remastered footage from previous scenes to ensure that the onscreen Hoffman was still ‘real’. With all this cinematographic magic the producers only had to drop one scene, which was the final one between Katniss and Plutarch.

The situation raised questions about the ethics of CGI. Do fans want to see a digital, avatarlike version of their favourite actor? Michael Jackson’s hologram at the Billboard Music Awards was not a respectful tribute, it was a creepy pastiche that did not respect Jackson as a complex, creative being. The point of acting genius is it can’t be replaced by CGI, however far we’ve advanced with technology, especially not talent like Philip Seymour Hoffman. Florianne Humphrey.

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Thursday 16th June 2016

MUSIC

Caught Live: Radiohead

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Off the back of their stunning ninth studio album, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’, Radiohead returned to a packed London Roundhouse to test out the new songs live. Rory McInnes-Gibbons gives his review.

R

-R-Radiohead. P-P-Paranoid Android. You are right to stutter in light of the online resale prices (£5,900!) seen in the days leading up to their most anticipated sets since their last most anticipated sets and until their next most anticipated sets. This is the pressure that falls on the best band in Britain. The pressure to perform. At a price.

You are right to stutter in light of online resale prices (£5,900!)

Radiohead are not in the market to gratify the thousands or pleasure the plebs. Four songs in and the material is all new. All taken from A Moon Shaped Pool, released electronically last month and available in traditional formats this week. ‘Burn the Witch’ is a great opener, with Jonny Greenwood bringing a bow to his six strings of guitar and extracting the witch’s death wail from these two simple, dislocated objects. Then comes ‘Daydreaming’.

A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead’s break up album after Yorke’s split from his longterm partner.

‘Daydreaming’ is sublime sadness, the bleak b-side of bliss. The song echoes across the hall as the simple chord structure of Greenwood’s piano reverberates around the Roundhouse. It is simple elegance and transcendental beauty. Radiohead at their most ethereal. But it does not totally reflect the new angle the band are taking with this material.

While, on record, the songs sound so delicate, they are beastly live as Greenwood’s guitar, previously so subdued, and Yorke’s ghostly vocals are released into the aether. However, some don’t work so well. After all, we are guinea pigs for the band before they move on to headline some of the world’s biggest festivals (sadly not Glastonbury).

The abjectly named ‘Desert Island Disks’ that,

‘Burn the Witch’ is a great opener, with Johnny Greenwood bringing a bow to his six strings of guitar admittedly, hinges on the lovely lyrical flourish of “different types of love are possible”, remains Radiohead dirge at its worst. It is the sort of song that forms the negative opinion among the popular consciousness of Radiohead as a depressingly dull, dreary band that still taints the uninitiated.

Live, they should stick to the full on dance of songs like ‘Identikit’ and ‘Decks Dark’, while keeping the beauty of ‘Present Tense’. ‘Ful Stop’ with its driving energy transforms into a full-on rave live, complete with the strobiest of backdrops. For any doubters of Radiohead hype, they are truly enormous live. Like watching one of their From The Basement sessions, this is alternative rock in performance, even ‘Bloom’ sounds superb. It is more a concert than gig at times, such is the quality of musicianship on show.

Then they drop ‘Lucky’ from seminal album, Ok Computer and you remember why they are here, as the apogee of a rock chorus who went on to bigger things, like Kid A, which gets a decent airing with a futile ‘Everything in its Right Place’ and frantic fast-slow, ‘Idioteque’ that could bring Bill Bryson to dance. But their imperial phase is the noughties with Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows.

Unfortunately, some of the treats of In Rainbows are overlooked, like the freeform of ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’ and the untouchable ode to hedonism ‘Jigsaw…’ but ‘Bodysnatchers’ closes the main set in phenomenal fashion. After all, this is the “TWENTY FIRST CENTURY” and, “I have no idea what I am talking about”. ‘There There’ is percussion heaven, before transforming into its true juggernaut form as the song stretches the very

fabric of its own composition, while ‘Nude’s’ creeping beauty also features in the soliloquy of encore.

But a highlight is the rare live outing for ‘2+2=5’.

Wow – it is powerful and demands a full on riot, if the Roundhouse walls were not here to hold us.

‘Climbing up the Walls’ also gets a rare outing with its truly creepy lyrics and haunting live agony, and, like almost everything tonight, is very well received. Apart from an unaccompanied Yorke playing ‘Like Spinning Plates’ and an unnecessarily rave-based rehash of ‘The Gloaming’ with its pointless electronic twerps making it perfect twerking material. The third successive night of shows at the Roundhouse sees any previous inadequacies ironed out and the double encore and over two hour set suggests Radiohead are happy to be here. So too does Yorke’s onstage moves and idiosyncratic charisma.

Everyone is enjoying themselves, but it would have been nice to see something off The Bends, which is disappointingly overloooked He practically duets in dance with the front rows and has a dramatic solo rendition hilariously interrupted by a hormonal (male) cat-caller towards the back. Everyone is enjoying themselves, but it would have been nice to see something off The Bends which is disappointingly overlooked.

But you can’t put a price on progress. Although you can clearly put any price on a Radiohead ticket.

Image: Radiohead Official Press

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Thursday 16th June 2016

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DAY IN THE LIFE

Trev’s College Porter Giacomo Paoloni interviews Brian Mollon, College Porter at Trevelyan College, and explores his day-to-day responsibilities and quirks of the job their fellows, but also to the institution itself and the people working for it.

If I can say that, this happens especially thanks to the wonderful JCR and MCR execs I have been working with in the past eleven years. Not only does it make my job easier, but also more rewarding.

What do you like the least about students and your job?

If I can be sincere, as a local, I do not like the takeover of Durham by students, especially the role of housing associations and shark landlords in contributing to this situation. I like the fact students can make this area great, but there is a lot more than the University that makes Durham a great city.

This is also connected to the fact that a growing student population has recently become more and more disrespectful towards local residents. Moreover, sometimes in the evenings at the margin of big events or after they have finished exams, students are not respectful of others: too much alcohol.

Remember that whatever you are going to do in your life, learn to respect others Brian, I sadly know you’ll be gone in a few months, and I personally want to thank you for all you have done for us, the students, at least in the past three years. Once your time here will be up, what will you miss?

B

rian, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview.

First of all, what is the daily routine of a Trevelyan College porter like?

Well, the main shift takes place between 8am and 4pm. Student needs come first, until the post comes. We then take the trash out during lunch time. Included in this is dealing with any of the students’ needs such as borrowing keys and casual labour.

Overall, our job consists of gathering the basic data that College Management needs for feedback and for improving the service they offer. The other two shifts are the 8pm to midnight and the midnight to 8am ones, which everyone of us is expected to do twice a week. They mainly involve welfare and security. It is generally okay during the year, although it can get tough during the post-exam period.

Of course, it has to be the students. I would not be here if it were not for them. cational system. Especially for undergraduates (the majority of the student population in Durham), it is important that they stay safe and they do not have too many concerns. With regards to this, we porters are required to have basic First Aid training, as well as to be responsive and empathetic, something I think we do very well.

I have been impressed by students’ responsibility towards their fellows, the institution itself, and the people working for it.

For how many years have you done this job and what is the basic requirement Porters have?

Indeed you do, What do you like most about students and your job?

I have been here for eleven years. I have chosen this place for students and because I believe that their welfare is crucial during their time in the edu-

Here in Trevs’ I have always found a good atmosphere among students and I have been especially impressed by their responsibility, not only towards

What is the most challenging thing about dealing with students?

We are first-aid trained, so therefore we have responsibility over people’s welfare that can go between simply putting some ice over bruises to lifethreatening situations. It is important students react responsibly and to be honest, I have seen a lot of it.

Nevertheless, there is too much alcohol going around, and this sometimes makes matters complicated.

Do you have any advice for students that are leaving this year ?

I know the knowledge you mastered over the past few years makes you all special, but remember, whatever you are going to do in your life, learn to respect others. Not only will it make you a better persons, it also looks better in the eyes of others.

Photograph by Adam Jarvis From the left: Brian Mollon, Giacomo Paolomi.

Mischief Managed