Redbrick 20th March 2015

Redbrick: The University of Birmingham's Official Student Newspaper Since 1936

Festival Guide 2015 Music get festive with their ultimate guide to festivals this year Music / pages 26 & 27

The British food market versus US Imports Jennifer Cook addresses the US Food invasion Food / page 14

The Guild plays host to: Sex Cells Harry Shaw reviews this modern exploration of sex

MP hopefuls clash at Debating Soc's Selly Oak Question Time Isma Azad / General Election news, page 6

• • • •

Student society holds hustings for Selly Oak candidates Students question their potential future MPs Prospective MPs weigh in on the 'grand coalition' question Speakers talk about the local 'student-resident' divide

Culture / page 12

Is Anxiety All In Your Head?

General Election News and Comment / pages 6 and 7

Ellie Patten gives us some perspective on anxiety Sci&Tech / page 24 www.redbrick.me join@redbrick.me @redbrickpaper /redbrickpaper

Friday 20th March Thursday 30th April 2015 Vol. 79, Issue 1460

Review: Chappie

Did Neil Bloomkamp top his District 9?

by James Cox / Film, page 23

Review: House of Cards Series 3

Frank Underwood is just as menacing as ever

by Jess Ennis / TV, page 19

02 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/news

News Tweet of the Week

Society Spotlight Women in Finance The society offers work practical ways to develop employability for women in the financial sector. Running skills workshops, brunch sessions and guest speaker events, Women in Finance equip students with up-todate knowledge of ways into the industry. As well as training members to excel in online assessments, WiF also organise regular socials and mock interview practice.

Email: womeninfinance@guild.bham.ac.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womeninfinance.uob Twitter: @UoBWiF

@BuzzFeed 'Internet Explorer is finally being killed after years of merciless mockery' 18th March 2:49pm

Online in Redbrick News 'First ever Student Sustainability Summit to be held in Leeds.'

On the 23rd of March 2015, Leeds University Union will be hosting the first ever Student Sustainability Summit.

The conference will place students at the heart of discussions relating to a key social justice issue in a bid to move towards a fairer and more global society.

To see the full story, go on to the Redbrick website: www.redbrick.me and click on the 'News' tab.

Worcester and Birmingham Canal Arslaan Mahmood

Redbrick Editorial Team Editor James Phillips editor@redbrick.me

Comment Editors Daniella Bassett James Lentschner Mason Cusack

Deputy Editors George Bearman Safiyyah Gareeboo deputy@redbrick.me

comment@redbrick.me

Digital Editor Julia Yan digital@redbrick.me

Sport Editors Alex Kronenberg Tom Dodd Will Robey sports@redbrick.me

Culture Editors Lead Developer Charlotte Spence Andrew Spencer Lucy Mounfield developer@redbrick.me Andrea Giannini culture@redbrick.me News Editors Sabrina Dougall Film Editors Danyal Hussain Hayley Allanson Isma Azad Jay Crosbie Sophie Dober Tom Lofkin news@redbrick.me film@redbrick.me

Music Editors Hannah Coles Blaise Radley Matt Moody music@redbrick.me

tech@redbrick.me

Life&Style Editors Amy Wakeham Bethany Barley Elizabeth Green lifestyle@redbrick.me

Food Editors Rosie Twells Sarah Dickinson Jo Yorke food@redbrick.me

Travel Editors Tashaa Naidoo Jessica Flanagan Sara Tryon Nadhirah Syalin Ally Head travel@redbrick.me

Photography Editors Cherona Chapman Evie Ford

Television Editors Jaffrina Jahan Shannon Carey tv@redbrick.me

Sci&Tech Editors Emma Houghton Rachel Taylor Amy Thompson

photography@redbrick.me

Senior Editorial Assistant Hannah Sharron ea@redbrick.me Editorial Assistants Anna Gunn Amy Hunt Cassie Bullock Emma Roper Gurnesha Bola Jess Allsopp Lizzie Wootton Rachel Deevey Sophie Preece Stefan Pace Pippa Smith

Redbrick Guild of Students Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2TT 0121 251 2462 editor@redbrick.me Redbrick is printed through www.mortonsprint.com 01507 523 456 Paper Advertising Contact Linda Langley in Guild Marketing on 0121 251 2524 Online Advertising Contact marketing@redbrick.me Designed and typeset by Redbrick Copyright (C) Redbrick 2015 The views expressed in Redbrick do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Guild or the publishers. If you find an error of fact in our pages, please write to the Editor. Our policy is to correct mistakes promptly in print and to apologise where appropriate. We reserve the right to edit any article, letter or email submitted for publication.

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20th March - 30th April 2015

03

Further incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on campus

Millie Guy

James Phillips Editor

Sabrina Dougall News Editor

@JMPhillips92

@Sabrina_Dougall

New Islamophobic graffiti has been discovered on campus. The graffiti was found on the Guild building and by the sports pitches.

The graffiti by the sports pitches reads 'Kill Islam before it kills you'. This is exactly the same wording as one of the incidents that occured in January, which was condemned by the NUS National Executive Council in the same month.

Some have taken to social media to express their feelings on the matter.

Discussion on the anonymous chat app Ekho has led to heated debate over the motivation behind the incidents.

Shahin Ashraf, Muslim Chaplain at the University, told Redbrick, 'There is no place for any kind of hatred within campus and off campus too.' She called the incidents, 'terrible' and urges any students who have been upset by the offensive material to see someone at the Chaplaincy for support.

Ashraf is calling for security to be 'stepped up on campus in light of this graffiti'.

Katie Webb, Anti-Racism, Anti-Facism Officer-Elect told Redbrick, 'this act of islamophobia is completely unacceptable and something we must stand against as a university and as a student body.' Katie called the graffiti a 'vile act' and added said she is 'saddened by the intolerant and cowardly behaviour'. She added that 'no student should feel scared due to their race, creed or religion'.

"No student should feel scared due to their race, creed or religion" The graffiti has been cleaned away by the University now, and the atmosphere on campus is calm as many students did not see the messages.

The West Midlands Police told Redbrick, 'A member of university security staff alerted police to racist graffiti on campus at 7.20am this morning (March 14) – this has been classed as a criminal damage hate crime and an investigation is underway to try and find those responsible.'

University statement: 'We unreservedly condemn the racist graffiti on campus. We are determined to find those responsible and have reported it to West Midlands Police and are working with them to identify those involved.

'Our University is a community of 150 nations and we are proud to be situated in a vibrant multi-cultural City. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. We are therefore actively working with a range of groups to bring people together and ensure that our University is a place where diversity is celebrated and everyone plays their part in creating a vibrant and welcoming community.'

Hannah Stevens

Student launches online fashion Prominent Christian apologist leads magazine: 'Black Heart' this year's Cadbury Lectures Amal Osagie

Birmingham Correspondent

Dabby Tony-Muoh, a second year Computer Science student at the University of Birmingham, has launched his own fashion publication: Black Heart Fashion Magazine. He has currently released two issues with the maiden issue released on February 1st 2015 which was the Valentine’s edition.

Tony-Muoh began with a fashion blog, dabbydabz.tumblr.com, before deciding to organise and run his own online magazine. For this student, Black Heart magazine is a chance to pursue his passion as well as allowing fellow students to contribute original content.

The magazine is also a chance to inspire and encourage young people to chase their dreams of fashion, culture, music and movies etc. Each issue has a feature on a young entrepreneur or a student-ran project that is worth emulating; providing an opportunity for young people to sell themselves and their work.

Concerning this aspect of the magazine, Tony-Muoh told Redbrick, ‘I look at what most youths are doing with their lives and I saw that most of us aren't doing what we have a passion for. And so I thought why not inspire and empower’.

‘Fashion is a thing I have always had

in my heart and so thats the ‘heart’ bit of the name. I was looking for what would go with heart and wouldn't sound mushy so I went with Black. The name Black Heart is half bit sentimental I’d say.’

Currently the magazine focuses on men and women's fashion, as well as health and fitness tips. The online platform allows people to submit photos to the magazine to be featured. Each photograph contributed has a direct link that provides information on the photographer. Regarding the decision to be an online magazine rather than a printed one, Tony-Muoh told Redbrick ‘I choose for the magazine to be online mainly because it will be easily available to the general public.’ He continued to say that he will see how it his venture turns out as to whether he will begin printing his fashion magazine.

The Computer Science student personally funds the magazine, but says he is open to advertisement.

Even though his magazine is relatively new, Black Heart Fashion magazine has received positive reception on various social media outlets. Tony-Muoh plans to expand his magazine, not only in the UK, but also internationally. He has met with top brands in the UK to discuss ideas for expansion.

Issue 2 can be seen online: http:// joom.ag/hufb, with further updates on the Facebook and Instagram pages.

Sabrina Dougall News Editor

@Sabrina_Dougall

Dr William Lane Craig, a prominent Christian academic and apologist, delivers this year's Cadbury Lecture series.

Monday 16th March marked the first of the Edward Cadbury Lectures for this year, which are held annually and open to the public, centre on Christian history and theology.

The theme for this year's lectures is 'God Over All', in which Professor William Lane Craig will discuss the challenge that contemporary Platonism poses to various aspects of Judeo-Christian Creationism.

An author of over thirty books, Prof Craig is a Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University. Having studied his PhD at the University of Birmingham in 1977, Prof Craig expressed his pleasure at being welcomed back as a guest speaker.

The first lecture in the series was entitled 'Divine Aseity', which Prof Craig explained was the notion of 'God as an independent, self-existing entity'. The main thrust of Prof Craig's argument was that everything is dependent on something else for its existence except for

God. He went on to elaborate upon the ways in which current scholarly interpretations of Platonism critique the notion of Aseity.

Using the text of the first chapter of John in the New Testament, Prof Craig explained the understanding of God as 'the sole ultimate reality, the pinnacle of being'. Invoking the Nicene Creed, Prof Craig explained the belief of God as 'the creator of all things visible and invisible'.

He then proceeded to discuss what could be included in the bounds of what God created, and therein detailed the counterargument of modern-day Platonism.

Prof Craig took questions from the audience, some of which picked up on problematic tenets of his argument.

Opinions on the first lecture of the series were varied. One attendee, who completed a PhD in Theology at UoB, told Redbrick: 'As much as it was abstract, it was easily digestible. As a practising Christian, what [Craig] said helped to affirm my faith. As a scholar, I like to see the other side of things.'

Others were not so convinced. Kirk Surgener, a Philosophy Lecturer from Warwick University felt the lecture was 'a slick presentation of some radically implausible ideas which have morally abhorrent implications.'

A UoB student said, 'I'm kind of fundamentally opposed to a lot of what he stands for, but it was interesting.'

04 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/news

News Police campaign to tackle sexual harassment on public transport in West Midlands Sophie Dober News Editor

West Midlands police warn ‘let’s see how far your hands can wonder in cuffs’, as they fight against sexual harassment on public transport.

The Project Empower campaign is West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership run where the team is made up of the police, transport providers and the regional transport authority. The campaign team aims to use the network of CCTV cameras on buses and trains, to swiftly identify and arrest offenders of sexual indecent behaviour. According to the West Midlands police website, ‘since its launch last summer [in 2014]’, the partnership West Midlands police warn ‘let’s see how far your hands can wonder in cuffs’, as they fight against sexual harassment on public transport.

The Project Empower campaign is West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership run where the team is made up of the police, transport providers and the regional transport authority. The campaign team aims to use the network of CCTV cameras on buses and trains, to swiftly identify and arrest offenders of sexual indecent behaviour. According to the West Midlands police website, ‘since its launch last summer [in 2014]’, the partnership between the police and transport service providers has proved to be a remarkable success.

This success, comes after the campaign has produced and distributed posters and banners around the West Midlands, to raise awareness of and condemn sexual harassment on public transport. The marketing campaign urges passengers who witness or experience the harassment to report such incidents to the police. The aim is to increase the confidence amongst passengers in order for them to report sexual indecent behaviour: particularly low-level offences that some people may shrug off.

West Midlands Police Sergeant Emma Holder, a key contributor to Project Empower, has publicly stated the campaign will raise more awareness of the issue as she reiterated, ‘the artwork [posters] will be displayed on panels on every bus across the West Midlands – around 1,200 buses in total – whilst every London Midland train station will have stands featuring take-away Project Empower cards’.

In addition, part of the scheme to tackle sexual harassment on public transport, will include the Safer Travel staff carrying out surveys with passengers.

These passengers will be asked if they have ever been a victim of unwanted sexual advances, or witnessed such offences and if yes, then whether or not they have reported the incident. Holder continues, ‘it’s important we get an understanding of the extent of the issue, as research by Transport for London revealed 15 per cent of women had been targeted-

Assessment into child sexual exploitation in the West Midlands released Danyal Hussain News Editor

Stephen Rimmer, West Midlands Strategic Lead on preventing violence against vulnerable people, published an assessment into the extent of child sexual exploitation as part of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Awareness day on the 18th March.

He used his report to highlight the current status of child sexual exploitation in the West Midlands, as well as to cover how the police and other organisations were dealing with the various instances.

Rimmer stated, ‘This assessment gives us a proper picture for the first time of the scale and nature of the CSE threat across the West Midlands’. He also said, 'This is to improve our support to children and young people at risk and to make life increasingly difficult for perpetrators of this crime - our number of investigations is growing as a result.'

As for the figures themselves, they show that in the first six months of 2014, 488 children were sexually exploited or shown to be at severe risk of exploitation.

The assessment then covers exactly how this exploitation manifests itself, whilst also revealing the steps taken by authorities and the progress made in the dealing with the instances of abuse. It also outlines the future challenges that authorities and victims face in overcoming issues of abuse. With this in mind, Rimmer urged, ‘If you’ve been abused or affected by exploitation, or are concerned for someone you know, there are a range of services you can contact - your local council Children’s Services, police, Barnardo’s as well as others on our website’.

Detective Chief Superintendent Danny Long of West Midlands Police Public

Protection Unit also stated his belief that protection of vulnerable children was improving, ‘Over the past 12 months our Public Protection Unit has been doubled in strength to some 800 officers and staff.’

The West Midlands Police website listed a series of signs to help people identify children vulnerable to sexual exploitation: • Sexual health and behaviour - including inappropriate sexualised behaviour • Absent from school or repeatedly running away • Familial abuse and/or problems at home • Emotional and physical condition - thoughts of self-harming or low self-esteem • Gangs, or older age group and involvement in crime • Use of technology and sexual bullying • Alcohol and drugs misuse • Receipt of unexplained gifts or money • Distrust of authority figures • Entering or leaving vehicles • Relationship of concern having friends who are older

but only one in 10 had reported it [the sexual harassment] to police.’

A recent case of sexual harassment on public transport resulted in a successful conviction on account of Project Empower. The police have released CCTV footage of a man, identified as Samba Joof, groping a women passenger on a Birmingham bus. The video footage is evidence of Joof’s sexual harassment as he strokes the woman’s leg, puts his arm around her shoulders and demands a kiss from her.

Other Project Empower investigations which have been successful include, a 38-year-old factory worker from Aston being was jailed for groping a female passenger. This was on a bus Walsall to Birmingham bus. The 38-year-old was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years, after being identified.

The Guild of Students has recently launched their own campaign to tackle sexual harassment. The ‘Not On’ campaign aims to empower students to feel they can call someone out for inappropriate sexual behaviour. Poppy Wilkinson, 2014/15 President of the Guild, told Redbrick, ‘sexual harassment is becoming normalized in society’ despite many seeing such behaviour as demoralizing.

The University are hosting a number of events throughout March in the light of Women’s History Month. On International Women’s day last week, a ‘wall of oppression’ was constructed to symbolise structural barriers women still face in society.

Carnival RAG to run first ever Skydive event Sabrina Dougall News Editor

@Sabrina_Dougall

23 students will be jumping out of a plane in a bid to raise money for runaway children in Birmingham.

The charity fundraising society, ‘Raising and Giving’ (RAG), are organising their first ever skydive mission for students at the University of Birmingham on 24th April. RAG, which exist as a student group in most universities in the UK, run unusual or risky charity events throughout the year under the slogan of ‘bad things for good causes’.

The skydive will take place over an airfield in Langar, near Nottingham - a location which was recommended to RAG by members of the Skydive Society on campus. The two dozen students who have signed up to take part will be flown in groups of 6 or 12 people depending on the available planes.

Participants will be strapped to an instructor as they fall in what is known as a ‘tandem skydive’. This ensures that a trained individual will be responsible for deploying the parachute at the most appropriate moment during the 13,000ft

"RAG run unusual or risky charity events throughout the year" descent.

The event is being organised by Meg Ashton, a Second Year Psychology stu-

dent, who will be taking part in the skydive herself. ‘I don’t fully understand my reasons for signing up myself,’ she told Redbrick, ‘I hate heights.’

Each individual has a minimum fundraising target of £395, meaning that a total of up to £9085 could be raised a

"Each individual has a minimum fundraising target of £395" result of the drop.

Funds raised from the sky dive will go to the Children’s Society: a charity which works with runaway and vulnerable children in the UK and in particular the West Midlands. The charity estimate that more than 6,000 children run away from home or from care each year, and as many as 175,000 minors in the West Midlands are living in poverty.

Planning for the event coincides with National Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Awareness Day on 18th March.

Should the event go to plan, RAG are hoping to make the skydive an annual event. Other events which are in the pipeline for the RAG committee include ‘Charitrees’. This idea is to sell Christmas trees on campus during the winter to students and staff. Another idea in the works from RAG is the ‘Carnival Carnival’, which would be a West-Indian inspired party on the Vale during the summer semester.

Carnival RAG are planning a cake sale next week, as well as shaking a bucket at Fab to raise extra funds.

redbrick.me/news

20th March - 30th April 2015

Resorts World set to open in Birmingham

Birmingham’s new shopping centre set to be sold ahead of opening Sam Ramsay News Reporter

Carys Bedford News reporter

@carysbedford

This July the NEC will see the opening of Resorts World, the UK’s first integrated leisure complex. This week, figures were released to show the expectations for the success of the project. The project has cost over £200 million but it is expected to be met with huge success with an expected attraction of two million extra visitors a year into Birmingham. The NEC group executive, Paul Thandi, has been reported to have expectations of Birmingham entering into the same league as Singapore and Las Vegas with the casinos being a main attraction.

Resorts World is also estimated to create 1000 new jobs in order to run all the facilitates including: an outlet shopping centre, The Genting Hotel, a wide range of internationally themed restaurants and bars, an Asian themed spa, an 11 screen cinema, a casino and a banqueting and conference suite.

The job opportunities are expected to encourage local residents to support the project.

Resorts World is part of a chain of complexes owned by The Genting Group

that work globally. This means that the development really puts Birmingham on the map as it will be in partnership alongside Asian and American countries. The Resorts World brand was incorporated in Singapore in 2009. Since then it has spread to Malaysia, The Philippines, New York and Florida.

This development comes at a perfect time for Birmingham as the city is booming with new developments. The New Street station transformation allows for Birmingham to have claim to one of the UK’s largest train stations meaning that tourists have incredibly easy access into the city centre and onwards to the NEC. The Bullring is undergoing constant revamp as new shops are brought in and older shops are continually updated.

Selfridges is currently undergoing a £20 million revamp. Furthermore, there was the release this week of plans for Birmingham Smithfield centre, which would replace the wholesale market with a major shopping area, tramline and 1000 new homes. These are all examples of Birmingham’s ongoing growth as a major UK city meaning that the location of Resorts World in Birmingham is perfect for the current development success and increasing attraction for tourists.

Paradise Forum: • Part of a £500 million regeneration project • Chamberlain Square will be refurbished.

• The first phase of the Paradise project includes 330,000 sq ft of speculative office space • Two speculative office buildings will overlook the refurbished square.

• The buildings have been designed by award winning architects’ Glenn Howells and Eric Parry Architects.

• Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore said: “Paradise presents a huge opportunity for Birmingham.'

• Scheme is part of the Big City Plan, a plan aiming to boost Birminghams global profile • A public exhibition of the first two buildings will be held after Easter • The development is being delivered by Paradise Circus Ltd Partnership (PCLP), the joint venture company between Birmingham City Council and BT Pension Scheme • Funded through an investment of £87.8m by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership • It is expected that the project will be completed by 2018.

05

Birmingham Grand Central, a shopping centre currently under construction in the city centre, has been put up for sale

by Birmingham City Council a full six months before it is set to open.

Construction of Grand Central is part of the New Street Gateway redevelopment project, which also includes the £700 million redevelopment of New Street Station. The development of the shopping centre began following the purchase of the old Pallasades shopping centre in 2008, and will be situated above New Street.

"The sale announcement arrives not long after Birmingham City Council’s sale of the NEC Group" The sale announcement arrives not long after Birmingham City Council’s sale of the NEC Group (including the NEC, ICC, BA and Genting Arena) to LEC for £307 million in January.

Birmingham City Council has been suffering from financial difficulties as it attempts to settle £1.1bn worth of equal pay claims, after losing a court battle

over the underpaid labour of female staff it has employed. The sale of assets such as the NEC Group and Birmingham Grand Central draw in revenue for the council to pay off these debts. However, council leader Sir Albert Bore has pub-

"it was always our intention to sell Grand Central once completed" licly stated that the sale of the shopping centre was always intended to happen, Bore said, ‘It was always our intention to sell Grand Central once completed, so the time has now come for us to set the ball rolling to find the right buyer for this premium shopping destination, which will be a great asset for whoever acquires it.’

Once opened, Grand Central is expected to house over 60 restaurants, cafes and retail stores, including the biggest John Lewis store in the country outside of London. 44 of these 60 spaces have already been let, with the rest expected to be sold soon. 200,000 sq ft will be dedicated to the centre, with a further 250,000 sq ft dedicated solely to the John Lewis store. Grand Central is expected to stimulate further investment for the city, as well as up to 1000 new jobs, and is expected to open in September.

06 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/ge2015

General Election 2015 News

PPE Pre-Election Debate with Steven Brookes, UKIP Sophie Dober News Editor

@SophieDober

Sophie Milligan News Reporter

The student-run Policy, Politics and Economics (PPE) pre-election debate with Steven Brookes, UKIP candidate for Selly Oak took place last week on March 12th.

The student group have previously hosted pre-election debates with candidates from the Labour, Lib Dem, Green and Conservative parties. On this occasion, a teaching staff member, Dr Chris Allen, hosted the event instead.

The session began with Brookes outlining his reasons for joining the party in 2010 followed by outlining UKIP’s policies.

Brookes joined UKIP after experiencing disillusionment with other major parties, such as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. He believes others are also joining UKIP with the same sentiment towards the current political parties. Brookes stated his belief that ‘UKIP is about freedom of speech’, and the party is a ‘voice for these people’, who feel that the current main political parties of Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are disillusioned.

Throughout his introduction speech, Brookes touched upon UKIP’s policies regarding education, immigration, the EU and the economy.

Regarding UKIP's stance on education, Brookes stated the party are of the opinion that the current educational system is letting people down. Specifically, Brookes told the audience that UKIP don’t agree with the

high tuition fee or targets for national university attendance. Instead, the party are in favor of alternatives to higher education such as apprenticeships. They oppose the perceived negative stigma surrounding those in ‘non-academic’ careers.

In addition, Brookes discussed the point of greatest controversy in the party's policies: immigration. Part of UKIP’s proposal is to manage the UK’s borders in recogni-

"UKIP [is] a non-racist party" tion of the benefits of limited immigration.

Whilst Brookes persistently declared UKIP to be a non-racist party, he also reiterated the party’s belief that ‘immigration is running at a very high level.’

In reflection of UKIP’s proposed parttime visa policy, Brookes commented, ‘I don’t blame those who want to come here, but we don't have to let everyone in if we don't need them’.

In response to this discussion on immigration, the audience were keen to understand UKIP’s definition of multiculturalism, since the party state in their 2015 manifesto that they have a value on an ‘overarching, unifying British culture.’ However, the Selly Oak MP candidate struggled to define what this British culture is. Audience members in response questioned Brookes on his lack of definition. Brookes was asked how UKIP can promote such immigration and cultural policies, when a local representative is unable to define multiculturalism.

As the audience persevered with again with this topic, Brookes defended UKIP’s policies by stating 'I'm not saying diversity is a bad thing at all’, but there ‘is a point at which [people who come and practice entirely their own culture] has to stop.'

Moving on from this discussion led to the issue of the Europe and UKIP’s stance on Britain's involvement in the European Union (EU). Brookes commented, that ‘as a party we want to leave the EU, I think we turned our backs on many friends in the world and we need to get back out there and trade.’

Students in the audience picked up on the idea of trade and pointed out to Brooks, that his comments on trade and the EU, questioned the stability of such a policy considering 55% of Britain’s trade is with the EU. Brookes responded with the following questions: ‘what does it say about our relationship with Europe if we were to be punished for leaving the EU?’ and ‘if the EU is such a good idea why doesn't everyone [join similar organisations]? For example the US?’ A student reminded Brookes of the North American Free Trade Agreement

"Immigration is running at a very high level" (NAFTA), and how the US does trade within North America.

However, Brookes affirmed UKIP’s notion to leave the EU: ‘I think that Britain have not made the effort to trade outside of the EU’ and if we were to leave the EU the country would be very ‘capable of doing so [trade elsewhere].

Next, the conversation moved on to the UK’s economy. When blaming the previous Labor government for the economic recession, Brookes said they ‘failed to see what was coming.' If elected, UKIP say they will reduce the budget administered by the Foreign Office. ‘We spend £12 million on foreign aid’, which Brookes thinks should be spent elsewhere.

Other topics discussed included UKIP’s plan to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a New British Bill of Rights; the authority of the party members since they are not professional politicians and the environment.

Before the debate concluded, Brookes discussed his own stance on UKIP’s competition in the upcoming May election. The prospective MP is of the understanding that ‘people vote to take another party out, rather than voting for a party they believe in’. He explains UKIP’s need to ‘overcome the hurdle of people seeing the party as a protest’.

Finally Brookes urged that UKIP are ‘not a trying to exclude anyone’, yet some felt he did not fully answer the question of ‘what can UKIP do for Britain?’

After the debate had concluded, Steven Brookes spoke with Redbrick. Brookes said he found the experience of the PPE pre election debate ‘very interesting’ and ‘was pleased to be invited’. Brookes hoped that people found the debate useful, regardless of whether or not they agree with UKIP’s policies. Regarding student voting in the general election, Brookes stated, ‘I think it is important that people participate in our democracy, but added ‘I don’t think we should force people to vote.’

Brookes informed Redbrick that it was his first time participating in a student event like the PPE debate, but he sees ‘no reason why young people can’t see something in UKIP to vote for us’.

UKIP plan to become more involved in student events and Brookes estimates that UKIP’s youth wing is becoming more popular.

The next PPE debate was on the 19th March with Joy Warmington, representative of BRAP (Birmingham Race Action Partnership) from 5.30 to 7.00pm in Muirhead tower, Room 417.

UoB Debating Soc host Question Time with Selly Oak MP candidates Isma Azad

News Editor @IsmaAzad On Tuesday 17th March, the UoB Debating Society hosted a Question Time debate here on campus, inviting the prospective candidates for the Selly Oak constituency.

The debate was hosted in regards to the upcoming May General Election, and to allow the scrutinisation of the candidates and their parties political policies.

The candidates who were invited and attended the Question Time debate included: Conservative candidate Alex Boulter; Brigid Jones on behalf of current Selly Oak MP Steve McCabe (who is re-contesting the seat for Labour this year), Liberal Democrats prospective candidate Colin Green, Green Party candidate Clare Thomas, and UKIP’s candidate Steven Brookes.

"Will we ever see a Grand Coalition between the Labour and Conservative party?"

The main questions and key issues that came up included topics such as student housing in Selly Oak, whether or not we will ever see a Grand coalition between the Labour and Conservative party, discrimination against women by employers, and how each party hopes to tackle the increase in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the

UK. The debate began with the announcement that the questions that were to be asked were half pre-submitted through Facebook, and the other half would be from the audience. In addition, each prospective candidate introduced themselves.

Boulter grew up in Selly Oak and by day

"The Green Party is opposed to austerity" she is a chartered accountant. Jones attended this university to study Physics and was the Vice President of Education at the Guild. Green (Lib Dem) is a software engineer who has been living in Birmingham for 15 years. Thomas works for the Birmingham City Council, and like Jones studied here at UoB, and has been living in Selly Oak her entire life. Brookes is by day a solicitor and grew up in the Bournville.

Moving on, the first main issue to arise from the debate included the possibility of a Grand coalition between the Conservative and Labour political parties. Jones (Labour) was the first to respond, and she said she was very ‘open minded about coalitions’ as up ‘until 2012 in the Birmingham Council, we were in a coalition’. She did however point out that the Labour party, if they entered into a coalition, should ‘not sell out’. Green (Lib Dems) added that he thought whilst both parties ‘describe themselves as opposites’, they both in fact had

more of a ‘common cause than they would publicly admit’. However, Green did state that he was not sure if it was a good idea for a Grand Coalition in the next General Elections.

However, the Green party candidate Thomas, disagreed with the Grand Coalition entirely, commenting that, the ‘Green party is not in favour of joining a coalition with the government on a confidence and ally agreement.’. She added, ‘The Green Party is opposed to austerity’. UKIP’s Brookes added he also disagreed with a Grand Coalition, as he said, ‘I can't see a grand coalition happening’ and added he joined UKIP as a result of ‘the main parties [being] all the same’.

Conservative candidate Boulter responded to the idea of a Grand Coalition as never happening. She said ‘there are personality issues and economic issues in

"We need to enforce our laws against racism " terms of how we deal with the economy. I think it will be highly unlikely’.

Next, a question was asked in regards to how we could tackle the discrimination against women by employers. Both the Conservative and Labour candidates reiterated the importance of a lack of childcare facilities and hours in affecting women in the workplace or going back to work as a result. Jones commented that ‘we [Labour]

would raise the amount of childcare available if we got elected’. Green (Lib Dem) replied by stating there needs to ‘shared parental leave’, and he also pointed out the work already being done by parliament to tackle inequality.

However, Thomas counteracted Green’s (Lib Dem) reply, by pointing out that inequality under the current parliament had widened, and how the coalition's policies are affecting ethnic minority groups, disabled people, and women. Green (Lib Dem) replied to Thomas by stating that the Coalition has ‘raised the income tax hold threshold which has disproportionately affected the lowest paid... and women’.

The debate then moved onto the issue of a rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the UK and specifically the recent graffiti on campus. Green (Lib Dem) replied first with the statement, ‘I believe the graffiti on campus was in relation to the Charlie Hebdo attack... we shouldn’t stand for it’. Brookes added to this sentiment: ‘we need to enforce our laws against racism’. Boulter (Conservative), said she was shocked by what was going on and that ‘we should not stand for it’, whilst Labour’s Jones said ‘Selly Oak has a student tension. I am looking into breaking down the student resident divide’.

The debate concluded with the question, ‘Do you think you’ll win the Selly Oak seat?’ with many of the candidates stating that the next election will be a close call, and therefore would be unpredictable.

redbrick.me/ge2015

20th March - 30th April 2015

News

Guild awarded £10k for General Election registration campaign Anna Griffiths

Election correspondent

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Who are you planning on voting for?

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The University of Birmingham’s Guild of Students have been awarded £10,000 of government money, after pledging to spend it on encouraging students to register to vote.

This government money, which comes in partnership with the National Union of Students, is part of an initiative set up by the Cabinet Office to engage students in the political process. The Cabinet Office has set aside £530,000 to be used to maximise youth vote registration. It is part of a wider scheme set up by the government in January, which has promised £10 million to boost voter registration in a variety of groups who typically have lower than average electoral registration rates, including overseas voters and members of the Armed Forces.

"The Guild only suggested that their plans would likely be in action during Community Week" Of the £530,000, the NUS received £380,000. They set up a national competition for students' unions to design the best plan they could to get their students to sign up. The best ideas would be awarded a part

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of this government funding. The NUS is also receiving extra funding to encourage all members to register. This will be used to improve their newsletters, online adverts and videos, utilising their online and digital communication forums.

The Guild of Students’ submitted plan in the competition was well received by the NUS, and it was awarded the maximum amount of money available to enforce it, £10,000. However, what that plan entails is yet to fully be revealed.

When asked on Twitter, the Guild only suggested that their plans would likely be in action during Community Week (23rd 27th March 2015), and that there would be more announcements to follow very soon.

The Guild have appealed for ‘General

Election’ ambassadors, with the responsibilities including ‘to publicise and raise awareness’ of the General Election and to help students register to vote. In addition to this, a Guild ‘Register to Vote’ YouTube video is being circulated.

The Guild has already been encouraging student voting, through advertising events such as Bite the Ballot, but also in their own Guild officer team elections. Whilst votes were up on last year for the officer team elections, the voter turnout in the Guild referendum was low, and the vote failed to reach quoracy.

With £10,000 to spend on encouraging students to vote, the Guild will be campaigning for a higher turnout in the General Election.

With the standing of Green parliamentary candidates Clare Thomas and Phil Simpson in Selly Oak and Edgbaston, students have been galvanised to cast their vote as the general election looms ever closer. No longer are students shackled to the sinking ships of Admiral Cameron and Private Milliband, instead we are building our boats and sailing our destinies. The fact that the fight for climate change, free education, and nuclear disarmament movements are picking up momentous speed should make the lapping up of the under 30 vote for the Green Party no hard work at all. I mean, they now more than 55,000 members, an MP and have a 20.5% chance of forming a coalition with the next government! They are unquestionably a major political party!

"They are unquestionably a major political party!"

These super-radical bohemians in suits must be the ticket to breaking up the archaic parliamentary system we have, right? Sure, they have a good sense of direction with their policies on carbon emissions and protecting the NHS - but what exactly do they stand for? What is their underlying philosophy in carrying out their vision for the perfect society? They are a like a boat trying to set sail on a course, yet being bogged down by an assortment of fruits, all with different

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The Greens Are Falling Short Election commentator

UKIP

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Comment Rhiannon Storer

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interests and values. And this reflects on how the party tries to cater for all, and instead drosses out some non-sensical policies.

They have no explicit points about feminism, or how to challenge the patriarchal system which all of us in some way or another, are oppressed by. For example, their policies on sexual equality have absolutely no substance. Their passive statements on sex work: “adults should be free to do as they wish with their own bodies” is completely unrelated to how women, particularly those who the Greens are inviting into our country, are forced into sexual favours and coerced by male-dominated violence. Because the end-goal of women really is to learn how to flex into the perfect sex position, and not liberate themselves from their masters.

Even more worrying, the Greens appear to be lost within their own policies. Their broad-church of radical hippies and green conservatives have influenced their policies to the point where they completely contradict each other. They emphasise the “need to explicitly consider population since, if it is ignored indefinitely, the risk of over-consumption of natural resources will increase” and yet they want adults to know “the number of children people have should be a matter of free choice.” Voters, who actually have the time to really sit down and digest these policies are only going to come out with a green slush of incoherence.

In fact, a lot of the Green party’s dogma actually reflects why I am writing this piece in the first place. Many of the members of the Green Party come from privileged back-

grounds, particularly in their education.

Because of this, they do not check their privilege when it comes to the ordinary voters, who are forced into their circumstances because of material conditions, forced to work for minimum wage in insecure positions. Natalie Bennett, who went to an independent school and stepped into politics by first becoming a journalist, absolutely fails to understand how deprived these people are, and consequently has made a serious lack in judgement when her party has no analysis on human relations and the exploitation of labour. The fact that two-thirds of all low-paid (and zero contract) workers are women shows the need for both a class and gender analysis, which is something that Bennett will not consider, because her party are focused upon policies that affect individual behaviour, and do not address the grand issue at large.

"They are a party of an empty vessel" Their anti-austerity stance in Brighton (yes the Greens are FOR cuts to your services) has consequently led to 24-hour strikes by disgruntled workers. Unless the Greens become a vehicle for real radical change, with a clear approach, then they are nothing more than a populist party who will cast away their new members as fast as they obtained them. They are a party of an empty vessel. A party for people who love to pontificate about all that is wrong with the world, demonstrate it in splinter movements, but will not rally for parliamentary politics.

30th March Parliament dissolves April Live leaders' debates (dates yet to be agreed) 20th April Voter registration deadline Register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

21st April Postal vote registration deadline 28th April Politics Society hold hustings for local candidates 7th May 7am - 10pm Polling Day 7th May 10pm - 8th May Results counted and announced

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Comment

The Roots of Muslim Rage: British-born Extremism Aqib Khan Commentator

What is to be done? I ask this question to my fellow British Muslims. At the current time of writing, another three teenagers, girls this time, have left the UK and headed to Syria to join ISIS. Another teenager was arrested for plotting to behead a British soldier, and last week a mother was arrested trying to get to Syria to join ISIS, with her two-year-old son in hand. We have managed to outsource at least as many Isis fighters as Indonesia, a country with 65 times as many Muslims. We’re competing, in the globalised world of terror outsourcing, with Saudi Arabia, the most extreme Muslim country on the planet since the Taliban government in Afghanistan was overthrown, and Tunisia, a destabilised littoral that just had a revolution and its political infrastructure eviscerated. We must ask ourselves, why are people across such a broad spectrum as medicine students, teenage girls and religious fanatics like Abu Rumaysah filled with rage to the point of leaving this country and taking up arms?

Bernard Lewis, a well-known Orientalist, pulled out the root of the problem 20 years ago, and titled the paper ‘The Roots of Muslim Rage’. It’s an argument Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani physicist who lives in the middle of the war zone in Islamabad, revisits: ‘Deep down, Muslims feel that they have failed. There are around 1.5 billion Muslims in the entire world — but they cannot point to a substantial achievement in any field. Not in politics, not socially, not in the sciences or art or literature. The only thing they do with great devotion is fast and pray people naturally feel this is a collective failure...

I’m just sticking to the facts: what significant invention or discovery have Muslims made in the last thousand years?

Electricity? Electromagnetic waves?

Antibiotics? The combustion engine?

Computers? No, nothing, at least nothing that makes for a modern civilization.

This Insh’Allah mentality, according to which Allah is responsible for everything, is the opposite of the scientific way of thinking.’

The roots of Muslim rage lie in its failure. When you go from the intellectual centre of the universe, to the current

"We must ask ourselves, why are people across such a broad spectrum as medicine students, teenage girls and religious fanatics... filled with rage to the point of leaving this country and taking up arms?" state of the Muslim world, a selection of countries only slightly better off on the Human Development Index than Sub Saharan Africa, the notion of being God’s chosen viceroys on Earth is a difficult circle to square. Extremist groups offer a poisoned panacea to the problem, by galvanising the post-colonial subject living in the West to take up arms. Those unwilling to join such poisonous groups

"The intellectual collapse in the past 1,000 years and defeat that followed wasn’t caused by the West later on. The clerics stunted it from the offset. want to put their heads in the ground and shout ‘kufr’ - at the West - hoping it goes away, and pretend there’s no problem in the Muslim world to begin with. In the middle are masses of people who go to mosque, understand nothing since the sermons are in Punjabi, read a book they also can’t understand, then go home and see the Muslim world in flames. They naturally get put off orthodox Islam, and begin to drift towards charismatic, hardline English-speaking YouTube clerics, and eventually to the darker sides of the internet, to pornography or religious extremism, which I’ll return to. They believe the mainstream clerics have failed, and a strict literalism is the way out. There is some truth to the former claim. The clerics of old prevented the spread of the printing press in the Muslim world, the most important invention in human history, because they thought it would lead to religious malpractice. The intellectual collapse in the past 1,000 years and defeat that followed wasn’t caused by the West later on. The clerics stunted it from the offset.

They also resisted the abolishment of slavery. America abolished slavery in 1865, Saudi Arabia and Yemen got around to doing it in 1962, and Mauritania finally made it a crime in 2007. Either Britain or France forced the rest of the Muslim world into abolishing it, it didn’t come out of enlightenment, and a new form of ‘ijtihad’ (interpretation) of the sacred texts for the modern reality. So

what is to be done? I would call on the government to create the official position of a Grand Mufti of the United Kingdom, the highest governmentally recognised leader of the religion in the land. Other non-Muslim countries have similar positions, including Australia and Russia. In having an absence of centre, the narrative is being filled with extremist voices.

Without a leader, progress is slow. As Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah says ‘an empty chair cannot speak for itself’.

There are already plenty of potential candidates, most obviously Timothy Winter (Abdul Hakim Murad), the head of the Muslim College in Cambridge, who is both a respected Islamic theologian having graduated at the most prestigious centre of Islamic education in the Muslim world, Al Azhar in Cairo, and a Cambridge educated English gentleman. Someone like that could speak to both the East and

"The link between desensitizing filth online and the jihadist movement is also well documented." the West, and bring both together. By speaking on issues when they arise, and establishing an orthodoxy on a national and official platform, it would help bring about an organic 21st century British Islam. This isn’t only my view. Tariq Ramadan, grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood has called for something similar.

The link between desensitizing filth online and the jihadist movement is also well documented. ‘People aren’t becoming radicalised in their places of worship’ says the mother of one of the sexually frustrated girls going to Syria to fight, and get married, rather they are ‘being radicalised in their bedrooms by being on

the internet’. Isis militants are known for engaging in abnormal sexual fantasies.

Bin Laden had a personal stash of hardcore pornography at his compound. The 9/11 hijackers were visiting prostitutes the night before their terrible deed. Put simply, the jihadis are both disillusioned with the religious establishment and sexually frustrated.[2] Pakistan, Egypt Iran, Saudi Arabia, Morrocco and Turkey top the top 10 list for global pornography consumption. Unsurprisingly, those same countries have sent the most number of jihadis to the war in Syria and Iraq. This has been a long time coming, but making people have to opt in to view online pornography (since banning it outright would never be considered) would help stem the tide of desensitized minds that are easy to exploit in this country.

Finally, according to Professor of Psychology Beatriz Luna, the rising trend of avoiding marriage, parenthood and a career keeps the brain in a constant state of "Kidulthood"'. Adulthood does not start now until 25 and over. No wonder so many of those going over to Syria and Iraq from this country are young. They’re impressionable and have no responsibility anchoring them down. Read 17th century or early 18th century English novels. You have children at age 8 having to look for work. Oliver Twist starts working at the age of 9. The authors weren't fanciful; they were describing the social structure they were in. We forget this. The brain develops relative to the pressures against it. In today's welfare, moral relativist, nanny society, you have people clinging onto their youth in denial of becoming an adult, stuck in a day job they thought they’d escape as if their easy-going life was going to continue forever. They become drug addicts or adrenaline junkies, addicted to hard-core pornography or social media likes, having to remind themselves they’re alive at all. It’s no wonder studies have shown radicalisation is more likely with the rich and comfortable, since there is little struggle or pressure acting against them and anchoring them down. With no teleology in a late capitalist secular society, they get lost in the wilderness. They become mass shooters, join Isis, fed up of watching Eastenders over a ready meal again and again. I advocate for increasing the uptake of minorities into the British army, police force and other front line services from school onwards by targeting those that don’t want to go into further education.

The seeds of an organic Islamic revival, which balances the realities of modern life with tradition are both necessary, and already being put into place. I have hopes educated Muslims in the west will reinvigorate a tired and demoralised Muslim Ummah in the years and decades to come. One quarter of Muslims in this country have degrees. A group par excellence in secular sciences which can be taught to mould the realities of faith and the realities of postmodernity into unison with one another. We can act as bridges between tradition and modernity, east and west, being spatiotemporally located at the crux of both. To those beleaguered amongst you, remember, that in 1453, the Turks took Constantinople. The west was certain for defeat. This event paradoxically gifted it the entire world. I have my suspicions history is once again turning on the dynamo. Post-colonisation, millions of Muslims immigrated to the west, from a defeated and beleaguered Ummah.

Even if we can’t change the world, we should plant the seed so that others can taste the fruits.

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20th March - 30th April 2015

Cosmetic Elitism Aamina Siddiqi Commentator

I want to be like Beyoncé. I wish that I looked as flawless as she does all the time, and with the help of the makeup school that is YouTube, I most definitely can. A quick search will bring up a plethora of ‘Beyoncé inspired’ looks, ranging from her Vogue cover shoot to the fabulous ‘Single Ladies’ makeup that I can copy with step-by-step guidance. The problem I find, however, is

"Makeup isn't like a handbag; when you apply it, it doesn't come monogrammed with the designer brand you splurged on." that most tutorials use very high-end, expensive makeup and accompanying tools. I want my eye shadow to blend exactly like Michelle Phan showed me, but I don’t have the ‘Too Faced Chocolate Bar’ palette or the Stila blending brushes that she does, so what can I do? I look up a video for ‘dupes’ and very soon I find myself deep in the depths of YouTube’s makeup world, watching a pop art makeup tutorial complete with diamanté tears if one feels particularly sassy (‘the Roy Lichtenstein’ is a very wearable look for university if you ask me).

I recently stumbled upon a ‘how much is my face worth’ tag where a YouTuber does their everyday make-up and lists the cost of each item as they go along. Suspense mounts as they try to find a calculator. Because procrastination is a speciality of mine, I watched several of the videos in the tag and almost all of them staggeringly amounted to well over £100! It seems that if one doesn’t have these products but wants to emulate these looks then they will have to dig deep into their purses.I can’t escape the feeling of incompleteness that weighs me down when I realise that I do not have the ‘Nars Sheer Glow’ foundation, the ‘Urban Decay Naked’ 1, 2 and 3 palettes, the ‘Anastasia Dipbrow Promade’ or the Sigma brushes to apply it with. I want to look immaculate and apparently without these products I can’t. At university, most people can barely afford Tesco’s Finest pasta let alone Ted Baker lipstick.

"I love makeup and in no way am I advocating that you shouldn’t wear it because I live by the motto: if you look good, you feel good."

I love makeup and in no way am I advocating that you shouldn’t wear it because I

live by the motto: if you look good, you feel good. Spending some time in the morning applying foundation, contouring, highlighting, defining brows and eyes and putting your favourite shade of lipstick on can do wonders to your confidence. On the other hand, if looking good is costing more than it should, you need to reevaluate. You need to ask yourself: ‘Are these higher end products worth my money?’ Makeup isn’t like a handbag; when you apply it, it doesn’t come monogrammed with the designer brand you splurged on.

When enticed by the shiny floors and bright lights of Selfridge’s renovated beauty floor, it’s outrageous to see that the more expensive you go the less ethnically diverse the brands’ demographic seem to become.

MAC’s £25 foundation has no less than 27 shades to offer ranging from NC15 to NW55, whereas Chanel’s £48 foundation only has 14 shades that jump drastically

"The difference between high-end and drugstore products is probably the same as an Instagram filter." between shades of brown - even Maybelline has more to offer. There is good news among the makeup elite for women of colour; Illamasqua’s website shows many of their products against models of different ethnic background which is excellent because different skin tones suit different colours. Regardless, when you’re paying £27 for a lipstick, it had better be made of magic.

Some people swear by department store makeup. Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on YouTube) did a video showcasing his makeup and brush collection and there was not a single drugstore product in sight. He had well and truly stocked up on Charlotte Tilbury colour pigments and I think he’s bought the entire lipstick collection by Tom Ford. Yet, even an experienced makeup artist understands that some of his viewership use drugstore products, so he reviews them.

When reviewing Maybelline’s ‘Fit Me’ foundation he said that if he were testing it blind he would have guessed it to be a very high-end product, so even experienced artists who have been in the trade for over twenty years can be easily fooled!

In a world where YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest are such a prevalent platforms in our lives, it often feels as though a world of perfect people exists and in order to keep up with the Joneses we also need to buy the same products that they do to look just as glowy and natural. All of these images are retouched or filtered in some way and the real world isn’t. The difference between high-end and drugstore products is probably the same as an Instagram filter: once we take off the Sierra-filtered spectacles that made the world look so polished, everything starts to come into perspective. Beyoncé may look flawless with the help of MAC but I can do just as well with Maybelline.

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Comment

Disney, It's about time. emphasis placed on it, plays a huge role in the promotion of self-celebration. Baymax will not allow anyone to impede his ability to heal and help people, and this is truly emphasised throughout the film.

Surface appearances are completely

Daniella Bassett Comment Editor

After years of creating entertainment that wasn’t intentionally meant to endorse the patriarchy’s values, Disney has finally made a film that openly endorses feminism and identity.

2014 was a huge year for feminism and the development of self-awareness.

Fighting for equality has never been more relevant in today’s media culture, it is at the forefront of everybody’s minds. With Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize, Emma Watson’s UN speech and countless campaigns on both mass and minor media platforms: ranging from political statements and Beyonce’s concerts to personal protests on tumblr and twitter.

"Surface appearances are completely shattered in this outstanding film in many different ways."

"It now seems that our favourite media producers, Disney, are exploring increasingly important ideas in their films."

It now seems that our favourite media producers, Disney, are joining in the fight for equality and exploring increasingly important ideas in their films.

A trademark of a lot of Disney films in the past has been the typical ‘prince/princess’ fairytale story. But over the years they have developed from this original fairy tale to adapt to changing social climates. Particular landmarks in Disney’s feminist progression are ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (in which Belle defeats the chauvinistic pig Gaston and preaches the all important lesson of inner beauty), ‘Brave’ (in which Merida completely rejects the need of a partner or marriage and highlights the importance of family), ‘The Princess and the Frog’ (handling issues such as social and racial discrimination,

1937

"Visually, the characters of the motion picture are incredibly varied in both physical and emotional presentation."

Tiana embodies a powerful female who works to achieve her dreams despite others’ criticisms) and now, it seems, with their latest animation ‘Big Hero 6’.

Not only does this film deal with the incredibly complex nature of bereavement with astonishing sensitivity and attention to real human emotion, it actively pro-

motes the ‘celebration of self.’

Visually, the characters of the motion picture are incredibly varied in both physical and emotional presentation. All different shapes, sizes and even ages are presented in the motion picture and each of the characters have completely different body shapes as opposed to the archetypal ‘hourglass’ and ‘swimmer’s body’ figures in past productions.

Aside from this varied visual aesthetic, the films actively promotes compassion and care and insists upon staying true to your character. Baymax (besides being the cutest thing ever) is an embodiment of human compassion and the data-card that provides him with his personality, and the

shattered in this outstanding film in many different ways. Fred’s character with his outgoing ‘narly’ attitude is completely separate from his wealthy background.

Honey, although conceivably feminine and giggly denies the ‘dumb-blonde’ stereotype as she is incredibly intelligent.

Wasabi’s bulky ‘american-footballer’ vibe makes way for his adorable and very human awkwardness, OCD and rational fear of heights. Hiro defies age limitations and shows up the ‘grown ups’ in the first 5 minutes of the film and smashes through the ‘young and foolish’ stereotype. Finally, the character that inspired me to write this post, GoGo, not only has fabulous thighs, but was also a source of open feminism in the movie. I noticed that on several occasions she used the phrase “Woman Up!” which was, to say the least, incredible! As was the entire film and the linguistic social markers throughout (lots of relevant slang and sayings were used which made it very accessible) Overall, Disney have undeniably shown their maturity and consideration in this film and I just hope that it continues!

David Iliff Hopefully their next step will be exploring more about gender identity and slowly bridge the gap in popular media culture and movies over sexuality.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already seen the film, GO NOW! And be prepared for the huge, warm, huggy sensations that accompany it!

2015

R, CLEANER FOR A SAFE ELLY OAK , S GREENER

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UNWANTED ITEMS TO DONATE TO THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION (BHF).

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Bags will be posted through your letterboxes from Saturday 14th March. Please fill this bag and leave it on your doorstep from midday on: Thursday 26th March. Riding on ECO1, our environmentally friendly milk float, the Junkbusters will collect your bags between 12-2pm.

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Culture

The Last Great Frontiersman - A look back at Cormac McCarthy's novels William Carroll gives us an insight into the wonderful world of Cormac McCarthy American author Cormac McCarthy is renowned for his cavalier omission of punctuation throughout his works and for possessing a unique knowledge of the old, lost lands of America, but his true renown stems from his poetic and archaic prose that has kept a twisted American dream alive for over forty years. McCarthy is the author of ten books, ranging from his early works set in the South-East to his later novels that pushed against the American Frontier, like the cowboys and Indians of his pastoral set-

"Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West is McCarthy's bleak, haunting and unforgettable descent into the borderlands of the Wild West..." tings, into the West.

McCarthy began his career walking in the trail dust of his hero William Faulkner, American icon and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and wrote exclusively in the Southern Gothic genre just as Faulkner had done, often staying geographically below the Mason-Dixon and exploring the darker hearts of the rural country. His second novel Outer Dark perfected this mould that he would always return to in some regard, never truly leaving his southern roots, in the vein of many accomplished writers. Despite having critical success in the late 60s and 70s with novels such as Suttree, a semi-autobiographical look at the life of Cornelius Suttree who lives destitute

and alone on the Knoxville river, it was in 1985 that McCarthy wrote his magnum opus and solidified himself as possibly the greatest living American author. Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West is McCarthy's bleak, haunting and unforgettable descent into the borderlands of the Wild West, where blood and sand mix together in the burning sunsets of the Rio Grande and the outlying plains. The story follows The Kid, a troubled adolescent that leaves his home in Tennessee and joins a scalping company that traverses the lengths and breadths of the frontier, motivated entirely by bloodlust and self-loathing. Enter Judge Holden. Perhaps the most evil antagonist ever to walk the scorched sands of this earth, The Judge is the bald, immense figure that walks with the scalping company and quotes from ancient philosophers and his own bloodstained doctrine.

'Whatever exists without my knowledge, exists without my consent.'

"McCarthy is one of the greatest living novelists and has published some of the most criticallyacclaimed work of the last century..."

Scholars have tried their best to place The Judge in the realm of understanding, to consider him human and/or otherwise, but he eludes all such mortal comprehension.

The Judge simply is. Whether the gang are laying waste to an Indian legion beneath a

blazing western sun or admiring a crimson dusk on the dried lava plains, The Judge's presence never leaves the reader's mind.

McCarthy created with this book a new answer to the Western novel, not a story that followed a hero and ended with fortune, but a story that followed the basest of human desires and ended with nothing but suffering.

Literary critic Harold Bloom calls it the best novel since Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, again demonstrating how McCarthy and his predecessor never truly leave each other's company.

McCarthy offered a more accessible throwback to his older works in 2005 with the novel No Country for Old Men, adapted

"McCarthy himself has a 17-year old son, he himself being 80, and so the book stands as an elegy to his son for when he passes, a poignant reminder in the power of humanity despite great evils."

"McCarthy offered a more accessible throwback to his older works in 2005 with the novel No Country for Old Men..."

small fire burning through the relationship of the man and boy, never named, who rely on each other to keep sane and alive as they stumble across a dying earth. McCarthy himself has a 17-year old son, he himself being 80, and so the book stands as an elegy to his son for when he passes, a poignant reminder in the power of humanity despite great evils.

McCarthy is one of the greatest living novelists and has published some of the most critically-acclaimed work of the last century, often cited as a possible Nobel laureate which he may or may not eventually claim. A Nobel Prize remains to be seen, but what is certain is McCarthy's timeless, exquisite prose that induces jealousy in even the most hardened of writers. The man's vocabulary astonishes, with archaisms and the harking of Milton merely pedestrian aspects of his undying talent.

With a new novel titled The Passenger ostensibly on the way, fans of this American icon will soon mount up once more and ride into the forgotten lands of war and violence in search of another piece of humanity still buried in the sands of the American West.

into a near-perfect film by the Coen brothers in 2007. An almost-Western story of blood, violence and crime set again in the backwater, desert towns of North America. However, his perhaps best known work is The Road (2006), a story of a man and his son travelling across a ruined, post-apocalyptic America in a vain, final act of courage.

Bleakness and nihilism are married together in the ashen grey, charcoal-suffused hillsides of The Road, where cannibals roam the longsince abandoned highways and farmers are found hanging from dusty rafters, vague remnants of a life that once was. In this cold and dark void, however, McCarthy keeps a

The Guild plays host to: Sex Cells Harry Shaw checks out the latest production to be put on at the Guild of Students A production entitled “Sex Cells” seems predictable on first thought – I began to expect a play that was trivial and blasé; something funny, but ultimately quite shallow in terms of what themes it would explore. In hindsight, whilst I spent much of the time laughing, there were moments of reflection, regret and heavy doses of reality.

from the play – the catty, electric attitude of the employees and the endearing uselessness of their boss, Mr C. Filled with brash innuendos and trivial drama, it’s relatable and easy humour that garners lots of laughter.

Sex aside, it’s the darker side of this play that is the most pleasing and grants it uniquity. Alongside the everyday antics of the call centre, we explore the 4 main charac-

"From the beginning, it is made obvious what the overriding theme will be- this play is (unashamedly) about sex."

"Sex, aside it's the darker side of this play that is the most pleasing and grants it uniquity."

From the beginning, it is made obvious what the overriding theme will be – this play is (unashamedly) about sex. Set in what is the ubiquitous symbol of modern employment – the call centre – I witnessed the difficulties of 4 very different women as they flogged imaginatively named sex toys (M25 Delay Spray anyone?) to increasingly eccentric and impatient customers. This is one of two narratives that can be deduced

ters’ attitudes towards motherhood – Lily and her difficult relationship with her only son, Sylvie and her battle with conceiving with IVF, Tiffany’s weary attitude towards children and Janice’s lost sense of independence. The conflicting realities of humour and despair are played out continually, and cleverly separated by the use of dimmed lighting and musical transitions. Moreover, it’s the sheer diversity of experiences that allow the audience to resonate with at least one of the main characters – being a mother

or otherwise.

The pace is appropriate to that of the workplace; as Tiffany’s ill-fated relationships are flaunted alongside Lily’s secret anguish at her turbulent relationship with her son and Janice’s yearning for life pre-kids, there is a strong sense of realism throughout, and the lurch from comedy to tragedy is a refreshing change from the usual drag of a singular storyline. Ultimately, the two women who clash the most, Lily and Sylvie, are bought together by tragedy – the former coping with the death of her husband and reflecting on an unconventional marriage, whilst the latter comes to terms with the prospect of adoption. It’s a poignant moment, and appears as a separate story, away from the explosive atmosphere that signalled the introduction to Sex Cells.

In the end, whilst there’s progress for each character, it’s ambiguous as to whether their worries have left them (it’s made certain, however, that Mr C still has no hope in wooing Lily). However, it’s the modern portrayal of motherhood and womanhood that makes Sex Cells so special. Rather than relying on the out-dated perception that having children is always a positive experience, the play shines a spotlight on how motherhood is different for everyone – from jubilation to desperation, and throws in the challenges of a busy work environment in with it.

redbrick.me/culture

20th March - 30th April 2015

13

Awkward Bastards: Rethinking Ideas around Diversity Symposium at mac Birmingham.

Lucy Mounfield Culture Editor starts questioning her understanding of diversity and disability after her visit to mac The ‘Awkward Bastards’ symposium on Thursday 12th March was a celebration and exploration of Diversity. Hosted by DASH, a disability led visual arts organization, the ‘Awkward Bastards’ symposium was a coming together of various themes concerning diversity that are explored in the ‘IN Project’ which is comprised of five artist commissions that span across the Midlands in galleries such as mac Birmingham, The Herbert Museum and Art gallery in Coventry and the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.

The ‘IN Project’ is a collection of work by disabled visual artists from across the UK and internationally.

"We are constantly being asked whether 'Diversity' was working and whether being labeled as a 'disabled artist' was a hinderance..."

With all this in mind, I understood the symposium to be a celebration of disability art and the diversity of art in the UK today.

As an Art History student at the University of Birmingham, I felt well equipped with knowledge of the canon of art and an assuredness of the diversity of art. What the symposium did was to question my understanding of ‘diversity’ and ‘disability’. We

were constantly asked whether ‘Diversity’ was working and whether being labeled as a ‘disabled artist’ was a hindrance or an epithet for solidarity for disability in the arts.

In 1979, art historian Linda Nochlin asked, ‘Why are there no women artists?’ and this question was resonant today in the symposium. ‘Diversity’ does not mean strictly disability in a physical sense, but as the speakers at the symposium reiterated, it encapsulates a history of civil rights movements from ‘feminism, mental illness and LGBT, the Black Art Movement’. Linda Nochlin’s question could have been used again for either of these civil rights groups and proven to be as important a question today as in 1979. The Tate Modern has a map of the Artist Timeline which can be bought as a book from their shop that traces the history of art via a large mind map.

However, if you look closely, the map does not include various movements or artists as listed above. This highlighted the lack of ‘diversity’ in the canon of art and the bias against such movements born from civil rights campaigns that the canon of art has seen as ‘the other’. Further questions as to the place of disability in the canon arose from such speakers as the Historian Dr. David Turner, author of Disability in Eighteenth Century England: Imagining Physical Impairment.

Dr. Turner made a link between how both mentally and physically disabled people were treated in eighteenth century England and that of today. In the Scope campaign in 2014, two thirds of Britons admitted to feeling awkward around disabled people

with invisible disabilities. The word ‘awkward’ in eighteenth century England was a direct reference to disabled street beggars as being ‘ungainly’ and showing signs of ‘dangerous behavior’. As seen in Thomas Rowlandson’s print, ‘Pray Remember the Blind’ (1801) which depicts a blind beggar who cannot control his body, being visibly erratic towards passers by.

"In the Scope campaign in 2014, two thirds of Britons admitted to feeling awkward around disabled people with invisible disabilities."

All of the images, Dr. Turner showed the audience were of disabled men, the lack of non-white or female disabled people highlighted the canon as gendered male. Other speakers such as Marlene Smith and Matt Smith questioned the process of re-inserting black art and Gay and Lesbian art into the history of art. Matt Smith who curated the exhibition in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, ‘Queering the Museum’ in 2010 offered the concept of ‘destabilizing the heteronormative museum’. Thereby offering a museum that has been curated from a ‘queer viewpoint’ with artworks being decoded from a LGBT point of view.

I did not know until this symposium that Epstein’s statue of Lucifer in the round room of the BMAG was modeled on a male torso and a female head. Smith used this knowledge to create a gay storyline. But again, this left out the female perspective as one member of the audience who was a lesbian and disabled added that being a gay disabled woman was harder as for years, she had campaigned that being female and gay was not a disability but she felt uncomfortable to admit that she was actually physically disabled.

The ‘Awkward Bastards’ symposium was poignant and often heart breaking, with both the speakers and members of the audience telling personal stories recounting their trials and tribulations. As Rosemarie Garland Thompson so touchingly put it, a disability is being ‘visible conspicuously while being socially and politically erased’.

So, is it important to be called a disabled artist? This is up to the artist to decide but as the artist the Vacuum Cleaner put it, you ‘don’t call yourself a disabled plumber’. So, is diversity actually a sign of difference and ‘otherness’ or a signpost to enable people to find those artists that would otherwise be locked out of the canon of art? As an art historian, I now feel compelled to dig deeper and unlock the art that has been seen as ‘minority art’ and ‘other’ and add them to my own timeline of art.

What is in store for future art made by such ‘diverse’ groups of people? Who knows? But what should be considered is that there is more to the history of art than what you see in the Tate Modern.

Back to Basie at the Elgar Concert Hall Imogen Tink takes a look at what has been going on on campus recently.

"The evening was brilliant from start to finish: the performance of a variety of songs showcased the talent of the orchestra..."

On Saturday the 7th of March I was lucky enough to be able to see Paul Lacey’s Back to Basie Orchestra, a talented collection of musicians who flawlessly performed the works of the great Jazz musician and composer Count Basie. Paul Lacey, Jazz trumpet player and creator of this orchestra, said he aimed to recreate the essence of the original pre-World War Two Big Band and the highly significant album ‘The Atomic Mr Basie’ – they did so incredibly successfully,

"The performance created an overwhelming sense of enjoyment, from the audience's responses and also for the musicians themselves."

as we were well and truly transported back to the 1930s by this glorious music. The appearance of jazz singer Elaine Delmar, performing various numbers such as ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ and ‘Let’s Fall in Love’, was also a welcome addition to the concert.

The evening was brilliant from start to finish: the performance of a variety of songs showcased the talent of the orchestra as a

whole, and the individual talent of soloists – a particular favourite of mine was ‘The Midnight Sun Never Sets’, featuring Saxophone soloist Colin Skinner. Chilled and mellow, this song was beautiful to listen to. The programme featured many more brilliant numbers, many of which resulted in the Bramall Concert Hall actually vibrating due to every member of the audience tapping their feet in time to the catchy

music. A member of the UoB Swing Dance society in the front row was throwing some particularly inventive dance moves! The Bramall Concert hall itself was the ideal performance space as it created an intimate and cosy atmosphere whilst having the perfect acoustic for jazz music.

The performance created an overwhelm-

"...a particular favourite of mine was 'The Midnight Sun Never Sets', featuring Saxophone soloist Colin Skinner. Chilled and mellow, this song was easy to listen to." ing sense of enjoyment, from the audience’s responses and also from the musicians themselves. The camaraderie between the orchestra was evident - clearly dear friends have been made here. The Back to Basie orchestra looks like such fun to be a part of, and would encourage anyone to want to pick up an instrument. Music of that quality should definitely be shown in schools, workplaces and many other places in order to encourage people to get more involved in music – the entire evening emphasised that it is so much more fulfilling than spending your spare time staring at a screen. A wonderful night was had by all!

14

redbrick.me/food

20th March - 30th April 2015

Food Easter Special

Quirky Easter Gifts Why not branch out beyond the traditional chocolate eggs this Easter, Food Writer Sophie Neal has the perfect suggestions for novelty chocolate Easter gifts that won't break the bank Marmite Easter egg - £5.99

Chocolate egg and bacon on toast- £10

Cadbury's Egg 'n' Spoon- £3.00

Hot cross bun praline truffles - £7.99

This is THE gift for all the Marmite lovers in your life. You may love it or hate it but there’s no denying this is a little different!

We aren’t too sure about the Marmite flavoured chocolate egg, but we do like the sound of the Marmite cashews.

Well, whoever said you couldn’t eat chocolate for breakfast obviously didn’t see this! Serve this up for someone special as a cheat breakfast.

(Warning: Redbrick does not recommend eating chocolate for every meal)

As if the quirky TV advert wasn't enough to tempt you into buying Cadbury's innovative Egg 'n' Spoon. These are a revolutionary Easter treat – fluffy vanilla or chocolate mousse inside a solid dairy milk chocolate egg. We’re sold.

Purchase from: notonthehighstreet.com

Purchase from: Tesco's or any major supermarket

Nothing says Easter like a traditional hot cross bun smothered in butter, but we very much like the sound of these! These neat little praline truffles are flavoured with cinnamon and dried fruit, perfectly imitating the famous flavour of hot cross buns. Fantastic for chocolate and hot cross bun lovers alike.

Purchase from: selfridges.com

Purchase from: selfridges.com

(Photo Credit: selfridges.com)

(Photo Credit: notonthehighstreet.com)

(Photo Credit: ocado.com)

(Photo Credit: selfridges.com)

The British food market versus US imports Food Writer Jennifer Cook reports on how the increasing growth of imported US confectionery is having a negative effect on the British food market tion, with the number of signatures already reaching 37,197 in support of the importation of the UK versions of the popular snacks.

Whilst Hershey’s have managed to fend off the threat of an invasion by Cadbury’s, here in the UK we seem to be experiencing the same phenomena. From big-name supermarkets to independent off-licenses and department stores, imported foods from the US are enjoying an increasingly larger presence in our everyday lives as consumers.

(Photo Credit: Prayitno on Flickr) Following the controversial lawsuit filed by the Hershey Company last year that acted against the importation of UK-produced chocolate bars, two of the concerned parties, LBB (Let’s Buy British) and Posh Nosh, have agreed to cease their importation of non-licensed Cadbury’s products (in addition to Nestlé's Toffee Crisp and Yorkie, and Maltesers) all together.

"Two UK based retailers have agreed to cease importation of non-licensed Cadbury's products into the US" Several stores in the US have acted in retaliation of this unpopular decision and have chosen to withdraw all Hershey’s products from their shelves. A petition created on the online platform MoveOn.org has garnered much atten-

Outside of a confectionery context, the issue of importation was raised last month at the National Farmers’ Union annual conference held in Birmingham. Concerns were voiced surrounding the self-sustainability of the UK, with British farmers failing to reach the levels of productivity required to match the ever-increasing population.

Meurig Raymond, president of the NFU

"British farmers are failing to reach the levels of productivity required to match the ever increasing population " If you need to satisfy a newfound craving for the ‘candy’ from across the pond, or if you are an international student simply in search of some home comforts - look no further!

Here are our top US import outlets in Birmingham: 1. Cyber Candy 2. Yankee Candy Cave 3. Selfridges Food Court 4. Tesco (stock may vary depending on store) (Photo Credit: blimey.com) 5. Harvey Nichols Food Court

delivered the results of a YouGov poll carried out on behalf of the union that revealed 85% of British people want to see supermarkets sell more British food. With the future for British farming looking uncertain, we question whether the trend for overseas products is simply a reflection of the growing global marketplace or a manifestation of a deeper and more concerning issue.

redbrick.me/food

20th March - 30th April 2015

15

Recipe of the Fortnight: Easter French Toast Take a look at our recipes on www.redbrick.me/food/recipes

Cracking Creme Egg Creations Food Editor Sarah Dickinson explores the versatility of one of our favourite Easter treats!

Cadbury Creme Eggs are today considered the iconic Easter treat. Although the original Creme Egg was first created by the chocolate company Fry’s in 1963 and rebranded by Cadbury’s a few years later, Cadbury's obviously knows a good chocolate investment when they see one!

Millions of these deliciously gooey chocolate eggs are produced here in Birmingham during the Easter period; indeed every year Creme Eggs are given pride of place on the supermarket shelves.

"Recently however there was controversy in the UK over the changes that have been made to the original Cadbury Creme Egg recipe" Not only have the current Cadbury owners Mondelez International begun to market Creme Eggs as a pack of 5 eggs instead of the usual 6 but also the beloved Dairy Milk chocolate used to make the outer shell has been substituted for

Cadbury’s standard milk chocolate. I myself am a big fan of Cadbury Crème Eggs and I admit that recently when making Crème Egg brownies with my housemates we were able to notice some slight differences. From our point of view the chocolate shell seemed much thicker (it was physically impossible to cut the eggs into clean even halves even using a knife) and the yummy filling didn’t seem to ooze out like it once did. However, I can’t say I personally noticed much change in the taste of the chocolate but then again it has been over a year since I had tasted one and I probably haven’t eaten as many across the years as some very loyal fans out there Nevertheless the result of our chocolate-filled baking session was very successful the melted Crème Eggs worked perfectly with the gooey brownies; surprisingly I have yet to create many Crème Egg incorporated bakes but I can say with great certainty that the brownies were just the start of my Crème Egg baking mission! From online researching I’ve discovered there is no shortage of creative recipes using Crème Eggs as the key ingredient.

Here I suggest some the best ones that you should give a try this Easter.

Creme Egg milkshake Creme Egg cheesecake Probably more of a summer dessert (or at least when the sun is shining for longer than a day!) but seeing as Crème Eggs are exclusively sold during Easter time you have a good excuse right there.

It seems that any chocolate bar you can think of has been used in a milkshake nowadays. Although my favourite order would have to be an Oreo milkshake from Ed’s Diner, Cadbury Crème Egg would come in close second. For a recipe look on the goodtoknow.co.uk website.

Creme Egg doughnuts I’ve only made doughnuts once previously and sure they weren’t the best I have ever had but they were yummy regardless. I can only imagine that Crème Eggs encased in a soft doughy bun would top the scales of doughnut heaven. A recipe can be found on kitchendaily.com the process requires a little effort but might just give you something to look forward to on a quiet Sunday evening.

Creme Egg pancakes We might have just done the whole Pancake Day celebrations but to me pancakes are to be enjoyed thoroughly all year round. If you like them thin and crispy or light and fluffy there’s plenty of Crème Egg recipe coverage online to suit both types of pancake lovers.

Go to greatbritishchefs.com for a sweet American pancake stack version.

(Photo Credit: sundaybaking.co.uk)

Creme Egg Cupcakes Rosie Twells

10. Beat in your icing sugar followed by a teaspoon or two of boiling water to soften and lighten the texture of the buttercream.

Ingredients

11. Split the icing between two bowls and colour one using your Egg Yellow colour.

Use just the tip of a knife and add more colouring as you go until you get the shade you fancy.

Food Editor

• • • • • • •

150g Caster Sugar 150g Unsalted butter, softened 3 Free range eggs (medium size) 1 Tsp vanilla extract 120g Self-raising flour 30g Good quality cocoa (like Green & Blacks) 12 Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs

For the icing: • • • •

175g Unsalted butter 350g Icing sugar Egg yellow gel food colouring 75g Dark chocolate

13. Have a little practise squeeze until you get a two tone icing coming through, then pipe swirls onto your cakes.

14. Melt your chocolate and allow to cool.

Pop into a disposable piping bag, snip 2 – 3mm off the end of the bag and use it to drizzle your cooled chocolate in squiggles over the top.

You’ll also need: • 12 x Brown muffin cases • Piping nozzle • 2 x Disposable piping bags Instructions 1. Freeze your mini Creme Eggs for a couple of hours, or overnight.

2.Pre-heat

your

oven

to

180C.

3. Beat the caster sugar and butter until light and pale.

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, don’t worry if the mixture begins to look a little curdled.

5. Mix in the flour and cocoa. If you’ve been using a mixer, do this bit by hand with a spoon or spatula.

6. Put a spoonful of batter into each muffin case, in a muffin tray.

7. Unwrap your Creme Eggs and place one, laying on it’s side, in the middle of each muffin case, on top of the batter.Top with the rest of the batter and with a spoon, gentle move the batter in the cases, so that you can’t see any of the frozen eggs and they are totally covered with batter.

8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are slightly bouncy to the touch. You might need to adjust the time by 2 – 3 minutes either way depending on your oven.

(Photo Credit: goodtoknow.co.uk)

12. When your cupcakes are completely cold, put your 2D nozzle onto a piping bag, then spoon in your white buttercream and your yellow icing. Spoon them in next to each other, so one goes down one side of the bag and the other down the other side.

9. Meanwhile make your icing, beat your butter until it’s pale, light and fluffy.

Here are some tips for making perfect Creme Egg bakes every time: 1. When putting whole Creme Eggs into the cupcakes (or any other bake), try to make sure they are completely covered - they will survive much better. If they aren’t protected by batter, they melt too quickly and collapse.

2. Always, always freeze your eggs before adding to the batter. Overnight is best if you have the time. I just keep some, in their wrapping, in the freezer at Easter time ready for use whenever the Creme Egg urge takes over.

3. In cupcakes, lay the mini eggs on their side, rather than pointing up. It means they they wobble about less when being put into the oven and they are also easier to cover with the batter.

4. Make sure that you’re using a thick batter (like this one) to hold the eggs in place.

Some recipes that are more like a muffin mixture, are too runny to hold the eggs where they need to be.

5. Try popping cut up eggs on top of your bakes for the last 10 minutes of cooking for a different effect. (Don’t freeze them for this as you won’t be able to cut them). They have a very different texture when baked like that, but also look meltingly good.

16 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/travel

Travel

Overlooked hidden gems Canada

Sophie Milligan

Route 66 is renowned among travellers and roadtrippers alike. One of the first highways in America, it spans 3940 km and even had its own TV show in the Sixties. This is, however, a fraction of the length of the far less travelled Trans-Canada Highway. Canada’s Route 66 is a whopping 8030 km, stretching east to west throughout all ten of Canada’s provinces. In British Columbia, there is the Yoho National Park, situated amongst one of Canada’s mountain range and the Columbia River system. British Columbia also lays claim to the highest point of the highway called the Kicking Horse Path at 1643 meters. Carrying on, West Alberta is the home of the Rockies, the world famous Royal Tyrell Museum and Banff National Park. Saskatchewan contains Regina, a prairie city on the banks of Wascana Lake and the town of Moose Jaw, famous for booze smuggling in the Twenties. Manitoba is home to the Whiteshell and Sandlands Provincial Parks and is followed by Ontario containing Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. Through Quebec, road-trippers can gain a sense of Canada’s French history in some of the provinces’ historical villages. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland continue to demonstrate Canada’s beautiful diversity as the Trans-Canada highway takes travellers through all of these places and more.

U.S.A.

Ally Head

Inevitably, the RV trail of California’s Pacific Coast is renowned as one of the best travel routes in the world - and for good reasons. Follow Route 101 for glorious coastal views and to get a grasp of just how massive the USA really is. At around 4 million square miles and with over 320 million inhabitants, the United States is the fourth largest country in the world. What better way to get a feel of its unique beauty than a much anticipated road trip? Drive through Malibu, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Monterey, San Francisco, Klamath, Napa Valley, Sequoia, Red Bluff, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, San Diego, Death Valley, and Las Vegas before ending the week in Hollywood for the most incredible trip of your life. Toast s'mores round a campfire in Malibu overlooking the Zuma beach, stand beneath the enormous Redwood trees in the National Parks and hold a ten-tonne freshly caught halibut on the beach in Trinidad. The range and depth of beauty that the USA has to offer is unparalleled, as there is simply so much to see with many vast spaces where it is easy for nature to remain untouched and serene. Spend the blissfully peaceful days cruising down the 101, with evening’s lulled away barbequing in the dusk making for the most calming and unforgettable of not only holidays, but also life experiences.

Peru

Corsica

Natasha Naidoo

Corsica, or la Corse, is an isla sandy beaches, striking cliffs France often forget it. Romane tions of Bonifacio and the cita The charming villages of Cor very good wines which are har the signature dish of Corsica. fresh rosemary and potatoes, island offers a private and in shaded streets of Corsica abo and especially in the summer while promoting contemporar attests to the vitality that is at

Surrounded by three volcanoes, snow-capped Andean mountains and beautiful colonial style buildings with a variety of attractions to explore, Peru’s “White City” is unmissable. Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city, and is often overlooked given the mass of tourists who flock to see Machu Picchu every year. Arequipa is a buzzing city with much to explore; take the Plaza de Armas, the city’s main square, which is a must see. It’s only a short walk away from the San Camilo market, the oldest running market in the city, where you can enjoy cheap local food and fresh fruit smoothies, as well as browsing various locally made souvenirs. Arequipa also has an array of exciting classic Peruvian dishes to tickle your taste buds, rocoto relleno and chupe de camarones being just two definitely worth trying! Top attractions include the famous Santa Catalina Monastery, which is a UNESCO world heritage site boasting some fantastic views of the volcano El Misti rising dramatically above the city, as well as Juanita the ice mummy, preserved in the Museo Santuarios Andinos. Arequipa is famously used as a base to visit the breathtakingly beautiful Colca Canyon, and if you go at the right time of day you may even be so lucky as to see the endangered Andean Condors soar through it.

The 5...

Top Travel Apps Daisy Holden suggests the most useful apps to download before jetting off...

1

2

3

4

5

Trip Advisor

Sky Scanner

Foodspotting

City Mapper

Google Tramslate

Trip Advisor is the oracle of all things travel. Whether it's hotels, restaurants, or destinations, it gives honest customer feedback, reviews and photos. If you want to find the real deal, this app is for you.

Whether you want the quickest or cheapest flight, this app will provide a list of flights for you to choose. The great thing about this app is that you no longer need to trawl through airline websites trying to find that perfect flight.

This app is the Instagram of the foodie world. Type in the dish you fancy and it will find the best restaurants in town. This app is based on recommendations from fellow foodies, so you are getting honest reviews.

This is the ultimate public transport map app, available in many cities. Simply type in your destination and pick your method of ransport. The app features traffic disruptions, public transport costs and multiple route options.

The handy app version has many great features to ease language barriers. It has an immediate spoken-word version, and a camera translation mode, so you can scan a menu and see the English translation within seconds.

redbrick.me/travel

20th March - 30th April 2015

Spain

China

Pippa Smith

A holiday hotspot for Brits every year, Spain is your classic European destination, providing an abundance of sun, sand and sea, often at bargain prices. However, there is so much more to Spain than just Benidorm and the Balearics. A hidden gem in the heart of Southern Spain, albeight a slightly less conventional destination of choice, is the city of Córdoba. A city steeped in culture and history, Córdoba was under Muslim rule during the eighth century, and as a result, an Arab influence can be felt throughout the city, especially with regard to its beautiful architecture. The Church of St Vincent is a particular treasure and one that represents the unique symbiosis of both the Christian and Muslim religion. Throughout history, the structure has served as a mutual place of worship for two religions under one roof, and the stunning mosaic and Roman columns make St Vincent a must-see when in the area. At the opposite end of the country, there is also the less explored areas of the Basque Country in Northern Spain, such as the city of Bilbao. As the commercial hub of the region, Bilbao is also home to one of the Guggenheim museums of modern art, another of which can be found in New York City.

17

Nadhirah Syalin

Harbin is a city located in Northeastern China, in the Heilongjiang province. The city offers a unique fusion of Eastern and European architecture, with its proximity to Russia giving it the name ‘Eastern Moscow’. The St Sofia Cathedral stands out majestically, whilst restaurants offer Chinese cuisines with a regional twist. Every year, the Ice and Snow Festival is held in January when temperatures drop to as low as -30 degrees Celsius. The festival lasts for a month as various activities related to ice and snow entertain the crowds. The main highlight of the festival has to be the amazing ice and snow sculptures that come in various shapes and sizes, ranging from delicate ice fairies to towering monuments that are beautifully illuminated with colourful lights at night. The annual ice swimming competition is held along the Songhua River where a pool is carved out for contestants to brave the frigid waters. Iceboat racing in traditional dragon boats is also held. As it gets warmer, Sun Island Park transforms itself into lovely gardens and Harbin’s scenery turn lush. Other places of interest in Harbin include the Siberian Tiger Park, as well as the interactive Science and Technology Museum.

Indonesia

Jessica Flanagan

Bali has become an increasingly popular tourist destination for those who want to vacate further afield. This trend could have been prompted by the vision of Julia Roberts cycling through the rice paddy fields in the film 'Eat, Pray, Love' or simply that word spread from our Australian friends who are lucky enough to have Bali on their doorstep. However, with its growing popularity comes an abundance of tourists and an inevitable commercialisation. Therefore, my advice is the same as the advice that someone once gave to me: once you have arrived and explored a little, get yourself on the first boat out. Whether to the tranquil island of Lembongan or one of the three Gili Islands, these are a quiet haven in comparison.

The variety of underwater creatures in these areas is like no other, so take full advantage of the many scuba diving schools and you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a turtle, octopus or whale shark. Surfing and snorkelling are further options if exploring the deep blue sea doesn't float your boat. With fewer hotels, taxis and transport links to and from the islands, this also brings empty beaches and uninterrupted relaxation, so these islands are the perfectly serene if a peaceful break is what you wanted. The fresh fish is not to be missed, and would make provide perfect “food-envy” for your dinner companion. If you’re content on travelling around Bali and finding yourself like our friend Julia Roberts did, then make sure you don’t bypass Ubud on your route. With its own Monkey Sanctuary, rice fields, delicious organic restaurants and quaint boutique hotels, I would strongly recommend this area over others like Seminyak and Kuta, which are known for their party reputations.

Greece Lucy Harkins

and in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. Despite its beautiful s and its wealth of Corsican natural heritage, tourists wanting to visit esque chapels in Castagniccia, baroque churches in Bastia, the fortificaadel of Calvi are just some of the historical architectures on the island. rsica also boast its wonderful food and drink. Corsica produces several rdly known outside the island, whilst the wild boar casserole is arguably . The Corsican lamb is usually slow roasted with whole garlic cloves, making this traditional dish seldom in need of accompaniments. The ntimate vibe with its small secretive streets and cafés. Eat under the out 200 meters away from the beautiful beaches. Throughout the year, r, each region hosts festivals and gatherings to highlight its specialties ry arts. From Balagne to Ajaccio and Bastia, every month of the year t the center of the Corsican soul.

Greece nearly always appears on lists of Britons’ most popular tourist destinations and has gained a tarnished reputation in recent years as resorts like Zante and Malia have become more popular. However, with over 200 inhabited islands, the country certainly has far more to offer than drunken teenagers and Mamma Mia! sets. Greece’s islands are classified into geographical groups. The Sporades lie off the East coast and stretch into the Aegean Sea. Skyros is least visited by non-Greeks but the most popular amongst domestic travellers. Due to this, it manages to retain the atmosphere of traditional Greek villages. Alonissos is in the same group of islands and is perhaps the most rustic of them all. It is not the most accessible island but this contributes to its exclusivity, offering scenic hiking routes and beautiful beaches that are far less inhabited than some of its neighbours. Also in the Aegean Sea, Ios lies in the Cyclades group. This island is characteristically Greek with its hills and golden beaches but it also has a rich nightlife with a great party atmosphere for young travellers. It’s not without its dose of culture though, with the amphitheatre and the Tomb of Homer both on the island.

24 hours in... Brighton Sara Tryon explains how to make the most of a day by the seaside...

How to get there Brighton is easily accessible by train, being just under an hour outside of London. In total, it takes just under three hours to get from Birmingham and prices are very reasonable, particularly if booked in advance.

What to do The famous pier has become a must-see tourist attraction for anyone visiting Brighton and the views it offers of the coastline are certainly worth seeing if the weather is good.

If you’re looking to shop, a visit to The Lanes will provide twisting alleyways full of independent antique, jewellery and vintage clothes stores, each with their own character.

Brighton is renowned for its nightlife with Fatboy Slim frequenting the city, amongst other big names. The city also has a thriving LGBTQ community and is celebrating 25 years of Pride with a year of citywide celebrations.

Sara Tryon

Where to eat Eating fish and chips on the beachfront has become a quintessential tradition for anyone visiting Brighton. However, if the weather doesn’t live up to expectations then Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips near Brighton Pier is a good substitute. For those with a sweet tooth, Choccywoccydoodah (of television fame - currently showing on the Good Food channel if you fancy a preview before you visit!) has truly become a Brighton institution; if you like chocolate this is the shop for you. Brighton also caters particularly well for vegan and vegetarian diners.

Insider’s tip Try to head down in the summer when the weather’s nice, but avoid the weekends if possible. When reporting good weather, news broadcasters often go to Brighton beach because it’s guaranteed to be busy!

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Television

Poldark: Better Than Ever?

It's returned to the BBC after nearly 40 years, but can the new series of Poldark measure up to its predecessor or was this one TV series better left in the past? TV Critic Roshni Patel investigates the first two episodes

We all knew following in the footsteps of a 15 million viewer show was going to be no easy feat. But following the finale of Call The Midwife, Debbie Horsefield’s adaption of Winston Graham's iconic novels did just that. Poldark enthralled 7 million viewers this Sunday night, which is almost double the number of rival drama Mr Selfridge.

"What's a man to do, but rebuild his future with his own hands?"

Returning from fighting in; and almost dying in, the American War of Independence, Ross Poldark returns to a Cornwall where he no longer belongs. Scarred in war, he returns to finds his father has passed away, his inheritance is worthless and his love, Elizabeth (Heida Reed), is marrying his half-witted cousin, Francis (Kyle Soller).

What’s a man to do, but rebuild his future with his own hands? Armed with a new outlook on life and an idea of how the class barriers should be broken down, Poldark causes quite a stir. He goes from rescuing a street urchin boy, who so happens to be a beautiful fiery-maned girl, to refusing to

accept voluntary work from his tenants, instead promising to do right by them, despite being penniless himself.

The first episode sets down layers, with flashbacks of Poldark’s war memories and the backstories of characters. Upon arrival home, Poldark is greeted by his sly and still very much wealthy Uncle Charles (Warren Clarke). Though Francis may not see the true dangers of the return of Elizabeth’s former lover, his father certainly does, craftily trying to dissuade Ross from settling home. With the news of Poldark’s return came the plotting and scheming of former classmate George Warleggan (Jack Farthing), with his talk of buying Poldark’s favour and connections, could he become the show's villain? But it was the introduction of Demelza Carne (Eleanor Tomlinson), the fiery-tempered girl Poldark rescues, that caught our attention and further proved he’s a better man than the wastrel that left for war two years earlier. Could this be the beginning of a love triangle for our Ross?

The second episode continues to delight as we see the bonds form and break between characters, from Francis’ growing distrust towards Ross’ intentions, to George’s attempts to drive the wedge between the

cousins deeper. Meanwhile Poldark’s cousin Verity (Ruby Bentall) steps into the spotlight, or rather the ballroom glow, as she finds herself entranced by unsavoury sea Captain Blamey (Richard Harrington), as her father’s disapproval glowers on.

Mining certainly flows in Poldark blood, as this episode sees Ross’ hope renewed with investment for his new mining venture.

"Critics have drawn comparisons between the two, finding the new a pacier version of the old" Although many of us haven’t seen the original, critics have drawn comparisons between the two, finding the new a pacier version of the old, which has been likened to a period soap opera and could well have been the prequel to Downton Abbey. And with a legion of loyal fans behind the original 1970s series, the pressure was certainly on for the actors to perform at their best. From Eleanor Tomlinson’s nervous admissions and Aidan Turner’s mum famously telling him he had 'better not

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

by Nancy Turner

When I first heard that Tina Fey was soon to be releasing a Netflix original sitcom I was excited to say the least. Like most people I have always been a huge fan of Tina Fey’s biggest successes Mean Girls and 30 Rock, and I was interested to see how Fey’s signature comedic style could be reworked into this new and completely fresh context.

The concept of the sitcom is a brave one.

The quirky Kimmy Shmidt has recently been released from an underground cult ('the mole women') and is now trying to find her way in New York after not having contact with the outside world for over a decade. The result? A charming and quirky sitcom in which Fey really shines in her ability to combine the ridiculous with the heart-warming.

Ellie Kempter’s portrayal of the title protagonist – Kimmy Shmidt - is the perfect balance between kooky and self-reliant; however it is the supporting cast that

are the real highlight in this show. Kimmy’s flamboyant flatmate Titus (Tituss Burgess) may appear in the opening of first episode slightly cold, the audience however are defied not to quickly fall in love with his diva attitude and fabulous one liners. Carol Kane plays the equally as loveable dippy landlord Lillian, and together Titus and

Lillian create a hilarious double act, who’s friendship shines through in episodes such as ‘Kimmy Goes to School'.

The real standout performance of the show however goes to Jane Krakowksi’s depiction of Kimmy’s self-obsessed boss – Jacqueline. Fey’s signature comedy style is reliant on well-observed popular culture

mess this up', the expectations for the show’s success were high. Screenwriter of the new series, Debbie Horsefield was praised for the success and was much calmer in saying: 'I didn’t feel under any pressure about the 1970s adaptation. If I was under any pressure it was to do justice to the books.' This was greatly helped by the fact she hadn’t even seen the original episodes until she’d written five of her own.

Two episodes down and Poldark is still going strong. Although it’s no carbon copy of the original winner, it ultimately stays true to the style of BBC period dramas past. With viewing figures as they are, it could gain the momentum required to warrant further seasons. But for now, all we’re concerned about is what’s going to happen this Sunday. Will his mines prosper? Or has his endeavour been for nothing? Will Poldark ever let Elizabeth go? And are those sparks flying between him and Demelza?

Find out, this Sunday at 9pm on BBC 1 and catch up on the first two episodes on BBC iPlayer.

Tweet us your opinions @RedbrickTV references. However, as a show revolving around someone who has been completely cut off from culture for 15 years this would appear hard to slip naturally into this show: this is where Jaqueline comes in. The friendship that blossoms between completely socially unaware Kimmy and imagecentred Jacqueline is interesting and it is this contrast that creates some of both the funniest and most heart-warming moments of the show. It would be fair to note that Jacqueline could be seen as an almost carbon copy of Krakowski’s former character Jenna of 30 Rock – this however is not necessarily a negative thing as she fits just as perfectly in to Kimmy as she did 30 Rock.

Kimmy is a Fey classic satire of society, and whilst it may not be necessarily laugh out loud all the way through, it successfully portrays a story of hope and determination.

Despite its dark premise Fey has managed create a series which is still colourful and light-hearted without undermining the core story of determination against all odds at the heart of it.

20th March - 30th April 2015

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19

TV Quote of the Week: Bluestone 42 on dancing: Captain Nick Medhurst: "Salsa's for wankers. We're doing the tango."

Review: House of Cards Series 3

With the Netflix release of House of Cards' third series, writer William Blanchard asks whether Frank Underwood's games can still keep us interested, or if this House is on the verge of collapse the triumphant close of last season, strictly House of Cards is a show that finds itself in the unenviable position of being the vanguard for a new generation of 'prestige' dramas fielded by new media distributors.

Touting impressive names such as David Fincher, and two-times Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, House of Cards represented Netflix’s threat to provide content to rival current kingpin HBO at a fraction of the cost. It was a bold statement but, despite racking up a number of Emmy nominations, House of Cards ultimately failed to tempt critics away from the old gods for very long. While House of Cards may not have been the paradigm shifter initially promised, it finds itself at its most interesting creative point to date as it enters its third season.

on Frank’s terms.

Although the show can be credited for beginning to populate the supporting characters with more credible threats, it has yet to mould much dimension to them. Many of them feel frustratingly transparent, in that they are obviously the only types of people who could thrive in this sphere as posited by the show, people just as megalomaniacal as Frank; but also frustratingly opaque in that we never spend enough time with them to understand what drives them the way we finally do Frank, so the potential for more is always apparent.

"Many [characters] are frustratingly transparent"

"The vanguard for a new generation of prestige"

The previous seasons struggled to build a credible threat to Spacey’s Frank Underwood, who could pull the strings of his hapless colleagues so deftly that he manoeuvred himself into the President’s chair. While there was certainly an undeniable charm to watching Spacey sink his teeth into the now well-worn white male antihero archetype, the lack of meaningful stakes coupled with the show’s relentlessly bleak cynicism often left it feeling dry and mean-spirited. Such problems are pleasantly avoided, at least in these opening episodes.

As the season opens, Frank is staring down the barrel of abysmal public opinion polls and the leaders of his own party lack confidence in him. With an election on the horizon, Frank must now scramble to cling onto the power he swindled lest he suffer the indignity of a 'placeholder presidency'.

Planting Frank firmly on the backfoot

from the beginning changes the dynamic of the show for the better and allows for the perfect opportunity to expand on the central relationship between Frank and his wife, played with equal parts grace and cunning

by Robin Wright. The support both characters provide each other has seldom wavered but also been contingent on the mutual understanding that the other is, essentially, of use. Now the political sharks smell blood, it becomes apparent that the central tenet of this relationship may not be as stable as it seemed and the seeds are planted for this season to begin to challenge the Underwoods emotionally. This is a welcome change of pace for a show that has often come across as coldly distant in spite of Frank’s fourth

wall breaking monologues.

This distance is largely due to the heavy handedness with which the show carries its cynicism about the state of modern politics.

The opening scene exemplifies House of Cards’ attitude about the shallow duplicity shared by everyone in the political arena and it typifies how often the deliberate coldness of Frank Underwood makes it difficult to care about his machinations. A man who later proves willing to use the collateral damage of a drone strike to emotionally strong arm his wife. This seasons suggested change of focus from Frank’s lust for influence to a cry for legitimacy serve to humanise him somewhat and it is a welcome irony that Frank now seems most powerless given

The only other character with such clearly defined goals is Michael Kelly’s Doug Stamper, who survived last season’s wound and has since been shut out of Frank’s inner circle. Doug is completely lost in a world where he’s only as well informed as someone watching the news about the decisions being made in the White House, and he shows great physical resolve in stitching himself together to appear competent in front of Frank, but the reasons for his devotion to a man who so swiftly cast him aside are unclear. It is, therefore, with great curiosity that I await to see how the show chooses to develop his character outside of the show’s natural sphere.

In conclusion, House of Cards remains a solid showcase for Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright with a penchant for unnervingly humourless cynicism. The new direction seems poised to tackle previous problems with the show head on and it looks to be a more compelling ride. If the potential of these early episodes is realised, this season of House of Cards could be the best yet.

case was that Jyoti was an exception to the rule. Her parents, much to the dismay of many relatives, pumped their money into getting their daughter the education she needed to become a doctor. In a country where an estimated 22 million Indian women are missing which alludes to sickeningly high rates of female infanticide and foeticide, Jyoti was part of a new breed of independent single women that India clearly does not understand. It is harrowing to watch how a woman who would not let herself be the product of an inherently sexist society was twistedly punished. It is even worse that her final words to her mother were 'I’m sorry mummy'. It feels all too much like she is apologising for being born a woman, apologising for being a victim.

The sheer animalistic nature of Indian society resonated throughout the documentary. Men rape and assault women

because they are angry, impoverished and uneducated. It is difficult for us to imagine a society where the rapists’ defence lawyer describes how if one of his daughters was caught behaving in the 'disgraceful' manner Jyoti was, he would pour petrol on them and set them alight.

The case is unmistakably disgusting and inhumane. However, it should not be brushed aside because it is the product of a society completely different to ours. A woman is raped every twenty minutes in India but current figures show that 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales each year. It is sickening to me that rape appears to be part of the fabric of society in any society.

Although violent rape in India may be more prevalent, often occurring alongside acid attacks and murder, we are all too familiar with the 'she didn’t say no' 'blurred-boundaries' type of rape that

occurs so often in the UK. Mukesh Singh, one of Jyoti’s attackers, claims in the documentary that women are far more responsible for rape than men. The worrying thing about this claim is that it does not sound as outrageous as it should. It is a product of an essentially victim-centred approach taken by societies all over the world - including our own.

International Women’s Day is a vital time to raise issues like this. Rape is an extremely critical problem worldwide. But it highlights even bigger concerns regarding the current female position in society.

Women still noticeably do not have the equal status and respect that men do and are plainly still seen all too often in the eyes of many as lesser, sexual objects.

Jyoti Singh is not India’s 'daughter'. She needn’t be defined by her female status.

Rather she should be defined as Jyoti Singh, human being.

India's Daughter: A Banned Documentary Ella Downing TV Critic

Sunday the 8th of March was hailed International Women’s Day, a title that to many seemed a little bittersweet. Great, we’re celebrating women but surely we should be doing that every day? I can’t help feeling slightly shunted that women get one day of the year where our 'feminist rants' and 'moaning and bitching' are allowed, but rest assured, when Monday the ninth beckons we can all stop talking about women’s rights and get back to more important issues.

In the spirit of IWD BBC One aired the

"It is harrowing to watch how a woman who would not let herself be the product of an inherently sexist society was twistedly punished." harrowing documentary ‘India’s Daughter’ that told the tale of the horrifically violent gang rape and subsequent death of Jyoti Singh, a 23 year old medical student, in New Delhi. Jyoti was out with a male friend watching a movie before they boarded an off-duty bus at around 9.30pm.

They were taunted by the six attackers on board for being out together at a late hour and, when the two tried to defend themselves, they were brutally attacked and left for dead on the side of the highway.

The documentary, which has been banned from screening in India, tells us a lot of awful truths about the position of women in India. The central irony of the

20 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/lifestyle

Life & Style

He For She?

Life&Style Writer Rebecca Bulman reports on International Women's Day. International Women’s Day was on 8th March and it sparked much positivity and attention in the media and across social media. At the forefront of the day was UN Goodwill Ambassador, actress and feminist Emma Watson, who held a Q&A session in London with Greg James. She answered questions surrounding the apparently sensitive issue of feminism, describing and promoting the fantastic campaign she is part of: He For She. This campaign aims to end the negativity surrounding the term ‘feminism’ and bring everyone together, men included, to advocate full gender equality.

‘lad culture’ are too ingrained and have a seriously negative effect on the way we view each other. It endorses the image that it is okay or acceptable to talk about women, and to women, in a derogatory way and there are boys who do

"He For She wants to get rid of this idea of feminism of being solely a women's rights movement, and being against men."

"This campaign aims to end the negativity surrounding the term 'feminism' and bring everyone together, men included, to advocate full gender equality."

It seems a lot of people don’t even know what the word ‘feminism’ actually means.

Purely and simply, it is about equality. For everyone all across the world. If you believe in gender equality, you are a feminist. But people do not seem necessarily happy to be labelled as a feminist. Too many people associate it with - as Emma Watson put it in her incredible UN speech last September - ‘manhating’. He For She, rightly so, wants to remove this idea of feminism being solely a women’s movement, and being against men. This is not at all what it is about; rather, it is about bringing men and women together on equal grounds.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything that Emma and the He For She campaign are trying to do. Of course, women are oppressed every single day and it is something that needs to be stopped everywhere. 85,000 women are

not want to be a part of this, but feel like they have no choice. Dispelling this image would be hugely positive for the promotion of gender equality and it starts here at university. It would allow both men and women to be treated with unequivocal respect and to express themselves completely and emotionally.

The great thing is that signs of change are starting to appear. Emma’s He For She speech sparked 1.2 billion social media conversations and over 200,000 men have signed the He For She commitment. Even the fact that we can talk about issues like the domestic abuse of men as real and serious is a step forward.

But there’s still much, much more to be achieved. We are all capable of doing some-

"Even the smallest gesture can be a step forward." raped in a single year in Britain alone. Very few girls in developing countries are given the chance to get past primary education. These are just a few of the issues of female oppression.

But equally this is about men, too, and this is what He For She is trying to convey. We also need to give men that space and freedom to be sensitive, to have the opportunity to express their feelings. At university especially, things like

thing to help; even the smallest gesture can be a step forward to real gender equality. If you haven’t yet seen Emma’s inspirational UN speech or the interview from last weekend, I urge you to take a look. It really will change your perspective on feminism and what you can do to help gender equality. She sums it up in a simple message: if not me, then who? If not now, then when?

Fashion Weeks: The Round-Up Life&Style Writer Daisy Holden summarises the best bits from fashion month.

Best Trend: Seventies Fever

This trend took the fashion world by storm on the Spring/Summer 15 catwalks last season, and this time around it was no different, proving that Seventies fashion is here to stay. Chloe, Nina Ricci, MaxMara, Burberry, Bottega Veneta, Anna Sui, Jonathan Saunders and Giambattista Valli were some of the designers who paid tribute to the era. Whether your style is bohemian hippie or 70s chic, there is something out there for you. Fifty shades of camel were previewed at Nina Ricci and MaxMara, proving that a good neutral coat will never go out of style, and tassels and printed folk dresses took over the catwalk at Burberry. Flares, tunics, floral prints, blouson sleeves and prairie dresses will all stand you in good stead with this trend.

Never to be worn again: Fur Shoes

As fashion weeks go, this category is at the seams! As much as I love fashion, there is no way some of these trends will ever take off.

The winner of this category goes to fur shoes, something I hope will never be seen again. Spotted on the catwalks of Fendi, Margiela and Gucci, this is the most impractical trend this season, whilst the runner up was facial piercings at Givenchy. These not only look weird but very painful. The house’s designer Riccardo Tisci gave the illusion that his models’ faces were ‘pierced’ with glued-on antique jewellery, giving a modern take on tribal costumes.

Best Collection: Elie Saab

Some may argue that designer catwalk shows are not meant to present wearable clothes, they are supposed to represent artwork.

However, I only agree with this statement to an extent. Some catwalk shows, such as Alexander McQueen and Yohji Yamamoto, are just that: artwork. Their couture garments cannot be described as weara-

ble. Elie Saab, on the other hand, produces show after show of beautiful collections that are red carpet-ready. His signature fairytale style was upgraded to something darker this season: “the way of the woods”. The colour palette was dark, think khaki, teal and reds in place of pastel tones. The gowns were less poofy ball gowns, and more fiercely romantic. They had nipped in waists, billowing skirts, and touches of shimmer. Vogue nailed it, labelling it his 'wilderness glamazon' collection.

Best FROW: Stella McCartney

The front row in catwalk shows are almost (if not more) as legendary and anticipated as the catwalk shows themselves - and this year was no exception! Kanye West launched his capsule collection for Adidas, and whilst personally the show itself was not that amazing, his FROW made up for it! The internet exploded with pictures of wife Kim Kardashian, baby North, Jay Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Sean Combs and Anna Wintour.

Intricate Design: Alexander McQueen

Sarah Burton, at the helm of Alexander McQueen (pictured), does not make collections for the fainthearted. This 'Victorian Noir' collection took inspiration from a dying rose. 'That moment when a rose is on the verge of decay, when the petals turn floppy, soft and crinkled, is', says Burton, 'a beautiful thing'. Insert layers and layers of beautifully sculpted feather-weight organza and you can picture the collection. Sheer luxurious fabrics, floor-skimming hems, frilled detailing and heavy embellishments created the tiered lace gowns. Every edge was frayed, giving a softer side to the harsh notion of death, turning what could be considered to be a form of decay, into a beautiful thing.

redbrick.me/lifestyle

20th March - 30th April 2015

Unlikely Fashion Icon

Budget Beauty Buys Courtney Barclay Life&Style Writer

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush £9.99 Every girl who is even slightly interested in make-up is sure to want to own at least one Real Techniques brush and their expert face brush is perfect for applying your foundation and concealer. With synthetic bristles and a sleek handle, it is ultra plush but firm for a flawless base, and at £9.99 it’s definitely worth a purchase!

21

Fierce

Laura-Beth Green Life&Style Writer

Most people know Harry Styles as the heart-throb of One Direction and for some that’s enough to make them turn in the other direction.

However, Harry’s wardrobe choices are increasingly becoming a discussion point.

He is frequently pictured wearing the likes of Calvin Klein and Burberry and has even started to show his cheeky grin at fashion shows (perhaps most notably on the front row of Burberry’s fashion show last year).

Harry is, unsurprisingly, a former British Style Award winner and has a knack for starting trends in men’s fashion. Since wearing a skull scarf round his curly locks in March last year, loads of guys seem to be following suit and Harry is also a proud promoter of the manbun (something we, perhaps, don’t thank him for!). Now, his laidback yet stylish look is something guys’ fashion is heading towards; skinny jeans, boots and (revealing) shirts seem to be popping up everywhere since Harry adopted them all as part of his signature look.

One of Harry’s favourite designers is Yves Saint Laurent. He wore a leopard print coat by them in the 2014 video for Steal My Girl (yes, that’s the one) with a modest price tag of $6,000! More like 'steal my savings!' Harry is no stranger to leopard print YSL either, rocking leopard print boots by the designer at the American Music Awards. Even if you’re not a diehard Directioner, you have to commend his daring choice of print and admit he is one of the only guys who can carry it off.

So is Harry a style icon? The amount of articles to be found online that explore his fashion transformation would certainly suggest he is.

From his Alexander McQueen shirt at last year’s Brit Awards to his red and black pinstriped Lanvin suit, Harry is forging his place as a fashion icon (and no one can say he hasn’t got Style!)

Penguin's Little Black Books 80 books for 80p... what’s not to love?!

Top on our list is Jane Austen’s 'The Beautiful Cassandra', a series of short stories written by Austen as a teenager to entertain her family. These are tales of alcoholism, poisoners and prisonbreaks - a world away from her more well-known writing. Even if Austen isn’t for you, with 80 titles to choose from there’s certainly something for everyone.

Spring Pastels From nails to clothes, the coming of spring signifies a changing colour palette. And what better way to greet the warmer weather than with pretty pastel, sugar sweet, candy colours reminiscent of the flowers and blossoms popping up all over the place!

Block Heels Finally, heels that look great and feel great too! No more staggering around in stilettos or plastering cut ankles and blisters; block heels are a comfortable yet stylish solution for every occasion.

From the ever-so-slight heel to the skyscraper, the monochrome to the coloured, this style of shoe is big this season - and these shoes were made for walking!

Kim K's New Do

Dating Do's and Don'ts Ayshea Baker advises on the best way to impress your date.

Whilst many have been praising Kim K’s daring new hair colour, we think it leaves her looking washed out. Sorry Kim, but this latest, internet-breaking sensation is one step too far.

Unpredictable Weather

It is perhaps true when people say that 'men are from Mars and women are from Venus', as, when it comes to dating, everyone is told a different story. The truth is, dating isn’t rocket science and it’s a great way to try new experiences and meet new people. Unfortunately, there is no set handbook when it comes to dating, however you can always benefit from a bit of advice. Here are a few of my top tips of what to do and what to avoid!

DON'T "Game Player"

Don’t date as many people as possible to impress your friends or boost your ego! It’s not the numbers that count. Dating, whilst fun, is not a game, as there are a load of emotions involved. Go into dating with honest and good intentions. It’s useful to date a couple of different people to find out what you do and don’t like, but ultimately spending more time with someone you’re potentially into is more worthwhile than 'playing the field' with numerous people just for fun.

"Show Boater"

Don’t intimidate your date by discussing money or highly intellectual subjects when you first start dating, as you’re going to come across as pompous and pretentious. Splashing the cash on a swanky first date, whilst you may think it looks impressive, is often not the right thing to do as it implies that you are more interested in showing off yourself than truly finding out about the person. Stay true to yourself. You and your date are equals.

"Couch Potato"

Whilst it may be obvious, don’t cancel on your date last minute or forget to arrange another date if you are interested in them! Dating is supposed to be enjoyable rather than a chore, so try to be original when you are planning what to do. It’s true that dinner and a film are safe options, but after several dates you need to show another side to yourself and try new things together.

With sunshine one minute and rain the next, our wardrobe is are as confused as we are! When it’s unclear how the day’s weather will pan out and even the forecasters seem confused, our outfit choices are often mistaken - too many layers one day and not enough the next... we wish the weather would "Confidence is Attractive" make its mind up!

Do make the most of your date and look your best! Not only will he/ she feel good that you have made the effort, but self-confidence is key when it comes to dating. If your date seems shy at first, try to make them feel more secure about himself or herself with a friendly compli- Social Media Over-Sharing ment or light-hearted conversation that they can engage with.

Remember: be confident, not cocky, and you’ll be planning a second In a world where more and more of our date in no time! lives are going online, we’re getting tired of over-sharers. Quite frankly we don’t want to see what you’ve just "Be Our Guest" eaten for tea, the papercut on your finDo be polite and courteous towards your date as manners go a long ger or your 'just woke up' (yet plastered way. Some of the most common dating errors are: phones at the table in makeup) selfies. There’s more to life (unless it is a real emergency), 'pet names' such as 'babe' or 'hun', or than likes and shares - it’s time to get most importantly, rushing into things physically and emotionally. back into the real world again.

Avoid being over-familiar but do be yourself!

DO

"An Open Book"

Do start dating by being genuine and honest with the person. It’s true that you have not made a solid commitment to them, but honesty and simplicity is crucial as it shows respect. This doesn’t mean that you have to roll out your whole life story on the first meeting, but showing a humble and emotional side will help you to truly connect with your date rather than building a relationship on small-talk! Don’t be afraid to let down your barriers, and enjoy getting to know that new person in your life!

By Zoe Screti

Finished

22 20th March - 30th April 2015

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Film

Focus on: British Directors Critic Gurnesha Bola presents a selection of The UK's most promising upcoming filmmakers...

Review:

The Duke of Burgundy

Details Release date: 20th Feb 2015 Director: Peter Strickland Cast: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Monica Swinn, Chiara D'Anna Running time: 104 minutes IMDB rating: 7.5

««««« Matthew Robinson Critic

It is no secret that British actors have come to dominate screens across genres and continents but this year also marks the rise of a new class of British directors. Recent and forthcoming releases are promoting emerging and independent cinema championed by Brits behind the camera, impressing audiences not only with beautifully shot films but tackling diverse and often difficult subjects.

"Brits behind the camera are impressing audiences with beautifully shot films..."

February saw the release of Catch Me Daddy, the debut feature from director Daniel Wolfe. Rising from the ranks of shorts and music videos, most notably he is the man behind Jake Gyllenhaal’s serial killer picking off hipsters in a music video for The Shoes. The film definitely captured the attention of the London Independent Film Awards, honouring its lead actress (a completely new face with no acting experience) Sameena Jabeen Ahmed with the award for most promising newcomer. The story follows a young Pakistani woman attempting to escape her controlling, traditional family to be with her white boyfriend in the remote Yorkshire countryside, only to be hunted down by her brother and his gang.

Co-written with his brother Matthew Wolfe and initially styled as a modern day ‘western’, as far as debuts go they have managed to impress – receiving almost universal rave reviews, particularly for the hallucinatory melancholia of the cinematography. The brothers are currently working on a screenplay for a thriller about a British Snooker

player in China entitled Sapphire.

Although not exactly a rookie in filmmaking spheres, The Falling marks only the second narrative feature for director Carol Morley. Hitting cinemas in April, Morley is delving into the darker recesses of a strict girls’ school in 1969, dealing with a hysterical fainting epidemic. Featuring a thoroughly British cast including Maxine Peak and Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, but also providing a launchpad for newcomer Florence Pugh who has received much attention for portraying one half of the films central friendship. Part coming-of-age drama, part psychological thriller and part sci-fi / superstition hybrid – Morley is no stranger to the insidious. She most recently made an impression with drama-documentary, Dreams of a Life, which investigated the real life story of a woman who died at home, but whose body was not discovered for another three years. Her latest feature promises to navigate the murky waters of female sexuality, oppression and fears of girls on the brink of womanhood. Not exactly new territory, but if executed effectively, Morley could cement her place as a name to watch in British features.

Another Brit proudly flying the flag for home-grown cinema is Andrew Haigh who took Berlin Film Festival by storm with his newest feature, 45 Years. Haigh’s drama follows a couple on the cusp of their 45th wedding anniversary only for wife Kate to have to come to terms with the news that the body of her husband’s first love (and fiancé) has been unearthed after her disappearance many years ago, and that her husband has been contacted to identify the body. Initial reviews agree that the real triumph of the film is the performances by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as the couple having to reassess their relationship and examine their marriage in the oppressive expanses of the

Norfolk countryside. Haigh has created a name for himself as the hand behind honest and unflinching portrayals of gay and lesbian relationships but this time he investigates the complexities of marriage – a marriage strained by a series of revelations and an inescapable history. Currently writing and directing episodes for hit series Looking, Haigh is making waves both at home and across the pond.

"Strickland is quickly establishing himself as bold explorer of twisted worlds..."

Finally, any list of talent to look out for would be incomplete without Peter Strickland. This month marks the release of the highly-anticipated The Duke of Burgundy; a complex exploration of dominant/submissive sexual relationships between a domineering professor and her maid, but the role of dominant is not as easily assigned as first impressions would lead us to believe.

Strickland is quickly establishing himself as bold explorer of twisted worlds balancing between nightmarish fantasy and claustrophobic reality, as seen in previous feature Berberian Sound Studio which chartered a sound engineer’s (played brilliantly by Toby Jones) descent into madness. Strickland’s foray into erotic cinema has been incredibly well-received by audiences thus far and has served to showcase his diversity of filmmaking.

He was last seen helming Björk: Biophilia Live, a recorded performance piece by Björk in collaboration with international visual artists that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year.

The Duke of Burgundy is a butterfly. Yet The Duke of Burgundy, the latest film from Peter Strickland, features very little of its name sake; a film for budding lepidopterists this is not. Nor as some might have you believe is it a film about a lesbian couple with a penchant for S&M, at least not really. The world in which we are placed is one that features no men, where the only method of travel seems to be by bicycle. Candles and lamps are still common and the collecting of butterflies is not just accepted but widespread.

When we first encounter Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) and Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) it would be easy to confuse them for a mistress and a maid; Evelyn is ordered to clean the study, polish boots and wash clothes. It soon becomes clear however that Evelyn’s duties extend further than those of a normal maid. We soon learn that this is a sexual fantasy. Evelyn is submissive by choice and that all Cynthia’s calm talk of punishment is just role-play. It seems simple but this film is purposefully confused, obfuscating the relationship between the two women. The main story arc is cut with close ups of analytical sketches of butterflies, flashes of bright light, and beautiful, autumnal landscapes.

The music switches from melodious folk pop to electronic ambient noise, both crafted, rather splendidly, by the indie pop band, Cat’s Eyes. Reality and fantasy become hard to distinguish. All these things add to the general sense of unease that Strickland manages to generate and yet underneath is a genuinely sweet look at love and relationships and perhaps how all of us play a role that isn’t our own at some time or other.

The film is laden with obscure film references, the opening credits feel like they are taken from the films of Jesus Franco and there are hints of the voyeurism of Belle du Jour. Anyone expecting Mulholland Dr meets Fifty Shades of Grey will be sadly disappointed. The Duke of Burgundy is a beautifully crafted piece of art, made neither for ego or a big box office. It is a true gem, slightly twisted and touched by melancholy, but with some darkly comic moments too. I urge you to go and see it.

redbrick.me/film

20th March - 30th April 2015

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Film News George Griffiths Critic

Fresh from her Oscar-nominated turn in The Theory of Everything, British actress Felicity Jones - who originally hails from Birmingham - is officially starring in the first official Star Wars spin-off film, titled Rogue One. It’s unclear what character Jones will be playing as of yet, but we do know the film will be directed by Godzilla re-maker Gareth Edwards. Expect Rogue One to hit cinemas December 2016.

Ex-EastEnders star Sam Strike is attached to a horror prequel detailing the early life of Texas Chainsaw Massacre terror, Leatherface. Details of the project are scarce, but Strike will be playing Jackson, who eventually grows up to become everyone’s favourite chainsaw-welding serial killer.

French directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo will be helming the flick, having previously made waves with their indie fare Inside.

Review: Chappie Critic James Cox reviews the latest film from District 9 director Neil Blomkamp...

Details Release date: 6th March 2015 Director: Neill Blomkamp Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman Running time: 120 minutes IMDB rating: 7.3

««««« James Cox Critic

From visionary director Neill Blomkamp (District 9 and Elysium) comes the story of Chappie (Sharlto Copley), a law enforcement droid who is given consciousness by his creator Deon (Dev Patel). After being kidnapped by gangsters, Chappie is forced to grow up and confront the reality of the world and the consequences of mortality in him and oth-

"If Like all Blomkamp pictures, the film is big on ideas and big on spectacle..." ers.

Like all Blomkamp pictures, the film is big on ideas and big on spectacle. One of the notable high points of the film is its beautiful direction. Chappie, like District 9, is set in the near-future of Johannesburg, exploring this time the issues of crime

prevention and the breakdown of social mobility. Blomkamp is able to communicate in every frame a feeling of grit and realism that inhabits his Johannesburg.

He brings a fresh approach with the creation and growth of Chappie and his relationship to the people around him.

"This is clearly a film that has gone through the blender in terms of editting..."

Created with motion-capture technology, Chappie is visually stimulating with a sleek design that makes him standout against other AI-type designs. Using the physicality and voice of Blomkamp’s muse Sharlto Copley (District 9), Chappie feels tangible to the audience. Throughout the film, we see Chappie grow from a purely innocent infant to a confused angst-ridden teenager, and for the most part we go with him on this journey.

Chappie is probably most comparable to Pinocchio, given life by a creator but is robbed of innocence by a group who show him the cruel realities of life. This element of his character is one I wish would have been explored further.

The main problem with the film is it is incredibly annoying. Cringe-inducing, head-banging, fist-clenchingly annoying.

At the heart of the story are a group of gangsters played by popular South African rappers Die Antwoord.

They collectively have the acting range of an old kettle, in that they can only do one thing but still do it badly.

They both seemed to have decided to adopt one facial expression for the entire film; Ninja wears the face of a slightly angry man, Yolandi looks to all the world like she’s waiting for her next line to begin. Their inclusion in the film is purely commercial and wholly annoying. Having their own music punctuate scenes and then rob the ending of any emotional

weight it may have held is a high crime.

This is clearly a film that has gone through the blender in terms of the editing. Plot threads are picked up and then completely forgotten about. The film opens with mockumentary style footage that is never returned to. It feels like a cheap ploy to make you remember how much you loved District 9 but it just makes you spend the rest of the film thinking “god, I loved District 9. I wish I was watching that instead. At least then I could escape Ninja and Yolandi.”

"The film looks stunning and has a good concept at its heart, but it is simply too poorly executed..."

One of the worst crimes of the screenplay is that characters do stupid things for stupid reasons just so the plot can advance.

When Ninja takes Chappie into the wild and leaves him there he is asked why he did that to which he responds, “I don’t know”. Well good, because neither do we. And apropos of nothing, but I’m fairly sure you can’t just drive your van up to a multi-billion dollar corporation’s warehouse, steal equipment and pass it off with a phone call saying that you’ll bring it back.

Also, don’t call me a scientist, but I’m fairly sure that for a neurological transfer to work you actually biologically need a brain, not to mention that half a dozen PS4s (nice bit of product placement Sony) wouldn’t be able to support it.

Overall, it’s really disheartening to see a filmmaker of Blomkamp’s talent fall so far short of the mark. The film looks stunning and has a good concept at its heart, but it is simply too annoying, too poorly executed and too long that Chappie is robbed of any sense of wonder. I’m not angry, Neill, I’m just disappointed.

After weeks of speculation, Jamie Dornan has confirmed that he will star in the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey. The Irish actor confirmed that he will return as Christian Grey, despite reports he was quitting the films due to pressure from his wife. Dornan dashed the claims and claimed his wife, musician Amelia Warner, was “massively supportive” of his role in the BDSM-blockbuster, which was crossed the $500 million box-office gross worldwide.

Disney’s live-action adaption of Cinderella has topped the US Box Office, with takings of $70 million (£47 million) over the weekend. This replicates the earlier success of Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland as liveaction adaptions of classic Disney animations. It beat Liam Neeson’s latest effort, Run All Night, which grossed a paltry $11 million. Countless other live-action Disney adaptions are expected in the coming years, such as Dumbo and Beauty and the Beast, plus an Alice sequel.

24 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/tech

Science & Technology

Is Anxiety All In Your Head?

Find out more about what might be making you feel anxious before your exams.

Ellie Patten

Sci & Tech Writer

Whether it’s before an exam, during an interview, or in the middle of a crowded shopping centre, we’ve all felt the tell-tale signs of anxiety at one point.

You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, your breathing becoming shallower and more rapid, butterflies in your stomach and sweat on your shaking palms. In the long-term, it can make you feel tired, irritable, cause loss of sleep and trouble concentrating, and even upset your digestion and immune function. So if anxiety’s all in the mind, why does our body start acting so ... weird?

These physiological changes are all part of our body’s “fight or flight” response, an important evolutionary response, which aims to respond to dangerous or potentially threatening events, by preparing our body to either run away from danger, or confront it. Our bodies do this by releasing stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. Cortisol increases blood glucose levels, providing our muscles with an energy source to keep us alert, energised and able to respond to threats. Other roles of the fight or flight response include increasing our heart rate and breathing rate to increase blood flow and oxygen uptake to our muscles, in order to prepare us for movement. In contrast, blood flow is diverted away from our digestive system, which is why some people feel nauseous or experience stomach aches when they’re feeling anxious.

Adrenaline increases heart rate and

blood pressure, and enlarges our pupils.

When the “fight or flight” response is activated, this can be exhausting for an individual, not only mentally, but physically, due to the range of physical responses which are activated, which can often lead stressed or anxious people to feel incredibly tired without understanding why. This is also why some chronically anxious people tend to lose weight: large amounts of energy are required to maintain this response. So anxiety and stress aren’t all in the mind after all. It isn’t just characterised by anxious thoughts and feelings. They cause a range of physical changes in our bodies which can lead to us feeling irritable, unwell and can lead to us avoiding situations

which trigger this response.

Although this response seems to be more fitting to the threat of a wild animal, or an event requiring physical action, our fast-paced and high-pressure modern lifestyles and hectic schedules present different threats than those faced by our evolutionary ancestors, and our “fight or flight” response picks up on these, becoming activated far more often than you’d expect it to be. It can be triggered in different situations in different individuals, depending on how our brains interpret certain situations and potential danger, and anxiety can either be shortterm, or chronic in the form of an anxiety disorder. A YouGov survey from 2014 found that only 1 in 20 people claim to

Alessandra

never feel anxious, and 4.7% of the population have anxiety problems, while 9.7% suffer mixed depression and anxiety, making anxiety the most common mental health problem in the UK. While the reasons that some people are more anxious than others aren’t entirely clear, it seems to be attributable to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Anxiety disorders can run in families, though this does not mean that an individual with an anxiety disorder in their family will inherit the disorder. They can also be triggered by environmental cues, such as events early in life, including poor health, stressful events, difficult family relationships and a variety of other contributors. These different factors, both environmental and genetic, appear to work together, each contributing to the level of anxiety experienced by an individual, rather than acting individually.

While anxiety and stress are often thought about as psychological events, often the most distressing and debilitating symptoms can be their physical effects, and considering the large proportion of people who are affected by anxiety at some point in their lives, it’s important for these to be acknowledged.

Increasing knowledge of the biological basis of all the unusual feelings and reactions we have when we feel anxious can help us to realise that it’s not all in our heads after all. If you are affected by anxiety or stress, and are looking for help dealing with this, the NHS website contains plenty of helpful resources and suggestions of ways to both help yourself, and to access further support.

Top 5 Study Apps Need help with revising over Easter? Here are our recommended apps to help you with your studies.

Roshni Patel Sci & Tech Writer

It’s that time of year again. The semester is coming to an end and the library is open 24 hours a day. It can only mean one thing. Exams are coming. Time to break out all the notes you did or didn’t write over the past year of lectures and find a strategy to stay focused and revise them all. We all know it’s not an easy feat and it’s plagued with distractions and procrastination. But here are some helpful apps to help you make the most of the time before that exam.

Scanbot – Revision seminars get busy. And as notes populate the whiteboard, the rush to get them written down increases, resulting in scrawls which are usually illegible by the time you get home and resemble an ancient language by the next day. But your lecturer usually has better handwriting, so why not just take his notes. Scanbot allows you to do just that. It’s a light and friendly app that detects edges and automatically takes high resolution images, so you can view and zoom into them later.

Wunderlist – This app takes your to-do lists to new levels, helping you to organise all those lists and even share them with your friends, family, and

housemates. From making your own personal to-do lists to making the shopping list for you house, Wunderlist makes it as easy and quick as writing it out by hand.

With the tagline ‘Your life in sync’ it’s easy to fall in love with the app which aims to help you tame the beast known as

your workload.

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Days Left Widget – So it’s not

actually an app, but this little home screen widget will help you count down the days to those impending exams. If you need a ticking clock to remind you time is running out, what better way than

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to have this on your home screen every time you unlock to check Facebook.

Unfortunately this one isn’t on the app store, but ‘Exam Countdown’ for iOS is just as good to see the days tick down.

Study Timer - It’s a well known fact that you should work in bursts, taking regular breaks throughout your study sessions. This easy to use app helps you do just that. It breaks up the duration you wish to work for into manageable chunks with breaks scheduled in between. It even lets you know when you’re done for the day! Originally made for android there’s a good Apple equivalent called ‘Study Buddy’ which even has an efficiency graph!

Quizlet – For flashcard fans and other quiz based study methods there’s Quizlet. Create your own flash cards in seconds and study anywhere.

Who said revising has to be boring?

Make those facts easier to remember by turning your flashcards into fun games and gain high scores as you get them all right.

These are just some of the many apps out there to help you study. There are 100s more, from ‘Canvas’, where you can access your course notes on the go, to ‘Silence’ which turns off all notifications for a timed period, letting you study without constant distraction. But ultimately the judge of the effectiveness lies with the student. Will these apps

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Steven S.

redbrick.me/tech

20th March - 30th April 2015

25

Top 5 Coffee Benefits Did you know that coffee could help to make you more intelligent and keep you brain healthy?

Devon Smith Sci & Tech Writer

Whether you enjoy a lovely homebrewed cup, or like to venture out to your local coffee retailer, the UK loves its coffee. Surveys conducted by The British Coffee Association and Mintel UK report that in 2008 us Brits drank approximately 70 million cups of the stuff a day! They also reported that in 2012 the amount spent on retail coffee alone broke the £1 billion mark. Now that is a hell of a lot of coffee consumption. Everyone has their favourite instant brand, from Nescafe, Kenco to Douwe Egberts, and companies like Starbucks and Costa are doing really well due to our growing love for coffee when meeting with friends to discuss life stresses.

Coffee drinking has become so popular in recent years that everyone I meet seems to be a pro! I like to think I know a little about how to make a good cup of coffee from working in various different coffee shops, but even I am overwhelmed by all the different mechanisms there are out there now to help you perfect your coffee. I’m not talking about the standard coffee makers. It's the chemex brewer and the single cup cone. Heard of them? No? All the independent coffee shops on high-street corners are well equipped with the newest gear, eager to teach their customers how to use them.

There is even a new coffee shop on Temple Row that uses a Bunsen burner.

Coffee making really is a scientific art.

With exams just around the corner, we thought we’d share some beneficial facts about coffee to help boost your motivation through the revision period.

Coffee is full of antioxidants and has been shown to have antidepressant properties.

Antioxidants are small chemicals that prevent free radicals (other types of chemicals) from damaging our cells.

Such damage could lead to cancer. A study by the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has indicated that our bodies can actually absorb more antioxidants from coffee than we can from fruit and vegetables. The National Institute of Health has also conducted a study demonstrating that people who drink 4 or more cups of coffee a day are 10% less likely to be depressed.

Many coffee drinks contain fewer calories and better health benefits than smoothies.

Yes, smoothies can be good for you and do boast many healthy properties, but it completely depends on how it is made. For instance, removing the peel of some fruits, along with mashing them up, actually causes a loss of important fibres

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and many other health benefits such as antioxidants. What you’re left with is a highly sugary drink. Out of 52 commercial smoothies tested, 41 contained more sugar than a 12oz can of coke. That’s the equivalent of 9 teaspoons of sugar!

Depending on your choice of coffee drink, they will usually contain far less calories than a smoothie. For example, a small cappuccino contains around 70 calories per cup, while a latte contains around 150. Of course, if you’re counting calories, go for an Americano or a classic cup of the golden old instant stuff.

It can make you a better athlete.

A study by the Spanish AntiDoping Agency in Spain demonstrated that drinking coffee increases the number of fatty acids in your bloodstream. Your muscles can then absorb these fatty acids and burn them as fuel, maintaining your stocks of carbohydrates for later. If you

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Amanda

are taking part in a mud run or an endurance course soon, I recommend having a cup of coffee before you set off.

Coffee drinkers have demonstrated ‘cleaner’ arteries. A recent study in Korea has suggested that regular coffee drinkers tend to have cleaner arteries caused by the prevention of blockage. They conducted medical scans looking for calcium deposits in the walls of coronary arteries, the tell-tale sign of the development of heart disease.

Those that regularly drank coffee presented with less deposits than those who did not regularly drink coffee.

It can improve intelligence and help to keep your brain healthier for longer. Now, this one may seem too good to be true but just bare with me. The Medical University in Austria has shown that drinking coffee helps to improve several factors related to intelligence including reaction time, vigilance, attention, and logical reasoning. Pretty good huh! What’s more, studies by the University of South Florida and the University of Miami demonstrated that regular coffee drinkers over the age of 65 were likely to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by 2-4 years.

Moral of the story? Coffee really isn’t that bad for you, especially in moderation. There is no daily recommended limit for safe coffee consumption in the UK, but it’s obvious to say that too much coffee would reverse all of the beneficial factors. Some studies need further testing and validation; however, the preliminary results show that coffee is not as bad as we all once thought. So if you’re feeling like you need a little pick-me-up when you’re starting to lag during your revision, go and make yourself a cup coffee.

Don’t reach for those energy drinks and tablets, as those really are devils in disguise!

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MoodTraces App

The University has just released a newly developed app which can help monitor depression.

Roshni Patel Sci & Tech Writer

Recent studies have shown that 1 in 10 employees have taken time off work in the United Kingdom due to depressive symptoms. It’s a figure that researchers at the University of Birmingham would like to reduce. Their solution? An app, named ‘MoodTraces’, which measures activity patterns and monitors depression, providing the necessary support.

The app works by asking users a series of multiple questions throughout the day, while recording their responses, location and time in app, to create a picture of what triggers symptoms and where. It checks all the responses against key indicators of worsening symptoms and if the data correlates, the app is designed to take preventative steps, from offering in-app help to alerting health officials. Computer scientists Dr Mirco Musolesi, who developed the app, hoped to ‘build an application that is completely unobtrusive and privacy-preserving, which will be of real help for people affected by depression.' With the hope that this would mark the beginning for real-time health care, where patients are

Android Pit

prioritized and helped before it’s too late.

Part of the project’s aim is to understand how mobile phones can be used to collect and analyse data about how mental health issues affect daily routines and behaviour. Luca Canzian, a Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science explained: ‘Mobile technologies and realtime big data analytics can have a huge impact on the life of thousands of people.

We are also working to develop technologies that are able to provide automatic support to people affected by depression through their phone.’

The researchers are currently looking for participants who are willing to download the MoodTraces application and hope to gather enough data to create a large-scale database to help health officials better understand the correlation between mobility patterns, activities, and the mood of the general population. All participants are also entered into a lottery for the chance to win a Nexus 5 phone or one of five £10 Amazon vouchers.

The app is currently only available for android phones and can be downloaded from the Google Play store right now for you to use as much as you want!

GooglePlay

26 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/music

Music Reading and Leeds Festival

Gottwood Festival

Glastonbury Festival

Bestival Toronto

The 27th edition of this yearly festival sees Reading and Leeds go for their most eclectic line up yet; Kendrick Lamar into The Libertines, Catfish and The Bottlemen into Rebel Sound and artists such as Royal Blood and Jamie XX on the bill mean that this is truly a festival for everyone’s tastes.

The Libertines, who’s third album is expected to be released prior to the festival, are joined as headliners on the Main Stage

by Metallica and Mumford and Sons, and with Silent Discos and Raves completing the night’s entertainment, this is definitely a festival not to be missed!

Nathan Smith

Gottwood festival is looking to be fab this summer. Tucked away in the woods near Holyhead in Anglesey, it’s a tiny electronic music festival that boasts not just an impressive line-up but also a gorgeous setting. When you’re not dancing, you can sunbathe by the lake or relax in one of their cosy dens. Having been to Outlook festival in Croatia last September, it’ll be nice to see some of those artists but in a smaller, cosier setting. I’m looking forward to Futureboogie and PBR Streetgang, and even better, it’s just after the end of exams so it’ll be a great stress release.

Rebecca Bulman

As usual there’s very little known about the UK’s biggest festival as of yet, but even if Foo Fighters and Kanye West aren’t to your taste, there are few festivals in the world that can guarantee there will be something worth watching at any time.

This year’s rumours include Blur, Taylor Swift and the annual finger-crossing for Prince so the £200+ ticket price may be justified, especially after last year felt underwhelming due to lack of big names... but where else in the world can you see The Dalai Lama and Lionel Ritchie in the same afternoon?

Conrad Duncan

For the first time, one of the UK’s top festivals will fly across the pond to Canada.

Taking place on the beautiful Toronto Island, and with headliners Florence + the Machine and Nas taking to the stage, it’s set to be one heck of an international debut for the much-loved Bestival. With highlights including the highly anticipated return of Flume, the classic Bestival creativity and zany atmosphere make it a must if you’re going to be on the other side of the Atlantic this June. Canada, you better get ready for the best that the British festival scene has to offer!

Marianne Lampon

Melt! Festival Germany

Field Day Festival

Isle of Wight Festival

British Summer Time

When festival season arrives, there's a choice to be made. Though Bestival used to straddle as many genres as possible, it's become clear it can't keep the balancing act up much longer, whilst getting Glasto tickets is an ordeal in itself. Enter Melt!, a German festival that takes place in a spectacularly decorated open-air museum for massive industrial machines, and features a multitude of artists, including Giorgio Moroder and Jamie T. Melt! has its fingers in many proverbial pies, but thanks to a passion for keeping things fresh, it's one trip to Europe everyone should take.

Blaise Radley

Imagine that weekend of Polaroid perfect adventures and sweet music without having to Bear Grylls it at end of the night in conditions that no man should suffer (think Reading campsites). If comfort is for you, look to London festival Field Day. With headliners like genre transcending recording artist Caribou, British shoegazers Ride and the legendary Patti Smith, performing 1975’s Horses in full, you’d be nuts not to head down to Victoria park on the 6th of June. For just £83, you also get to see Mac Demarco, FKA Twigs, Run the Jewels, Cashmere Cat, Hookworms, and many more. Kimberley Irving

The renowned Isle of Wight festival boasts a spectrum of music’s best offerings this year with a headline spot from none other than Fleetwood Mac, where a setlist filled with iconic tracks from the band’s remarkable career is guaranteed. Also playing the main stage will be The Black Keys and The Prodigy, along with Pharrell Williams after his recent successes with Happy and Uptown Funk topping charts around the world. Other names to look out for include You Me At Six who achieved their first number one album last year, along with this year’s BRIT Award winner James Bay. Megan Earl

BST this year flaunts a line up filled with iconic artists that will each undoubtedly fill the famous Hyde Park across June. The Strokes kick off on the 18th along with this year’s Grammy Record of the Year winner Beck, whilst The Who will play one of their last ever UK shows supported by Paul Weller and Johnny Marr. Taylor Swift brings The 1989 World Tour to London on the 27th, promising a theatrical spectacle filled with hits such as Blank Space and Shake It Off to the vast crowd that has made her the only BST headliner sold out so far for 2015.

Megan Earl

redbrick.me/music

20th March - 30th April 2015

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Tweet of the Week: @george_ezra: "On the plus side, still yet to soil myself this year"

Green Man Festival

V Festival

Wireless Festival

Bestival UK

Green Man is perfect for those who wish to indulge in a myriad of music varieties surrounded by one of the most beautiful festival settings in the UK. Located in the Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons, this laid back affair is set to showcase some exceedingly talented artists such as St. Vincent and Hot Chip. Leave your vanity behind and escape the herd of floralheadbanded-denim-short clad sheep that saturate so many mainstream festivals. Actually, the only sheep you will find here are real bleating ones, as individualism and independence prevail. Oh, and there's a 24 hour bar. Hannah Coles

With two locations in Essex and Staffordshire, V Festival has always been the quintessential pop weekender, and 2015 looks to be no different. The bill is topped

by Calvin Harris one day and Kasabian the next, catering for both sides of the spectrum as V fest does best, joined by man-ofthe-moment Sam Smith and the comeback of Welsh rockers Stereophonics. Other highlights on the line-up include Ellie Goulding, Hozier, Tom Jones and Annie Mac, and with plenty others and loads more to come, if chart-toppers are your thing, V is where you want to be this summer. Beth Coveney

So what if it didn’t take off in Birmingham last year? New Look Wireless have redoubled their efforts to become the London festival favourite it once was. And ‘new look’ it certainly is – not only does it feature the rescheduled appearance of Drake, but double headline performances from Avicii, David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. And if that wasn’t enough, the undercard has more UK exclusives and up-and-coming stars than you can shake a selfie stick at.

Make sure to feast your eyes on the likes of Stormzy, Mary J. Blige and Childish Gambino at Finsbury Park this July.

Alex Ekong

Bestival should be at the top of your list this summer; its going to be huge. The theme, Summer of Love, is a nod to the 70s roots of the festival, a salute to the original muses. Historically Bestival festival goers pull out all the stops, so expect electric colours, flares and an all round hippy vibe.

Bestival is an intriguing weekend of exploring and adventure. Lastly the music is always impressive and it offers so much variety, some the headliners already announced are The Chemical Brothers, Duran Duran and Annie Mac. If you pick one festival this summer, make it Bestival.

Olivia Rafferty

Liverpool Sound City

Benicassim Spain

Liverpool Sound City always puts on a solid line-up, but this year looks particularly impressive, with the cream of the indie crop playing. With new albums out, Peace and The Cribs all have new treats to show off to the world, whereas old favourites like Belle and Sebastian will no doubt play the classics people love. The Saturday line-up looks the most solid of the three days, with The Vaccines sure to kill it as they always do at festivals. With its no frills approach, no-nonsense line-up, and eclectic range of events, Sound City seems like a must this year.

Phil Jones

Benicassim is an amazing blend of a summer holiday and a festival. Its beautiful location in southern Spain, 10 minutes walk away from the beach, means you are guaranteed warm weather day and night!

No more shivering away in a tent, now you can sleep on the beach. The music is on in the evening and at night to avoid the heat in the day so days can be spent sunbathing, swimming and sleeping.

Benicassim always has great headliners, welcoming the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and this year is no letdown hosting Florence and the Machine, Public Enemy and Blur.

Kate Spree

Desertfest Camden

T in the Park Scotland

If you like your Rock slow and packing grooves so large that they have their own gravitational fields, Camden’s Desertfest is the festival for you! Among a killer line-up this year, rare UK sets from Stoner Rock legends Sleep and Sludge Metal kings Eyehategod will get the heads banging and Beer flowing; while the Mastodon-esque howl of rising stars Red Fang will also be worth checking out. This may well not be your cup of tea, but if you’re a fan of lumbering heavy rock, for just £99 this festival may well be worth a try!

Benjamin Price

T in the Park is the biggest festival in Scotland and its 2015 line-up does not disappoint. Featuring headliners Kasabian and Avicii plus The Libertines and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, there's something for everyone across the weekend. This year also sees 70,000 campers moving location to Strathallan Castle, after camping at the Balado airfield for the last 18 years. Despite the stereotypical Scottish weather, there will no doubt be fun for everyone, with its usual attractions and the traditional themed ‘Fancy Dress Friday’ held each year — don't miss out!

Kirstie Sutherland

Spring is here and even now there is a sense of excitement in the air as we gear up for another incredible Summer of music.

Unlike other artistic pursuits, such as fashion and theatre, the best music festivals evade the capital, reaching out to all corners of the UK and even (in Bestival's case) overseas. Whether you are looking for metal, electronica, rap, dance, pop or maybe even something new, the British festival scene is the place to find it.

Year upon year we make our pilgrimage, regretting our decision to not bring a wheelbarrow as we drag our DIY sledge carrying tents, cans of cider and optimistic suncream across unruly farmland to get the 'best' pitch. Hoping for dry weather, you tramp your tired feet to the arena, anticipating the first crackle of guitar tones that fill the air with exhilaration. This is where it all begins.

Where will the music take you?

Download Festival

Nozstock Festival

Latitude Festival

Secret Garden Party

Download festival is clearly the place to be for rockers and metalheads in all genres.

Kiss shall be returning to the UK for the first time since god knows when and although their songs are quite cheesy, you can’t go wrong with the anthemic choruses and blistering guitar work. Slipknot are headlining and Motley Crue promises to bring their all to the stage as part of their final tour. Slash will also be endorsing his new album which should make for an awesome weekend. With an epic fun fair and great choice of food and drink, the experience is complete.

Rhys Murphy

Nozstock, The Hidden Valley, is one for those with eclectic music tastes and a penchant for the surreal, as well as a good old dance. Set in the Herefordshire countryside, this extravaganza boasts some of the best alternative (think electronica/acoustic/ hip-hop etc) which has served to amass a desirable cult following, with many attendees returning year upon year. With nine stages, and acts ranging from comedy to theatre, there is a family friendly vibe about Nozstock, yet it still retains its individualistic charm that makes it so distinctive.

Hannah Coles

Everyone’s favourite family festival is about to celebrate a big birthday, and the organisers have got big plans. Latitude turns 10 this year, and it’s got the big-hitting headliners to do it justice: Alt-J have risen through the ranks to the headline slot, Noel Gallagher will bring his High-Flying Birds along on the Sunday night and the pioneering Portishead will take over the Obelisk on the Saturday. As always, Latitude’s strength is in its cultural lineup - expect literature, poetry, theatre, comedy and all manner of birthday surprises to descend on Henham park this coming summer. Matt Moody

Cambridgeshire’s Secret Garden Party has quietly been transforming the idea of what a music festival can be. Proclaiming a weekend ‘free from timetables and mustsees’, you’re just as likely to catch a firework display or take a dip in a lake than you are to catch a band at SGP. That said, the festival still attracts some great up and coming artists - this year will see sets from Jungle, Temples and Say Lou Lou, as well as a raft of in demand DJs after dark. With such famous fans as Prince Harry, time’s running out to attend before it hits the mainstream.

Matt Moody

28 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/sport

Sport

Interview with: Phil McNulty Sports Editor Alex Kronenberg spoke with BBC Sport's chief football writer on everything from his career in journalism to Aston Villa and the state of English football something close to that) – only to find he had just been moved to long leg and was standing three feet away from me as I made the call. He wasn’t happy – and I can’t say I blame him.

Alex Kronenberg Sports Editor

Phil McNulty is one of the most highly renowned journalists in English football. and has been the BBC's chief football writer for 15 years. He kindly took the time to answer a few questions about his career and give his opinions on Aston Villa and English football.

Has there been anyone who influenced you from when you started out as a journalist to now?

On his career so far:

If there is one person who helped and influenced me it was the Daily Post sports editor Len Capeling. He trusted me to do a very big job without any real sports experience. Len was, to put it mildly, “a character” and anyone who has worked with him has a story to tell, either good or bad. Love him or hate him – he didn’t care. But he was a great boss and a wonderful writer.

Did you go to university? If so, where? and what did you study?

No. It was always journalism for me from a very early stage, so I decided the best way in was to attend a one-year NCTJ pre-entry journalism course at Preston Polytechnic (now the University of Central Lancashire). It was a fantastic experience and I recommend an authorized course to anyone who asks me the best way into journalism.

What made you pursue a career in sports journalism?

I pursued a career in journalism rather than sports journalism. I was a news reporter for seven years before I started covering sport permanently. I was perfectly happy with that, but as a football fan it is fair to say I always had my eye on joining the sport department at some point.

Where did you start your career?

I started my career on a three-year indenture (apprenticeship if you like) at a weekly paper, The St. Helens Reporter. It was a brilliant grounding in the basics of journalism: straightforward reporting and the coverage and recording of events, with great colleagues in a town with plenty going on and really nice, friendly people. It was the perfect start and great training.

What was the rest of your path to becoming the BBC's chief football correspondent like?

Read the full interview online at www.redbrick.me/ sports

ble and as I recall there was a print shortage at the time (sounds old-fashioned doesn’t it?) and it was sacrificed. I always felt it was a mistake to close it because it was really developing as a paper.

Jonathan Agnew was TODAY's cricket correspondent, and sports journalists like Paddy Barclay and Rob Shepherd worked there along with Des Kelly and Mike Walters. Again – a great time.

I then returned to Liverpool to join the Liverpool Echo as assistant sports editor and columnist, before joining the BBC as chief football writer in summer 2000. I saw Bradford City escape relegation and deprive Liverpool of Champions League football on the final day of the season, wrote my report, closed the lid on my laptop and that was me done with the Echo.

Was it always just football you were interested in writing about?

I left the St. Helens Reporter three years to the day after joining to go to the Daily Post in Liverpool. I was a news reporter and news editor there over a four-year period before becoming Chief Football Writer at the end of the 86/87 season – so I’ve covered both Everton and Liverpool winning the league. Some feat that in the modern era!

I did some Rugby League when I was at the St. Helens Reporter, which was interesting as I had never watched a game before, but that is a great sport and the people in it are so friendly, co-operative and incredibly nice. A breath of fresh air, even to someone they probably knew was clueless.

I then joined a national newspaper TODAY in 1993 and was there for three years as their Merseyside football reporter before it closed.

I also covered some cricket for TODAY, which I loved, apart from the day I was phoning the sports desk from the press tent and called a player, who had denied Lancashire’s John Crawley a triple century against Somerset at Southport by losing his wicket, an “empty head” (or

It was part of the News International sta-

Even now there are influences though, when you look at the writing of people like Paul Hayward and Henry Winter on the Daily Telegraph. There are plenty of superb writers and journalists around, such as Chris Bascombe at the Telegraph and Paul Joyce at the Daily Express - who I worked alongside in Liverpool.

What are some of your fondest memories from your experience as a football journalist?

Just the sheer experience of it, the travel to four World Cups, great experiences - a lot more good than bad. I’ve been very lucky getting paid to watch football, travel the world and mix with some great colleagues along the way.

What has been the greatest match you have witnessed live and reported on?

No contest. Germany’s 7-1 win against Brazil in the World Cup semi-final last summer. I’ve never witnessed anything like it. The sheer weight of expectation from the whole of Brazil leading up to that game, then the emotions as the whole thing completely collapsed as Germany went 5-0 up at half-time. Grown men and women were crying in the stadium and the atmosphere was like nothing I had ever experienced.

More seasoned observers than me said it was a game to remember for a lifetime and to say you were there. I can still picture it vividly every time anyone mentions it.

Who have you most enjoyed interviewing?

Hard to answer. I always enjoyed interviewing Gerard Houllier. He was very interesting. I wrote Alan Hansen’s column for various newspapers and the BBC for almost 25 years and he was always great to speak to – interesting and informative.

Then there are people like Jose Mourinho, who you don’t get one-to-one but experi-

ence his press conferences. He can be pure theatre whether you are a fan of his or not. A brilliant manager.

Someone I have all the time in the world for is Mark Lawrenson. When I was starting out as a sports reporter in Liverpool he was at the height of his career – and people forget what a magnificent player he was. I was asked to call him at home but he wasn’t in. I was a bit wary as I'd never rung a high-profile footballer before but left a message and thought that would be the end of it. He had the courtesy to return a call to a young reporter he had never met, didn’t know and then gave me a very good interview.

When people want to criticise him I always remember that.

Which player(s) do you consider to be the best you have watched live as a reporter?

There have been so many but I’d have to go with Lionel Messi, who I have seen playing in Champions League Finals and World Cups. Cristiano Ronaldo was something special when I watched him regularly at Manchester United while Luis Suarez was a magician, particularly in his final season at Liverpool.

There has to be a special mention for Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, who performed more solo rescue acts for his club than so many I can remember.

On Aston Villa:

Do you think Sherwood will be able to keep them up?

Yes I do. He has come in like a charge of electricity. Positivity oozes from him and he has got crowd and players onside again. Do not see any way they will go down.

What do you think he has changed for them to start scoring again?

Sherwood has given Villa an attacking mindset, gets players in the box and consequently gives the likes of Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor more chance to score goals.

How can they distance themselves from another relegation battle next season (should they stay up)?

Wise additions is always the key – but they have got plenty of quality. A highclass midfield player to go alongside Fabian Delph would help. I thought they would struggle this season because I just felt the club was going nowhere.

Tim Sherwood will also need to prove he is the long-term answer rather than just a short-term fix but he’s got a lot about him and doesn’t lack confidence. I would feel a lot more confident about Villa’s prospects for next season.

redbrick.me/sport

On England/English football:

20th March - 30th April 2015

to do some rebuilding and re-moulding of the team with these young players. Euro 2016, of course, will be the real test.

What do you make of England's slip to 17th in the With English football's poor showing in Europe this seaFIFA rankings?

I don’t take any notice of the FIFA rank- son, where do you think the ings. Sorry. main problem lies for our Do you think the current clubs competing on the conregime with Hodgson at the tinental stage? (If you think helm is well placed to make there is a problem...) sure the potential of the I think the problem is a simple one. I emerging crop of young think the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid etc. just have better players. I was surprised Chelsea slipped out when they did players is realised?

I hope so because England certainly have some great young talent and a relatively easy Euro 2016 qualifying group to bed a few in. I hope Roy can relate to the occasional failings of young players as I thought he was very harsh to publicly criticise Everton’s Ross Barkley for a couple of misplaced passes in a friendly in Miami. Young players make mistakes and mature on the job, so I thought that was very harsh. England and the manager got off pretty lightly after a shocking World Cup but they now have the chance

against PSG and Manchester City have been a little unlucky with the draw.

The big disappointment was Liverpool, who could not get out of a group they should have cruised through. Ironically, if those games were being played now they probably would, such has been their improvement, but that’s no excuse.

For the moment, as least, the Premier League teams are behind the real European superpowers and the days when we had three teams in the last four are gone.

Their rivals have better players – and that is invariably the key.

How do you think the Top 4 will play out, given the form and run-ins of the top 7 teams?

My honest answer? I wouldn’t risk a penny on it, but when I did my Premier League predictions in August I went for Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in that order – with Arsenal to finish fifth.

I suppose I should stick with that – but apart from Chelsea winning the league I think the other four could finish in any order. It will go right to the wire.

On breaking into the industry:

What would be your top tips for any young sports journalists hoping to make it in the industry?

Firstly, get yourself on a good media course. When you do, get yourself and

29

your work out there, make contacts, attend events, write and broadcast for whatever medium you can, student newspaper, hospital radio, local listings magazines, anything. Apply for placements with local papers or radio - pester a few people. You will find there are plenty of outlets for your work so take advantage.

There are so many more opportunities than when I started, when it was either newspapers, or radio and television.

Have a Twitter feed but don't be idiotic on it. If you apply for a job you can bet your life a prospective employer will ask if you are on Twitter then check your feed, possibly Facebook as well. I was asked for advice by a young media student and after making this point I checked his Twitter feed. It was full of bad language and stupid remarks, often about the quality of journalists as well. He would have been crossed off any short list instantly for it.

You will need to be persistent, professional and most of all accurate. You will also have to want to do it or you will be found out very quickly.

If you want a 9-to-5 job that won't interfere with your social life, go away and think of something else. Be prepared to work hard and at unsocial hours. If you put the groundwork in it is a fantastic career.

Preview: BUCS Big Wednesday Sports Editor Will Robey previews the UOB sides who are competing in the Championship and Trophy Finals at Bucs Big Wednesday, on the 25th of March at Loughborough.

Will Robey Sports Editor

Netball Trophy Birmingham 1sts v Hertfordshire Having defeated Liverpool John Moores University in the Trophy Semi Final on Wednesday March 11th, the Netball 1sts will be hoping to cap off their excellent cup run with a trophy in Loughborough next Wednesday. The team is heavily funded by UB Sport, thus expectations have been high for them this season, and so far they have surpassed their targets. However, they’re in for a tough game, with opponents Hertfordshire having maintained a strong cup run- Birmingham will have to fight hard for their victory, but confidence is high and if they play to their strengths, there’s no reason why their name cannot be on the trophy come full time on Wednesday.

Football Women's Championship Birmingham 1sts v Durham Birmingham 1sts have been in excellent form this season. They’ve followed up their wonderful league form with an enthralling cup run and now find themselves with an opportunity to complete a successful season with a cup victory.

Birmingham have won much praise for their attractive style of football this season, however they might have to be willing to sacrifice their playing style to grind out a result against a tough Durham side. Both teams will be confident they can walk away with a victory.

Lacrosse Men's Trophy Birmingham 1sts v St Andrews A tough opponent for the Lacrosse Mens team. St Andrews have some exceptional players, and have been impressive in reaching the finals.

However Birmingham will be no pushovers and are in good form heading into the final showdown. As one of the earlier Trophy Finals the Lacrosse team will be hoping they can kickstart a Birmingham trophy haul on Wednesday.

Hockey Women's Championship Birmingham 1sts v Loughborough Having overcome Durham 3-2 in an epic semi-final clash last Wednesday, Birmingham 1sts will be hoping to reign supreme in Loughborough. Facing a Loughborough side, who will enjoy home advantage will be a tough ask for a side, who in parts struggled to find their momentum against a much weaker Durham team. However, play to their potential and they should have no problem overcoming a Loughborough side who could only beat a rather weak Exeter side on penalty flicks in the last round.

Star player Lily Owsley will have a fundamental part to play in this final, using her international experience to lead from the front and take Birmingham 1sts to Championship glory.

Redbrick Sport would like to wish good luck to all those teams involved at the Big BUCS Wednesday in Loughborough, and congratulations for all your achievements this season.

You can keep up to date with BUCS Big Wednesday on www.redbrick.me/sports

30 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/sport

Sport

Redbrick Insider: Ultimate Frisbee Sports Editor Alex Kronenberg spoke with the UoB Ultimate Frisbee's Tom Hodgett after 10 club members were recently called up to represent Great Britain

Alex Kronenberg Sports Editor

Ultimate Frisbee is becoming increasingly more popular in the United Kingdom. There are now between 70 and 80 higher education institutions which offer students the chance to play the sport. The University of Birmingham's Ultimate Frisbee club boasts multiple men's, women's and mixed teams and has gone from strength to strength. Last year the club saw four 1st place finishes in both national and regional competitions and a bronze medal in the BUCS Men's Indoor Champions.

I caught up with Tom Hodgett, who is club captain as well as 1st team captain for the men's and mixed sides, to find out a bit more about one of the uni's most successful sports clubs.

How would you describe Ultimate Frisbee as a sport?

Ultimate frisbee is a fast paced invasion game, the offensive team with possession try and work it up the pitch (like netball) to score in an endzone (like american football). Its 7 vs 7 outdoors on half the width of a football pitch.

What made you want to give it a try?

I started playing at secondary school because my geography teacher introduced it to a few of us. The fact that it's quickly developing means there's always something new to learn and to challenge yourself. That's really attractive to me.

How easy is it to pick up as a beginner?

The rules are simple and all you need is a frisbee and some cones. Throwing in the wind can be tricky but most people get a basic grasp early on. The club is all inclusive and there are no trials to join the club (as a whole).

Most of the regular training is beginner focused which is really helpful to pick up the sport.

How many people are there in the club?

Around 80. 60 boys, 20 girls.

How many teams do you put out?

We have mens, womens and mixed teams. For indoors we send 3 in each division, and 2 for outdoors. Everyone who wants to play can.

How have this year's league and cup campaigns gone?

Our best yet. Men's indoor champions (BUCS) for the first time ever with a Women's silver (BUCS). The mixed team are also national champions for indoors and outdoors. Our 1st team season record is around 80 wins and 2 losses across all disciplines.

Our development squads do really well also, often being the best 2nd team at most tournaments.

Are there any noticeable differences between playing indoor and outdoor?

Indoors and outdoors are massively different. The most imporant factor is the wind, but the pitches are also smaller with less players. Indoors relies heavily on tactics and a few individuals, whereas the skill and fitness levels for outdoors are much higher. Outdoors requires a lot more

Lois Awcock Ultimate Frisbee preparation and teamwork which we're working hard on currently.

Having 10 members selected for GB is a serious achievement, how did the chosen players find out?

Everyone had to go through a trial to make the squads. There were inital reference based applications followed by 2 stages of trials with video analysis. We had the call ups in December.

It was amazing news for the club, really put us on the map and is a big confidence boost for the developing players knowing they're training and being coached at such a high level.

When can they expect to start playing for/training with GB? Training has already begun for the teams. The mixed and women's squads have had multiple weekend trainings in Coventry already, and will be playing some international warm up tour-

UBSport

naments in preparation. The men's team went to Limerick in Ireland and are going to Amsterdam and Bruges for more pre-tournament practice.

The world championships are in London this summer, where all 3 teams will be competing.

How often do you meet for UoB training and where do you train?

We train 3 times a week and the GB players have fairly strict gym schedules. Wednesday's are 2-4 on selly park, Thursday mornings 7-9 in the Munrow and Friday's 6-8 at Metchley 3G.

How much do you think Ultimate is growing as a sport?

Everyone thinks that their sport is going to be the next big thing and to a degree I'm one of them. We're olympic recogonised and have 2 pro leagues in the US. We're getting there!

If you're interested in giving Ultimate Frisbee a go you can contact the club via email at ubu.ultimate@gmail.com or follow them on twitter @unibhamultimate for more information.

redbrick.me/sport

20th March - 30th April 2015

Picture of the week

Quickfire Quiz

Redbrick Predicts

Some quickfire Questions from this weeks sporting headlines.

This week's predictions pits two of our Sports Editors against each other, as they aim to correctly guess the outcome of this weekend's football fixtures.

1) Barcelona defeated Man City 1-0 at the Camp Nou to reach the Quarter Finals of the Champions league. How many nutmegs did the Argentinian wizard that is Lionel Messi complete during the whole game?

Alex Kronenberg

2) Who (according to most companies) is the bookies favourite to take over as Manchester City manager, if Manuel Pellegrini is sacked at the end of the season?

3) A rather bizzarre story emerged this week, when it was revealed that a cricket match was abandoned following 'immense sledging'.

Which country has this rather strange story appeared from?

New Zealand Carlo Ancelotti 6.

1) 2) 3)

31

Things to look forward to

Man City v West Brom

3-1

Aston Villa v Swansea

2-2

Newcastle v Arsenal

1-1

Southampton v Burnley

2-0

Stoke v Crystal Palace

0-0

Tottenham v Leicester

3-2

West Ham v Sunderland

2-0

Charlton v Reading

2-1

Huddersfield v Fulham

1-2

Norwich v Nottm Forest 1-1

this week Football:

Liverpool v Man Utd

3-1

QPR v Everton

1-2

Will Robey

Charlton v Reading Saturday 15:00 Liverpool v Man Utd Sunday 13:30 Six Nations Saturday:

Borussia Dortmund Fans re-create an image of the 1997 Champions League winning side, ahead of their 3-0 2nd leg defeat to Juventus (5-1 aggregate). The 1997 winning side, famously overcame Juventus 3-1 at the final in Munich.

They will be dissappointed not to have seen their team repeat the scoreline.

However, the Dortmund fans really are something special.

Italy v Wales 12:30 Scotland v Ireland 14:30 England v France 17:00

Spotlight: Aston Villa FC CONGRATULATIONS! Redbrick Sport would like to congratulate the UoB Swimming team who have been selected by BUCS to represent Great Britain at the inaugural Gallipoli games!

Four male and four female swimmers will travel to Turkey to compete in a 3.5mile open water swim on 28th April.

They will be up against competitors from 7 other nations and we'd like to wish them the best of luck for the games.

Having defeated West Brom, in a heated FA Cup Quater Final at Villa Park, Tim Sherwood's side will face either Liverpool or Blackburn at Wembley in April, competing for a place in the FA Cup Final. This will be Villa's first Wembley appearence since 2010, where they lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the Leage Cup Final.

Aston Villa take on Swansea tomorrow, Redbrick Sport will be at the ground bringing you live coverage of the match, as Villa look to push on in their bid for survival.

Want to write for us?

Man City v West Brom

3-0

Aston Villa v Swansea

2-1

Newcastle v Arsenal

1-4

Southampton v Burnley

2-0

Stoke v Crystal Palace

1-1

Tottenham v Leicester

3-1

West Ham v Sunderland

1-2

Charlton v Reading

4-0

Huddersfield v Fulham

1-0

Norwich v Nottm Forest 2-2

Email us at: sports@redbrickonline.co.uk

Liverpool v Man Utd

1-2

QPR v Everton

1-3

The Redbrick Crossword

Successfully complete the crossword and you could win a £5 voucher for food at any GO restaurant in University Centre!

Crossword by Thomas Hutchinson

Please send a picture of your completed crossword to crossword@redbrick.me, or fill in this form and put your completed crossword in the Redbrick pigeon hole in Student Development.

Name: Email Address: Phone Number:

Across

1. Hot drink made from roasted beans (6) 5. Expression of grief (6) 8. Killer whale (4) 9. 00:00 (8) 10. Black eye (6) 11. Insect, one variety rolls dung (6) 12. Elongated circle (4) 14. North American country (3) 15. Large colourful ribbon worn around the body (4) 16. ___ Schwarzernegger, film star and former body builder (6) 18. Domed Native American dwelling (6) 19. Creator, innovator (8) 21. Shrek's species (4) 22. Empty (6) 23. Fahionable (6)

Down

2. American talk show host (5) 3. Face coth (7) 4. Bugs Bunny's hunter (5,4) 5. Hallucinatory drug (3) 6. Corn (5) 7. Without restrictions or rules (2,5,6) 11. German sausage (9) 13. Roofed open porch (7) 15. Italian version of 'sir' (7) 17. Last letter in the Greek alphabet (5) 20. Sound made with the tongue to show annoyance or disapproval (3)

12`3`4§5`6`7` §`§`§`§`§`§`§ 8```§9``````` §`§`§`§§§`§`§ 0`````§-````` §§§`§`§`§§§`§ =q``§w``§e``` §`§§§`§`§`§`§ r``t``§y````` §`§`§§§`§`§`§ u````i``§o``` §`§`§`§`§`§`§ p`````§[`````

32 20th March - 30th April 2015

redbrick.me/sport

Sport

P 29 - Will Robey previews next week's BUCS Championship and Trophy finals

Victory for Rugby Union Men's 1sts in end-of-season clash against Trent Sam Harrison watched the Rugby 1st XV beat Nottingham Trent in their final game of the season, rounding off a good campaign in the Premier North B Division, finishing in 2nd place Sam Harrison Sports Reporter

In front of a sizeable crowd gathered at Bournbrook, the men’s Rugby Union 1st XV were able to hold out for a victory against the visiting Nottingham Trent team.

It was a scrappy game, full of unforced errors, and therefore plenty of scrums. Nottingham Trent were able to get the upper hand early on, winning a penalty at the first scrum. However, the next penalty went in favour of the hosts, and the fly half was able to slot the

"What followed was a period dominated by scrums, largely due to knock-ons" long-range, though fairly straight, kick through the posts to give Birmingham a 3 – 0 lead.

What followed was a period dominated by scrums, largely due to knockons. In the broken play that ensued, the Birmingham fly half was able to break free on half way, and carry to the 22 metre line, where he kicked ahead, and Birmingham were awarded a penalty.

They elected to kick to the corner and were able to spend some time attacking the Nottingham Trent line, earning multiple scrums in the process, though the attack broke down following the awarding of a penalty to the visitors.

The first try of the game was scored by the visitors. With Birmingham a man down in the forwards, having had their loosehead prop sent to the sin bin, Nottingham Trent elected to kick to the corner, a decision that proved profitable as they powered over in the corner, though the conversion attempt was unsuccessful. Birmingham were able to retake the lead through another penalty, but it was short-lived as a pass attempt did not find its target and was intercepted by the Nottingham Trent winger, who had an easy run to the line.

After Birmingham missed their first penalty of the day, the kicker returned to successful ways, closing the gap to just one point. On the stroke of half time, Birmingham scored their first try of the day, a move down the left hand side of the field that resulted in their flanker touching down between the uprights, giving the hosts a 16 – 10 half time lead.

The early stages of the second half

Peter Saxon saw Birmingham awarded a series of penalties, including a big scrum while they were pinned in their own 22. In this period of penalties, Nottingham Trent were able to claw back three points to make the score 16 – 13. The first serious try-scoring opportunity of the half went

"the hosts were able to string together some phases in the visitors half, and this sustained pressure saw the flanker touch down under the posts" to the visitors, as they moved down the left hand side, but a slightly over-cooked grubber kick allowed Birmingham to touchdown behind their own line and regroup for a 22 drop out.

Peter Saxon

In a game that was shaping up to go down to the wire, the Birmingham fly half was unsuccessful with another penalty kick. However, the hosts were able to string together some phases in the visitors half, and this sustained pressure saw the flanker touch down under the posts again, as he stepped inside from the left hand touchline.

From this point on, the game was very much in the control of Nottingham Trent, as they won 4 penalties to Birmingham’s 1. Ultimately, it was a case of too little too late, as the try that had been a long time coming was scored just before the full time whistle blew. The try was well worked; a set piece move from the back of a lineout that saw the inside centre touchdown.

With the conversion, this left the final score at 23 – 20 in favour of Birmingham.