Redbrick - Issue 1473

Friday 21st October 2016

Redbrick Issue 1473, Vol. 80

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Meet our Photography Team

The Official University of Birmingham Student Newspaper, est. 1936 Harry Burgess Giulia Bardelli

New Street Records Presents: Encore Redbrick Music checks out NSR's latest event

UoB Aboriginal Remains Returned

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Lauren Kelly explores the food delights at Oktoberfest

Redbrick Film asks if it's time to call it quits with Harry Potter

Redbrick TV review Reggie Yates' latest documentary

Sci&Tech learn about UoB's Nobel Prize winning scientists

Food Page 18

Film Page 26

TV Page 28

Sci&Tech Page 30

02

REDBRICK

Friday 21st October 2016

redbrick.me

Letter from the committee...

Where has the time gone? By the time you’re reading this letter, you should be coming up to the end of the first full month of the term which, depending on whether you’re a first or third year, will either be a reassuring or terrifying piece of information. For freshers, it's worth noting that everything only moves quicker from here. For third years like myself, the chilling inevitability of having to enter the real world is hard for all of us but at least we can still drink away our responsibilities for the next 9 months. So when we talk about what’s been going on in Redbrick over the last two weeks, forgive me if I forget anything. It feels like we’re moving through everything at 100mph right now.

But, we can start by bringing you up to date with what’s been happening most recently. Monday saw the Guild’s first Societies' Night which from where I was standing, 7 or 8 drinks down, felt like a resounding success. It was great to see so many new faces for Redbrick, along with our committee and section editors out in force.

You all did your society proud and we’re only going to grow bigger and more notorious in the future.

For anyone who feels like they’ve missed out, fear not, as we’ll be out again for Itchy Feet on the 26th October and will be announcing

even more events on the Redbrick Socials group on Facebook. I can’t recommend enough that you join because as much as we’re at university to learn, the moments that stay with you are the ones on nights like those.

There have also been a pair of sporting achievements in the past fortnight, as well with the Birmingham Half Marathon and Redbrick FC’s debut match. The latter was a decidedly controversial affair which you can read about in detail online through Dan Steeden’s superb and justifiably bitter match report. Thankfully, there were no misgivings about the performance of Redbrick’s halfmarathon runners. Congratulations to Grace Duncan, Lily Wilde, and Harry Wilkinson, who all completed the race with superb times, and especially to Harry Turner, who recorded an extraordinary time of 1 hour 28 minutes to become the fastest finisher for Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital. To put that in perspective, it’s looking like he’s going to be able to run 13 miles faster than the time it’s taking me to write this editorial.

As for the paper itself, it was very exciting to launch Redbrick’s weekly email newsletter last week.

If you want to receive a bitesize dose of what we’ve got going on online then you can join up to our

mailing list at http://www.redbrick.me/join. Right now though, we hope you enjoy the second edition of Redbrick as much as we enjoyed putting it together. It’ll never fail to amaze me how much work every writer and editor puts into this paper for nothing other than the love of it, and I know I speak for the entire committee when I say that we’re unbelievably grateful and proud of what they do. If you’re reading this and have never written for us before, hopefully we’ll be seeing your name in our next issue. Until then, it’s a pleasure to present to you our latest edition.

From the dungeons we salute you,

Conrad Duncan, Digital Editor

Follow us on Instagram @redbrickpaper Want to be featured? Submit us your photos at: digital@redbrickonline.co.uk and/or tag us in your photos by using #redbrickinstagram

Online this week at redbrick.me...

COMMENT

FILM

MUSIC

TRAVEL

The Contraceptive Pill and Depression

Top 5: Documentaries on Netflix

Single Review: False Alarm - The Weeknd

Why You Should Take a Year Abroad

Redbrick Editorial Team Editor Anna Griffiths editor@redbrickonline.co.uk

Deputy Editors Harry Turner Imogen Lancaster deputy@redbrickonline.co.uk

Print & Features Editor Gabriella Marcucci print@redbrickonline.co.uk

Digital Editor Conrad Duncan digital@redbrickonline.co.uk

Lead Developer Andreea Gheorghe

News Editors Beriwan Ceren Grace Duncan Gregory Robinson news@redbrickonline.co.uk

marketing@redbrickonline.co.uk

Social Secretary Hannah Coles social@redbrickonline.co.uk

Sci&Tech Editors Ellen Daugherty James Pettit Kara Watson tech@redbrickonline.co.uk

music@redbrickonline.co.uk

Comment Editor Aamina Siddiqi Joe Goodsall Keah Forino Joseph comment@redbrickonline.co.uk

Culture Editors Imogen Tink Olivia Boyce Sophie Taylor culture@redbrickonline.co.uk

Film Editors Alex McDonald George Griffths Joe Ryan

Food Editors Lauren Kelly Phoebe Radford Tamar Smith Tasha Smart

film@redbrickonline.co.uk

food@redbrickonline.co.uk

Travel Editors Carys Bedford Delfina Rainoldi Sophie Braybrook

Sport Editors Dan Steeden Harry Wilkinson Nancy Frostick Nicola Kenton

travel@redbrickonline.co.uk

developer@redbrickonline.co.uk

Marketing Secretary William Baxter

Music Editors Daniella Bassett Greg Woodin Holly Carter Phil Jones

Life&Style Editors Kamila Geremek Nia Roberts Sophie Kesterton Zoe Screti lifestyle@redbrickonline.co.uk

Television Editors James Tyson Lara Billington Tamsin Hackett tv@redbrickonline.co.uk

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Gaming Editors James Lentschner James Marvin Roshni Patel gaming@redbrickonline.co.uk

Careers Editor Lael Hardtman careers@redbrickonline.co.uk

Editorial Assistants Adele Franghiadi Chloe Taylor Chole Walters Emily McCormack Emily Roberts Fiona Larcombe James Dickinson Kseniya Shrimpton Laura Burgess Lorna Taaffe Molly Wakeman Nathan Davies Orlaith Mallen Phillipa Baker

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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.

Clarifications & Corrections: the article in Issue 1472 'Channel 4 Consider Midlands Move' was incorrectly listed as written

by Qassim Saeed. It was written by Kris Burnett.

NEWS

Friday 18th March 2016

@redbricknews

03

EU Students Funding Continues To 2017 Despite Brexit Fears Emily Darby News Reporter

The Government has confirmed that EU students hoping to begin studying at an English institution the next academic year will still receive student loans and maintenance grants for 2017/2018.

The decision made last Tuesday came just three days before the deadline for Oxbridge and medicine applications closed and is symbolic of how touch and go the situation has become for prospective students. EU students make up the fastest growing undergraduate population in the UK, representing 5% of undergraduates at British institutions and so, unsurprisingly, universities too embraced the announcement.

The news may ease just one of the mounting concerns of interna-

tional students following the Brexit vote earlier this year.

Jo Johnson, the universities minister responded: ‘International students make an important contribution to our world class universities, and we want that to continue’. The minister also confirmed the concerted effort that vice-chancellors have put into lobbying for clarification of the situation for EU students over the past months.

Johnson added: ‘in June we acted quickly to provide immediate funding guarantees for existing students and those applying to study this year’.

EU students pay the same rate of tuition fees as UK nationals and they need to have lived in the European Economic Area for three years to receive them. This differs to those EU nationals who have resided in the UK for over five years as they can receive mainte-

nance support and a Masters loan.

Those applying for a course commencing in 2017, who fall under either of these categories, will be unaffected even if Brexit procedures should occur during their final semester which would fall in 2018.

"International students make an important contribution ... and we want that to continue" The news was well received by the President of the vice-chancellor group, Dame Julia Goodfellow who said ‘It is good to see the

Government has recognised the value of EU students and acted positively to guarantee their access to financial support’.

However, she remained apprehensive, appealing to the government to assure that postBrexit proceedings see to easy access of UK education to EU students, insisting that ‘A commitment is needed to ensure that students, from Europe and beyond, are able to continue to come to the UK to study without unnecessary bureaucratic burdens."

Controversially, Scottish Education Minister John Swinney has just announced that EU nationals will get their full tuition fees for free should they choose to study there, while UK nationals at Scottish universities would still pay £9,000 per year.

Following criticism and accusa-

tions of discrimination the minister has affirmed that it is simply a continuation of the current system.

Ultimately the main focus, is on how the UK and its reputation may be effected and received globally. The fact that the government have proposed the banning the of foreign academics in advising on key Brexit decisions is something many are concerned about.

For English institutions to appear xenophobic could be highly damaging to England’s global standing. For prospective students to choose England as their destination for studying in higher education is of economic and demographic value to universities. As a result, the decisions that follow this announcement will be critical.

Universities Must Combat Inequality Says Government John Wimperis News Reporter

An official review into inequality in higher education, set up by Universities Minister Jo Johnson last October, has called for universities to increase their contribution to social mobility. One of the report’s recommendations was that universities should focus more on contextual data and give lower offers to students from schools that perform poorer in exams.

The review notes ‘an overwhelming correlation between a student’s experience at school and their outcomes at university’ and claims ‘eighteen year-olds from the most advantaged groups

remain 2.4 times more likely to enter university than their disadvantaged peers’. This is the national situation, but the situation at the University of Birmingham is even more unequal, with pupils from fee-paying schools being over 3 times more likely to attend the University of Birmingham than pupils from state schools.

Some have welcomed the review’s recommendation that universities, like Birmingham, make lower offers to pupils from poorer performing schools. ‘I know a lot of kids, even at the school where my mum works, where the fact they do badly at school is no fault of their own,’ student Molly Benham told

Redbrick, ‘it’s home life and the teaching that are the issue.’

However, others have disagreed.

Another student, Lizzie Faircliff, said, ‘It's a bit condescending.

Rather than lowering offers they should improve education at a lower level.’

However, there is little chance of this in the near future.

According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, an increase in costs and numbers of pupils mean that the spending per pupil in comprehensive schools is likely to fall, in real terms, by 8% over the next five years. With the Department of Education postponing their planned solution to the crisis in state school funding until 2018,

the most disadvantaged schools look set to continue struggling without the resources to improve their results.

"Eighteen yearolds from the most advantaged groups remain 2.4 times more likely to enter university"

universities’ in order to encourage and support pupils’ achievement at school level, and that universities themselves should monitor the students they admit and how they perform, to identify inequalities between social groups and how best to address them.

The group behind the review noted that ‘no one organisation or sector can resolve such deep-rooted inequalities’, but argued for collaboration between institutions, and the building on the work that has already been done, to bring about more equal opportunities for all.

Other recommendations from the review included ‘a greater focus on outreach activities by

Old Joe Stands Up To Cancer Orlaith Mallen News Reporter

UoB takes steps towards boosting breast cancer awareness across campus, starting with its landmark clock tower.

October is breast cancer awareness month and to mark this, the University’s landmark clock tower, Old Joe, has lit up pink. The University has teamed up with University Hospital's Birmingham NHS Trust and the QEHB charity to help raise awareness on such an important issue.

Breast cancer is currently the most common form of cancer in the UK with 50,000 women and 350 men being diagnosed every year. Despite this, in recent years

there has been great development within this area and 80% of those diagnosed go on to live five years or more after the initial diagnosis.

Cancer research experts have claimed a major reason for this survival rate is greater awareness of the signs and symptoms which enables people to notice changes in their body and therefore receive earlier diagnosis.

Old Joe has turned pink in order to boost this awareness across campus but it is just the tip of the iceberg. The university has been taking many steps to boost breast cancer awareness across campus including uploading a video to the University of Birmingham YouTube channel which shows Karen Doyle (Cancer Research UK Senior Research

Nurse at UoB) explaining five easy steps to become more breast cancer aware, such as being aware of what’s normal for your body and knowing what changes to look for.

Second year student Grace says, ‘although it is not a big thing for the university to do, Old Joe is such a symbol on campus that it could make a huge amount of difference to awareness.’

So next time you see Old Joe lit up pink and feel the urge to take a Snapchat or Instagram of it, also take a few minutes to educate yourself and become more breast cancer aware.

You can see the University's breast cancer awareness video on their youtube channel now.

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NEWS

Friday 21st October 2016

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Aborginial Remains Returned Muhammad Rahim News Reporter @morahim95

The skulls of 11 Aboriginal ancestors, discovered at the University of Birmingham and at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, were returned to Australia this week. The remains were returned to the Ngarrindjeri people in South Australia and the Whadjuk community in Western Australia during an official repatriation ceremony on Friday.

Aboriginal remains - and their skulls in particular - were graverobbed and collected from massacre sites in the mid-1800s and early 1900s as anatomical specimens. They were then sent to the UK so that racial characteristics could be studied. Since the early 1990s, UK institutions began repatriating Aboriginal remains and within 10 years, Cambridge and Oxford were the only remaining universities who had not returned any of their collection.

The Aborigines are descendants of the first humans who left Africa up to 75,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest cultures on Earth. However, their population sharply decreased as they were constantly pushed away from their areas when Australia was colonized by the

British Empire.

The University chose to return the remains to Australia, with lecturer Dr June Jones explaining that she wanted to ‘recognise the wrong that was done to their ancestors by taking them from their home in the first place.

‘They should have been left with their people, with their beliefs, with their practices in their soil and I want to say that we’re sorry.’

The ceremony held will be the latest in Australia’s government-backed Indigenous Repatriation Program, which seeks the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains. This program has seen the return of approximately 1,150 Indigenous remains to Australia in the last 26 years.

Both Birmingham institutions, who have never used or displayed the remains, were thanked by Alexander Downer, Australia's High Commissioner in London, on behalf of the government for keeping them in storage and for respecting indigenous Australian culture in repatriating the remains.

The event was also attended by representatives from the universities of Brighton and Cambridge who were also returning Aboriginal remains.

Engineering Link Born Between UoB and Beijing Institution Chinese students invited to study in Birmingham as professors sign agreement Rebekah Quixano Henriques News Reporter

Chinese Engineering students will now have the opportunity to complete their degrees at the University of Birmingham after an agreement was signed with Bejing Jiaotong University (BJTU), marking ‘the start of an exciting new era.’

BJTU students will now be able to study Engineering modules in Birmingham for their fourth and final year after having completed three years in Beijing. Once they graduate, the students will also be given the opportunity to complete a master’s degree here in Birmingham within their chosen field.

"The start of an exciting new era..."

Professor Jon Frampton (UoB) and Professor Feng Chen (BJTU) signed the agreement on behalf of their respective universities at a conference celebrating the Chinese University’s 120th anniversary, making BJTU one of the oldest universities in mainland China.

Professor Frampton, Director of the China Institute and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (China) at UoB said: ‘Signing this agreement

with colleagues at Beijing Jiaotong University marks the start of an exciting new era of close collaboration between our two universities in the key field of Engineering – particularly relating to railways.’

Vice-Chancellor Professor Feng Chen similarly expressed a hope that ‘this new agreement sees a closer and stronger partnership between our two universities and places a high value on our solid cooperation in the field of rail traffic control and security.’

The Chinese professor also talked of furthering progress by establishing a Sino-UK Rail Research Centre, and referred to ‘the enhancement of rail expertise and opportunities in both China and the UK.’ Professor Frampton added, ‘It is testament to our growing reputation in China and presents another exciting opportunity for the University of Birmingham to work in partnership to deliver high-quality education that has a global impact.’

This has been met by enthusiasm by Birmingham students; Fran Cumming, a second year Engineering student, told Redbrick that she was ‘excited to see what else this agreement will offer.’

Ollie, another student, told Redbrick that he is ‘excited to see what more this relationship will bring to the engineering students.’

NEWS

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricknews

05

Liberal Democrat MP, Norman Lamb Visits UoB To Talk Mental Health And Drug Reform UoB Liberal Democrats welcomed Norman Lamb, MP and former Health Minister, to the Guild for an impassioned talk on mental health and drug reform John Wimperis News Reporter

A small group of students, one of whom held a Liberal Democrat flag, were gathered outside the Rosa Parks room in the Guild of Students at a few minutes to one on the 18th of October. Inside the room, about sixty students (a number that seemed to pleasantly surprise the organisers) were gathering to hear their guest speaker talk.

The former Minister entered after a few minutes, armed with nothing but a cup of Costa coffee.

Lamb has been MP for North Norfolk since 2001 and served in several positions in the 2010-2015 coalition government before ending up as a Minister in the Department of Health.

media backlash when he came out in support of drug reform. Lamb joked, perhaps only half-seriously, that following the vilification he

"His family had personally been ‘let down by the NHS’"

Lamb scathingly denounced the war on drugs, which began under US President Richard Nixon, as directly sending billions to organised crime grounds that Lamb claimed execute ISIS-level brutality. The strategy of taking out those supplying the drugs, Lamb went on to argue, only increases the violence in the drug trade as it leaves a power vacuum which new suppliers will fight to fill.

physical health treatment faced ‘complete discrimination’, as they were deprived of the choice in services that are available to patients with physical ailments.

Lamb went on to talk about how he’d sought to bring in maximum waiting times for mental health treatment while he was a Minister, but targets were still not being met. He praised the focus Theresa May put on mental health in her

When it came to mental health,

first speech as Prime Minister, but said there remained a gap between rhetoric and action.

With about half an hour left, the MP began to take questions from the audience. ‘How could decriminalisation work?’ asked one student. Lamb replied with a claim that decriminalisation had been met with some success in Portugal, with addiction now being seen as a medical issue rather than a crime. ‘How can other parties be persuaded to support this?’ was another question. Lamb acknowledged that he only had four firm supporters in the House of Commons, but was confident that support for legalisation was wider.

He said he’d received many letters of support about coming out in support of legalisation, and only five from constituents who’d been worried by his announcement.

The MP then asked his audi-

"OCD will affect about 1 in 50 people at some point Lamb is passionate about mental health and, despite being ‘instinctively quite hostile to drugs’, believes that the prohibition of narcotics is harmful. In the past, Lamb has attempted to submit a private members’ bill to legalise cannabis, and says he intends to try to do so again.

Beginning his speech on a personal note, Lamb talked of how his son suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which Lamb called a ‘punishing condition.’ OCD will affect about 1 in 50 people at some point in their lives, and involves invasive thoughts that create anxiety which the sufferer then develops rituals or compulsive behaviours to dispel.

Lamb spoke of how his son, like many sufferers, turned to drugs to seek an escape from the pain of his condition. He recounted how, in 2015, British tabloids had seized upon his son’s drug use and made it front page news.

However, while acknowledging it was a horrible thing to go through, Lamb did claim it was a ‘cathartic’ experience as it led to his son opening up about his struggles.

The MP’s other experiences with the media have not been as negative however. In his speech, Lamb talked about expecting a

and other Liberal Democrats received after entering a coalition with the Conservatives, he ‘just thought “sod it.”’ Nevertheless, he said that this media backlash never came, speaking of how the Daily Mail, in particular, said nothing.

Citing a poll that he claimed showed more support for the legalisation of cannabis than its continued prohibition, Lamb suggested that maybe the reason the papers weren’t eager to trounce his proposals, was a population that was not as opposed to legalisation as it is often presented to be.

Anyone in the room left wondering why an MP would stake his career on such a potentially divisive move, soon saw the conviction behind for Lamb’s boldness when he spoke about the war on drugs, which he called a ‘complete catastrophic failure’.

"He claimed that universities had a ‘massive role to play’ in students mental health" Lamb was also highly critical about the way things were run in this country. Claiming that his family had personally been ‘let down by the NHS’, Lamb spoke of how he’d been forced to seek private healthcare for his son after he’d been unable to transfer him from one NHS mental health service to another. This was just one way, Lamb continued, that those who went to the NHS for mental health treatment as opposed to

ence who, among them, believed the current drug laws to be ‘stupid.’ Every student raised their hand. He also spoke of a ‘great coalition of people arguing for change’ on the medical cannabis front and he said he believed this would be the ‘first break in the dam.’ He did acknowledge, however, the need for strict regulation of cannabis, if legalised, to ensure that large corporations could not add harmful chemicals to the drug.

When asked how the NHS today was different from when he had been Health Minister, Lamb painted a grim picture.

He claimed the NHS was in an ‘existential crisis’ and that, despite having asked for more funding to go to mental health, administrators continued to skim money off the mental health budget to meet ‘politicised’ targets in other areas. Lamb claimed that the country had to be ready to have a ‘mature conversation about how much we spend in tax.’ Lamb also argued for mental health training to be included in the training of General Practitioners and Paramedics.

When it came to students’ mental health, Lamb claimed that universities had a ‘massive role to play.’ Children’s care, he argued, had to be modernised so that eighteen year-olds were not switched from childrens’ to adults’ care at the same time as they went through a massive period of change in their life. Lamb praised Forward Thinking Birmingham, a support service for people up to the age of 25.

Following his speech, UoB Liberal Democrats presented Lamb with a (possibly slightly too small) society hoodie as a token of honorary membership of the society.

Lamb is one of the eight Liberal Democrats left in Parliament after the 2015 General Election, which saw the party’s representation in the House of Commons plummet but their membership increase by a third.

Since his ordeal with the tabloids, Lamb has announced that his son is now clean of drugs, and has achieved success in music production after his record label launched the career of rapper Tinchy Stryder.

06

NEWS

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricknews

Birmingham Battles Manchester To Retain Second City Title With Snow Hill Station set to recieve £600 million in investment, News Reporter Josh Hamilton investigates how this compares to the so called 'Northern Powerhouse' Josh Hamilton News Reporter

Birmingham may be about to lose its title as the UK’s second city.

Manchester was chosen by 30% of those polled as the true Second City of the UK, with 20% voting for Birmingham, according to YouGov research. Both cities trounced Edinburgh’s megre 12% share of the poll.

This comes after George Osbourne called for a ‘Northern Powerhouse,’in an attempt to challenge the country’s northsouth economic imbalance.

Osbourne also signed for Manchester to be implemented with a £235 million institute for advanced materials research, and the city will also receive a £78 million theatre and arts venue, where the Manchester International Festival will be held. Investment in jobs, projects and transport have also been increased.

More services will become available, encouraging tourism and the subsequent expansion of the city. Manchester is certainly garnering momentum for the move to overtake Birmingham.

Former Prime Minister David

Cameron came under fire for neglecting the West Midlands, but has since denied claims of creating a ‘Northern Powerhouse.’

He said 'Birmingham is Britain’s second city. It is a powerhouse. The government’s approach to Birmingham is to build on its strengths.’

"Birmingham is Britain’s second city. It is a powerhouse."

Birmingham has indeed seen increased investment: in New Street Station and in Grand Central. In fact, a full John Lewis had not been opened since 2011 – in East London – to coincide with the 2012 Olympics.

Birmingham, however, opened their own John Lewis just last year.

Birmingham Snow Hill station is now set to receive a muchdeserved upgrade.

Six hundred million pounds have been set aside to turn the city into a global finance hub. If the

twenty-year-old plans are pursued, as many as 10,000 highpaying jobs will be created, and the city’s economy will soar.

Outside London, the city is already the UK’s largest hub of professional and financial services firms, but the ambitious plans will compete with our capital, Frankfurt and Zurich, due to 2.2 million square feet of office space being provided.

Snow Hill station itself will be overhauled, with significant redevelopment taking place. Snow Hill serves as a vital connection between Birmingham and London’s business districts, and will bring across even more trade.

Is this all good news for Birmingham? The station’s multistorey car park will be replaced with new commercial buildings, but this reduces the city’s parking space, encouraging less tourism.

While Birmingham may grow in one sector, it may decrease in another.

However, the HS2 (High Speed Two) train service will see its new headquarters being constructed at Snow Hill, providing 1,500 people with new jobs.

Midland Metro Network is also being funded – with one hundred

and twenty-seven million pounds. fun, entertaining town.

Both services will improve trans‘I’d say Manchester and Leeds port links between London and have more of a reputation for the West Midlands. appealing to people our age.

HS2 journeys will take 49 Birmingham has had that stereominutes, from Birmingham to the type as an industrial City for the Capital, and begin operating in past thirty years. But because of 2026. Is this too late for this, it’s far further along in Birmingham to catch up terms of industry and with Manchester’s commerce than exponential growth?

Manchester ever will The service will be. be extended to ' W h a t Manchester just Manchester has, seven years later, though, is the culof people voted in 2033. With the ture – it’s creative, Birmingham as northern city you’ve got the receiving the football teams, Old 2nd city of the upgrade too, they T r a f f o r d ; UK may soon tie for the Birmingham’s more title of second biggest of a hidden gem. city in the UK; if growth ‘What Birmingham continues, London, too, does have is its location: may be one day overtaken. everything passes through here to For instance, company opera- go north, south, east or west. tional costs are up to 55% cheaper Birmingham is a lot slower than than in London. Other companies London. There’s not a chance that may move to the current Second it’ll over-take it.’

Capital alongside the HS2 to take Regardless of which city will advantage of cheaper costs. take the title of the second biggest Niamh Coffey, a second year in the UK, it is clear that both will History student, had thoughts on thrive as central hubs for years to the matter: ‘Birmingham is a bit come. of a forgotten city. It definitely Do you have opinions on doesn’t spring to the forefront of this article? Tell them to us: your mind when you think of a @redbrickpaper

20%

Birmingham Bigs Up To Secure Joseph Chamberlain's Legacy Emily Roberts News Reporter

Proud residents of Birmingham have helped to launch a campaign promoting what their city has to offer nationwide, and to in turn encourage more investment in the local economy. As a method of gaining greater recognition for the city’s achievements, many have tweeted under the hashtag #BigupBirmingham to share various stories of success born in Brum.

This appears to be a reaction to recent reports that, although Birmingham is often referred to as the second largest city in the UK, its reputation is in decline; in the Telegraph Travel Awards, Birmingham failed to make the list of ‘Britain’s 20 best cities’, and according to the Financial Times, Manchester has since overshadowed Birmingham in terms of cultural and political life outside of the capital.

Spearheading the campaign is leader of Birmingham City Council, John Clancy, a propo-

nent for more autonomy for local governments. He suggests that Birmingham has much to be proud of, and even more could be achieved through devolution. He recently claimed that if municipal councils were awarded more economic power, it would enable ‘the great regional cities [to] supercharge the UK economy’ – something that is regarded by many as especially relevant given the circumstances of our current post-Brexit society.

When asked about her thoughts on greater autonomy for local governments, Amy, an English Literature student at the University of Birmingham said, ‘they’d have a lot more responsibility but they could use that responsibility and channel it into focusing more directly on Birmingham. In any city, the council should have more of a say over its own improvements.’

According to the Financial Times, Mr Clancy’s wishes for more power and public investment in Birmingham might be fulfilled under Theresa May’s Conservative government. During

one of her first speeches as Prime Minister, May made reference to Joseph Chamberlain, a key figure in Birmingham in the 19th century, as one of her political inspirations. It has been said that May admires the progress Chamberlain Redbrick

managed to achieve as mayor during the era of industrial expansion, and therefore supports measures to bring more power and prosperity to individual constituencies. Many agree that if policy is brought in to enable the Council

to exercise more control over its public works projects, more can be done to preserve and advance Joseph Chamberlain’s legacy.

NEWS

Friday 21st October 2016

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07

Clowns Arrive in Birmingham News Reporter Grace Whelan reports on the killer clown craze in Birmingham Lorenzo Click

Grace Whelan News reporter

With the Killer Clown craze having hit England and the Midlands, with recent sightings being recorded in Selly Oak, the World Clown Association has spoken out about the ‘idiots in masks’ who could ruin the clowning industry.

The craze began in August with residents in South Carolina reporting clowns attempting to lure children into woods and secluded areas. Since then there have been sightings in Canada and Australia and now the UK has fallen victim.

Sightings appear to be getting more serious within the UK with four children being followed home by a clown with a knife in Durham and claims of clowns being sighted in Manchester carrying machetes. The Midlands have had their fair share of clown based drama too. There have been reported sightings in Evesham, Worcester, Droitwich and Kidderminster

where a ‘Killer Clown’ was sighted at a Mcdonald's Drive Thru.

Now, following increasing alarm from the public, which has led to such events as the ‘Clown Hunt’ at Penn State University, the World Clowning Association has spoken out. Professional clowns are frustrated of their profession being cast in such a negative light.

Mr Davis, of the World Clown Association, speaking to the BBC, said ‘It makes me feel disappointed that the easiest way they can get a cheap thrill is to scare somebody’.

Pat the Clown, based in Birmingham said, ‘It’s quite disgusting. It’s potentially going to have adverse effect on us if it persists’.

However this isn’t a new issue for clowns. Ever since Stephen King’s creation of the evil clown Pennywise there have been irrational fears of clowns.

‘I have been trying to play down the more negative aspects of clowns as somebody to be

frightened of, for the last 25 years,’ Pat said.

"It’s potentially going to have adverse effect on us if it persists."

Fears from the clowning industry have even caused Snuggles the Clown, aka Jordan Jones, to set up the #ClownLivesMatter movement.

‘It’s a positive movement,’ Jones said to Redbrick, ‘The movement is basically so people don’t profile us as these clowns scaring their communities’.

The movement has gone viral all over social media, a sign that this is an issue that professional clowns are concerned about. It remains to be seen how far this craze will go, but with halloween upcoming there may be bigger scares in store.

Birmingham's Bid For The 2026 Commonwealth Games Kris Burnett News reporter

Birmingham is bidding to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. It is expected that hosting the games will add £390m to the regional economy of Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Birmingham is familiar with hosting major sporting events, for example the recent Rugby World Cup fixtures at Villa Park or the Aegon open at the Edgbaston Priory Club.

The Birmingham bid is also

expected to fare well due to the significant existing and future infrastructure projects such as the Midlands Metro and HS2, the latter of which will be operational in time for the Games in 2026.

71 teams from 53 countries participate in the Commonwealth Games in a variety of sports.

Councillor Ian Ward (Labour), Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council said: ‘It’s a fantastic opportunity for the city of Birmingham’.

The bid is being supported by Birmingham City Council, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull

LEP, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Midlands Engine.

Other cities believed to be considering making a bid include Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Edmonton in Canada and Liverpool. The winning city will be announced in 2019.

The University of Birmingham is hosting a celebration of Birmingham’s sporting talent on the 24th October 2016 to present medals to Olympians from the institution followed by a Q&A. Register free for the event through the University’s official website and events page.

Jimmy Harris

Birmingham Best City For Londoners Caspar Goodwin News Reporter

Britain’s second city remains the most popular destination for Londoners, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Birmingham attracted over 6,000 people from the capital between June 2014 and 2015, according to official statistics. The next three most popular destinations popular with Londoners –

Brighton and Hove, Thurrock, and Epping Forest, Essex - were all within 50 miles of London.

"Voted the ‘most investable city in the UK’" Birmingham’s increasingly thriving economy could be behind the exodus. Voted the ‘most investable city in the UK’ and the ‘sixth

best place to invest money on the continent’, Birmingham has seen large levels of investment in recent years. In 2015, HSBC committed to transferring 1,000 jobs from London to Birmingham, while Deutsche Bank also recently expanded its workforce in Birmingham.

The low average Birmingham house price, just £162,184 compared to £484,716 in London, with rent also over 50% cheaper on average, is another factor behind the city’s appeal.

Josh, a third year Materials Engineering student, said ‘London prices you out.

"Rent is also over 50% cheaper on average" Birmingham is the best of both worlds as it’s cheap but there are still plenty of things going on.’

Future infrastructure projects

may also facilitate even more Londoners moving to Birmingham in the coming years. The planned HS2 project, due to take over 30 years to complete, is set to see the creation of 36,000 jobs, with over 4,000 homes being built in the process.

One student told Redbrick,'I am from London myself and the prices are so extortionate I can imagine staying in Birmingham once I graduate'. So Birmingham's attraction is unescapable for students as well.

08

NEWS

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricknews

New Speed Limits In Birmingham Madeleine Bourne News Reporter

The new 20mph speed limits are to be imposed from 19th October.

In 2012, Birmingham City Council announced plans for a ‘20 is Plenty’ campaign, something that is increasingly important today with Birmingham Mail reporting that there are ‘80 casualties a week after a surge in injuries on Birmingham roads’.

Earlier this year, 20mph speed limits were enforced across the city centre. To tackle this clearly prominent issue further, this month 20mph speed limits will be put in place on a plethora of residential and side roads, whilst the majority of A and B roads will keep their 30mph or 40mph speed limits. As of 19th October, police have the legal right to pull over speeding drivers.

Areas affected by these new limits are: Aston, Bordesley Green, Brandwood, Hodge Hill, Kings Heath, Ladywood, Moseley, Nechells, South Yardley, Sparkbrook, Springfield and Washwood Heath. There are imminent plans to enforce these

measures on areas surrounding the University of Birmingham, such as Bournville, Edgbaston, Harborne and Selly Oak. In an interview with Birmingham Mail, Labour Councillor for Transport and Roads Stewart Stacey said: ‘A car travelling at 30mph takes twice as long to stop as a car travelling at 20mph. And if you are hit at 20mph you are a lot less likely to be killed or seriously injured than if you are hit by a car travelling at 30mph. As far as I am concerned, safety is paramount on our city’s roads, so our message is loud and clear: slower is safer.’

‘This isn’t about trying to catch people out – it’s about making our roads safer for all who use them, whether they are children or adults and whether they are pedestrians, cyclists or motorists.’

Not only does the enforcement of 20mph speed limits save lives, it makes more people comfortable with walking around the city, especially over rush hour.

Alice Cox, a first year English Literature student, states that ‘walking to and from the Vale to university, and walking around the Edgbaston and Selly Oak area in general, can sometimes be very

stressful, especially crossing roads in the morning where there isn’t the aid of a pedestrian crossing.'

She believes the enforcement of lower speed limits would make her feel safer walking around the University of Birmingham, because ‘drivers will have to be more considerate and drive with care.’

Birmingham City Council is in agreement, as the council’s website suggests that ‘slower speeds on roads will make walking or cycling more attractive options. The 20mph changes are part of a broader range of measures the council is taking to give people, especially children, more confidence to walk or cycle.’

The council’s ‘20 is plenty’ campaign aims to save lives, promote safe driving and also encourage more people to take to the streets and walk to work or school, thus creating a safer city that is eco-friendly and less congested.

Look out for council staff, who are visiting public places such as local schools and shopping centres in the coming weeks to raise awareness of the new 20mph speed limits.

Katrin Busch

Chamberlain's Tree To Be Cut Down Grace Whelan News Reporter

Over 1,000 locals have signed a petition to save a 140 year old tree from being cut down on Broad Street to make way for the new tram lines.

The tree is the last of the 99 London Plane trees that were planted by Joseph Chamberlain, Old Joe’s namesake, along Broad Street during the 1870s.

Chamberlain, heralded the ‘Godfather of modern Birmingham’, founded the University of Birmingham in 1900, and as mayor of the city did much to improve local facilities and architecture. He was responsible for the Grade I listed Victorian Law Courts and much of Corporation Street along with schools and libraries around the city.

The tree is said to obstruct the plans for the new extension of the

Midland Metro, however many locals feel it can be worked around

"The last of the 99 London Plane trees..." rather than dug up. Transport for the West Midlands has a policy that two new trees will be planted

for every one lost but this does not seem to be of much comfort.

One local, Lesley Walker, said, ‘It’s always the same response. They will plant new ones. What is the problem of leaving a 140 year old tree in situ, mature trees are brilliant for the environment. Saplings can’t do the same and frankly don’t look as beautiful’.

Petition leader Dave Paine stresses the historical importance of the tree. ‘It was planted when

Chamberlain was mayor and was part of his plan that the city should be green with landscaped areas,’ he said.

The council have said they are looking into ways to preserve the tree. Richard Cowell of Birmingham City Council acknowledged that metro line plans could ‘have an impact on the health of the large plane tree in particular affecting the roots’.

A survey is to be carried out to decide how close works can go.

Maternity Leave Denied To Councillor Megan Stanley News Reporter

Birmingham News Room

Recently, a Birmingham councillor has been told that she must step down from her role as a cabinet member for education and social services if she becomes pregnant, due to the fact the council has no policy regarding maternity pay.

Brigid Jones, a councillor since 2011 and currently representing the Selly Oak ward, began enquiring into her rights when she began thinking about starting a family.

She said she was told that ‘there isn’t a policy and I’d most likely have to step down from my position if I were to have a child’.

She has stated that the situation is ‘ridiculous’.

She claimed that the role of a councillor still feels like it’s ‘from the dark ages,’ claiming that the position had not moved with the times, nor was it representative of the population.

The issue had not been raised

before because Birmingham has not had a pregnant cabinet in a very long time, the councillor added.

"She claimed that the role of a councillor still feels like it's 'from the dark ages'. claiming that the position had not moved with the times, nor was it representative of the population" The political system currently regards councillors as self-employed and therefore they do not have the same rights as people

who are employed, said Sam Smethers, a representative from the Fawcett Society, the UK’s largest charity for women’s rights.

She added ‘We've got these big cabinet roles which effectively are full-time jobs in themselves and yet the policies around them, the procedures around them really haven't caught up with that’.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn, a WM Political Reporter for the BBC, has said that the council will be keen to make sure that it gets this right, due the city’s history on gender equality.

In 2012, 174 former council employees won a ruling at the Supreme Court over missed bonuses and less pay.

Currently, a third of councillors are female, with women making up only 15% of the council leaders.

Birmingham City Council have said that it is looking into introducing a policy.

NEWS

@redbricknews

10

COMMENT

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickcomment

Women on Top Harry Hetherington-Aherne examines the recent rise in Women leading political parties Harry HetheringtonAherne

Comment Editor @mightyllama42

We may be inclined to believe in a naturally progressive curve in the direction of greater gender balance and female influence within politics, and being on the right side of history on this issue is a popular concern for many on the left of an increasingly nebulous political spectrum.

However, as 2016 enters its final months, this notion has been thrown into doubt, even in a year which will likely end with female leaders of economic powerhouses Germany, the United States and the UK. Diane James' shock decision not to continue as UKIP leader, having been elected just 18 days previously, was accompanied by a short statement in which she cited a lack of “sufficient authority” from “party officers” and “MEP colleagues”, perhaps confirming rumours of the influence Nigel Farage continues to hold over the party; the outgoing leader allegedly held meetings with high-ranking UKIP members without James present.

Admittedly, her resignation appears to be a result of several other issues, such as her alleged unwillingness to ever run for the leadership in the first place.

Indeed, many who see UKIP’s major battleground in the coming years as being working class Northern areas point to Moss Side born Steven Woolfe as being the more suitable candidate, as well as one who wants to be leader. However, this touting of Woolfe (Farage’s preferred candidate) suggests that James was undermined from the start, and was never going to be given the chance to consolidate her position in an environment where the former leader continues to cast such a long shadow,.

This prompts questions over how likely a long-term female leader of the party would be.

UKIP’s own unpleasantly macho brand of politics was on show last week in the bizarre fight between Woolfe and fellow MEP Mike Hookem. When James was spat on in waterloo station, it was in a similar atmosphere.

"(The) issue of women at the top of politics...transcends the issues of any one political movement" I’ve never considered voting for UKIP, but I was glad to hear of her election as its leader, and recognise that her subsequent departure represents a wider issue of women at the top of politics, which transcends any one political movement. Labour are another party for which gender issues have endured a tumul-

tuous twelve months. From the start of Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader, his Shadow Cabinet choices and reshuffles have been under scrutiny. In its first incarnation, it was notable for containing a majority of female MPs for the first time in the party’s history, though also noteworthy was the absence of female presence among the most senior positions, namely the (Shadow) Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. Then, following the mass resignations in July, Corbyn backtracked on his pledge for equal representation in the new Cabinet, with only ten women filling twenty-four positions (he has since restored parity in the new Cabinet following his second leadership election victory). Sometimes the old ‘Brocialist’ pairing of Corbyn and key ally John McDonnell, buoyed by the support of Len McCluskey (General Secretary of trade union Unite, subject of a recent investigation into widespread bullying of its female officers), must feel like the Left’s own version of the ‘Bullingdon Old Boys’ image often associated with David Cameron’s government.

"(There is) continued aggression...towards women in politics who dare to express strong opinions" When it comes to attacking its MPs, it’s worth pointing out the Labour leadership targets mostly ‘rebels’ and centrists, male or female: whether in the form of Corbyn’s leaked lists of those who he sees as antagonistic to the party, or McCluskey’s assertion that they should be “held to account” and are effectively “asking for” deselection.

Yet abuse directed at the PLP’s women is particularly worrying.

A quick look at some of the replies to Jess Phillips’ tweets shows the continued aggression of many towards women in politics who dare to express strong opinions; Phillips (who represents Birmingham Yardley), featured on Corbyn’s list, installed

a panic room in her constituency surgery in August in response to online threats. Another recent example is the abuse towards Luciana Berger during her bid to become Labour’s mayoral can didate for Liverpool, who was repeatedly called out for her ‘inexperience’ when compared to the two (male) leading candidates and reportedly labelled a “young pup” by another candidate, despite her multiple shadow cabinet roles. Berger was one of forty-five MPs who signed an open letter to Corbyn, calling for more action to “safeguard our female colleagues”.

"In Labour’s... history, all of its leaders have been men" Early leadership challenger Angela Eagle is an especially important recent case. In the type of act threatening to become commonplace, a brick was thrown through a window of her constituency office, yet even more telling was the way her bid was so quickly brushed aside in favour of Owen Smith. Corbyn is undoubtedly a formidable candidate within Labour for anyone to face at the moment, yet it is highly likely Eagle would have fared better. In the past she has given impressive performances standing in for Corbyn in the Commons, taking the Tories to task with oratory skilla and wit the Labour leader lacks, and had vastly more experience than Smith in cabinet roles. Again, believing that Eagle, once infamously told to “calm down, dear” in parliament

by David Cameron, was doomed to fail because of her gender is too reductive, but her selection would have at least signalled an active effort by Labour to modernise, and represent its member's socially progressive views.

Which leads onto Labour’s leader. During James’ brief ascendancy, the leaders of most major parties were all women.

Yet in Labour’s 116-year history, all of its leaders have been men. During Cameron’s last PMQ’s, he noted that his party had given the UK its first female Prime Minister and that “pretty soon it is going to be two-nil”.

Whatever you think of Theresa May, her rise to the top of British politics is ultimately a success story, yet at the same time there is no denying the extensive work still to be done to pave the way for, and preserve, future female governance, whatever the political allegiance.

Count on Corbyn Becca Griffiths and Isabel Morris explore the rising popularity of Corbyn and the Labour YouGov survey revealed that Party.

45% of people support an Becca Griffiths Commentator @beckigriffiths

Isabel Morris Commentator

‘Donald Trump will never become the republican nominee’. ‘Brexit will never happen’. ‘Jeremy Corbyn will never be Prime Minister’. Two of these things, against the odds, happened this year. Wake up world.

Trends in recent political events show that the public are angry. Acts of political defiance and rebellion are no longer the anarchy we used to associate it with, but instead take of the form of Donald Trump and Brexit. The sheer doubt of both Brexit and Trump indicates the volume of the disenfranchisement surrounding conventional politics today.

Brexit has proven that the British electorate are feeling increasingly isolated, with an attempt to take their country back from the greasy grasp of the elite. Corbyn actively fights to combat this, striving for a return to honest and authentic politics. This was perfectly illustrated in his first Prime Minister’s Questions as Labour leader. This weekly affair is a notoriously ineffective method of scrutinising the government that typically descends into egotistical chaos. Corbyn changed this. He used PMQs as an opportunity to make politics about the people again, utilising this time not to exchange petty blows or schoolboy insults, but to hold the Tory governm e n t accountable.

T h e rising popularity of J e r e m y Corbyn is best illustrated by the number of new members that have joined the Labour Party since he was first elected as Leader of the Opposition.

Membership has reached over half a million, the largest in history, with 100,000 of these members joining after the EU referendum. Membership of all political parties as of July 2016 was under one million, meaning Labour have approximately half of all party members. And yes, party members do not represent an electorate, but they do represent campaigners; enthusiastic members of the public ready to persuade the British people to vote against austerity, inequality and social injustice.

A recently published

increase public spending and a raise in taxes for the wealthiest (both Labour policies), compared to 13% who are happy with the current level of spending cuts, and 22% who want cuts to be continued but reduced. However the poll still showed that 30% of participants thought the Conservatives had the best policies on taxation and public spending compared to 16% for Labour. A ‘strong economy’ is often associated with a conservative government. This poll proves that although the public prefer the economic policies proposed by Labour, their idea of a perfect

"Corbyn is a breath of fresh air in the stale politics of today" economy is still associated with the conservatives, displaying a distressing disconnect between party and policy.

How are we, the British public, ever going to vote in our own interests if we continue to dismiss the party actively trying to improve our socio-economic position?

Another investigation, from the London School of Economics, revealed that since his first day as Leader of the Opposition, Corbyn has been attacked unfairly by the British media. In one month alone, 75% of press articles ‘failed to accurately report his views’.

This is because in the media today, we see an undeniable right wing bias.

Negative stories about Corbyn and his apparent unelectability are constant. A belief in Corbyn is undermined and as a result, the depiction of Corbyn as anything but a threat to the established government permeates society. But the fact is, Corbyn is a huge threat. He will take the power from the elites and give it righteously back to the people.

Ultimately, Jeremy Corbyn is a breath of fresh air in the stale politics of today. Rhetoric surrounding Labour creates an illusion of an incompetent party, when in actual fact the public actively support Corbyn’s policies but are blinded by assumptions, prejudices and ignorance. Love him or hate him, Jeremy Corbyn is changing today's politics. He is a man of the people, his policies are strong, and the team of affiliates, members, and MP’s behind him is only growing.

COMMENT

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickcomment

NARROWING MINDS James Aspden makes against the post-brexit rise in hate crime James Aspden Satirist @Jamie_Aspden1

We must take our country back.

Since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis, we have seen an increased threat to the security of our country, and the wider western world, from members of our own society who preach hate and inspire violence. Their beliefs are not compatible with our values, and they pose a threat not only to our safety but our very way of life. These dangerous, deceitful and deplorable people are bringing our society to its breaking point. I am talking about the people who have created a campaign of hatred, fear and dehumanisation of refugees and Muslims. People like Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktror Orbán. With these politicians and others, blatant racism and Islamophobia have come to the foreground of our political discourses.

We saw this during the Brexit campaign, with the leave campaign’s poster, entitled ‘breaking point’ , picturing refugees

fleeing the Syrian Civil War. Anti-Muslim sentiment has also become extremely prominent in the US this election cycle with Republican Nominee Donald J. Trump. Trump’s racist plan to ban all Muslims from entering America is perhaps the most infamous example of this toxic

"These politicians do not seem to comprehend that their words have consequences that echo throughout society." rhetoric. In Hungary, the recent referendum on EU refugee quotas has seen the campaign against Syrian refugees likened to Nazi Propaganda . These politicians do not seem to comprehend that their words have consequences that echo throughout society.

There is a direct correlation between their political cam-

Let's Make America 'Grope' Again Antionia Milles raises concerns about Donald Trumps attitude to breastfeeding as ‘disgusting’). women But it’s not just Trump’s strong Antonia Miles Commentator @AMilesx

You know, I can’t even begin to hide my disgust and anger at the vulgar exchange between Donald Trump and Billy Bush from 2005 posted by The Washington Post last week, which has shaken the political world, but I can’t pretend that it was altogether that surprising either.

Let’s be honest here, Tr u m p ’s e n t i r e adult life (particularly during his candidacy for President) has been typified by a mounting pile of misogynist and demeaning rubbish. (Yes, I am indeed referring to when Trump described his own daughter as a ‘voluptuous piece of ass’, or the time he described

inclination for offensive absurdity in this latest exposé; what he speaks of is criminal.

Condoning sexual assault?

Check. Hitting on married women? Check. This time he has well and truly crossed the line (even for Donald Trump) in his grossly offensive suggestion that in a position of power, ’you can do anything’. That it’s okay to ‘grab [them] by the pussy’ and hey, ‘don’t even wait’ to ask to kiss someone, because it’s absolutely fine to force yourself upon a woman, in fact they even ‘let you do it’!

Sarcasm aside, there are seriously dark undertones in Trump’s abasement of women because what he speaks of, let’s face it, amounts to sexual assault.

Perhaps what is more fearsome than Trump’s derogatory com-

paigns and the rise of Islamophobia and hate crimes.

In the week leading up to and following the EU referendum there was a 42% rise in the number of reported hate crimes in the UK - The UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination blamed this on politicians for ‘emboldening individuals to carry out acts of intimidation and hate towards’ minorities. The US has seen a similar problem arise from the campaign of Donald Trump, with the number of Anti-Muslim hate crimes up 80% compared to 2014 . This is highlighted by the case of 7 year old, US born, Abdul Aziz . Abdul was attacked by five of his classmates, who tried to force feed him non halal food, made fun of his name, and punched and kicked him whilst repeatedly calling him 'Muslim'.

This attack is just one of several incidences of Islamophobia Abdul’s family have faced since Donald Trump started his campaign, so they have now decided to leave America for Pakistan in search of safety. This is a prime example of how this venomous vitriol has divided our societies and driven people away. Not only have America lost a family of loyal citizens, but Abdul’s father also works to stop terrorist attacks, through his awardwinning work using data to understand who is vulnerable to ments in the first place, is his pathetically half-hearted apology, in the loosest sense of the word possible. In a fleeting statement he dismisses his comments as ‘’locker room banter’’; that it’s just a bit of fun for sexual violence to occur or for a man to grab a woman by her crotch, and that the female body is merely a hollow object for male sexual desire. In other words, who cares about consent anymore!

"What he speaks of, amounts to sexual assault"

Trump’s comments normalise sexual violence. He alludes to misogyny and sexual violence as ‘’nothing more than a distraction’’. Well Mr Trump, I doubt that victims of sexual violence, that’s one out of five women by the way, will see it as such. That is precisely the reason why women cannot look the other way and allow a misogynist’s objectifying comments and effortless boasting about molesting women to be applauded.

Trump needs to take full responsibility for his vile comments and needs to issue another statement apologising directly to the women and girls he has offended, instead of hurling a campaign issue against his opponent’s spouse and his past adultery. To applaud Trump in the name of ‘banter’, would be to rob women of their basic humanity; the right to say no. Bragging about sexual assault will never be ‘locker room banter’. I don’t know about you, but voting against Trump in November will provide the biggest source of entertainment I can think of.

radicalisation, and working with the UN to protect buildings from suicide bombings. There is a reason the so called Islamic State has used Donald Trump in its recruiting videos . He and others only alienate Muslims both in the west and in the middle east. As President Obama said at the UN G e n e r a l Assembly they are ‘reinforcing terrorist propaganda’.

The major security problem that is caused by this heinous rhetoric is that through 9 alienating Muslim communities we create an environment in which it is far easier for radicalisation to take place. As seen by the fact that, in recent years, most major terrorist attacks are committed not by refugees, but by people who are citizens of the targeted country and have lived there all their life.

The other problem it causes is that muslim communities are

11

a key aspect of our security; they provide highly valuable information that saves countless lives. We must make sure this harmful rhetoric does not prevail. Muslims are not the enemy in the fight against the Islamic State and extremism, they are our allies, and the only way we will defeat the true enemy is if we all act together.

Those who deny this are not only ignorant about the religion and people’s they discriminate against but they also simply do not understand the security implications of their comments and actions.

It is more dangerous to watch one of these people speak on your television than it is to let a Syrian refugee into your home. By spouting their ignorance to ever larger audiences, it is clear that they only divide our society and help terrorist organisations such as Islamic State, and so are becoming the West’s unwitting fifth column.

Redbrick Satire BREXIT VS BAKE-OFF

Sam Yearley is confused by the attention Brexit is getting Sam Yearley Satirist @YearleySam

I am tired of, every day, seeing headlines about the latest news with Brexit being run next to pieces about Bake Off. Why does the media think the people want the largest change in British culture, since the removal of page 3, to be overshadowed

by Britain leaving the EU? What do I care how farmers from Somerset will be affected by Brexit?

What’s that got to do with the price of milk? It’s unimportant and it doesn’t affect the common man in any way.

And yet, this is the sort of drivel I have to sift through to try and find any story that supports the claim that the Chuckle Brothers might be replacing Mel and Sue. The replacement of Mel and Sue is, for me, the hot button topic. I don’t know how the producers plan on replacing the pair, there is simply no existing duo up to the job. Their perfect blend of wit, base humour, and chin tickling is exactly what the show has needed to offset Paul Hollywood being a massive nob. (And surprise surprise, that problem isn’t going away) Stories with theories or speculation about the role interest me, as they should everyone.

Yet I keep being steered towards

stories about a role that has had no contention around it whatsoever: Foreign Secretary. Boris Johnson has been trusted with the position and as far as I am concerned that is a job well done

by Theresa May. The day this country can’t trust Bo Jo to do the job is the day I fall to my knees and weep, weep at the desolation of humanity. So can the media please leave the man alone to work? He will establish us into the global market, get other countries talking about us, and the least we could do is work together as a nation to make sure we can export a high quality next series of The Great British Bake Off. We’ve never been in a simpler more stable time in terms of government and political parties. I am not suggesting the media stop reporting on them all together, but all that is needed to get an objective and full look at what is going on in the political scene is some shallow, single perspective reports. There’s no need for all the flashy headlines, and various points of view that do nothing but take away precious print space from commemorating the loss of the most wonderful people on British television.

Obviously Hollywood is not included in a part of that

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FEATURES

Friday 21st October 2016

www.redbrick.me

Stand Up To Cancer: What is it all about?

Kara Watson Sci & Tech Editor @Karaml_Watson

It is said that around 1 in 2 people will be affected by cancer in some way during their lifetime. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organisation, causing a total of 8.2 million deaths in 2012.

Lung cancers are the most common, accounting for 1.59 million deaths in the same year, and tobacco use being the cause of 70% of those deaths. We need to come up with new tests and treatments for cancer to allow the problem to be detected early and dealt with more effectively. To do this, a lot of research needs to be done to investigate the different factors that surround cancer, and this is where fundraisers like Stand Up To Cancer come in.

Stand Up To Cancer was started in 2007 by a group of women who had all been affected by cancer in various ways, and it was formally launched in the US in 2008. Their goal was to use research to improve patient care and treatment, with the ultimate dream of one day having a cure for all cancers. Stand Up To Cancer first appeared in the UK in 2012, when Cancer Research UK teamed up with Channel 4 to have their first telethon to raise money. Their aim was to accelerate the process of translational research and so 100% of money raised funds these kinds of studies.

Translational research is when scientists come up with an idea for a new test or treatment through their study and then put it through clinical trials with volunteers to see if it could work for the general

The Latest Research News An immunotherapy drug is being called a ‘game-changer’ after results of a study were presented at the European Cancer Congress.

This study compared the treatment of standard chemotherapy with the new drug called nivolumab. It was found that about 36% of patients taking nivolumab survived for longer than those treated with chemotherapy.

Nivolumab is a kind of immunotherapy, which is a treatment of cancers that involves harnessing the body’s immune system to fight and kill the cancer cells. It is a very exciting area of cancer research that is helping with advanced head and neck cancers, for which survival rates are very poor due to the

public. The developments from research in the lab are turned into new processes used to detect and treat cancer, and also to help assess patient welfare and quality of life. Stand Up To Cancer helps to fund many different kinds of research, for example, a drug that can be used during surgery that allows brain cancer cells to be more easily detected. To have the best chance of the cancer not returning after treatment, all cancer cells need to be removed using surgery. This is difficult for brain cancers as you don’t want to accidentally remove healthy cells or tissues from an important area. Therefore, a drug is being developed that is absorbed by the cancer cells but not by the healthy cells.

This drug causes the cancer cells to glow bright pink, making them really easily distinguished from healthy cells and so the surgeon can remove a lot more cancer cells than normal.

Stand Up To Cancer will be shown on Channel 4 on the 21st October, and there are a few ways you can help. You can donate money via text or through their website, or you can fundraise some money yourself. On their website they suggest anything from bake sales to getting people to sponsor you for standing up for a whole day or wearing as much orange as possible. As little as £50 can buy essential equipment for research.

With the broadcast raising over £15 million in 2014, it shows that this event is really important, and can really make a difference to cancer research and treatment.

difficulty of treating areas so close to the brain and spinal cord.

Professor Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research said, ‘this trial found that it can greatly extend life among a group of patients who have no existing treatment options without worsening quality of life.’

Another area of research that shows potential is combination therapies. This is when you treat a cancer with two drugs at once that would be not as effective on their own. It is a useful strategy for people with advanced cancers that cannot have radiotherapy or surgery. A study found that combining nivolumab with another drug called ipilimunab significantly reduced the size of tumours in 40% of patients with advanced kidney cancer and 1 in 10 patients showed no sign of the cancer returning.

Tumours are basically just a faulty version of healthy tissues, and to make sure they aren’t

Redbrick Meets: Prof. Graham Anderson Could you give us a summary of the sort of work you do?

We’re an Immunology lab and we’re interested in understanding the basic mechanisms of how the immune system works, and I think that’s important in its own right as it’s good to know about how the body combats infection. The cells we look at are T Cells, which are very good at fighting bacterial and viral infections; they also target cancers and they also help other immune cells make antibodies, so T cells are a really central part of the immune system. But what we’ve also become interested in is understanding the limitations of the reconstitution of the immune system that often happens following cancer treatment.

So we know that, as a lab that works on T cell development, following bone marrow transplantation – the treatment of various different types of cancer – the immune system can be quite slow to recover.

What’s interesting, from our point of view, is that the last blood cell that needs to recover is T cells. That causes a real problem for the patient because it means that they’re what we call immunodeficient; their immune system isn’t working properly after the bone marrow transplant. So what we’ve been interested in is understanding how and why T cells are slow to recover in that phase, and whether we can speed them up in any way. The work we’ve been doing with Cancer Research UK, and also MRC, is trying to understand what limits T cell production in the first place to then think about how that information can be taken forward to think about how reconstituting the immune system in therapy might be influenced.

We know that the precursors of T cells come from the bone marrow and they’ve got to make a long journey to the thymus in the chest, to turn them into T cells. So the entry of cells into the thymus is a really important stage one. We’ve been picking apart the processes that control the entry of T cell precursors into the thymus and through that work we’ve found a new role for an old molecule, called lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTBR). Imagine a receptor on the surface of a cell that, when triggered, opens the doorway of the thymus and allows these precursors from the bone marrow to get in.

And that’s what we did in our general mechanistic outlook on how the immune system works. So once we had identified LTBR as playing a role in that process, we wondered whether it also plays a similar role in reconstitution of the immune system after bone marrow transplantation. We've found that if the LTBR is missing, then T cell production is slower, but also importantly, if we triggered the receptor at the same time as bone marrow transplantation, we could speed up T cell recovery. In a nutshell, we think we have a way of opening the doorways to the thymus and thinking about how that might be useful to help speed up recovery of patients who have had chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

How much of an impact do you think your research will have on patients?

I think our research is at a basic biomedical research level, trying to understand basic mechanisms of the function of the immune system. I think what then needs to happen is that knowledge needs to be taken forward and applied, probably across a lengthy timeframe, so that ultimately what we discovered at an information level will make a difference at a therapy level. If you think of a translational pipeline, at the beginning are the basic animal models of science and at the end are new drugs for patients. Our work is at the very beginning but that is still important as information needs to be fed down the pipeline. We are a long way off improving patient care and treatment, but this is how new therapies come to be.

Captions go in the corner of pictures and be hyphenated What doshouldn't you think of charities

like Stand Up To Cancer? Do you think they make a difference?

I think their work is incredibly valuable. I think a lot of biomedical research is either government funded, privately funded or through charitable donations. What is very clear is research at universities is very dependent upon grant income, whether it’s through research councils or charities. Without the money coming in, the research can’t be done, and that’s not just a matter of buying the chemicals to do the experiments, it’s also employing the students and postdoctoral scientists that do the work and buying the pieces of equipment. So without that support and without that funding, you’d imagine a lot of research would not happen. It would be very difficult for scientists to improve understanding of disease and so eventually provide better treatments.

destroyed by the immune system,

they have developed ways of going

undetected. This is where the immunotherapy drugs come in.

Normally, cancer cells produce a protein that binds to the surface of a T cell, one of the types of white blood cells in the immune system.

This binding causes the T cell to become inactive and so the cancer cell can slip by. What nivolumab does is block this protein and so prevent the T cell from becoming inactive, leaving the T cell to hunt down and kill the cancer cells as normal.

Although this sounds great, there are some downsides.

Although combination therapy does give a much stronger effect than just one drug on its own, it does also mean there is an increased risk of more severe side effects. However, for most patients the drugs do work with few side effects.

As the combination therapy with ipilimunab for skin cancers was the fastest ever approved therapy for NHS use, it does seem to be a worthwhile treatment and a good step in the right direction to find new treatments and cures for cancer.

FEATURES

Friday 21st October 2016

www.redbrick.me

13

Your Student Media Groups Print & Features Editor Gabriella Marcucci explores the varied student-led media groups UoB has to offer

We are the University of Birmingham’s student-led Newspaper and the oldest media society, keeping you up to date with all of the latest student information, covered by our thirteen sections, since 1936. We print fortnightly and publish daily on our website, www.redbrick.me, and you can often find us in our office in the Media Centre ready to publish your article or discussing the next Redbrick social. We have over 245 members who can write for all sections and even progress to editor roles or committee positions throughout their time with us. This year we have started working closely with our friends over at Burn FM, producing our own Radio show, Redbrick Radio. It airs every Friday 7-8pm with resident hosts Conrad Duncan, Imogen Lancaster and Gabriella Marcucci.

SATNAV (Science and Technology News and Views magazine) is the University’s only student publication dedicated entirely to discoveries in the world of science. They publish bi-annually, at the end of the Autumn and Spring terms, and welcome writers from a wide range of fields from Psychology to Quantum Physics. Membership not only gets you the opportunity to be published in the paper but also access to the various science communication workshops that they organise throughout the year. They welcome writers of all abilities and their committee members are prepared to provide feedback and help with editing on all submissions so don’t worry if don’t have any prior experience with scientific writing.

With previous articles on Nanoengineering, the future of nuclear power, and the unsung efforts of the women working at Harvard College Observatory, SATNAV is a diverse publications and a great opportunity for anyone looking for some extra experience in scientific journalism.

The University of Birmingham’s official student radio, broadcasting both online at www.burnfm.com and on the Tune In app. Producing shows of all types daily, from breakfast to mainstream to specialist, covering all manner of conversation topics and musical genres. BurnFM has over 150 members, some of which are part of the dedicated team of journalists ready to produce the content for their website and on air for the six main sections: News, Art, Sports, Music Production and Tech. This year, BurnFM are celebrating their 20th anniversary and over the years have collaborated closely with other media societies, such as PhotoSoc, GuildTV and Redbrick on university-wide events such as Guild Awards.

A society open to anyone with a passion for photography; from Instagram amateur to professional press. Running weekly workshops, such as the most recent ones which covered Basics and Studio to enhance current skills or learn new techniques. PhotoSoc embark on regular society-wide trips to places such as The German Christmas Market or Cannon Hill Park to socialise and try out their newly developed talents in these picturesque places. As a member of the society you are required to have a camera, but that can range from a DSLR to the camera on your phone, so anyone can come along and get involved! PhotoSoc also provides photography for other societies as and when required, with close links with a few of the other Media Societies.

GuildTV are a visual media society, creating unique video content with a wide range of topics from current affairs to chat shows and anything in between, since 1967.

They have around 70 dedicated and creative members, all playing an active role in designing and producing the very best of GuildTV’s content. Whilst also working closely with other media societies such as Redbrick and BurnFM to collaborate on coverage of big university events like Xplosion. 2017 will be the 50th Anniversary for GuildTV and what better way to celebrate than be hosts for the NASTA awards – at which they won the prestigious Tim Marshall Award for Special Recognition award last year.

The only multilingual student-run publication, providing students with a platform to read and write in a variety of foreign languages and discuss a range of topics such as travel and culture. The UoB Linguist Magazine is published four to five times an academic year and content is posted regularly on their website www.uoblinguist.co. uk. Though one of the smaller media groups, Linguist still have an extensive audience, including many international members and global readers, as a result of which The UoB Linguist Magazine were awarded the Outstanding Outreach Award at the 2015 Guild Awards. Since their establishment in 2011 they have worked with a number of cultural and language societies and introduced new languages to their publication. This year, they will be introducing Bulgarian and Ukrainian. You don’t have to be a native speaker of a foreign language to write for The UoB Linguist because contributors can produce articles in English. However, if you do fancy trying your hand at writing in a different language the native speakers will proof the finished article to help you improve your language skills – so there’s a space here for everyone!

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FEATURES

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricksport www.redbrick.me

Katie Ball

Harry Forsyth

Tilly Springer

Trang Nguyen

Freddy Nevison-Andrews

Introducing... Redbrick Photography If you're interested in photojournalism, join our brand new photogrpahy group 'Redbrick Photographers' on Facebook. Work off specific briefs given by section editors to develop your portfolio, publish your work, and send it to events all across Birmingham and campus.

FEATURES Sport

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricksport www.redbrick.me

15

Harry Burgess

Freddy Nevison-Andrews

Andy Wight

Freddy Nevison-Andrews

Tilly Springer

Harry Forsyth

16

LIFE & STYLE

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricklife

University Style: Does prioritising comfort mean students are lazy?

Writer Katie McDonald questions whether students should feel pressured to dress smartly for university Katie McDonald Writer @_themacaroon

One walk around campus will tell you that a high proportion of students live in gym wear. Are we setting a new trend? Current magazines argue we are, with gym clothes and Nike trainers now the fashion. In a fast paced world, we need to think practicality and of comfort as well as style. However, there is the other possibility that we are just too lazy to put together a socially acceptable outfit for our 9am lecture.

As I stood waiting for my train on the University station after my first day as a final year student, a student waltzed past, catching my attention. Her attire included a floral dress and high heels, with each strand of hair perfectly in place. First year, I knew immediately. I could sense her ‘Fresher’ excitement, starting her year as she means to go on; strong and determined. The energy and drive of this first year reminded me of someone I knew in my first year. She was ready to work towards the goals she had dreamed of since her acceptance moment.

Overwhelmed with pride, her self-belief had asked maybe 'could I get myself a degree?' I

remember feeling full of positivity, rightfully so because I, alongside hundreds of others, was about to embark on a lifechanging journey of academia.

It is not uncommon but natural, though, for that spark to fade slightly. So, sometimes, I don’t bounce out of bed with the will to iron my shirt for class. High levels of punctuality and showing a readiness to be spongelike and absorb an hour’s worth of brand new information sometimes suffices so I’ll settle

"Trainers indeed work well with the University's very own jumpers" for my trackies.

A Levels are hard, but strangely they make us want to study even harder and affect what we wear. I have found myself many times going for a relaxed choice of clothing for another day of study. The ‘Plus one to a wedding’ look is no more, but trainers indeed work well with the University’s very own jumpers. This way, we get the comfort of our sluggies and still clothe ourselves in that ‘Brummie represent vibe’ so we don’t forget our main pur-

pose of University - to study.

Having said that, we all know it takes more motivation and effort to get those books out than just throwing on a ‘University of Birmingham’ hoodie. If it was that easy, everyone would be here working their socks off. An article asking how many students are gym members made me think twice about gym wear. The question of whether gym wear is for a gymnasium work out or if it’s more classy loungewear remains unanswered. For students, perhaps it’s somewhere in the middle. As we haul through those never-ending library sessions, it does take the edge off if we study in gym clothes than jeans or smartwear. Comfort results in easier concentration.

When a student hits the ‘comfies’ stage of their degree, you can only imagine their daily thought process. Gone are the days where they told themselves they can ace the course after spending their days in the library. They will have woken up at least once and asked their course or house mate in a hushed tone what their chances are of passing.

The housemate’s typical first response may include 'slim to none mate', hinting at the ‘drop out and do an Apprenticeship’

option. As desperate, hopeless and cruel as that sounds, they reach their final phase of their University life. This consists of late nights, very good friends who provide chocolate and, as already established, comfortable clothes.

Besides, the sudden realisation that University is your time to knuckle down, setting yourself up for life hits most students in their final year.

Give us a break if we decide to take all of our effort out of ‘clothes that are acceptable to walk to the shop at 3am’ and into ‘study mode’. Make no mistake that on graduation day, we promise to put 110% into looking sharp in our suits and heels then.

Do you think students are pressured to dress a certain way? Let us know: @redbricklife

How to check yourself for breast cancer Imogen Lancaster explains how and why you should be checking yourself for signs of breast cancer reguarly October is breast cancer awareness month and as morbid as this topic may be, breast cancer is undoubtedly considered to be one of the biggest killers in the UK. Without intimidating you, one in eight women will experience this disease in their lifetime and it is the third most common cancer to lead to mortality. And believe it or not, it can affect almost anyone.

Although older women are statistically the most affected, men and women of any age are also victims. This may be surprising and certainly confronts the myth that only women of a certain age can get breast cancer.

Despite this, many of us would admit that checking our breasts (or chest tissue, in the case of men) is not a top priority that we pay much attention to. In fact I certainly did not know what to look out for before I came across Coppafeel, a breast cancer charity. Their mission statement involves creating awareness about knowing

your boobs and how to check them in hope of stamping out late detection of breast cancer.

Not only does Coppafeel give direct guidance in spotting this type of cancer, but it also offers a system whereby anyone can request a monthly text or letter as a reminder to check your boobs. I was subsequently delighted that such a thing exists.

Such a straightforward, free and regular reminder could make all the difference in potentially saving a life.

And if Coppafeel doesn’t already impress you, it has also recruited a Uni Boob team who head to campuses in order to spread the word with university students like us.

Remember if you come across any of the symptoms identified here then head to your local GP. And as Coppafeel says ‘if in doubt, get it checked out!’

Signs to look out for include: - Nipple discharge - Lumps and thickening - Changes in skin texture e.g. puckering or dimpling - Nipple inversion and changes in direction - Swelling in armpit or around collar bone - Constant pain in breast or armpit - Change in size or shape - Rash or crusting of or around nipple - Anything you consider abnormal around the breast, collar bone and armpit area

For more information or to sign up to their monthly reminder system make sure to visit: coppafeel.org

LIFE & STYLE

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricklife

Sex Myths: The Truth Revealed

Life&Style writer Jessica Newman reveals the truth behind some of the biggest and most popular sex myths

Myth One: Sex is better when you’re young

Tall out there you won't fool any of us.

Sure, when you’re young sex will obviously be more athletic and wilder, but most sexually active older adults are reported to be having the most satisfying sex lives. Age is just a number, right?

Myth Five: Watching porn is only for guys

The female stars of the porn industry have always been stereotypically perceived as pawns of a man's world.

However, this is all changing as the rapid increase of female participation in viewing porn means the porn industry is shifting accordingly. Researchers found that looking at erotic images stimulated women’s electrical brainwave activity that was just as strong as mens.

Myth Two: The bigger the better

Size has always been a topical question of debate, but ultimately there is no perfect penis size out there. More importantly, its worth worrying about how to use what’s there, rather than dwelling on what you haven’t got.

Myth Six: Condoms make sex less pleasurable

The correct condom can actually increase pleasure for both partners.

However, estimates suggest that 68% of men are wearing the wrong sort for them.

Myth Three: You can't get pregnant during your period

It's true, sperm can hang around in your reproductive organs for six whole days, so if you think that your period can be alternatively used as protection then you are wrong! Keep that in mind.

Winter Colours With winter being just around the corner, the influx of winter colours in high-street clothing is in full-force.

Although many of us (myself included!) usually resort to dressing in the dull monochrome variants of black and grey during this season, a splash of subdued colour never did any harm.

Burgundy, Mustard and Khaki are back!

UoB Jumpers Never mind how ‘cringe’ it may be, we are loving the new design of ‘The University of Birmingham’ jumpers and hoodies. Now that we are experiencing the delights of the disappointing English weather, there is no excuse for not wearing one around campus! Who doesn’t love a bit of University pride?

Chelsea Boots

Myth Eight: Everyone's doing it

Chelsea boots are undeniably a timeless classic that every gal and guy should feature in their winter wardrobe.

They return every winter like an old friend and are simultaneously stylish and practical in the chilly winter months. These are an absolute musthave in the world of boots.

You shouldn't feel pressured into having sex because you think everyone else it.

Do it when you feel ready - not everyone who brags about it is being truthful!

Scientists report that there is no strong evidence that men with big feet have big penises, so unfortunately for the Big and

FIERCE

Myth Seven: The first time is always painful

Whilst for some, losing their virginity is an experience best forgotten, it isn't always a painful one! 63% of women in one study said they felt no pain at all!

Myth Four: The 'big hands, big feet' delusion

17

Initiations

How to Defeat: Gym Phobia Life&Style writer Emma Chambers gives her advice on how to overcome an increasingly common phobia: gym phobia 1. Find a Gym Buddy You can experiment together, and gain confidence which you can then transfer to when you're riding solo. Pushing each other and having days to go to the gym will be really motivating.

2. Get a Good Playlist Together Sounds so simple, but make a playlist (preferably some kind of badass Eminem song) and play it so loud. So loud that the woman on the elliptical starts contemplating if she's stepped into some hardcore rave. Trust me, this will drown out the surroundings and you will be less likely to notice the people around you.

3. Timing 5-7pm is serious peak time for those gym lovers, which can be rather daunting if you're new to starting weights. I suggest going at a quieter time, say early afternoons. This way you are able to test out exercises in peace when it isn't so full. This means avoiding lunchtimes and evenings (5-8) and Mondays. Oh my, you just don't want to be there on a Monday. Once your confidence increases, entering the gym at 6pm and smashing a workout will no longer be a fear.

4. Plan Your Session Go in organised! This avoids sitting on the mat for 15 minutes chatting to your friends about the night before, or simply thinking what to do. If you go prepared with what you will do, it is far more efficient. I suggest writing a workout out on your phone, or on paper, with plan B's incase a piece of equipment is busy. This avoids standing around like a lemon while everyone else is breaking a serious sweat.

Now that we are well into first term, the majority of sports initiations are done and dusted and well behind us!

The sporty freshers amongst us most likely have the memories of alcoholfuelled humiliation and outrageous trials and dares ingrained into our minds.

Other than the committee members who take joy in this, the majority of freshers will be glad to see the back of initiations!

Cold Houses One of the less riveting aspects of student housing includes the fact that they are constantly bitterly cold. Being stingy students we tend to avoid putting the heating on until it is essentially unavoidable. But for now, many of us are stubbornly resisting the temptation of heating with countless layers and a strong willpower. But nevertheless this whole situation is finished!

Ivy Park Clothing Despite being an avid Beyoncé fan, the Ivy Park active wear range is less than inspiring and undoubtedly overpriced. When comparing her clothing attire to other sporting ranges, hers doesn’t come across as anything special, just a media-publicised hype that has gained recognition solely for her celebrity status. And why did such a high-earning icon feel the need to price her garments so high?

Imogen Lancaster

5. Learn Not to Care The fear of judgement is all in your mind, so what if someone is staring at you?

You are in there for you, you're improving and you must always remember that.

FINISHED

18

FOOD

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickfood

Independent Birmingham: Gas Street Social Tasha Smart Food Editor @tashanotsmart

A key part of exploring Birmingham’s food scene is to have a look at its more independent venues – them being plentiful! In our exploration of the many eateries featured by Independent Birmingham we came across Gas Street Social.

Located in the Mailbox it certainly has a high end feel, looking out across the canal it was very serene and decorated perfectly to suit this relaxed vibe.

A flash of our Independent Birmingham card meant we were entitled to a free drink, so I opted for The Socialite.

Consisting of Finlandia Vodka, Aperol, pineapple, lime, and passion fruit, this was a winning combination. It was the right level of fruity and a nice start to the meal. (Though if cocktails are not your thing they also offer a free glass of wine or free beer for card holders.)

Oktoberfest at The Crown Food Editor Lauren Kelly checks out the big foodie event of the month Oktoberfest is the world’s largest Volkfest, held annually in Munich, Bavaria (Germany). Over the past decade it has attracted an average of around six million visitors a year, who between them consume over seven million litres of beer and chomp their way through thousands of grilled sausages, cheese noodles and - for those really wanting to devour - wild oxen.

Now, situated in the small town of Digbeth, with a mass capacity of 300- you can surely appreciate why I was skeptical of The Old Crown’s take on Munich’s folk festival, Oktoberfest.

Yet, Digbeth’s attempt proved to be wunderbar.

With the lederhosen out in full force, complete with a live band, and of course, a few embarrassing attempts at yodeling- along with a variety of traditional Bavarian food, and German brewed beerMunich no longer felt so far away (nobody likes wild oxen anyway).

"It certainly has a high end feel" Already thrilled with our drinks we then moved on to ordering our food. One thing I particularly loved about this place was their ‘Social Plates’, a variety of smaller dishes to share among you. Both my friend and I, however, chose to make a meal from a social plate and a side of chunky chips.

I chose the salt and pepper crispy squid that came accompanied with garlic mayo. I was slightly concerned about the size of the small plates when first ordering but I was not disappointed with the portion size, being more than enough for a decent meal. The taste was also perfect with the right amount of spice. This, plus some heavenly chunky chips, meant I was very happy with my choice.

I was also very impressed with my friend’s dish. Served in a giant glass jar, her smokeinfused salmon kebabs smelt amazing, and the presentation certainly added some excitement to the meal!

Overall, though not the cheapest of venues its lovely food and great location means it’s a great evening out.

The brilliant drinks selection: Kaltenberg £3.50 a pint, £7.00 Warsteiner £4.00 a pint, £8.00 Konig Ludwig (Weiss) £4.00 a pint, £8.00 Konig Ludwig (Dunkel) £4.00 a pint, £8.00

a stein a stein a stein a stein

For those who can’t stomach the stein:

KaramellApple Toffee vodka, apple juice and prosecco, finished with cinnamon sugar £5.00 Rhabarber Chase vodka with vanilla vodka, lemon juice, rhubarb puree and tonic £6.00 Oktoberfest Storm Spiced golden rum with ginger beer, freshly squeezed limes and angostura bitters £5.00 Himbeere Punch Raspberry beer, cloudy lemonade, vodka, raspberry puree and a squeeze of lemon juice £16.00 per jug Schelehenilikor Fizz Sloe gin, lemon juice and tonic £16.00 per jug Prosecco Avaliable by the glass or the bottle £4.00/ £16.00

Carl Finkenauver Red- Cabernet Savigon, blackcurrant aromas Glass £4.50, bottle £15.00 Carl Finkenauver Rose- Dornfielder, red cherry and strawberry aromas Glass £4.50, bottle £15.00 Mosel White- Riseling, fruit and minty aromas Glass £4.50, bottle £15.00

And to soak it up?

Curry dog Bratwurst with beerbraised onions and currysauce £5.00 Hase dog Bratwurst with Emmental Cheese stuffing, and beer braised onions £5.00 Vegan dog Vegan frankfurter with beer braised onions and curry sauce £4.50 Currywurst Sliced pork sausages, with curried ketchup and a sprinkle of curry powder, served with pommes £6

Sweets:

Bounty Waffle Coconut ice, chocolate buttons, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce Cheesecake Waffle Vanilla cheesecake cream with strawberries Shortbread crumb Peanut Butter Waffle Peanut butter fudge, chocolate buttons, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce Banoffee Waffle Slices of banana whipped cream, salted caramel and grafted dark chocolate Millionaires Waffle Short bread biscuit crumb, whipped cream, salted caramel chocolate buttons and chocolate sauce At a reasonable price of £15 for students (which includes a stein worth £7.00), grab your best Bavarian gear, and get yourself down to Oktoberfest for a lay odl lay odl lay hee hoo (and a beer, of course).

Veggie Review - Joe's Bar Adele Franghiadi Food Writer

As I’m sure we’re all aware, Joe’s has created a new menu this academic year. It appears varied, with nothing too fancy, but that’s no bad thing - Joe’s has always been able to boast a modest, enjoyable, and relatively affordable menu, perfectly suited to its student demographic, which by the looks of it, is something they can still lay claim to. Whilst it may be sad to see the various chip toppings disappear (R.I.P. curry sauce), sides like curly or sweet potato fries can make up for this.

So last week, I decided to have dinner there before a night in the library. After much deliberation, I chickened out of ordering the “very spicy” vegetarian Singapore Noodles, and opted for the Veggie Burger, containing fresh lettuce, tomato, and red onion,

completed by Joe’s own burger sauce (whatever that is). I decided to upgrade to curly fries for just 75p, and ordered a Sol to wash it all down.

However, when it arrived, I was a little disappointed by the look of the food. The drylooking burger bun dwarfed the dry-looking patty, and reminded me of those floury buns served from school canteens.

Upon closer inspection, there was actually a surprise, solitary chip hidden in my burger, so I’m not sure what to make of that - I like chips, but I didn’t order them with, or in, my burger. The salad, however, looked fresh and colourful,

which helped improve the underwhelming look of the dish.

The curly fries were also an appetising golden brown, as they should be, so not all was lost at this point.

The sauce, a salmon-orange colour, was slightly offputting, but I’ve never been one for pinkish foods, so it might be appealing to others If the look of it wasn’t enough, my first bite was something of a let down.

Tasting barely different to a chip-shop veggie burger (yet costing more than double the price), I wished I’d been brave and tried the Singapore Noodles after all. There was a lot of potential flavour packed

'...lacking in flavour and texture...'

into this burger, yet it somehow tasted like it wasn’t doing much at all. I barely got a hint of the fresh salad over the mass of mush from the rest of the food, yet I can’t describe the taste of the sauce or the patty, which were just lacking in flavour and texture overall. The bun was also bland and dry, so when teamed with the stodgy patty, it was quite difficult to manage without a drink.

Overall, I was disappointed in this new veggie option, but I hope this can be put down to how new the menu is - maybe Joe’s can work on improving the recipe. At present, it tastes like a mushy, bland rip-off.

Whilst Joe’s will never be a fine-dining venue (and that’s fine by me!), they can at least serve a veggie burger better than one I could pick up just 10 minutes away in Selly, for half the price. At least the curly fries were worth an extra 75p.

FOOD

Friday 21st October 2016

19

@redbrickfood

Pumpkin Spice and All Things Nice Make Your Own: Pumpkin Spice Latte Sahar Jamfar Food Writer

Now that we’re approaching Halloween, here are some of my favourite pumpkin-inspired recipes that are quick, easy and cheap.

Save some money by avoiding Starbucks and make

your own Pumpkin Spice Latte!

You will need: 2 cups milk ½ cup brewed coffee 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 1-2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Method: In a saucepan, pour in the milk, pumpkin puree and sugar.

Keep on a medium heat until hot but not boiling.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon and coffee.

Pour into 2 large mugs and

garnish with squirty cream and cinnamon.

Alternatively, Monin have pumpkin-spiced syrup which can be poured into ready-made coffee.

Bailey’s have also released a pumpkin-spiced edition for a limited time only. This would make be a great addition to a coffee or hot chocolate.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup William Haynes Food Writer

A velvety smooth pumpkin soup to warm your October evening with fragrant rosemary and a kick of chilli.

This Halloween, when your ghoulishly-carved pumpkin has finished scaring away the trick-or-treaters, don’t throw him away; bring him in from the cold.

Save a few pennies by using the flesh in this indulgent soup which will leave you wondering why so many wretched pumpkins are left to rot on doorsteps and windowsills every year.

You will need:

Method:

Around 1kg pumpkin flesh, all seeds and skin removed 1 large white onion, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped finely 100g unsalted butter 2 sprigs fresh rosemary 600ml hot vegetable stock 400ml whole milk (could be substituted for semi-skimmed if desired) Olive oil Sea salt

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F. Carve the pumpkin into manageable chunks, remove the skin with a peeler, and any over-ripe looking areas with a knife.

Put half of the pumpkin flesh to one side, and cut the rest into 2cm cubes. Spread it on a baking tray, drizzle over a little olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt.

Throw a sprig of rosemary on top to steam in the oven. Put in the oven to roast for 45 minutes, or until soft and browned on the corners.

Meanwhile, slice the rest of

the pumpkin flesh as thinly as possible (use a mandoline if you have one, if not, a chance to practice your knife skills). Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the thinly sliced pumpkin, along with the onion, chilli and a pinch of salt. Allow to sweat for 10-12 minutes until beautifully soft but do not brown.

When the onions are translucent, add the stock, milk and roasted pumpkin, along with a fresh sprig of rosemary. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

When cooled slightly, liquidise thoroughly until you see no more lumps, to ensure you

achieve the velvety smooth texture.

Then pass through a fine sieve, before liquidising again, to aerate the soup. Add a little milk if you’d like a thinner consistency and add salt to taste.

Reheat before serving.

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Sahar Jamfar Food Writer

You will need: 1 pack gingernut biscuits 150g melted unsalted butter 1 400g can of pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 tubs cream cheese 300g icing sugar 4 eggs

Method: Preheat the oven to 160C/ gas mark 3.

Crush the gingernut biscuits and mix with the melted butter until it sticks together. Then press the mix into a mediumsized tray bake.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon and icing sugar together. Add eggs in one at a time.

Recipe: Pumpkin Smoothie Caitlin Dickinson Food Writer

Blend the festivities of Halloween with this seasonal superfood.

Tired of having a banana to bulk out your smoothie every time? Try using a pumpkin instead, for a nutritious and delicious snack!

If you love low calorie and low fat foods, and ones which are also high in fiber and a good source of protein, then pumpkins are a great option, especially in superfood smoothies.

Surprisingly, a pumpkin has more fiber than kale and more potassium than a banana which makes it a great ingredient for a super healthy smoothie snack.

If you do not have a smoothie maker, you can still make a smoothie!

Any hand-held mixer or food processor would do just as good a job!

You will need: A quarter of a small/ medium sized pumpkin cubed 200ml apple juice 1 whole apple 1 tbsp of Greek yoghurt Handful of frozen raspberries (you can use fresh, but I find frozen gives my smoothie a cooler taste) Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Method: Prep the pumpkin by scooping out the insides peeling the skin (you can still keep the skin on, it is just my preference to take it off in a smoothie). Chop a quarter of the pumpkin off and cube this into 3cm pieces.

Remove the core of the apple and peel the skin again. Chop up into segments.

Place these in the smoothie

maker or blender with the apple juice, yoghurt, frozen raspberries.

Blend until all the fruit and liquid has mixed together.

Pour out into a glass and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top.

Enjoy!

Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, until the centre is almost set.

Once it’s ready, gently loosen the cheesecake from the tray, let it cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Once it’s ready to eat, get creative by decorating it with chocolate, crushed biscuits, nuts or dried fruit, and enjoy!

Snack: Tasha Smart

Roasted Seeds

Food Editor @tashanotsmart

For those of you who struggle to source pumpkin puree and ended up creating your own, you may find yourself with an abundance of leftover pumpkin seeds. But fear not! Here are two really simple recipes to turn them in to a tasty and healthy snack.

er (melted).

Pour this over the seeds and mix.

Spread the seeds onto a baking tray and cook at 150 degrees until golden brown (should be about 20-30mins).

Sweet

For a savoury snack, you can roast your seeds in just about any spices.

For a great sweet treat try cinammon and brown sugar roasted seeds.

Firstly, grab your seeds these will need to be washed and dried before beginning.

Make a mixture of 1 teaspoon cinammon, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons butt-

Savoury

Wash and dry your seeds and mix in oil with a bit of salt.

It is at this point that you can add whatever spices you'd like. This could be chilli for a bit of a kick, or maybe paprika for a more smokey taste!

The same cooking instructions apply!

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TRAVEL

Friday 21st October 2017

@redbricktravel

Hidden Gem: Boa Vista, Cape Verde Alys Haswell Travel Writer @alyshaswell

You may not have heard of Boa Vista – a tranquil and underrated island, which should definitely be on your travel wish-list. Boa Vista is a holiday destination yet to have its spot in the limelight.

Previously plagued by drought, causing widespread economic problems, the island now hopes to flourish with its newfound tourism industry. Located in Cape Verde, off the North-West coast of Africa, 500km from Senegal, Boa Vista encapsulates natural beauty.

As the easternmost island of Cape Verde (which consists of ten volcanic islands), Boa Vista is known for its stunning landscape, traditional music festivities, and exotic wildlife and marine animals.

"The crystal-clear turquoise waters meet the shores of white sandy beaches" If anyone has mentioned Boa Vista to you, it has probably been because of its largely unspoilt coastline. The island’s name itself

means “good view” in its native Portuguese, and it is not surprising to see why. The island contains many breath-taking views, and each corner provides a different perspective of Cape Verdean life. The crystal-clear turquoise waters meet the shores of white sandy beaches, and sand-dunes etched so dynamically into the landscape that they make for the artiest of Instagram posts. Boa Vista offers a taste of paradise, without an extensively long travel time from the UK. You can catch a flight from Gatwick airport and within approximately five and a half hours you’ll find yourself in what feels like another universe.

With tourism in its infancy on the island, finding accommodation that is affordable for students, yet allows enough flexibility to truly experience Boa Vista, can be difficult. Most hotels, which could be more appropriately described as villages due to their sizes and service provisions, mainly offer all-inclusive packages. A highly recommended hotel on TripAdvisor is Clubhotel Rui Karamboa. Situated on Praia de Salines beach this hotel is in one of the best locations for exploring the neighbouring area on foot. If a resort with a little bit of luxury does not really suit you (or your budget), a number of independent hotels can be found in Sal Rei Photographs by Alys Haswell

with separate dining options.

A prime reason for visiting Boa Vista is the beaches, with Santa Monica beach as a mustsee. Voted as one of the top ten beaches in the world by travel publications including The Telegraph, Santa Monica beach spans 18km. Unlike the more famous American beach sharing the same name, Santa Monica can only be easily accessed by jeep, so you can gaze at the seemingly endless white sands without a soul in sight. Crowds of ghost crabs scuttling up and down the beach in perfect synchronisation with the waves is also a highlight – a simple but entertaining sight.

Nearby Praia de Varandinha is less visited by tourists, but no less impressive with its intricate caves and rocky coves lining the beach.

Boa Vista is said to be the third most significant loggerhead turtle nesting area in the world, and during nesting season (June September), you can spot turtle trails on Varandinha beach.

Booking onto a guided ‘turtle watching tour’ at night is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Watch these gentle giants crawl from the ocean and nest in their natural environment, while learning all about them from local conservation experts.

Another place of interest is the shipwreck of Cabo Santa Maria, located on Boa Esperanca beach on the Northern tip of the island.

The old Cargo ship ran aground in 1968, much to the delight of local people who were able to seize its goods. Almost five decades on, the huge ships’ remains create a striking image, with its rusting steel structure contrasting the idyllic backdrop. In years to come the wreckage will have disappeared, but today the constant waves crashing through its skeleton make the shipwreck unmissable. As with a number of Boa Vista’s attractions, hiring quad bikes is a very popular way to reach the shipwreck. Although it is not for the faint hearted - treacherous off-road driving on makeshift dirt tracks descends into paths winding between palm and acacia trees, with only a few goats

and donkeys for company.

Alternatively, many reliable tour companies offer 4x4 trips for a slightly more comfortable ride.

The towns off the island provide a welcome change from the peaceful coast. From Povoacao Velha, the oldest settlement on the island hidden in its mountainous centre, to the old Capital Rabil, each town invokes a welcome atmosphere, largely because of the people who live there. The rainbow-coloured capital Sal Rei can be reached on foot. Just a thirty minute walk along the beach from the Rui Karamboa takes you to Sal Rei Port, from where you can explore the vibrant town.

Small in its size, Sal Rei is not short of personality. The side streets surrounding the handpainted cobbled square are filled with surf shops, souvenir venders, and cafes.

"Honey-grilled plantain...freshly caught fish, and slow cooked curries" Undeniably the Cape Verdean cuisine is a further reason to visit Boa Vista. Honey-grilled plantain, an abundance of freshly caught fish, and slow cooked curries and stews are local Creole delicacies available to try in Sal Rei, and at various beach restaurants. Head to Bahia beach for reasonably priced

seafood and cocktails; this quirky wooden restaurant also has a number of four poster beds dotted in front of its decking, should you be lucky enough to grab yourself one. Come evening, Morabeza is the place to be. With nightlife being quite low-key in Boa Vista, this chic beach bar hosts traditional African drumming, dancing, and fire-eating shows around a less than modest bonfire. A large range of local liquors are at hand, but be aware that the speciality shots are considerably stronger than those that you can purchase from your favourite university bar.

Plenty of souvenirs can be found throughout the island to remember your trip by and take a little piece of this well-kept secret home. Carefully carved wooden sculptures, pretty sand paintings, scarfs, and other authentic gifts are sold in a great variety of souvenir shops. Rabil pottery is particularly worth a visit. This rapidly expanding community project allows you to see pottery being created from local river clay and buy a unique item if desired.

With inviting temperatures all year round, Boa Vista is an ideal destination if you fancy a bit of winter sun or are preparing for your next summer trip. Offering a brilliant balance of relaxing, active, and cultural activities, Boa Vista has something for everyone, and is soon sure to be a hot topic of conversation, rather than a place name that is met with blank looks when mentioned in your local pub.

A Postcard From... The Auvergne Rebecca Cutler Travel Writer

The Auvergne is not your typical glamorous French holiday destination. Despite its UNESCO world heritage status, it is often overlooked for its more fashionable neighbours. At the heart of southern France, the Auvergne valley is a must-visit for those fond of the outdoors. Walking and picnicking are popular activities for locals and tourists alike.

Whether you venture up into the mountains of the Massif du Sancy to enjoy a ramble around the azure waters of the 6,900 year-old volcanic Lac Pavin, or explore the local villages, the panoramas are mesmerising.

If the stunning views from the mountains are not enough for your cultural appetite, thanks to

Horizon’s ‘Art Nature’ project, you can view contemporary artists’ interactive sculptures amongst the unusual settings of the Sancy woodlands and mountains.

"...unsurprisingly rated the most beautiful village in France."

Close by is the 14th century town of Usson, once home to Queen Margot and unsurprisingly rated the most beautiful village in France. A large part of the grand castle walls still remains, hiding many unexplained passages and crevices.

To the west, Issoire should be

an absolute on your itinerary.

Here, the summer months are filled with local food stalls and live music. Amongst the boutiques, Fromageries and Patisseries is an intriguing restaurant, which transforms into Beach Bar on certain nights of the year.

Be sure to take advantage of the free art expositions around the town, whilst a stunning panoramic of Issoire’s rooftops and encircling chain of mountains can be found at the top of the Tour d’Horloge (the town clock tower) for just €1. Meanwhile, the imposing architecture of SaintAustremoine is better appreciated on foot. As one of five Romanesque churches in the region, this church has both unexpectedly colourful interior wall designs and a curious collection of astrological stone engravings around the exte-

rior.

Not to mention ClermontFerrand with its exciting shopping scene, grand cathedral and the ASM (the rugby union club), which is always a hot topic with the locals.

Photograph by Felicity Hemming

The delicious sunset over the Sancy mountain range, from one of the numerous nearby hills, or from Issoire’s iconic black-stone clock tower, is not to be missed.

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Friday 21st October 2017

@redbricktravel

21

Cheap Trips: Charms of The Cyclades Travel writer Chloe Brinkman gives us some tips on how to travel cheaply around the Cyclades from day to night Chloe Brinkman Travel Writer @chloe_brinkman

The Cyclades tend to epitomise what most of us would envisage upon hearing mention of the Greek islands. Clear blue skies meeting clearer blue seas, hilly landscapes sequined with bluedomed churches, and whitewashed towns decked in fuchsia hanging flowers.

However, within this picturesque island group in the midst of the Aegean Sea, student hotspots are sprouting into new alternatives to the established summer honeypots of Zante and Kavos.

Now, peaceful streets and tranquil beaches are transformed into buzzing hubs of light and music after sunset, thronged with hedonistic backpackers and partiers.

"Clear blue skies meeting clearer blue seas" The unparalleled mixture of Greek culture and sights by day and lively clubbing scenes by night, makes the Cyclades an ideal destination for island-hopping, and can easily be enjoyed without breaking the bank. Here are just a few stop-offs you could make: Start your summer venture in Mykonos to get a quintessential taste of life in the Cyclades. This island undoubtedly has a glamorous reputation, often seen as an alternative to Ibiza and being a summertime favourite of numerous celebrities. However, its stylish status does not have to correspond with its price tags; a little shopping around for cheaper deals is all that is required.

In terms of accommodation, the island has an extensive choice of affordable youth hostels-cumbeach clubs, such as Paraga Beach Hostel. This backpacker hub serves as a relaxed pool party day

and night, welcoming youths from across the globe. The golden beach below lives up to Mykonos’ nickname of ‘the island of the winds’, being a perfect spot for windsurfing and other water sports. The hostel has a convenient poolside bar and restaurant which serves traditional Greek dishes alongside various standard favourites all day, as well as budget-friendly pitchers of cocktails by night. The communal areas also offer a perfect place to enjoy shop-bought drinks with fellow travellers.

A short walk along the cliffs above will bring you to the famous Paradise Beach; a sandy strip bursting with clubs and bars. Expect dancing until the early hours at the f a m e d Paradise Beach Club, or wander further along the coast for an exhilarating night at Cavo Paradiso, known for its impressive summer schedule featuring many international DJs, which in the past have included David Guetta, Alesso and Steve Aoki, to name a few.

A visit to the main town, known simply as Mykonos Town, is also a must. Stroll along the cobbled pathways and lose yourself in the delightful labyrinth of blue and white buildings, finding new cafés and souvenir shops around every corner. Head to Little Venice, the charming shoreline at the North-West border of the town, lined with converted fishing houses which now serve as tempting eateries and quaint art and gift stores. The competing restaurants will frequently offer reductions on prices, or even free drinks, where you can enjoy an

evening meal watching the Cycladic sunset. At night, take your pick from the towns’ plethora of bars for another vibrant night, but be sure to stop by the Scandinavian Bar and Club to enjoy reasonably-priced drinks with hordes of other young travellers in the modern venue; easy to find by following its resonating music.

A little island called Ios can be reached only by boat or ferry, but is absolutely worth a visit. All the people you meet here, from bartenders and waiters to fellow backpackers, are likely to be amongst the friendliest you’ve ever met.

It is notably a favourite w i t h Australian a n d Canadian young tourists, who you can mingle with in the streets of Chora; Ios’s biggest town. By day, Chora has a carefree atmosphere, where stepped narrow paths meet at small courtyards, fringed with traditional tavernas. Consider hiking to the top of the hill that Chora sits upon by following the string of Greek chapels, and be met with unbeatable views of the surrounding seas and panoramic island below.

By night, Chora buzzes with a clubbing scene that could rival its counterparts across Greece and Croatia. In comparison to Mykonos, low-priced bars are even more customary, with many venues offering, for example, shots for just one or two euros.

The Lost Boys Bar is undoubtedly one of the best options, typically brimming with fellow students, while Traffic and Rehab clubs are

good choices for non-stop dancing. The Helios Rock Bar is also a popular alternative for a different music scene. Whichever you choose, the close proximity of all the venues means a self-lead bar crawl is easily doable; you can hop from one bar to another without worrying about dodging a single car or rude bouncer.

When choosing where to stay, the Far Out Beach Club is a favourite; a party hostel situated on Mylopotas beach just a fiveminute bus journey from Chora.

With immaculate dorms and private rooms, the accommodation charges are surprisingly cheap, and refreshments can be enjoyed all day by the pool for equally modest prices.

"Accommodation charges are surprisingly cheap" Although Santorini may be not as popular with students as it is with idle holidaymakers, a short visit to Santorini can be the perfect way to bring your party trip to a memorable end. Choose from the numerous youth hostels which are found rarely far from the vast expanses of volcanic beaches, and take a day or two to lounge in the Cycladic sun.

However, allow time to visit the town of Fira, a tourist hotspot lined with scores of shoemaker’s stores and trinket shops. Gaze up at the scenic town from a boat tour or cable car. Alternatively, if you are interested in a taste of culture, consider a trip to the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral and marvel at the intricate frescoes, or visit the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist free of charge. If you have extra money to spare, you could visit the Museum of Prehistoric Thera or one of the many galleries or wineries.

Venturing further North to the village of Oia will reveal Instagram-worthy views where tiers of painted buildings decorate the cliffside against a backdrop of blue waters. Seeing the renowned pink sunset here can be an unrivalled sight to round off your Cycladic adventure.

Logistically, costs can vary depending on how many islands you wish to visit, and the length of your stays. A daily spending limit of $20 should be ample, but opting to stay at youth hostels and looking around for inexpensive places to eat and drink will make all the difference.

When booking your trip, a flight with a budget airline such as Easyjet (who offer direct flights to Mykonos from London Gatwick), arranged well in advance, is the best way to save on travel costs.

The same applies for booking ferry rides between the islands – planning ahead is key when looking to save.

So, as the winter months approach and booking a holiday for summer 2017 arises on many of our agendas, consider a trip to the Cyclades; the new studentfriendly home of European islandhopping.

Photographs by Chloe Brinkman

Top 3: Birmingham Destinations Rebecca Cutler Travel Writer @rebecca_cutler

Once billed as the City of a Thousand Trades, Birmingham is undeniably proud of its industrial heritage. Conveniently nestled in the city centre, less than ten minutes’ walk from New Street Station, Birmingham’s Back to Back houses showcase the real lives of the people that powered the industry. Operated by the National Trust, booking is essential for a tour of real homes from

"Once billed as the City of a Thousand Trades"

knowledgeable and interesting tour guides who will take you through over a hundred and fifty years’ worth of Birmingham’s history.

Delfina Rainoldi

Alternatively, you could while away the hours at the Ikon Gallery in Brindley Place. A contemporary art gallery housed in a former school building with gothic archi-

tecture, the Ikon Gallery combines the best of the old and the new in central Birmingham.

Working with both local and glo-

"Ikon Gallery combines the best of the old and the new" bal artists, Ikon aims to exhibit art through a variety of mediums, guaranteeing an interesting gallery experience beyond traditional expectations. It is also home to Café Opus, the sister restaurant of business staple Bar Opus, which changes its menu daily so you’re sure to always find something different to help you refuel. And with free entry to the gallery, it's

not one to be missed.

If you fancy staying more local, the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park in Edgbaston provides the perfect opportunity to meet and greet with Birmingham’s cutest creatures. The Wildlife Conservation Park is a short walk from campus, and with student

tickets costing less than five pounds, it’s a great spot for a cheap afternoon spent watching meerkat feeding time and spotting a newly born Red Panda!

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MUSIC

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickmusic

Live Review - New Street Records Presents: Encore Thom Dent Music Critic @thomdent

Initially, I had some difficulty finding the event, but after a few minutes of walking around the innocuous Bristol Pear I find an equally innocuous staircase that leads me to the top floor. Tucked away here is IsaacO, opening the night with resplendent acoustics and a soulsoaked voice. He cuts a powerful shape onstage — a towering baritone who leads the delighted audience in rounds of sweet singalongs; he even invites a mate onstage to collaborate on the last tune (token to the friendly intimacy of his show). Not entirely necessary, but unquestionably sweet. When he finishes I take advantage of the short break to take in my surroundings: high ceilinged, the place has that purposefully haphazard and rustic look typical of a venue that’ll charge £4.20 for a pint of Peroni.

Next to the stage are DAME,

a relatively new student band who instantly grasp the audience with simple hip-shaking guitar pop — think Bombay Bicycle Club in one of their more bouncy moods. For the next half an hour this seems to be the general vibe, besides the occasional math-disco tune and one song which lopes along on a slow, Warpaint-esque groove. Frontwoman Shannon Farmer displays the consistently happy-go-lucky nature that only someone with a full jug of cocktail to themselves is capable of — I see her later in the night and the jug is empty, so she certainly had a good night.

Now the party’s properly started, and the compere (who’s evidently a few drinks down) excitedly announces the next band Cosmo Calling with slurred assurances that we’re ‘not ready for them.’ Cheers. The band certainly make a lot of good noise, and at their best have a groove to rival Franz Ferdinand and pop zest to match Marsicans, but the

Robyn Topps

6 lack of a coherent frontman leaves something of a missing consistency to their sound. A minor fault though — the hooks are great and they certainly have some talent, the lead guitarist in particular ripping out solo after classic solo - he’s one top hat away from Slash. Cosmo Calling aren’t a local band — as they delight in telling us, they’ve travelled via megabus from Manchester — yet the enraptured crowd certainly seem to think that it was worth them making the journey down the M6.

Salute the Sun are next, and definitely look the part. The frontman, a bespectacled babyface wrapped in what looks like vintage skiwear, channels the vibe of a Hacienda-era Bernard Sumner, or that bloke from Years and Years. The music, while packing less of a punch to the previous two bands, retains enough pop sensibility to blend quite pleasantly into the background. A selection of smooth soul-pop tunes oozes forth from the stage (as well as a cover of Drake’s ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ for good measure), and the audience seem to appreciate

half an hour to catch their breath.

F.O.D. takes the reins at around 11pm, and instantly picks the mood back up, creating the afterparty. He opens with a remix of DAME’s ‘Runaway’ in a moment of slight exclusivity, but following this casual nod is an hour of unadulterated house bliss.

A hypnotic mix of Daft Punk, Jungle and Arcanne leaves me at least in a mindless state of semiconscious dancing, as the incessant bass ‘n’ beats fill the space where my brain should be functioning. At one point he plays a song that may or may not have been the Mastermind theme. I’m not sure, I’d had a few (reasonably priced) jägerbombs by that point. Bizarrely he comes to take a picture with me towards the end of his set, music still blaring from his decks. All very surreal.

The night may have ended on a slightly odd note (apologies for the out-of-body experiences, very unprofessional. Won’t happen again.), but it was certainly a triumph. New Street Records definitely know how to put on a show, and I recommend next time you come join in with them.

"Frontwoman Shannon Farmer displays the consistently happygo-lucky nature that only someone with a full jug of cocktail to themselves is capable of."

Matthew Swallow

Album Review: Deap Vally - Femejism Rosie Solomon Music Critic @rosiees7

There are few bands in today’s rock scene who can claim to be as outspoken about women’s rights as Deap Vally. In the years between their debut Sistrionix and this new offering, very little has changed in terms of closing the gender pay gap, reducing the stigma which follows rape culture and victims, street harassment and reproductive rights – and this is an album which doesn’t accept the status quo. With songs such as ‘Gonnawanna’, the band manage to sound pissed off and fed up while still sticking to a killer melody and sweetly sing-

ing the words ‘I’m gonna do whatever the fuck I wanna.’ They perfectly encapsulate the sugarcoated sort of irritation which also permeated their first album.

Whilst Sistrionix was a more rock-fuelled, less overt offering to the world of female-fronted rock bands, Femejism is unapologetically balls-to-the-wall poprock with some seriously catchy hooks and lyrics which cannot be mistaken for anything other than pure, unadulterated feminism.

This is especially apparent in the anthemic ‘Smile More’, a song dedicated to the ‘guy at the bar [who] tells me to smile more’.

This song really is the indicator for the whole album – if you like it, you should listen to the whole album and vice-versa. It reads like a list of all the things women

are told to be ashamed of, with singer/guitarist Lindsey Troy owning up to each of them without apology – ‘And I am not ashamed of my sex life / Although I wish it were better’ is a personal favourite of mine.

Femejism may not be quite as mature sounding, musically at least, as Sistrionix. It’s missing some of the developed guitar riffs from songs such as ‘Gonna Make My Own Money’ and ‘Baby I Call Hell.’ But that does not mean that it’s not one of the most important and most relevant rock albums around right now. This is an album for the women who live in 2016, who are still treated unequally and who are very pissed off about it.

MUSIC

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickmusic

23

Redbrick Meets: Declan McKenna Phil Jones Music Editor @philrdjones

Declan McKenna is 17 years old.

That likely makes him younger than everyone reading this piece.

Not only is he 17 years old, but he’s 17 and has already played Glastonbury, as well as toured all over the country instead of doing his A-levels. Declan McKenna would therefore be very easy to hate. However, when I meet him I am instantly charmed by his boyish energy and genuine enthusiasm to be in the position he is in.

Arriving at the end of a seamless sound-check, I am greeted with a handshake by a Brazil-footballshirt adorned young man.

Tonight was the opening night of McKenna’s tour supporting Blossoms, a band he knows very well. ‘I actually toured with them around this time last year. They’re a really fun band with a quality live show, so it’s gonna be good.

The last two times I played here I played the Temple room at the top with Blossoms and then I played the slightly bigger room with Mystery Jets, and now I’m playing the big room. So it’s pretty cool.’

McKenna rose to prominence due to his tackling of the corruption of the 2014 FIFA World Cup on early single ‘Brazil’, however he is coy when talking about the track’s inception. ‘It was just kinda all over the news wasn’t it?

I guess at the time I wrote it all the corruption things weren’t talked about much. It was just one of

those things where it’s like "oh that’s bad, I should write a song about it!" I don’t really have too much going on in my life so I just look elsewhere, and if I find anything moderately interesting I’ll just be like "yeah I’ll write a song about it".’

"It's quite clichéd but I just couldn't have imagined this ever happening."

Through ‘Brazil’ and debut single ‘Paracetamol’, McKenna has carved himself a niche as someone who writes about less personal, more political matters.

‘I think it’s easier to, because when you write more personal material you don’t wanna write about people I know in a negative way. You know, I don’t wanna say things that if someone listened to it they'd be like "what the hell are you writing about". There’s a few tracks on the record about a few more personal things. I just find it much more comfortable to write about the wider world.’

It has frequently been reported in recent years that there is a lack of young bands writing protest songs. McKenna does not subscribe to this viewpoint however.

‘I think there’s a good few out there. A lot of people can tend to write about repetitive topics, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing as a lot of people can relate to those songs better. I tend to be quite vague

with my lyrics about what I’m writing about. A lot of people find it more difficult to write about those things or it’s just not for them. There’s like Sleaford Mods and stuff like that, there’s a lot of grime and hip-hop writing about that sort of thing. I think Earl Sweatshirt is a really good example of that. I think it’s out there, and I think a lot of young people are doing that as well.

There’s some kind of resurgence of it coming around.’

Declan’s biggest break so far was given to him by the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, which he won in 2015. The moment he became the recipient still sticks in his memory.

‘It was amazing. It was really weird at the time, like I was there with a bunch of mates and we were just in the room next door where all the free food was.

We didn’t know they were calling out all the names, we were just chilling in there. This guy came up to me, who I didn’t know but is now my booking agent, and said I should probably go into the other room.

As I did I heard them say "Declan McKenna" and I thought they were just reading out the names, but then everyone was clapping and looking at me

and I was like ‘I’ve won!’ I went up and Michael Eavis was there, and he gave me the trophy and I was like "oh shit, I’m playing at Glastonbury!" It was amazing, I had the best weekend of my life so far and it was just great.'

McKenna is well aware that he lives a very different life to most 17-year old Brits. ‘It’s just mad! Like I could be still doing A levels but I’m out on tour enjoying myself, just doing what I enjoy all the time. It’s still

early days but it’s just amazing.

It’s quite a cliché but I just couldn’t have imagined this ever happening.’ McKenna rarely writes about the mundanity of the late teenage experience however, drawing his influence from more disparate sources. ‘I take influence from everything. At the minute what I’ve tried to do is not really stick to a genre, which some people like and some people don’t. It’s sort of vaguely similar but some of the songs are quite different, it’s not all just a guitar band thing.'

I ask Declan what is in store for his future, and he gives a typical wide-eyed response. ‘Just touring a lot, I’m finishing a record which should be done in November. That should be out in March/April, it’s not confirmed until we finish all the mixing but it’s very close. It’s all very exciting at the minute!’

He has already had a hit single that’s generated major news coverage.

He’s already toured over the country.

He’s even played G l a s t o n b u r y.

Twice. Declan McKenna is 17 years old.

Album Review : Banks - The Altar Song of the Week: George Griffiths Music Critic @georgegriffiths

All Jillian Banks wants is to be worshipped. Her debut, 2014’s Goddess, was good, if too calculated and formulaic for it to be a true breakthrough. Things get really interesting, however, on her sophomore LP. The Altar is more insular, more claustrophobic and more ambitious in its attempts to combine pop elements with Banks’ overriding gloomy, hazy R&B aesthetic.

Opening with ‘Gemini Feed,’ easily the most pop-centric song of Banks’ career, The Altar sees Banks look inward into her relationships, into herself - and pulling out the darkness from within. ‘And to think you would get me to the altar / I would follow you around like a duck that needs water,’ Banks growls on the chorus, opening up her monochrome gaze into a world of flitting colour. It doesn’t last long; the glacial ‘Fuck With Myself’ sees Banks partially knock-off the soundtrack to this year’s seminal horror The Witch with a tepid, timid almost-rap tone. ‘Cos I fuck with myself more than anyone else,’ she croaks above the jangling beats, and it’s a turn of phrase that hits particu-

larly hard. Tell me about it, girl.

To these ears, the centrepiece of the album is ‘Trainwreck,’ which sees Banks immerse herself more fully in the pop sensibility that was hinted at in the chorus of ‘Gemini Feed.’ With a Yeezy-like stuttering beat, Banks’ voice speeds up, slows down and hits the beat as she talks icily on escaping from her waste-ofspace relationship and back into the light. ‘I had to get away,’ she repeats, and this is, ultim a t e l y, what The

Altar is all about. Goddess never really showed the true side of Banks - it was a bit too calculated to make a proper impact - but The Altar sees Banks throwing all caution to the wind and just going for it. As she says herself, ’I used to care what you think about me’; the self-consciousness of Banks’ debut has disappeared, she’s not afraid to fully immerse herself in her darkest vision, and it’s a vision that pulls off her most convincing stab at becoming worshipped more than ever before.

Bruno Mars 24K Magic Holly Carter Music Editor @holscarts

Catchy chorus, irresistible beat, smooth vocals and cheeky lyrics, Bruno Mars has created yet another chart topping banger with new single ‘24K Magic’. Starting dramatically with an auto-tuned vocal solo, the track quickly breaks down into an ‘Uptown Funk’-esque drum beat, overlaid with feverish synth sounds and Mars’ classic lyrical, chant-like rapping. It’s clear Mars wasn’t aiming to inspire the masses with this one, but when the chorus kicks in it’s near impossible not to dance, and what more do you expect from

"All Jillian Banks "I’m not quite sure... wants is to why he feels the need to use the cringey be line ‘hashtag worshipped." blessed’, but I don’t really mind. I can groove to it, and that’s enough."

Bruno Mars? I’m not quite sure what ‘24 karat magic in the air’ means, or why he feels the need to use the cringey line ‘hashtag blessed’, but I don’t really mind. I can groove to it, and that’s enough. Apart from his collaboration with Mark Ronson on ‘Uptown Funk’, this is the first release from Bruno Mars since 2012’s ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’, and it’s refreshing to have him back on the chart scene. With an accompanying video that’s racked up a whopping 27 million views in just a week, it’s clear that the world is ecstatic to see Bruno back. Full of party sequences, clean-cut group dances and shots of Mars in bling and shades, he oozes just as much effortless cool as ever, and doesn’t need Mark Ronson to help him along. If ‘24K Magic’ is anything to go by, we can look forward to a string of bangers in the lead up to album number three.

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CULTURE

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@redbrickculture

Preview - 'The Magnetic Diaries' at mac Birmingham Naomi Simpson Culture Critic

To many people, the word ‘poetry’ conjures up thoughts of stultifying teaching exercises in GCSE classrooms and the anachronistic words of poets long-gone. Not so the audience of Sarah James’ The Magnetic Diaries, a genre-bending combination of theatre and poetry which is completing a highly successful tour of the UK. The performance is based on James’ collection of poetry which was highly commended by the Forward Prizes for Poetry.

James’ work engages with the ever-challenging issue of mental health and its effect on family life, echoing the work of Gustave Flaubert’s iconic Madame Bovary. At a time of increasingly open conversation surrounding mental health, The Magnetic Diaries promises to add a Number of words lyrical and sympathetic voice this page's to theindiscussion, whilst also providing a new route into headline poetry for those who wish to see it as a living form of expression and not as a historical relic consigned to dusty bookshelves.

The Magnetic Diaries runs at the mac on Sat 22 Oct.

Review: ‘Blood Brothers’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome Abbie Priestley Culture Critic

They say that before you watch a play you should try to avoid preconceptions, or over-zealous research. It is happily, then, that I can admit my mind was a crystal pool of ignorance when I arrived at the Hippodrome on Tuesday night - blissfully unaware of the emotional rapids ahead. But for those of you who don’t want to go quite so unprepared; Blood Brothers by Willy Russell follows the lives of the Johnstone twins, who are separated at birth and thus have completely different upbringings. Whilst Mickey stays with his working class mother and his 7 older siblings, Eddie is raised

"A journey of synth orchestra, power ballads, and strong scouser accents"… by the middle-class Lyons family and enters a world of private education, university, and 'a bike with both wheels on!' Without knowing the circumstances of their birth, the brothers become fast friends. But we are told that should they ever be told the truth, then both shall die - and as the play opens to the image of two dead bodies, draped in vivid red

cloth, it takes no real genius to see that this occurs. Instead, in a rather Shakespearean manner which nods back to Romeo and Juliet, we are invited to follow the path to their tragic fate. A journey of synth orchestra, power ballads, and strong scouser accents.…

Though it’s clear that you’ll be facing a pretty bleak ending, it wouldn’t be quite so hard-hitting if the musical wasn’t so damn funny. Blood Brothers is a colourful tale of growing up, with pet worms, first kisses, and galloping around on invisible horses (Monty Python, anyone?). Russell deftly skates the line between realism and art; for example, we find young Mickey (Sean Jones) lamenting to us, amongst other

woes, that he isn’t tall enough to pee through the neighbours’ letterbox. Of course, this is all recounted in rhyming verse.

Keeping with this, the Director (Tomson) keeps the choreography of the children playing at a perfect balance of wild playful gesture and controlled dance, to charming effect. The cast welcome the audience into these moments of fun, in a manner which approaches pantomime. And when Eddie (Joel Benedict), dressed head to toe in cricket whites, tells his bigoted teacher to 'take a flying f*** at a rolling doughnut!', a crowd has never cheered with more pride.

For me though, the real star of the show was Mickey. Both the changing age of the character and Birmingham Hippodrome

the events which occur in his life, meant that Jones had a breadth of experiences and emotions to convey for this role, all of which he adapted to admirably. Lyn Paul, as Mrs Johnstone, also gave a class performance. Although the narrator (Dean Chisnall) invites us to judge her as cold-hearted, her maternal anguish is convincing.

In particular, her interactions with her estranged son Eddie are subtly managed and not overdone. And anyone who was not moved by her sorrow in the closing scene probably has a plate in their head (please see play to understand joke). The sound team are also to be congratulated; both for their polished songs and for their haunting use of effects like reverb and reprise that often unsettled us in moments of temporary joy.

"Russell deftly skates the line between realism and art..."

Captions go in the corner of pictures and shouldn't be hyphenated

In all, I could not recommend this show more highly. Though the most prominent theme is that of class, the musical also touches on mental illness, unemployment, adulthood, and other issues which are of relevance today. And in the final minutes we rose for a standing ovation that was wholly deserved.

Review: Carlos Acosta's 'The Classical Farewell' at the Royal Albert Hall Josephine Dumbrell Culture Critic

So this is the end. Carlos Acosta is preparing to hang up his ballet shoes for good, leaving behind tutus and sugar plum fairies for a world of contemporary dance.

Tonight rejoices in his legacy as a virtuoso of classical ballet, and this legacy - as a man who journeyed from childhood poverty in Havana, Cuba, to becoming the first black principal dancer at The Royal Ballet - is a beautiful one to bear. Indeed, although this weeklong string of ‘farewell’ performances signifies Acosta’s final balletic curtain call, it also signifies his passing on of the torch to further generations of young dancers, in particular his establishment, The Carlos Acosta Dance Foundation in Havana, for underprivileged young Cuban dancers and his own Cuban dance company, Acosta Danza.

Acosta’s 43 years appear to have caught up with him a bit - his movements tonight are a little slower, a little more heavy, leaps that were once almost otherworldly in their height and strength a little closer to the ground - but his power and technical skill is still astonishing, his passion for dance still seeping from every pore. It is this love of dance that permeates the atmosphere of tonight’s performance, which feels as much a celebration of Acosta himself as it does an exploration of ballet in its many forms.

‘The Classical Farewell’ demonstrates some of the greatest hits of Acosta’s extensive repertoire as well as a number of his favourite pieces; a showcase of thirteen solos and group performances that cover a wide breadth of human emotion. Don Quixote is lively and joyous, Manon impassioned, Gloria and Requiem eerie, melancholic depictions of loss and grief accompanied by the haunting vocals of the Pegasus Choir.

"...his power and technical skill is still astonishing, his passion for dance still seeping from every pore" Mayerling is a stand-out piece for its tragic poignancy and dark themes, a depiction of a couple’s tragic suicide (accompanied by some truly acrobatic lifts), that somehow manages to work despite lacking the context of the wider production. There also seems to be an attempt to convey different styles of ballet: whilst works such as Winter Dreams and Rhapsody are perhaps more reflective of the poise and grace of classical ballet, pieces like Apollo and Anadromous are a display of neoclassical and contemporary ballet’s more modern influences.

The dynamic pas de deux from Don Quixote - performed alongside The Royal Ballet’s Marianela Núñez - is a personal favourite, and a breath-taking ode to one of the pair’s greatest performances together. Acosta transports his audience to the streets of La Mancha with aplomb; all sensuous swagger, joyous turns, and bounding excitement. Núñez is a particular delight, the dizzying series of fouettes at the end of her solo nothing short of astounding.

Of course, it is not only Acosta who shines tonight. Cuba’s own Luis Valle and Gabriela Lugo may be new names to many of the people sitting here this evening, but they excel as lovers in the exotic, sultry Scheherazade (whoever said ballet can’t be sexy?), and in the eerie, contemporarytinged Anadromous, with its abstract lines and haunting soundtrack, courtesy of Ezio Bosso’s ‘Rain, In Your Black Eyes’. As Scheherazade ends on a single harsh, discordant crash of piano keys, Lugo slumping dramatically on top of her partner, I’m made suddenly aware that I’d been holding my breath. Dying Swan arguably one of classical ballet’s most iconic pieces - is done glorious justice by Sarah Lamb, securing her place in my heart as one of modern ballet’s greats. Complete with feathered tutu, quaking legs, and a gracefully arched back, she teeters across the stage with an exquisite, spine-tingling delicacy.

Acosta’s impassioned, closing contemporary solo Memoria - a

piece choreographed specifically for him in 2011 by Miguel Altunaga - is where his frequent accolade as the greatest male dancer of his generation is truly made worthy. Alone under a single spotlight and immersed in thumping electronica he seems simply unstoppable; a blur of dynamic lines, powerful jumps, and undulating rhythms. What makes Carlos Acosta such a celebrated star of the ballet universe is his ability to pour genuine emotion and soul into every movement, and his electric performance of the street dance-tinged Memoria is a sure sign of just that.

Moved to tears by his roaring reception and the emotion that only comes with leaving behind a career that’s become a home, Acosta hesitates to leave the audience behind. The stage is left empty, nothing remaining but his vacated chair and a discarded pair of ballet shoes. A poignant symbol of his final farewell, perhaps, but also a promise: even as Acosta’s story opens on a new, more contemporary chapter, his legacy in the ballet world will continue to live on.

Johan Persson

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Friday 21st October 2016

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@redbrickculture

Review: ‘Starting Out’ at the Birmingham REP Naomi Simpson Culture Critic

If ever you have sat in a lecture theatre exasperatedly wondering how viewing this 50-minute PowerPoint will help you kickstart a career, or found yourself jealously eyeing up a friend’s experience-laden CV, then you have experienced the peculiar millennial anxiety that Starting Out taps into with honesty, anger, and humour. An innovative performance concept, Starting Out is Birmingham-based theatre company Women & Theatre’s take on the challenges facing young women as they enter the workforce in 2016. Within this single production consisting of five short plays, the audience is confronted with the contemporary issues of youth unemployment, unfair payment practices, graduate depression, and the glass ceiling, with the underlying impression that the system we were taught to believe in as young adults preparing for work has in fact failed us.

Each of the five plays - written by Charlene James, Manjeet Mann, Lorna Laidlaw, Susie Sillett, and Janice Connolly - are based on research interviews carried out by Women & Theatre in Birmingham. Young women were asked to describe their experiences entering the workplace or

searching for work, and the specific challenges they have faced and overcome in order to ascend the career ladder. As the lights came up, Jalleh Alizadeh, who plays an over-worked and underappreciated apprentice in the first

of the plays 'Standing Tall', appeared on the stage. The audience was faced with a raw mix of hope, expectation, and apprehension - something which viewers will instantly recognise as a particular type of workplace panic.

Graeme Braidwood

'You are a proud peacock' rings out from Alizadeh’s character as she looks for the inspiration to stand up for herself in the mirror of a disabled toilet, and from that moment on, Starting Out continues to sympathetically portray naiveté alongside courage, culminating in the rousing ‘F**k ‘em!’ which concludes 'The Broken Promise', the final of the five plays.

"... the all-female cast becomes a symbol of hope against the often bleak, frequently humorous, and unflinchingly honest situation they portray..."

Of the five short plays, perhaps the most striking is 'The Broken Promise', which engages with the notion that the dream of education leading straight to fulfilling employment is in fact as unattainable as a fairy tale. The protagonist, referred to only as ‘The Girl’, starts out as a young

woman who has succeeded in all tasks set for her and is ready to cross ‘the bridge’ to security and employment post-education. By elevating the language we use to talk about career progression from metaphor to reality, 'The Broken Promise' humorously unpacks our belief that there is any fail-safe route to career security and that conformity is the best policy.

Strikingly, the five actors share the same performance space, and as the stage fills with the actors who have come before, the plays begin to visually represent the over-flowing employment pool, creating a sense of the limited opportunities faced by each of the characters. Each of the plays shows its protagonist directly addressing the audience and as such, Women & Theatre manages to achieve its central goal of giving ‘voices to those not usually heard’. It is clear that Starting Out knows the power of its own production as its all-female cast becomes a symbol of hope against the often bleak, frequently humorous, and unflinchingly honest situation they portray. A truly moving, inspiring, and challenging watch for those of us who fear that ‘the bridge’ may no longer be structurally sound.

Review: ‘946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips’ Diana Murgulet Culture Critic

Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, '946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips' tells the story of Lily, a 12-year-old British girl living out her childhood through the Second World War, who has to relocate with her family because of a military exercise.

If there’s one quote from the play that perfectly summarises its essence, it is 'In the dark times there will be singing'. The stage adaptation by the author, Michael Morpurgo and Emma Rice, the artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, is playful, musical, and full of energy.

As you walk into the theatre, you get a quick glimpse into the freedom of the creative process behind the play - the live band is placed on top of the amazing stage design, which features a WW2 aeroplane propeller, a tractor, and a bright blue ski archway.

The band is led by a ‘satin menace’ with an amazing voice, and their blues and swing songs accompany the acting throughout the play.

"The Kneehigh Theatre company's vision is that art and music brings people together."

The big problems in the play - death, rationing, danger - are downsized to Lily’s understand-

ing of the world. Everything is a game for the younger characters - Lily daydreams about Churchill and Hitler in a fight of rock-paper-scissors, while the child refugee that her family is hosting thinks of the search lights that can be seen during the night as a big game of noughts and crosses. The leitmotif of the play is the Blues Man asking Lily 'Hey little girl, what’s wrong?' to which she replies 'I lost my cat'. For her it’s not her father’s absence caused by war, or the house change that first come to mind. The adaptation alternates between serious and playful, with scenes from the attacks and raids, but also with songs in the school and cuddles between Lily and her cat, Tips.

Even the title hides a tragic undertone: 946 is the number of soldiers that died during a rehearsal for D-day, the cause of Lily’s family’s relocation, due to a miscommunication.

The play is acutely relevant for our own present, as every character is displaced - Lily’s family has to leave their farm to make room for the military exercise, the American soldiers are sent over to win the war, the school headmistress has to leave France because she is a Jew, the children from the city are sent away for their safety. To highlight this, the students that arrive in the small town are labelled, both figuratively and literally, as refugees, and are mocked by the other kids in the school. The music and dance become a way of fighting through the hardships and bringing the characters together, creating a sense of community and family. The omnipresent opti-

mism, conveyed through song, carries to the end of the play, stressing the 'Blitz Spirit' attitude: we shall manage, the war will soon be over.

Steve Tanner

"If there’s one quote from the play that perfectly summarises its essence, it is 'In the dark times there will be singing'."

In the play, Blues Man quotes Maya Angelou, 'There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you' and that’s what Kneehigh, the Cornwall theatre company behind the play, achieves with this adaptation. They give voice to contemporary issues in a light, educational format for all audiences. The play fits the mission of the theatre group perfectly - one of their projects earlier this year was to create The Good Chance tent in a refugee camp in Calais as a place for artistic performances. Their vision is that art and music, like in Morpurgo’s play, brings people together.

As assignments and deadlines start piling up, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips is a welldeserved, heart-warming theatre break that will put a smile on your face and make you dance in your seat.

Steve Tanner

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FILM

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickfilm

Potter More? Could the 'Boy Who Lived' Have Lived Too Long?

With Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the horizon, Redbrick wonders whether J.K. Rowling's megahit franchise has outstayed its welcome Patrick Box Film Critic

Last week, the supposedly final trailer for JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released online. The terribly titled spinoff movie is the first screenplay written by the Harry Potter author and is the first film in the franchise to not include any characters from the original book series. The new trailer is pretty decent, featuring plenty of action packed scenes of wizardry and numerous CGI Beasties for Eddie Redmayne to both find and presumably consider fantastic. The film is being released in the UK on November 18, just under a month before Disney’s own cinematic juggernaut, the Star Wars franchise, releases its first spinoff film: Rogue One. Both Warner Brothers and Disney have come under flack for green-lighting these cinematic spinoffs, with some considering them to be little more than thinly-veiled corporate cash-grabs. However, the troubling thing is that, all things considered, this argument actually applies better to Fantastic Beasts

then it does Rogue One. Whilst the Star Wars franchise is 39 years old and has existed for decades across all forms of media, the 19 year old Harry Potter F] franchise has only recently begun its expansion into other formats.

And from the way Rowling has gone about it so far, I believe, fans have cause to be concerned.

"Fans have cause to be concerned" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in 2007 and, like most people my age, I remember queuing up at midnight in order to get my hands on a copy ASAP. Harry Potter is still a phenomenon to this day but back then you couldn’t escape it. It had hijacked the popular consciousness in a way that nothing else has managed to do since. After the release of the book the fervour had little chance to dissipate due to the even more popular film franchise that had yet to wrap up the series. The final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Part 2, released in 2011, seemingly served as fans’ final goodbye to the franchise that had dominated their formative years. But much like Harry himself, the franchise refused to bloody die. By June of 2011 JK Rowling had already announced the creation of the Pottermore website, an interactive platform that would allow her to continue adding to the Pottercanon and provide fans with a continuing IV drip of their favourite fantasy world. And this is where the problems began. At first Rowling used the site to provide fans Potter-lore such as what happened to their favourite characters post-series, as well as information on the 'wider-wizarding-world' and the occasional short story.

Then came the revisions. The retconning. The retroactive repairs.

Because the fact is, that JK Rowling is incapable of leavingwell-enough-alone.

This isn’t a problem unique to Potter. To reassert the Star Wars comparison, the camera’s had barely stopped rolling on the original ’77 film before George-HanShot-First-Lucas began to make 'corrections'. The full list of changes Lucas made between the differ-

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

ent home media releases of his saga is depressingly long.

Likewise Ridley Scotts neo-noir masterpiece Blade Runner exists in at least seven cuts, each different in varying degrees. Therefore Rowling’s online posts retroactively changing Dumbledore’s sexuality, or commenting on how it was a mistake for Hermione to end up with Ron are understandable if frustrating. Creators always struggle to let their creations go,

and rightly so. Whilst the comparisons between Lucas and Rowling are easy to make (George Lucas clung on to the Star Wars Franchise long-enough for it to almost erode his reputation completely), the key difference between them makes all the difference when considering whether a franchise is being 'milked'.

Years before Lucas turned the prequels into an exercise in flogging a dead horse, he was allowing creative entities other than himself to play in the Star Wars universe. In 1977 the first Star Wars novels were published

by Del Rey publishing. a subsidiary of Ballantine Books which continues to publish Star Wars material to this day, now under Lucas Licensing, in 1991 Dark Horse Comics began publishing Star Wars comic stories and did so until Disney tragically returned the license to Marvel in 2015.

The franchise was always the collaborative effort of hundreds of artists and authors creating a universe spectacularly diverse and dense in lore and storytelling.

Continued on page 27

Film Review: The Girl on the Train With best-selling book-to-film adaptations going strong, Critic Lydia Manley reviews director Tate Taylor's latest offering Lydia Manley Film Critic

The long awaited film adaptation of Phillipa Hawkins’ novel The Girl on the Train - billed as a psychological thriller - falls more in the box of an overlyglamorised ‘whodunit’ rather than the thrilling blockbuster director Tate Taylor hoped for.

This is epitomised by the decision to set the film in the affluent New York suburbs rather than the its original setting on the outskirts of London, which for better or for worse gives the film its Hollywood feel. If you arrived at the cinema to watch a movie as gritty as the work that inspired it - then prepare to find yourself disappointed.

Even if you’ve not picked up Hawkins’ novel, the portrayal of Rachel Watson’s (played by Emily Blunt) daily commute is a far-cry from what many of us have experienced. Rachel’s fictional commute is far too pristine and stylish to be believable but at least it does give her time to witness what goes on beyond the tracks. How she’s able to stagger into an old acquaintance Monica (played by Lisa Kudrow of Friends) without trampling on other passengers is enviable.

The film falls into the trap of

Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train

being a slow starter. In many cases this is fine, but all the time you’re expecting and wishing for more. Maybe this was intended to add intrigue and suspense - but instead it leaves the film feeling flat. The story line is shared between three women: Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), Megan (Haley Bennett) and Blunt’s character Rachel - and while at first this quasi-diary style approach seems interesting, it soon develops into a glorified soap opera which doesn’t suit the dark and intense story lines that arise throughout.

Although all the women have a share of the narration, Anna and Megan are simplified as clichéd

Stepford wives and their worries and secrets - though dark and disturbing - are diluted in comparison to Rachel’s.

In some respects, the audience can feel sympathetic for all the characters in the film and are able to recognise they each have individual struggles, but sadly it’s not exploited enough to engage the watcher and heighten the drama. Instead, it seems as though we are given brief moments of half-hearted drama and character introductions, in a vain attempt to keep the mystery alive, when all that is needed is a little action to begin the detangling of the plot. Rachel is the only character who is seen to

unravel, we see her struggle with alcohol addiction and hiding her unemployment from housemate Cathy. It’s a shame that other characters’ development is weak in comparison.

Even Megan’s complex relationship with her psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic, (Edgar Ramirez) - which should be revealing and shocking - comes across as a little dull. To instead provide a sexually charged portrayal felt cheap and took up valuable minutes that could have been better spent exploring more disturbing aspects of the characters; even Scott (Luke Evans) the husband of the missing Megan is treated at times as an afterthought.

That being said, when the film eventually began to pick up pace in the last forty minutes, it immediately grips. There were gasps during the finale; Rachel’s life was turned upside down and blood was shed. Perhaps for some of the audience the closing scenes of the film felt too quick and a complete contrast to the rest of the film. I felt that it was an interesting and engaging way of exposing Rachel’s epiphany and I enjoyed the way they cleverly managed to sew Rachel’s memories carefully back together.

It is true that, in providing some much needed intrigue, this

dark and surprisingly gory ending saves this film from being a complete flop. Tate Taylor, whose portrayal of The Help many loved, doesn’t quite hit the mark with this film - although he articulates the link between the three women well it’s at the detriment of other areas of the plot. The film was just too clear cut and needed more rawness and bleakness. There was too much of the Hollywood sheen.

VERDICT: The film just doesn’t live up to its billing as a psychological thriller. As soon as you accept it as a ‘whodunit’, you can begin to appreciate its charms as a typical Hollywood movie and delight in the suspense achieved by the music of Danny Elfman. It is worth a watch for its violent and disturbing conclusion and Emily Blunts believable and intriguing portrayal of the drunken divorcee Rachel Watson. At the end of the day, it’s one of those films you just want to know the ending of.

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FILM

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickfilm

However, whilst the universe owes its existence to Lucas whether we like it or not, there was never a danger of his name becoming the brand. Lucas’ name, for example, was never plastered to John Ostrander’s Republic comicrun at Dark Horse. He was credited with dreaming up the idea but the stories told belonged to the brand; pieces in a collective universe. For this reason, it was easy for fans to accept the acquisition

by Disney and why their decision to continue to make films feel like genuine additions to the mythos.

"The franchise is being milked, but in a way where JK is the only one to blame" JK Rowling on the other hand has made sure that she is directly credited with all things to do with Harry Potter. Everything that has been written in that universe is credited as having come directly from her. There are no Harry Potter comic books fromMichael Bendis, nor are there books exploring Dumbledore’s youth by Neil Gaiman. From a business perspective it's savvy. She retains control and credit for her idea whatever form it takes. Problems begin to arise however once her name begins to be attached to Harry Potter properties that don’t come from her. Unfortunately, the first example of this movement has already reared its head this summer in the form of the published

JK Rowling: author of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?

script for the stage-play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

At this point I would like to offer a disclaimer: I have not witnessed The Cursed Child performed so I cannot comment on it as a piece of theatre. I have, however, read the script so I can comment on the story, which is insane.

The whole thing feels more like a piece of demented fanfiction then the '8th Harry Potter Book'.

Looking at the printed edition, you will see JK Rowling's name emblazoned in big letters across it. But you will also see some other names, specifically Jack Thorne, i.e. the real author of the play. In realist, the play is based on an 'original story' by Rowling, the script itself being written by Thorne. The problem with story credits is that they are purposefully vague. It is impossible for us to know exactly how much of The Cursed Child comes from Rowling. It is possible that every single event in the play was dreamed up by her, but whilst the

idea of Harry struggling to accept a son in Slytherin feels very Harry Potter, the rest quite frankly doesn’t. It seems more likely that Thorne decided he wanted to adapt Back to the Future Part II as a Harry Potter play, and included fanboy conceits such as confirming a sexual relationship between Voldermort and Bellatrix Lestrange. The result is a product that doesn’t feel like Rowling’s creation. Yet she is the one being credited for it.

This is dangerous for several reasons: firstly it's deceptive. Fans trust Rowling as the creator. They will be more receptive to something for which they believe she is responsible (which is why it is so lucrative for her name to become the brand). Secondly her name is associated with a certain atmosphere and degree of quality.

If she puts her name to something that is lacking in both aspects (in the case of The Cursed Child), it could be damaging to her reputation. As of yet there has been little

commentary on this, the response to the play has been positive. But the longer this persists the more likely a backlash becomes. And we know it will persist because a trio of ebooks collecting short stories from the Potter Universe has recently been announced.

These books will collect stories written by Pottermore editors alongside stories written by Rowling herself. But when you look at the covers, her name is the only one that appears. The franchise is being milked, but in a way where Rowling is the only one to blame. Will it ever be possible for the Potter franchise to exist without her name, and how long wil it be before they put her name on something she never had a hand in writing? This brings us back to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

The original Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was a 128 page book. It pretends to be Harry’s copy of the textbook of the same name, and includes amusing notes and scribbles in the margins that have been written by Harry and Ron. There is no narrative so it is slightly strange that Rowling chose it as the name for her film. True the plot revolves around the book’s author Newt Scamander, but it doesn’t seem to be about him writing a textbook.

However the film gives us a lot to be optimistic about. The script is 100% solely Rowling (for better or worse), it is being helmed by David Yates who directed the last five films (a safe pair of hands if not arguably a little too safe), and features an impressive cast with Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterstone and Colin Farrel. The idea itself is

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also exciting, and the setting/time period seems to have been carefully crafted by Rowling to feel both familiar yet refreshingly unique. However, the inclusion in the second trailer of a clumsy reference to Albus Dumbledore, and the fact that the film has already been confirmed to be part of a trilogy - with a sequel already in the works for 2018 - means that fears of an overeager desire to milk the franchise persist still. We will have to wait until the film's release to decide if it truly is a welcome expansion of our favourite magical world or if it is a soulless cash grab.

"Hopefully she will decide to step back from her creation" Despite everything, I genuinely hope it is the former. Harry Potter was a huge influence on my childhood which is why the way the franchise is being handled irritates me. I look forward to watching Fantastic Beasts and I even think it has the potential to surpass the films that came before it. But I stand by the belief that the franchise is being milked, so long as they insist on turning Rowling’s name into a brand.

Hopefully she will decide to step back from her creation and allow names other than hers to reap the criticisms and the recognition that comes from contributing to a phenomenon beloved by so many.

Film Review: Oasis: Supersonic Jamie Kontis takes a look at the documentary that goes behind the scenes of Britpop's most prolific band Jamie Kontis Film Critic

Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Bonehead, Guigsy and Alan White emerge onto the stage at Knebworth to an infinite sea of screaming fans. Kicking beach balls into the crowd and strutting up to the microphone, Noel screams the immortal words, 'This is history!' The two nights at Knebworth in 1996 were exactly that. They marked the pinnacle of Britpop and the decline of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Supersonic, the long overdue Oasis documentary, from awardwinning director Mat Whitecross, opens with this famous moment in British Rock history, and fol-

'The Gallagher Brothers': Supersonic

lows the band from its inception in Manchester to conquering Britain after only 36 months.

Peeking behind the curtains and into Oasis’ dressing room, which has been completely thrown out the window. There is never a dull moment.

Supersonic views Oasis through archival footage of rehearsals and drunken escapades crudely filmed during Oasis’ rise to glory, spliced with the most memorable television performances, and narrated by interviews with the band members and the external Gallagher family. The interviews act as the core of the film and give us the greatest insight into the reflections of the Gallagher brothers as they occasionally struggle to

remember much of their journey to Knebworth. The interviews that unravel the stories behind Oasis’ classic songs are a delight, as are the surprising unearthed performances, including Liam’s incredible booth recording of Champagne Supernova and a sublime acoustic rendition of the timeless Live Forever by Noel.

Furthermore, what is perhaps most intriguing about the interviews, is that Liam and Noel Gallagher’s f@#!-filled commentaries on the same events are often drastically different, substantially illuminating the drug-fuelled rollercoaster on which they cruised to fame and infamy. The cliché of describing the film as a rollercoaster is most aptly employed here, as it helps the audience feel the consistent bipolarity of Oasis’ ride by strapping them in and bombarding them with flippant climbs and drops of emotional euphoria and labial contemplation. For every delirious meth induced story - like the fantastically disastrous gig at American night club ‘Whiskey a Go Go’, whereby each band member played a different song- there is an equally haunting moment, such as the brothers’ remarks about their abusive father or Liam’s admission of stark

detachment whilst on stage imbibing the surrounding chaos.

Chaos, of a beautiful kind, acts as Whitecross’ central tone, as is evident in the editing of the archive footage, most of which is purposely blurred in order to convey how surreal and outrageous life within the band must have been.

However, it is still the relationship between the Gallagher brothers that serves as the crux of the chaos depicted in the documentary. A power struggle between the two lies at the heart of the turmoil depicted in the film, whether it arose from Noel’s envy of his little brother’s charisma and looks, or Liam’s lust for his big brother’s song writing ability. Yet even though these confessions tap into an underlying jealous contempt between the Gallaghers, they also give the glimpses of brotherly affection between the rock stars an extra lining of tenderness and extend the audience’s smile by an extra millimetre. It’s these moments that remind us of their bizarre bond and that they are actually very similar characters; both hilarious, both fearless and both professional provocateurs. The documentary effectively portrays this in their relationship with the contemporary press, as

they engaged in mutual exasperation, leading to Noel’s infamous quote about equating the use of drugs to drinking tea.

Noel opens the film by describing how the relationship between the Gallaghers dragged the band to unprecedented heights, but ultimately dragged it into the ground. This comment perfectly summarises Supersonic and underlines why this documentary was so entertaining. It is a story unlike any other in the music industry; a unique tale of a band that surmounted the UK in such a short amount of time, all with an antiquated-yet-refreshing disregard for public perception and without the modern aid of the internet. However, regardless of their remarkable story, your enjoyment of the film will inevitably rely heavily on your view of the band.

VERDICT: If you think that Oasis were great and love the Gallaghers, you will adore this documentary. If you don't like the band and think the brothers are simply obnoxious, you will probably be thoroughly irritated throughout, but you may still laugh and perhaps feel sympathetic along the way.

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TELEVISION

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricktv

America's Murder Capital, is there Hope?

TV Critic Abbie Pease reviews Reggie Yates: Life and Death in Chicago Abbie Pease TV Critic @pease_abbie

It is all too easy for the loss of lives by guns to become a statistic. Through unveiling the truth at the heart of Chicago’s war zone, Reggie Yates allows us to learn that 'behind every statistic there is a story'. Reggie Yates: Life and Death in Chicago offers an alarming insight into the gun crime epidemic in America’s murder capital. Although set in Chicago, the programme represents a widespread problem of disconnect between authorities and communities; an issue defined by the political, racial and class divisions in the US. This documentary is both chilling and deeply horrifying, as it seems to suggest that there is no hope for Chicago.

Shocked himself at the scale of the problem, Yates often struggles

to remain fully composed, illustrating how upsettingly violent Chicago has become. The depravity of a city in one of the most prosperous countries in the world also rings home the crisis that modern day America is facing.

"A 'chilling and deeply horrifying' look at the city of Chicago" With an aim similar to that in Stacey Dooley’s Kids in the Crossfire, Yates speaks to those closest to the conflict in Chicago.

This begins at Chicago’s Monthly Review Board, which represents an opportunity for the community to talk to the authorities. Despite being designed for open communication, the meeting seems to be a chance for the public to express

Review: Easy Chris Eickhoff TV Critic

Easy, directed by Joe Swanberg, (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas, V/H/S), is an anthological series on Netflix which addresses the real, confusing, and variable issues of modern dating and marriage. Each episode focuses on a different relationship, including married couples attempting to reconnect through innovative things in the bedroom, new partners learning how to remain independent of one another, one night stands, and figuring out the priorities that lovers have in their lives.

Other topics include genderroles, veganism, internet dating, art interpretation, and, most prevalent, sex. In every episode,

Swanberg ensures that there is a sex scene (maybe don’t watch with parents or kids). Unlike many sex scenes, these manage to add to the plot, rather than just being a break from dialogue, or a conclusion to a scene. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising because of the importance sex has in relationships.

Among the cast are stars such as Orlando Bloom, Dave Franco, Marc Maron, and Gugu MbathaRaw. Swanberg’s style, labelled as ‘mumblecore’, relies on low budget, a focus on dialogue over plot, on-location shooting (all episodes set in Chicago), and improvisation by the actors. This allows discussions to flow naturally and realistically as if you are watching a genuine conversation, not one structured by detailed script full

their personal outrage, anger and hatred towards a system that is failing them. A women whose son was killed in a gang related murder quite bluntly claims to the police that 'y’all don't give no fuck', as they look on in bewilderment. This meeting sets the scene for the rest of the documentary, which is characterised by a lack of clear solution to the mounting problem of violence in Chicago.

Yates reiterates this point towards the end of his investigation, when claiming that, in Chicago, 'the toughest thing to have is hope'.

Yates moves on to speak to Preacher Catherine Brown who was assaulted in her car by police officers in 2013. The experience, one of horrific abuse, was shared with her two children. This disturbing footage, along with the refusal of Chicago’s police force to take part in the documentary, illustrate the friction and lack of communication surrounding the

relationship between black mem- tion, poverty and gang crime. By bers of the community and the the end of 2015, although policeauthorites. Although the police men had killed nine men, 2,500 declined the opportunity to take individuals were involved in black part, Yates was able to visit a hos- on black gang shootings. This tile group of off-duty cops. Most statistic shows the true crisis striking about this visit was how sweeping Chicago, a crisis that uncomfortable the documentary journalist Pete Nickeas claims is maker seemed. Prior to the visit, both rapid and constant. The relahe talked of his negative tionship between poverty and experiences as a young violence also means that it black man with exists within a cycle in policemen in the which many young UK, reminding people are unable to In 2015, 2,500 the audience that escape due to a lack it is not only of opportunities and individuals were America that education. Much of involved in black experiences tenthe documentary on black gang sion surrounding focuses on the murthe relationship der of Lee McCollum shootings between race, Jr. An intimate and class and authority. troubling scene shows Whilst the docuLee’s funeral, at which mentary touches on the his father makes a touchpolice brutality that swamps ing eulogy. Despite his strong the media, it also emphasises the and composed exterior, it is clear most potent problem at the heart that he is mentally shattered by of Chicago’s violence; ghettoisa- the death of his son. The funeral paints the picture of a city in a consistent state of mourning. In reference to this broken state, Lee’s mentor Michael argues that 'you can’t fix something that’s broke, you have to replace it.'

Life and Death in Chicago depicts a situation that is rapidly spiralling out of control. Despite the outrage of those most affected by the violence, those shooting or being shot take no responsibility.

Furthermore, a solution to saving Obama’s so-called 'adopted city' is missing. I was shocked and saddened by the scale of the violence, which I never thought would be possible in a country like America, a claimed ‘wealthy democracy’.

Although cold, the statistics that run throughout the documentary are showing of a city struck by death and depravity. The harrowing music that brings Life and Death in Chicago to an end represents the terror that many in the southern parts of the city experience on a day - to - day basis. A city characterized by little hope; the question remains, can there be a solution?

of monologues flowing with rhetoric that often take away the authenticity of the issues presented. Easy therefore manages to accurately portray these issues, engaging with viewers who may have experienced the same. For example, you may have not experienced someone professing their love to you in the driving rain, but you may be able to read the subtle look one partner gives to another in an everyday conversation.

beliefs, race, language, age, and wealth (which also represents a realistic segment of Chicago’s population).Furthermore, although the narrative is usually focused on each couple, several previous and future characters will turn up in episodes to give the reader more of a sense of realism outside of the narrative’s arc – that these stories are also happening to background characters as well as the protagonists.

For me, the closing shot of each episode is actually the best because Swanberg manages to make the most of the anthological style of one story per episode.

Rather than putting a simple story arc into the 25 minutes, Easy brings forward the feeling that a lot has come before and, more importantly, more is yet to come.

This adds to the realism; life isn’t a series of neatly cut periods where one problem arises, is dealt with, only for a new one to start.

It’s a continuous muddle of several different issues competing to

"An accurate portrayal of issues and everyday life" The diversity of the characters and couples each episode makes the most of the anthological style.

A main theme throughout the series is that relationship issues occur with everyone. This is highlighted by the range in sexuality,

be dealt with that can span years.

These closing shots ensure to the audience that when the credits roll, the ending is more than just a conclusion. Whether it be the way a couple looks at or avoids each other, an off-hand comment, or a simple panning shot, it shows to the audience that an issue remains to be solved or a new one has been formed, giving the stories continuation in the audience’s imagination.

TELEVISION

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricktv

Derren Brown: Fantasy or Failure?

Rebecca Jenkinson TV Critic @BecksAJ

Famous mentalist, Derren Brown, was on our screens once again last week with his hit stage show, Miracle. Morally dubious or outstandingly brilliant, he divides opinion and creates a buzz across the nation.

I must say I was more sceptical than amazed this time around.

As one might guess, Brown attempted to perform ‘miracles’ on an eager theatre audience, for example, appearing to cure one woman’s vision and another woman’s leg. The TV audience was left to wonder: could this possibly be real?

Keen to remind us throughout, Brown claims that stooges are not used in his stage shows. As a dubious viewer however, I could not

believe that Brown was really capable of 'healing' and, to be honest, I found his religious analogies somewhat offensive. Despite my reservations, I can understand that Brown does present an interesting outlook on the idea of ‘miracles’ and faith healers, making me wonder how far the power of suggestion can go.

The first part of the show sees Brown completing tricks which, although impressive, did not hold my attention as much as his previous illusions have done. However, armed with his usual staged erraticism and way with words, Brown uses the element of danger to keep the audience on tenterhooks. Once having proved his ability to second guess an audience, he then moves onto his finale. He claims that he wants the audience to question their susceptibility and vulnerability to the 'trappings' of religious faith heeling.

Although referring to himself as an 'outspoken atheist' and calling out the work of faith healers, Brown goes on to perform such ‘miracles’. By using similar techniques of persuasion and mimicking the religious language, with passages from the Bible as well as phrases such as ‘Praise the Lord’ and ‘Halleluiah’, he touches unsuspecting audience members to ‘heal’ them. This is where I find problems. Although not a believer myself of the power of faith healing, I do think that Brown’s use of religious terminology and his reference to ‘satanic devils’ is a step too far.

A particular moment, which seemed ludicrous to someone sitting on the sofa at home, was the moment when Brown spoke in tongues, claiming that the ‘Lord sent a message’. As an audience, are we too caught up in Brown’s world to realise his madness? Or

rather, is Brown pushing social boundaries to highlight how one man can sway an audience armed with just religion and the power of suggestion? Although he denies that it is possible to heal others with just the ‘power of the Lord’, is Brown using these illusions to highlight how easy it is to sway others, or is he implicating religion as a problem coming from a psychological scientific perception? As Einstein stated, however, ‘science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind’.

Either way, this stage show unfortunately did not wow me as much as I hoped it would, instead I was left unconvinced and unimpressed.

Hunted: Are We Being Watched?

TV Critic Rachael Hopson considers the horror of Hunted Rachael Hopson TV Critic @RachaelH12

Channel 4’s TV show Hunted involves 14 ordinary people leaving their daily lives behind for 28 days, in the hope of winning £100,000 by avoiding being captured by an elite team of ‘hunters’. The idea behind the show is to replicate the power of the state against terrorists; those on the run playing the role of ‘fugitives’ while a team of former police and intelligence officers attempt to track them down using techniques and technology used by the government. Is that the real purpose of the show, however?

The first series was released in September 2015, but the contestants were simply playing for pride, with the feature of prize money only being introduced in the second series. So what was motivating the participants last time? A short interview with each of the ‘fugitives’ revealed that a large number of them got involved to prove to themselves and to others that they were ‘more power-

ful’ than the government and could out-manoeuvre all the tracking and surveillance technology.

And with 5 of the 14 contestants surviving the hunt, does this prove that even with all of the government’s power you can avoid both surveillance and capture?

In the current series however, the efforts and technology available to the team hunting the fugitives has grown and developed.

As the show demonstrates, every time one of the fugitives or an ‘accomplice’ attempts to withdraw money from a cash machine, (the contestants are provided with £250), their image is immediately captured on a camera within the machine. This image can then be accessed by the hunters, allowing them to see exactly where and when they used the machine. With nearly all cash machines nowadays containing these cameras, is being tracked and watched by the government when withdrawing money too invasive?

In addition to this, the show implements the use of ‘legal hackers’ who, after taking the contest-

Review: Victoria Eleanor Cross TV Critic

Victoria has been the highlight of my Sunday evenings for the past eight weeks so I was both excited and dreading the season finale which aired last Sunday.

Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint.

The finale had a mixture of politics, romance and action which kept my eyes glued to the screen throughout. The episode primarily covered the last few months of Queen Victoria’s first pregnancy and the attempted assassination

by Edward Oxford, which the series tried to pin on the King of Hamburg, despite there being a lack of evidence to support that claim. I was initially confused by this, but was impressed by the

way they played it out, linking it to Oxford’s insanity. It was a busy episode and whilst I couldn’t help but think that some of the scenes deserved a bit more attention, overall I enjoyed the quick pace and excitement that the episode brought.

With regards towards the rest of the season, although I was hooked from the first episode, I really started to countdown to each Sunday night after the first appearance of Albert (Tom Hughes) in episode three.

Although Hughes scenes alone were impressive, he shone most brightly during his scenes with Victoria (Jenna Coleman). The pairs chemistry was so intense and palpable that it succeeded in making me forget that they were

ants laptops and phones from their family homes, use them to gain access to all of their personal information and data. Using this information, they have access to any previous plans they had made using their laptops and were able to identify a person’s vulnerabilities. Scrolling back through search histories and personal material raises the question of ethics.

Viewers watch as the detective’s joke about one of the contestants searching ‘average penis size’; is this show taking the use of hackers a step too far?

The show also captures the officers planting trackers on the ‘fugitives’, their cars and family

members as well as tracing all calls to their phones. These are used on multiple occasions to locate and ‘hunt’ down the fugitives. Partners Ayo Adesina and Madu Alikor, were caught in episode two having been tracked to a friend’s shop after the use of their phone located them in that area.

Once again the idea of the government being able to do this unperturbed creates a sense of unease both within the contestants and viewers at home.

All this brings to question, are we being watched?

first cousins. In addition, both the historical elements of their relationship and those fabricated for the show were equally interesting and adorable to watch. Jenna Coleman was, in my opinion, a perfect Victoria in her scenes with her husband and without, managing to pack an impressive punch and air of dominance into her tiny five foot two frame.

On the flip side, the entirely fictionalized romance between the palace cook, Francatelli, and the palace’s maid, Nancy, seemed almost flat in comparison to that of Albert and Victoria.

Perhaps this was because they were entirely fictionalized and, despite my best efforts to ignore

it, Francatelli seemed a little bit predatory and creepy towards Nancy. I was almost tempted to grab my phone and scroll through Instagram whilst these scenes played out.

Overall, if you’re after a series that’s factually accurate, I would recommend a documentary on Victoria rather than ITV’s interpretation as it tended to take certain liberties with regards to historical accuracy. Nonetheless, it was an addictive series about a powerful female monarch and I’m already counting down the weeks until the next season!

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BBC3: Mission Selfie Samuel Reid TV Writer

When the BBC announced in November 2015 that BBC Three would be moving exclusively to the iPlayer in a bid to save the corporation £30 million, many wondered what direction the channel would take. In a world where anybody can upload to YouTube or stream live on Facebook, was another place for online content really needed? Over the past few years YouTube has expanded and, what was once a place for people to upload videos they’d filmed on a webcam in their room, is now full of online ‘influencers’ making, and even more importantly, being paid to produce content with ever increasing budgets.

With this in mind, it’s not surprising that BBC Worldwide looked to YouTube when assembling a team for travel photography series Mission Selfie.

Presented by travel vloggers Ben Brown and Steve Booker, the five-part mini series see the pair travel to El Hierro, Dubai, Berlin, Iceland and the Isle of Mull. Each episode ranges from thirteen to seventeen minutes, so they’re the perfect length for a cheeky revision break (if you have the willpower to only watch one episode at a time!). The series follows Ben and Steve as they embark on a set of photography challenges around the world. To add an extra layer to the challenges, they only have 48 hours in each place. I found that this was a nice touch as it meant that the images they managed to capture felt a bit more authentic than what we’re used to in normal photography documentaries, especially in the episodes that feature wildlife photography.

The series appeals to both photography and travel fans in equal parts. The amazing cinematography and the variety of places visited are enough to expand your wanderlust, while the technical side of the photography will inspire even the most seasoned Instagrammer. My only minor issue with the series is the excessive use of ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ in the vocabulary of the presenters. I suppose this is just a part of their personalities, which I otherwise found to be a highlight of the series, so I’m willing to look past it. In Mission Selfie, BBC Three offers content that is truly innovative and perfectly blends the world of short form online content with the budget and resources of mainstream TV, in a way that’s not been done before.

Let’s hope that BBC Three continues to thrive as an online hub for quality and original content, and that other traditional media outlets take note.

30

SCI & TECH

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricktech

UoB to take UNESCO Sci & Tech Writers look at the science behind the winners of this years Chair

Breakdown of Nobel Prizes 2016 awards, two of which are former UoB academics

Chemistry

Sci & Tech Editor

Marianne Biggs Sci & Tech Writer

The School of Chemistry has been celebrating this past week as former head of school, Professor Sir J Fraser Stoddart, received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on the design and synthesis of molecular machines, done alongside JeanPierre Sauvage and Bernard L Feringa.

Sir Fraser’s work whilst at Birmingham provided much of the foundations for this award winning science. His research focused on creating “nano machines” that has allowed the world's first smart materials to be developed. Smart materials are made of molecules which can adapt and respond to their surroundings. They have done this by synthesising a mechanically interlocked molecule of two parts called a ‘rotaxane’, whereby a ring shaped molecule is threaded onto a molecular rod with large stopper groups at each end, allowing the ring to move along the rod by altering polarisable environments at each end of the rod. These are being called the “world’s smallest machines”, and the technology is to be used to create things like medical micro-robots which could be used to perform complex medical procedures via remote control.

Two former PhD students of his, Dr Jon Preece and Dr Natalie Rowley, continue to teach within the School of Chemistry today. Lucky chemistry undergraduates have had the opportunity to hear of their experiences this week. This marks the third Nobel Prize for Chemistry associated with the University of Birmingham, and perhaps offers a name for the future collaborative teaching laboratory.

"The physics research is an insight into incredible possibilities of the use of very thin materials in computing."

Medicine

Kara Watson

Rachel Kahn Sci & Tech Writer

It can be assumed that the concept of eco-warrior cells is probably one you have not given much thought. However, after the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Yoshinori Ohsumi of the University of Tokyo for his discovery of a process known as ‘autophagy’, or put simply ‘cell recycling’, you are going to hear a lot more of it.

Autophagy is a regulatory process that will allow our cells to get rid of any cellular components that are no longer necessary or aren’t working correctly, whilst the useful parts of the cell are recycled to be used, for instance, as an energy source.

This system of cell recycling is important in a number of different processes, including protecting us from DNA damage, surviving short term starvation and fighting off any potential harmful pathogens that may want to live in our cells.

The process is implicated in a number of diseases including a variety of cancers and Parkinson’s. Within these diseases, a number of processes become dysregulated with autophagy being one such process that can go wrong and contribute to the onset of disease. By targeting this process, we have the potential to stop the survival of cancerous cells within our body, as well as preventing neurodegeneration, a process implicated in Parkinson’s disease. Ohsumi was said to have been in a 'slight state of shock' about winning the Prize and it’s hoped his hard work will feed into disease treatment in the future.

Physics Tatiana Zhelezniakova Sci & Tech Writer

On October 4th, the Physics Nobel prize was awarded to David Thouless and Michael Kosterlitz, former University of Birmingham academics, as well as Duncan Haldane. The official statement recognises them for “theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter”. It hardly rolls off the tongue. In fact, it had to be explained by a member of the committee, Thors Hansson, using pastries. To understand the implications of this research, there are two concepts to explore first – mathematical and physical.

The physics principle this discovery revolves around are phase transitions of matter. We all know the solid/liquid/gas model, but there are more ‘exotic’ states of matter that occur when extreme environment is applied, in this case cooling to almost absolute zero.

The mathematics component, topology, concerns itself with invariable factors. To use Hansson’s example – a cinnamon bun, a bagel and a pretzel may have many differences in taste, texture etc., but all that really matters is that they have 0, 1 and 2 holes, respectively. In the same vein, matter can be stretched, twisted and deformed, but the number of holes i.e. its invariable properties will remain the same. However, if it was put under stress such as extreme cold, its properties may be so deformed that they become utterly different.

This is what the Nobel-winning research team used to explain how single-atom thin sheets of material gain new fascinating characteristics such as superconductivity. These discoveries have since lead to the development of topological insulators – materials that conduct electricity exclusively on their surface. The ability of extremely thin materials to conduct electricity at a high temperature and low resistance gleans an insight into incredible possibilities of their use in computing, and perhaps even more applications in the future.

New Method to Detect Tumour Cells

James Van Hear investigates the diagnostic potential behind a technique to analyse tumour cells in the blood When cells in the bloodstream die, either naturally or through some sort of cellular stress, they release the material that was present inside them into the blood. This includes the DNA from the nucleus. This circulating free DNA (known as cfDNA) contains information about the cell, which can be analysed.

When the cell in question is from a tumour, this sort of analysis can be used to gather information about the state of the cancer in a patient. This

has been shown to be more accurate than using samples from tissue biopsies, which is where you take a small sample of tissue to examine closer under a microscope.

Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis, or ‘liquid biopsy’, is advantageous over standard techniques, as it allows doctors to monitor the effects of treatment continuously, rather than just viewing a single snapshot at a particular time. It also avoids

the inherent risks of surgery that are required to gather tissue samples. This can be especially difficult in patients with invasive cancer, which is when the cancer has grown into healthy tissues, or cancers which are particularly advanced. It is also an issue with tumours that are in places of the body that are difficult to reach.

The Parsonix cell separation platform is an example of a simple technology for capturing circulating tumour cells, which can then be subjected to a blood test to detect the presence of the cells, called a liquid biopsy. A blood sample is entered into the machine, and passes through a cassette, which acts as a sort of sieve. The blood cells pass through the sieve,

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redbrick.me/tech @redbricktech f Redbrick but the larger tumour cells are caught and can be collected and analysed, leading to a better suited and more effective treatment for patients. Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute have confirmed that they will be using the Parsonix system for routine research, following on from encouraging results in the detection of early-stage prostate cancer.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Chairs Programme is a group of universities that have been honoured for their high quality research, and it is used as a way to develop research and training in the various fields UNESCO is involved in. Their ultimate goal is to encourage universities around the world to cooperate and share knowledge in order to build a peaceful, secure and sustainable future.

The University of Birmingham has been asked to join the global, prestigious network of universities to establish the first ever Chair in Water Science. The Director General of UNESCO has extended this invitation for University of Birmingham to help facilitate inter-disciplinary research, education and awareness of the global issue of water scarcity and to begin trying to solve the problem.

Currently there are over 700 institutions involved in the Chairs Programme, spread across 126 countries around the globe. In the UK we hold 22 Chairs, all of which are taking a leading role in various research areas, including sustainable mountain development (University of the Highlands and Islands), which looks into the effect of climate change on nature reserves, and also HIV and AIDS education and health security in Africa (Aberystwyth University).

University of Birmingham’s Professor of Hydrology, David Hannah, who will be taking on the role of Chairholder, coordinating all the activities required.

He said: “We want to understand patterns and causes of water resource availability to help reduce uncertainty and make better projections of what is likely to happen in the future”.

This is definitely a great achievement for the university and it will be exciting to see how this position will help take the research further, and how it will impact the world by tackling water scarcity.

SCI & TECH

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbricktech

31

Virus Steals Black Widow Toxin

A bacteria-targeting virus has picked up the gene that codes for a toxin found in black widow spider venom Kara Watson Sci & Tech Editor @Karaml_Watson

A recent study has found that a virus has picked up, and is using, the gene that codes for a toxin found in the venom of black widow spiders. The virus, known as WO, is a bacteriophage, which means it infects bacteria to use as hosts rather than cells in animals or humans. To discover how WO was infecting the bacteria, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee sequenced the virus’ genome, and discovered that it had the gene coding for latrotoxin, notorious for being found in the venom of one of the most wellknown spiders.

The WO virus has a specific host, the bacterium called Wolbachia, which is specialised in parasitizing the cells of spiders and other arthropods. As well as being a parasite, this bacterium has also developed a mutual benefit relationship with its hosts. Wolbachia

is said to have infected about half of all arthropod species, making it one of the most common parasitic microbes in the world, and where you find Wolbachia, you will probably find the WO virus.

"There hasn't been another case of a latrotoxin being found outside spiders."

WO is unusual as it targets bacteria that live in animal cells.

So while most bacteriophages only have to work out how to get inside the bacterium, where it can selfreplicate (a virus’ way of reproducing), WO also has to figure out how to get past the animal cell membrane as well. This is what interested researchers; how was the virus getting across two different barriers, when most viruses

only contend with one?

When the genome was sequenced, the researchers found the normal collection genes that are found in bacteriophages; those that are involved in the process of infecting bacteria and also selfreplication. But what they also found was some genes that were similar to those found in animal cells, notably the gene coding for latrotoxin. Viruses are known for picking up genes from their hosts’ DNA, usually while they are replicating themselves and host DNA just gets mixed up in it. What is unusual about the WO virus is that it hasn’t picked up DNA from its bacterium host, rather the genes from the bacterium’s animal host.

Normally viruses only acquire genes from their specific host type, but WO is the first bacteria-targeting virus to have been reported taking genes from a different host type. And they have developed this ability all on their own.

'There hasn’t been another case of a latrotoxin being found outside spiders' says one of the

authors of the study, Dr. Seth Bordenstein. So what is the virus using the toxin for? At the moment, scientists are not too sure. It is thought that WO uses latrotoxin to create holes in the bacterium and animal cell membranes to allow it to pass through and infect them.

It is also possible that the toxin is partly being used to cover the virus in layers of its hosts’ membranes, allowing it to go undetected by any immune system defences, and avoid being killed.

By understanding how the WO virus works, there is the potential to genetically engineer the virus, and so manipulate the traits of the Wolbachia bacterium,

which in turn would manipulate the animal host. This could be helpful in controlling pests, as Wolbachia infects so many arthropod species, it would be an effective biological control agent. Crucially though, the Wolbachia bacteria can help to fight dengue fever and Zika virus.

Wolbachia prevents these viruses from reproducing inside their mosquito hosts and so the process of passing the diseases onto humans is interrupted. This is why understanding the whole picture of the relationship between the WO bacteriophage, the Wolbachia bacterium and the animal host itself, is so important, and could lead to a very interesting way of fighting some severe diseases.

A Step Towards Ending Infertility Ellen Daugherty looks at the recent breakthrough in mammalian science. Researchers have found a way to create egg cells outside of an animals uterus Japanese scientists have been able to create fully formed mice eggs in just a petri dish - and suggest it is only a matter of time before this could be achieved in humans. This is the first time that eggs have been created without any sort of help from an animal.

Professor Hayashi and his team, from Kyushu University, achieved this by taking skin cells

from the tail of the mice, and reprogramming them so they become pluripotent stem cells.

Pluripotent means these cells have the ability to transform into several different cell types, such as the stem cells found in the bone marrow, which give rise to all the different types of white blood cells of the immune system.

Then by culturing the cells in a specially selected mixture, they exposed the cells to various chemical signals to cause them to specialise into immature egg cells, all the while being in a petri dish.

However this had been done before by the researchers, and only creating immature egg cells meant that they would have to be implanted back into the mouse for the embryos to fully develop. This was achieved in 2012, meaning that over the last four years

Professor Hayashi had to make some major alterations to the procedure.

To avoid transplanting the egg cells back into the mice, the researchers kept a cluster of cells from a mouse ovary in the lab, and were able to stimulate them to make mature egg cells. These eggs

"This is the first time eggs have been created in a petri dish." cells were then fertilised by the research team using the sperm from male mice, creating over 300 embryos, which were then implant-

ed into foster mothers. This means pups that were born all grew into the researchers were able to form healthy, fertile adults; a promising viable embryos outside of result. the uterus of the Obviously there mouse, which was a is still a long way to huge advance for go before this could mammalian scibe applied to larger ence. animals, and even 11 pups were one day humans. born from these Refinements need embryos created, embryos, only to be made to and 11 healthy pups 3% of the original make sure the were born number. It doesn't process is reliable sound like a parand safe enough, as ticularly high sucwell as dealing with cess rate, but the the ethical considfact these eggs were erations of making made entirely artificially, children outside of any rather than using already made human. But at the rate science is eggs from the female, is some- advancing, the possibility that thing previously unheard of in infertility could be eradicated in science. They are currently unsure humans, doesn't seem so absurd. why the rest of the embryos did not develop properly but the 11

300

Creature Feature: Dragonhead Caterpillar Ellen Daugherty Sci & Tech Editor

Upon first seeing this strange, green lump, crawling across a rock surface on YouTube, my first instinct was that it was some strange kind of seaslug - similar to the Blue Dragon seaslug featured in an earlier Creature Feature.

However, very quickly I found that this is actually a caterpillar with a very striking headpiece. It is the larvae of leafwing butterflies, called Nawab butterflies.

There are 400 different kinds of these dragonhead caterpillars that give rise to a wonderful variety of

butterflies, all with jagged hind wings, which is a characteristic of this subfamily.

Despite the butterfly being undeniably beautiful, it is their larvae that is particularly interesting and has captured the attention of thousands on social media. The dragonhead caterpillar has a large head capsule, with 4 curved horn-like projections, that emerge from their foreheads and are all cov-

ered in smaller spines.

The larvae of the Plain Nawab butterfly has a green sluglike body with a jet black head capsule, making it one of the most distinctive caterpillars of all 400 variations. It also has an interesting life-cycle.

Four days after the egg has been laid, it hatches, and a 3mm long caterpillar emerges and eats the egg shell for nutrients.

As caterpillars grow, they go

through 5 life stages which are commonly called ‘instars’. After each stage the caterpillar molts and slightly changes its appearance.

For the Plain Nawab caterpillar, its 1st and 2nd instar head capsule is jet black and gives it quite a spooky appearance, with the head looking like an ominous black helmet against its green body. Through the 3rd and 4th instars, the head capsule changes from black to yellow to green, and becomes striped. By the 5th instar, the caterpillar reaches its full size - about 10 times its original size.

After this, dragonhead caterpillars go into pupation, a transformative state, to become Nawab butterflies and complete their full transformation.

32

GAMING

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickgames

Remasters : Boon or Burden?

Nick Burton discusses the effects of remasters on the gaming industry Nick Burton

Gaming Writer @Nic_the_thinker

Disclaimer – remasters are games that have been modified to look and perhaps feel better than its original state of release. It does not include radical changing of the core elements of the game, as that would be a remake. An example to illustrate this – The Bioshock Collection is a remastered collection. Ratchet and Clank for PS4 is a remake.

Remasters have been more prominent in the current console generation than any generation before. Why is this? It seems that publishers, and perhaps developers, use remasters for a variety of reasons. Most prominently to ‘test the waters’ to measure how popular a certain IP (Intelligent Property) is or could be in the near future. But the more important question on the mind of gamers – are remasters a good thing? This debate has been happening for many years, and many gaming personalities agree and disagree on remasters happening, but it usually comes to down to the main factor.

What game is being remastered. I will be exploring some reasons why we should welcome remasters more than we currently do, and also why perhaps they’re more poisonous for the industry than it may seem.

An obvious advantage for the existence of remasters is that gam-

ers who missed on some of the best games (assuming games that are being remastered are better than average, which I think is the case) from the generation or even generations before, can experience the game in a better form than when it was released. A brilliant example is The Bioshock Collection. Three games bundled into one package, the first of which is generally regarded as one of the best games ever created. Remasters give gamers the opportunity to catch up on experiences they may have missed out on, and certainly deserve to have. Furthermore, for a gamer who’s currently playing Black Ops 3, it can be quite difficult to take a step back to the old console generation to experience these reputable games when 60 FPS is becoming the norm and graphics are considerably less detailed. Of course we can take this argument to the extreme and use it to explain why perhaps gamers of today can’t literally, physically play classics like The Legend of Zelda because of how far games have developed. I don’t think it’s the same severity as going from Black Ops 3 to B i o s h o c k .

Nonetheless, remasters are an opportunity for the gamer to experience the original game in a - for want of a better phrase - ‘better form’.

Remasters also give gamers a chance to re-visit their favourite franchises. Many people last generation did in fact play BioShock, and the collection is simply serving them as a platform to jump back into some of the best games

last generation. This illustrates the opportunities remasters not only gives to current gamers who missed said game, it gives a chance for gamers to re-visit some of their favourite games of the previous generations.

Now while it may be true that remasters give opportunities to gamers, it could be said that they also take away possible experiences for gamers. One of the main arguments against remasters is the idea that the resources used to produce and publish the remasters could be used to create new and interesting franchises. Remasters could be said to be stopping gamers from possibly having the next great experience provided by games such as Journey or Inside. Studios with potential are being used to rerelease experiences that people have already had, or can go back and have. Should gamers be punished by not having more new experiences just because other gamers didn’t get the time to play some games last generation?

Probably not, in my opinion.

Another critique of remasters which is extremely topical at the moment, is the idea of using remasters as leverage or an incentive to buy a product. For instance, Modern Warfare Remastered.

Let’s be clear here, I think (and respected individuals think) this game is generally regarded as one of the most important games of history, by how it changed a respected franchise to a colossal best-seller and how it’s campaign altered the expectations we have FPS (‘All Ghillied Up’ is a mustplay mission for any fan of the FPS genre). Taking these things into account, is it really right for

Activision to use it as a leverage to purchase this year’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare? Definitely not. For someone who supported Modern Warefare by purchasing it when it was originally released and by investing hundreds of hours into its revolutionary online mode (such as myself), it is hard to see why they should be forced into buying a game. It is irrelevant if they wish to purchase/play Infinite Warfare, the consumer should have the right to purchase which product they want without having to invest more money into a product they maybe don’t want, or at least don’t want to invest in.

Activision are taking away the consumer choice for gamers who want to purchase their remaster singularly. There is of course much context as to why this is the case, but again, gamers should not be punished for the failings of the publisher (as it is widely thought that the direction of the Call of Duty franchise has taken a turn for the worse).

You could always reply with the fact that gamers can always pick up a console from the previous generation, purchase a copy of Modern Warfare and enjoy.

However, gamers know they have this option, they know they can always invest in previous hardware if they wish, but a console for one game seems quite an extreme investment, and also, gamers want to play the remastered version. They want to experience updated graphics and sound effects. In the end, despite the problems remasters have, mainly for gamers, gamers clearly want them, and they will be around until gamers cease this desire.

"Give gamers a chance to re-visit their favourite franchises"

Hands On : Smash Up James Lentschner explains Nomad's exciting new card game James Lentschner Gaming Editor @JLentschner

To play Smash Up you start by choosing two factions to play with, from options such as Aliens, Dinosaurs, Zombies and Wizards, and use the special abilities of these factions to claim bases from your opponents; earning points to win the game. Each turn you can play one minion and take one action, minions adding to the power of the base, that when it reaches it power limit distributes points to the players, depending on how much power they contrib-

uted to the base. Some bases also have special abilities that factor into the game once a player has taken them. The first player to take enough bases to reach 15 points wins the game!

Where the different factions come into play is through their special abilities, for example the Zombies excel at returning cards from the discard pile to be re-used again and again. With my short time with the game I decided to pair the Dinosaurs, a faction boasting strong minions, together with the Aliens, a faction the excels at stealing minions and disrupting the bases. Where the game really shines is the large

number of possible combinations and strategies that these factions offer. Once you begin to learn the strengths and weaknesses of different factions, you can arrange them to create both incredibly effective and fun combinations.

For example, Aliens have an action that removes all minions from a base that can be paired with multiple Dinosaur minions that power up depending on how many Dinosaurs there are on the base. This would allow you completely clear the enemy’s strong minions and replace them with your own, and possibly claim the points you need to win the game.

Smash Up offers a lot for both the casual and committed card game player, serving to be both a fun game to play with friends and an incredibly strategic game to master for those looking to compete against others.

The game is in early access now on Steam and gives you access to all the factions available in the original board game of the same name, including the mentioned Aliens, Dinosaurs, Wizards and Zombies.

Want More?

Check out our interview from EGX with Don Whiteford, Managing Director of Nomad Games, on our YouTube Channel!

Make sure to leave a comment, like and subscribe for more video content from one of the country's leading student outlets!

GAMING

Friday 21st October 2016

@redbrickgames

33

EGX 2016 | Hands-on: Sniper Elite 4 James Marvin scopes out the latest in Rebellion's Sniper Elite series from this year's EGX of time to demo I decided to mainly ignore those smaller objectives. Instead I put my attention first and foremost into the sniping of Sniper Elite 4, which, as you might guess, is the most important aspect of a game with “Sniper” in the title.

If I had to put it simply, it is the best sniping experience the series has offered to date, and possibly one of the best out there right now. It still retains that fun and arcade style feel so you don’t have to be an ARMA level expert to pull off a grizzly pinpoint testicle shot, but (at least on the higher difficulties) it still offers a fair amount of challenge for those looking for it. The biggest and best change though was the revamped relocation system.

Now you can pull off one or two shots in a single area, providing that you’re secluded and leave a decent time between them, before Fritz gets any ideas. Even when they do you get a Splinter Cell style silhouette marking your last known position (it is also shown on the mini-map), and the enemy will continue to attack that position if you manage to slip away.

This is a huge improvement from the last game and something that adds an extra tactical layer to 4’s gameplay.

Adding onto that, the AI genuinely seem greatly improved. They react a lot more realistically and seem to act like actual human beings. They’ll duck for cover if they hear a shot. They’ll try to flush you out of your nest with

flanking and grenades. The vehicle AI is just as ferocious as well, I can tell you that due to my firsthand experience trying to 1v1 a tank, which was prolonged, but ended tragically (for me, not the tank). Of course as with almost every stealth game out there, the NPCs will have their blonde moments and it’s not the best AI I've seen in the genre. It does however do it just well enough for what Sniper Elite 4 is aiming for and again is a marked improvement over its predecessor.

"The AI genuinely seem greatly improved"

James Marvin Gaming Editor @js_marvin

I've never really been a huge fan or follower of the Sniper Elite series. I dabbled in V2 a bit and even though Sniper Elite 3 was one of the first games I got for my PS4, it remains uncompleted to this day. It was just never a series that could grab me, even as a lover of stealth games. I always felt the series was very rough around the edges in terms of its AI, which at points made it frustrating to advance. This was particularly the

case in 3 with the relocation system. It was with these thoughts that I entered the Sniper Elite 4 booth at EGX this year, with rather low expectations.

The level on show was an Alpha build of the game, on the railway bridge level that has been showcased previously by Rebellion Games.

One thing I will give the game right off the bat is that it is a very stunning looking game.

The Italian setting is much more

interesting and diverse than the previous game’s African locale.

The mountain ranges, lush fields and compact villages are definitely a positive step away from the dry deserts and crumbling ruins. My objective here was simple - get to the railway bridge, plant some explosives and get out of the area; with some smaller side-objectives in between.

However, with only half an hour

"It is the best

sniping expereince the series has offered to date"

Want More?

Check out our interview, on the show floor, with the UI Lead from Rebellion, Imre Fulop, on our YouTube Channel!

Make sure to leave a comment, like and subscribe for more video content from one of the country's leading student outlets!

Hands-on: Mekazoo

Roshni Patel gives us her thoughts on the Vibrant 2D platformer from The Good Mood Creators Roshni Patel Gaming Editor @roshofalltrades

On the show floor of EGX it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of games on offer, each with their wide screen monitors, brightly lit posters and surrounded by eager gamers, ready to hop on and play the demo. But picking the game to play next isn’t always as

straight forward as moving seat, and sometimes it takes a special something for a game to catch your eye and draw you in.

Sometimes it’s a friendly booth attendant, sometimes is the cries of outrage at a gamer's sneaky tactics in a multiplayer, and sometimes its shiny looking graphics and art that catch your admiration.

And with its Tron like design and nostalgic platforming game play,

Mekazoo, practically glowed.

Mekazoo is a classic 2D platformer, inspired by the 90s platformers which the developers played in their youth. But unlike those past platformers, Mekazoo has more than a mecha theme up its sleeve. In Mekazoo you play as not one character at a time, but two. While not on the screen at the same time, players are able to seamlessly interchange between two of the 5 characters throughout the game, allowing them to use the best features of each character to traverse the 30 levels. These 5 animals are a frog with a really long tongue, an armadillo which can speed through sections like Sonic, a panda which can go through enemies like a bulldozer, a pelican who can fly and finally a kangaroo who can jump high. By choosing two of these characters at the beginning and using their abilities together to complete the game, players can get a lot of replayability with up to 10 different character combinations.

From the moment I sat down to play this game and donned on

the headphones, I knew I loved it.

The music and art from the get go were spot on, with the catchy score keeping me motivated to keep trying and play on. While I hadn’t played many platformers since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, I picked up Mekazoo remarkably fast, with no on-screen tool tips to help me out or inform me.

It all felt very intuitive and I was immersed immediately, forgoing all sense of time to keep playing.

With an unobtrusive heads-up display and quick and fluid changes between the characters on demand, there was nothing to distract me or

"This game

definitely looks like hours of fun, solo or with friends"

detract from the gameplay.

With the additional option to play co-op with a friend, where the two of you play as one, controlling a character each and requiring you to sync your transformations to take over or surrender control.

This game definitely looks like hours of fun, solo or with friends.

Developed by The Good Mood Creators, the game has begun its beta testing and is yet to reveal its official release date, but I doubt it will be too long till we can all zip around Mekazoo’s beautifully designed levels.

Do you have opinions on this article? Let us know: @RedbrickGames @redbrickpaper

34

CAREERS

Friday 21st October

@redbrickcareers

The Final Frontier: What could a Career in Science offer you?

Lael Hardtman Careers Editor @ehardtman

Careers in science and technology offer some of the most competitive schemes for graduate students and foster productivity and growth. In a time where globally, we face transnational issues encompassing the social, political, and environmental, science, in regards to research and development, has much room for growth.

The science and tech industry is always in high - demand for graduates, and there are opportunities in two of the fastest growing engineering fields: industrial engineering and petroleum engineering. Both of which are undersupplied in regards to graduate students, and are looking to hire.

There are opportunities in academic research, research and development (R&D), product and

process development, scientific sales and commercial roles in areas of finance, human resources, IT and marketing.

Spending on research and development is increasing faster than expenditure on applied research and experimental design, according to OECD research. You could be working on projects ranging from nanotechnology to climate change to sustainable development; this sector is extremely stimulating and you may find yourself pushing innovations in technology and development to the greater frontiers.

Work in this industry is often programme - based, so you could find yourself working on a project for three months to three decades, depending on the field of science

you find yourself in. You also don’t have to be shoehorned into the technical aspects of the field, there is rife opportunity to progress onto project management or commercial/marketing roles.

Careers in science require logical thinking, problem solving, analytical skills, objective thinking, numerical skills, and objective thinking, but also planning and organization.

Demonstrate your proficiency in analytics, numeracy, literacy, IT, as well as you ability to work in t e a m s .

Provide relevant examples for your CVs and interviews.

Be sure to also show active inter-

"Careers in the Science industry push the frontiers of research and development to new bounds."

est in your chosen field by staying updated through media industry developments, changes in policy, company and health safety regulations.

Also consider joining a professional engineering body which can help open doorways to networking, specialised training, and help put you in touch with the right people to land a job.

For more detailed information visit the Science, technology and Engineering fair this Wednesday or get in contact with the Careers Network!

A society open to anyone with a passion for photography, from Instagram amateur to professional press. Running weekly workshops, such as the most recent ones which covered Basics and Studio to enhance current skills or learn new techniques. PhotoSoc embark on regular society-wide trips to places such as The German Christmas Market or Cannon Hill Park to socialise and try out

Increasing Diversity in STEM fields Lael Hardtman Careers Editor @ehardtman

The fact that within STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), women and ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented is not new. Despite increasing female enrollment, female science researches only account for 30%, and further up the food chain, even less.

This ‘leaky tech pipeline’, as coined by the Kapor Center for Social Impact, highlights

how careers in science and technology are not as easily accessible to women or people or colour, and thus the industry as a whole suffers. Currently, there is the need to increase the UK’s supply of STEM workers, which presents students with a unique opportunity to advance their careers.

The UK currently has Europe’s lowest percentage of female engineers, women accounting for only 9% of engineering workforce, and merely 38% of women carrying on to become researchers when 55% of bachelor’s science and tech

degrees are female applicants.

This gender deficiency is further exacerbated when accounting for the fact that women only made up 15.8% of science, engineering and technology undergraduates as compared with India which has over 30% enrolment in engineering courses.

The UK economy is seriously hampered by the lack of women in STEM, and it’s been estimat-

"Diversity is the key for driving innovation, and investing in women is the future." ed that, by enabling women to carry out careers in STEM which are currently in deficit in the UK, could propel annual GDP to $28 trillion by 2025. Furthermore, a lack of diversity represents a huge loss of talent, or ‘brain drain’ to the UK. Women, for instance, are absent from many senior roles, and black and minority students are less likely to progress to

further their careers in science, according to the Royal Society. Increasing diversity in the science industry is thus key for propelling the industry forward. Schemes such as the Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, aimed at scientists at the early stage of their careers, and The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award, is aimed at implementing projects to raise the profile of women in STEM in the UK. However, the industry is changing. Campaigns such as WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) inspire girls to build careers in STEM and aim to to get 1 million more women in the UK STEM workforce. Diversity is key for driving innovation, and investing more heavily in women in STEM will be vital in future for propelling the industry forward. Melinda Gates has championed increasing women into the tech industry as well.

The future, however, is bright, as national and international organisations such as UNESCO are committed to combating gender inequality.

Science, SPOTLIGHT: science and Advocacy & advocay Diplomacy: The changing landschape Science Diplomacy Whilst academia, research and development remain the popular choices for undergraduates and PhD scientists alike, many graduates are now opting towards careers in government and industry, dubbed “alternative careers”.

This may reflect changes in the industry, notably a potential lack of availability of academic positions. However this opens a new pathway which enables students of science to turn their skills to careers in government and diplomacy. When taking into account some of issues of the 21st century, such as food security, climate change, and poverty reduction, one can note the scientific dimensions, the importance of science diplomacy takes precedence. Science has the ability to inform policy objectives and facilitate international cooperation. Furthermore, many of the skills learned in science based degrees are transferable to careers in government and diplomacy, so don’t discount them!

There are many pathways available here; if you have a penchant for innovative and groundbreaking research then working through technology agencies might be useful for you. Whereas if you’re passionate about the intersections between advocacy and science, then working through the public sector or niche industries such as Cancer research might be better suited to you.

Advocacy and Campaign Work Science has always underpinned advocacy and campaign work, and if that’s something that interests you, there are a variety of ways to get started. For example, Cancer Research UK offers graduates a unique opportunity to join their graduate schemes in order to work towards beating cancer. Ranked as the second best grad scheme in the UK by the Guardian, there is ample opportunity for career progression and specialisation with the initial application process.

Cancer Research UK provides great possibilities, with schemes dedicated to Fundraising and Marketing, FInance, Policy, Information, and Communications, Scientifc Strategy, Technology and HR. You'll be given the oppronitiy to apply to up to apply to two schemes. The Science Scheme will enabe you as a natuarl, phyiscal, or life science student to propel the research aspects of the organisation forward.

CAREERS

Friday 21st October

This Week in Careers: The Careers Network is constantly hosting specialist recruitment fairs focusing on a wide range of industries, so be sure not to miss out!

@redbrickcareers

Interested in writing or editing for the Careers section?

Email: careers@ redbrickonline.ac.uk

with your articles!

Lael Hardtman Careers Editor @ehardtman

October 21st Study & Work Abroad Fair Discover the range of study and work abroad opportunities! Take this chance to engage with professionals and students who have the first - hand experience living and working abroad through immersion and a series of lectures. You can drop in any time between 10:00 and 16:00, but to reserve your space please email L.Kemp@ bham.ac.uk

November 2nd Business & Finance Fair This exclusive Business, Finance, and Consultancy careers fair will provide you with the opportunity to discover employment opportunities for 2016. This will enable you to meet with representatives across the industry and participate in one of the 30-minute tip sessions on creating a CV and completing application forms. Attendance is first come first served, so get there early and don’t miss out!

November 9th Law Fair Discover the range of employment opportunities for 2018!

This law based event will put you in touch with a wide range of representatives from many differnt law firms who will talk you through their recruitment processes and the range of employment opportunities. Check Careers Connect for a full list of exhibitors. There’s no need to pre-register, all you need to do is show up and be ready to network!

Interested in Sustainability?

Take 48 hours to change the world

Attend Birmingham's Spaghetti Jam! On the 4th to the 6th of November, the Birmingham Spaghetti Jams, a community dedicated to the sharing of innovative ideas in order to improve the lives and experiences of the Birmingham community, will host their Sustainability Jam to collaborate a solution to a community problem.

The Jam will take place across 48 hours and will guide you through design making processes in order to take you directly into the field and create and test your prototype in the real world!

The global theme of the Jam remains a secret until the first Friday evening of the event, and

the following days will see you spilt into teams and working together. And on the Sunday at 3pm you and your team will present your creation online!

The anual Global Service Jam takes place over a weekend in a variety of locations across the globe, bringing people together to solve a social issue.

Participating in the Jam will teach you about a person - centered design process as well as honing your problem solving skills and interacting with likeminded peers. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to share and evaluate your group's works and ideas!

Lael Hardtman Careers Editor @ehardtman

Wasn’t able to make it to the Careers Fair last week? No worries, we went for you!

Set up in stalls at the Great Hall on the 12th and 13th of October, this was a fantastic opportunity to meet face to face with recruiters and employers from a range of industries, including (but not limited to) Advertising, Consultancy, Education, Engineering, Health and Social Work, Human Resources, Government, Journalism, Sales, Retailing and many more!

The Careers Fair was a great way to kickstart the job hunt that will haunt all graduates and is a great way to establish yourself with recruiters in person.

Remember, one of the key steps in the job hunt is always making a lasting impression!

Many of the schemes offered require at minimum a 2:1 and a sense of self-motivation - the integral 'can-do' attitude that is key to success in a postuniversity career, along with a bit of experience, though not necessarily in the industry!

Generally, the opportunities presented at the two-day Careers Fair can be divided in two: graduates jobs, which after the aforementioned application period, throw you straight into the deep end of the industry (with training of course), or graduate schemes which generally offer a period between 6-8 weeks of training before heading onto a placement. The general consensus is that the training, either on the job or through

"It's critical for students to 'feel out' how companies present themselves." the training and placement period, is prepping you for management roles in future, and thus presents graduates with an extraordinary opportunity to establish themselves as young, working professionals.

The Careers Fair was also a great way to test how the companies present themselves, and by getting a feel for the company and the recruiters it gives you a better idea of what you might want to do in future.

It's critical for students to ‘feel out’ how comp a n i e s present themselves to make more effective decisions about their future, and on the flipside, companies are looking for exposure to our generation.

It was also good to learn

So if you have a vested interested in design, want to learn more about it or have an enquiring mind but don’t know what to do with it, sign up for the Birmingham’s next Jam! Visit the Global Jam website for updates, and you can sign up for Birmingham’s next Jam through Eventbrite - just search Birmingham Global Sustainability Jam 2016 to start your Jam Journey.

"Just 48 hours to change the world!"

The schedule for the Jam is as follows: Friday 4th November 2016 from 6pm to 9pm, Saturday 5th November 2016 - 9:30am to 5pm, and Sunday 6th November 2016 - 9:30am to 4pm at Impact Hub Birmingham.

Autumn Careers Fair Overview Careers Editor Lael Hardtman covers the University's latest exclusive Careers Fair, which hosted a huge variety of graduate opportunities across two days

35

about how your skill set that you’ve gained as a student at university matches with that of the industry, and learning about new kinds of opportunities you might not have otherwise come across.

Furthermore, attending careers fairs also allows you to practice your ‘elevator pitch’ to the big leagues (Accenture, PwC, ASOS, Capgemini, EY, and E.ON, and The Civil Service all making appearances) in a less formal atmosphere than at an assessment center. For the bold, the fair also presented the opportunity to get contact information from the recruiters themselves, and in a relationship driven world, it's key to network

"It's key to network sucessfully before the job hunt even begins." successfully before the job hunt even begins. The impression you leave at the fair could be the stepping stone to a great career, so make your best impression to ensure that come application time, recruiters remember your name!

If you missed the fair, check out the Debut, Magnet.me (think LinkedIn for students), and the Careers Network websites, which are just a few ways of getting in further touch with graduate opportunities. Careers Fairs are your chance to establish yourself against the crowd and meet your future, so take control of it with both hands and keep an eye out for more fairs on campus!

TIMES ARE CHANGING: How Technology revolutionised the job hunt Technology has transformed the way recruiters interact with students at both the micro and the macro level. Firstly it has changed the tactics of how one goes about finding opportunities, be in a part time job at university or a graduate scheme. Mobile phones and the internet make it easier than ever to get in touch with graduate jobs and opportunities; thus streamlining the application These days, simply having a CV is no longer sufficient to set yourself from the crowd.

Employers are increasingly looking at more creative ways to interact with students which can be seen through the advent of video interviews. These differ from Skype interviews whereby you will be required to sit in front of a camera and answer a series of questions.

This requires you to go into detail about how and what you did in a clear, concise manner, breaking down the key logistics of how you exhibited leadership, technology, networking, etc. Employers are looking for precision in your answers and generally take note of how comfortable you are sitting in front of a camera, a far cry from a face to face interview. 6 out of 10 companies use this tactic, so when preppng make sure to have your examples on hand.

Changes in interviw tatics aside, getting in contact with employer has never been easier; through email, Twitter, Facebook and other forms of Social media, you can be sure to follow up your application.

It's easy to put your online portfolio on LinkedIn but making sure it gets noticed is another ballgame, so don't be afraid to follow up!

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Sport

Friday 21st October

@redbricksport

Ryder Cup 2016: How ruthless United States ended Bradley West analyses Europe's disappointing display during the Ryder Cup Europe’s streak Bradley West Sports Writer

2016’s edition of the historic Ryder Cup failed to disappoint, providing the tournament’s classic mix of pressure, drama, atmosphere and some unbelievably good golf. Unfortunately for Europe, the United States had the greater share of the outstanding moments during the three days which reflected the teams’ dominance en route to their deserving first Ryder Cup victory for eight years.

Trailing nine and a half to six and a half following the first two days, Europe had threatened a comeback early on on the final day of singles matches when leading in seven matches, prompting flashbacks to Europe’s famous ‘Miracle at Medinah’ comeback in 2012, but this failed to materialise. Instead, for US Captain Davis Love it was sweet redemption having suffered the agony of 2012 when in charge of the US team at Medinah. It was also a much needed win for a US team that had only won one Ryder Cup trophy since the turn of the century, earning a victory that may have finally put an end to an era of European dominance.

When the European brains trust comes together to analyse where it went wrong for them at Hazeltine, heads should not roll.

For a team blooding six Ryder Cup rookies, victory was always seen as a hurdle that may be too tall to overcome and this was evidently reflected in the fact that the Americans were heavy favourites going into the event. Nevertheless, the favourites tag means nothing

if the work is not put in and you do not play to the best of your ability so the United States duly had to earn their win. With all this in mind, below are several factors that led to Europe’s first defeat since 2008.

Following the worst barren spell in Ryder Cup history for the United States it was evident that something needed to be done.

In-fighting and public blame had plagued previous inquests following defeats but in the two years that had followed the last humiliating defeat for the US at Gleneagles Davis Love assembled an 11-man task force to attempt to put right years of disappointment.

This task force planned every iota of the United States’ pre-

"Following the worst barren spell in Ryder Cup history for the United States it was evident that something needed to be done." tournament training whilst developing a plan that would instil confidence and belief into the team. The addition of the likes of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk as vice-captains was one of many inspired moves that provided a

reassuring hand to the US players.

This was a reassurance though that came purely from behind the scenes, allowing the players to have the freedom to play their own game on the course without being overshadowed by authority figures in the side.

In addition, the US planning process encompassed a well thought out team made up of power hitters and crunch shortgame players. The planning behind this move further highlighted by the US decision to make the fairways as wide as possible on the Hazeltine course whilst cutting back the rough to maximise the power drivers loaded up in the team. This was one Ryder Cup victory that had been thoroughly thought out and carefully constructed.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for Europe with six rookies in the team and so it proved as the likes of Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood all struggled against their American counterparts. For each of these men to only play in one session before the Sunday singles was indicative of their struggles with Wood the only one of the three to pick up any sort of points during the entire event.

However, if the rookies could be forgiven for their struggles it was the plight of many of the more experienced players that let Europe down. Nowhere is this

more evidently seen than in the performance of Lee Westwood, who failed to earn a single point from three matches and let two leads slip late on in matches,

"It was always going to be an uphill batlle for Europe with six rookies in the team."

crumbling under the pressure.

Martin Kaymer, who hit the winning put at Medinah, had no such miracles up his sleeve this time as he won only one point from four matches whilst Danny Willett’s first Ryder Cup will go down in history more for the distasteful comments his brother made prior to the event than for his own performance such were his struggles.

Aside from Rory McIlroy, and some special play from the two best European rookies of the event in Thomas Pieters and Rafa Cabrera-Bello, there was little inspiration from the blue side and

the final score eventually reflected this.

The final score also reflected how, for the most part, the Europeans were dominated in crucial areas such as putting.

Aside from spectacular efforts such as McIlroy’s 50 foot stormer when locked in his titanic singles battle with Patrick Reed on the final day, too few Europeans got their putters working. You have to look no further than Westwood’s two fluffed short putts on the 17th and 18th holes late on Saturday to see that, despite the Americans plans to play to the strengths of their tee-to-fairway play, they ultimately had too much for the Europeans when it came to their short game too.

Having said all this, for the Europeans an inquest isn’t likely and they will know that many of their rookies will be battle hardened by this experience and come back much stronger for it in France in 2018. What they should expect to face though will be a team buoyed by a famous victory that will be gunning to do what is even harder than winning the trophy in the first place; retaining it.

Like many things, Ryder Cup successes often come in waves and now that the United States have ended an era of European dominance over the competition they will be looking to establish their own long rule over the trophy.

Ched Evans Retrial Finds Him Not Guilty of Rape Dan Steeden Print Editor @DannySteeden

Welsh international Ched Evans was found not guilty of raping a 19-year old woman in 2011 after a retrial last Friday. Evans served two and a half years of his fiveyear sentence following his conviction in 2012 while his legal team worked towards securing his release.

The judge, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, told the jury at the retrial to disregard media coverage and publicity surrounding the case. It took just two hours for the jury to reach the verdict of not guilty, which was met with “gasps and cries” in the public gallery, according to the BBC. The statement read by Shaun Draycott, Evans’ solicitor, explained how the former Sheffield Wednesday striker was hugely thankful to his family and friends, “most notably my fiancée, Natasha, who chose, perhaps incredibly, to support me in my darkest hour.”

Evans also stated that, “whilst

my innocence has been established, I wish to make it clear that I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone who might have been affected by the events of the night in question.”

This trial has caused controversy as the jury was permitted to hear the sexual history of the complainant, a decision that has been met with huge resistance from women’s support groups.

The argument of these campaigners is that a ruling that allows the jury to hear the complainant’s sexual behaviour as evidence will deter other women from reporting sexual offences, and further contribute to the stigma surrounding rape.

The decision of the appeal court permitted two witnesses to provide evidence on the sexual history and preferences of the complainant and, according to Vera Baird, a prominent women’s rights campaigner, this was a decision that would “go down as a precedent that will be used and abused.”

Evans will now look to make his return to football with current club Chesterfield, who sit 21st in League One. The Chesterfield chief executive Chris Turner said of the Evans’ trial verdict: “We can now all move forward and focus on football.”

Timeline of Events:

May-July 2011: Evans is arrested and charged with raping a 19 year-old woman.

April 2012: Evans is convicted of rape following a trial in which he maintained his innocence throughout; sentenced to 5 years. He is then released by Sheffield United.

October 2014: Evans is released from prison after serving half of his sentence, stating his desire to play football again.

November 2014: Sheffield Utd confirms Evans will continue training with the club, leading to Jess Ennis-Hill asking for her name to be removed from the ground should Evans be offered a new contract.

January 2015: The former Welsh International enters talks into signing for Oldham Athletic, but sponsors say they would cut ties with the club if he should sign.

April 2016: Evans is granted a re-trial following new information regarding his case.

June 2016: Evans signs a 1 year-contract with Chestefield FC and scores on his debut.

October 2016: Ched Evans is cleared following a re-trial lasting two weeks. He came on as a subsitute in Chesterfield's defeat to Fleetwood Town on 18th October.

Sport

Friday 21st October

@redbricksport

37

Turbulent Times Ahead For Tyson Fury Sports writer Olli Meek discusses the struggles that Tyson Fury has faced both inside and outside the ring.

Olli Meek

Sports Writer @ollimeek

Tyson Fury is a man who is never far away from the headlines, nor is he scared of making them- his latest undulation being the revocation of his licence to box by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) for their ongoing drug and anti-doping investigation into Fury.

The ex-World Heavyweight Champion has had a turbulent past year, having only recently volunteered to relinquish the titles of WBO and WBA world champion because he can’t defend them due to poor health.

In his statement Tyson Fury said “I won the titles in the ring and I believe they should be lost in the ring, but I’m unable to defend at this time”.

Although the BBBC were going to remove his titles anyway, his uncle and trainer Peter Fury

believes that his nephews proactivity in this situation means he will be “welcomed with open arms” after his recovery.

In an interview with BBC Sport his uncle said “This is a guy that’s needed medical treatment.

Once the powers that be say he’s

"Tyson Fury is a man who is never far away from the headlines, nor is he scared of making them" fit t o box, then there’s no reason why he can’t be reinstated”, later adding “He’s at the pinnacle of his career. He’s only 28. He’s got a massive future”.

His uncle is referring to the mental health setbacks that have further delayed his career after

such postponements- to his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko most notably- as an ankle injury, not attending press conferences, and being medically declared unfit to fight.

Fury, nicknamed “The Gypsy King” is now being investigated by the BBBC after taking cocaine as a form of dealing with his depression; it is not something he has tried to hide however, talking about it in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Mr Fury has since been seeking other forms of treatment and his family regard the drug use as a one-off episode and not a “drug problem”; his uncle spoke of the lengthy conversation he and Fury’s father John had with the boxer, and how he has already been responding well to treatment.

Tyson Fury has been given support by multiple big names in boxing since this latest news, such as former world heavyweight champion David Haye and former

WBA lightweight world champion Anthony Crolla.

Haye said in an interview with the BBC that “This might not be the end, this might be the start, the catalyst that turns his career around”, with Crolla also saying “For him to come forward

"The brutal head trauma experienced by boxers on a regular basis leaves them very vulnerable."

takes a lot of courage...He needs extra credit...he comes from a community where they are very proud men” on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Mental health in sport is an issue of significant importance and to have the publicity that a

figure like Fury would give it can only be beneficial in the amount of recognition it gets in the public eye.

One would hope that with the vast sums of money that boxing brings in, some of it can be put towards protection and rehabilitation for victims of mental illness, as well as raising awareness across sport in a wider sense.

The sport is no stranger to tragedy regarding mental health, having endured cases such as Lewis Pinto, an English super middleweight, who took his life in 2012, and Johnny Tapia, five times a world champion at featherweight and super flyweight who died of a suspected overdose, a week prior to Pinto’s death, after several episodes of depression.

Reinvention for Tyson Fury may well be the perfect opportunity to put his past outspokenness and misdemeanours behind him and to propel himself into the limelight for the right reasons. We wish him well in his recovery.

Quiz Question of the Week: ‘Sunderland did it in 1979, Villa did it in 1981. Who did it in 1980?’

Answer: ‘Trevor Brooking’. Brooking scored the winning goal in the 1980 FA Cup Final for West Ham, much like Alan Sunderland did for Arsenal in 1979 and Ricky Villa did for Tottenham in 1981.

Could Cricket Do With More Of This?

Harry Wilkinson Print Editor @harry_wilks

Last week saw England lose in their second ODI on tour in Bangladesh. The game was lost by 34 runs, and as England allrounder Ben Stokes said on Twitter, England were 'outplayed'.

Stokes wrote in full: "Congrats to Bangladesh on the win tonight, outplayed us, what I won't stand for is someone putting a shoulder to my team-mate at handshakes."

Stokes here is referring to the moment during the post-match handshakes when Bangladesh's Tanim Iqbal bumped shoulder into Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow stopped whilst Stokes came over to confront Tanim, before being separated by Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

However, the big talking point from the game actually sprang from an event which took place whilst the match was still in motion. Specifically, the incident which occurred after Buttler was given out LBW via a review.

The moment the big screen

revealed the decision for Buttler to be given out was revealed, the Bangladesh team celebrated wildly, knowing the game was all but won. Some celebrated with each other, whilst some faced the England captain, berating and taunting him. Some words seem to have been said also.

Naturally, Buttler reacted in a way I feel was fully justified: squaring up to the whole team and offering out anyone who said another word.

After the game when Buttler was asked about the incident with reference to his supposedly soft

and calm personality, the ODI Captain replied, "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do".

There are some other examples, such as the Ashes Tests played between England and Australia, that never fail to spark some kind of extra fire that we so crave when watching sport. But such cases seem to be few and far between, with a lack of consistency and balance in the competitiveness in games.

But anyway, what do we make of this? I know many - and myself initially - would highlight the traditional opinion of cricket being a gentleman's game, whereby one must act in a manner exclusively matching this idea. But then I think about the feeling I got whilst witnessing the ordeal. My immediate and honest thought was: 'this is proper entertaining, I wish this happened more often'. Then came a massively increased desire for England to succeed, perhaps tenfold. And, following some brief reflection, I realised that there may be some correlation here.

The most popular sports, certainly in this nation, are the ones at which ignite some kind of passionate flame consistently. Just think of football. There is seldom a match whereby there is not some kind of confrontation between players, managers or fans. A burning desire to win simmers at the surface of all who participate, whether they be one of the players, managers or a fan watching at home or in ground.

The emotion radiates so far as to embody every person involved.

That is why football is so popular, that is why even the most introverted person has their personality switched to some kind of possessed emotional mess when watching their team or nation.

Of course, I'm not saying football is any way better than cricket as a sport - certainly not - but

what I am saying is the attitude, especially in spectating cricket, could be changed for the better.

Many will disagree. In fact, I would wager to say the majority of people involved in cricket would disagree. It is a very traditional game with a myriad of characteristics that some would value as sacred. One of such features was alluded to before, namely the sport's gentlemanly nature; the idea that cricket should be played with a stoic, friendly, pleasant undertone. In my opinion, this idea is slightly outdated and has the potential to hold cricket back in its adaptation to modern sport. It just makes cricket less fun.

I must add, however, the gentlemanly nature of cricket can still be honoured, and indeed should be, but just on a lesser scale and with less ignorance to the diversity of contemporary sport. The current idea of competitiveness, desire, passion and even aggression should be encouraged, not discouraged, as to allow this fantastic game to diversify onto another level of beauty and enjoyment. Such adaptation may already be happening of its own accord. If so, let's embrace rather than discourage; it is a positive movement for the sport.

"Buttler reacted in a way I feel was fully justified: squaring up to the whole team and offering out anyone who said another word."

38

Sport

Friday 21st October

@redbricksport

Men's Football 1sts Claim Convincing Draw vs Loughbrough Harry Wilkinson Print Editor @harry_wilks

Print editor Harry Wilkinson reports on the Men's football 1sts, who played their first home game of the season back in the BUCS Premier League North

After a tense battle at the Metchley 3G, both Birmingham and Loughborough were happy to come away with a point, with the match finishing 2-2.

Loughborough took the lead at 35 minutes and went into half-time 0-1 up. Birmingham came back fighting in the second half and were rewarded with two goals in quick succession at the 62nd and 67th minute. Loughborough equalised soon after though, making for a highly competitive last 20 minutes. UoB looked the more likely, but neither team were able to snatch the victory so the match ended honours even.

Neither team were able to take a foothold in the opening period of the game; both sides were finding their feet, working each other out. It took around 20 minutes before any real chances started to be created, and they were by Loughborough. Desite a glaring miss and some decent goalkeeping by Weller, they should have gained a lead sooner, but it was only in the 35th minute that, responding to a play from left to right, Loughborough chipped the ball over Weller making it 0-1.

Just prior to this incident UoB could have easily taken the lead themselves; a spectacular freekick delivered by Davies was diverted towards goal by the leftback AJ Adelekan. The ball was soon flicked back over by Loughborough's keeper though.

So it was 0-1 at half-time, a fair reflection of the first half, with neither team clearly dominating but with Loughborough taking more chances.

The start of second half was a very different story, with Birmingham coming back with all guns blazing. The first 15 minutes following the break can only be described as domination as UoB chances were created at will.

With defender Morphew mopping up play brilliantly at the back, possession was maintained.

It was only a matter of time before the equaliser went in; a half volley smashed in by UoB's Paratore in the 62nd minute. The strike was just too powerful for the Loughborough 'keeper who could only parry it into the roof of the net.

It didn't stop there though, because just 5 minutes later Birmingham were in the lead.

After a corner was delivered, and

Campus Sports Results October 19th

Starting XI: Weller (GK) Roberts Kirby Morphew Adelekan Paratore Davies Lunnon Sitch Reeves Rogalski SUBS: Morgan, Jones, Summerfield, Thompson, Carter

Sport Writer Olli Meek's Comment on the Match:

The first half saw Birmingham attacking in the direction of the Med School, and Loughborough's assaults were calmly soaked up by the consistently resolute Birmingham back four. Unfortunately, despite Birmingham's best efforts, it was Loughborough who drew first blood with a goal 10 minutes shy of half time. On return from the break, the Lions' hunger was plain to see. Loughborough were caught cold and complacent, and it didn't take long for Birmingham to start seeing results from several potent attacks. The perfect comeback was not to be completed however, as the latter part of the second half saw Loughborough equalise in a rapid switch of play. The cool finish from their winger, which levelled the tie, was the last flash-point in a very entertaining twilight showdown.

knocked briefly off path by a Loughborough defender, Rogalski jumped in and hammered the ball home from around 8 yards out, sending Birmingham into a deserved lead.

It''s perhaps worth mentioning that just prior to Birmingham's second goal, Loughborough squandered a clear cut opportuni-

ty to go ahead themselves, nearly capitalising on UoB's own error.

Birmingham's defence recovered brilliantly though, taking the lead themselves only moments later.

Going ahead it seemed set that UoB would go on to claim a fantastic first home win, but celebrations were thwarted when the Loughborough striker slotted in

the ball in the 74th minute.

This made the final 15-20 minutes a highly entertaining spectacle, with both teams refusing to retreat in their endeavour to claim victory. The game ended very openly, half-chances galore at both ends, but neither team asserting themselves as victors.

2-2: a fair result when considering

the balance of chances and periods of dominance.

Watching campus sports? Tweet us @redbricksport

Basketball (men's) 1sts 83-55 Derby 1sts Basketball (men's) 2nds 41-44 BCU 1sts Lacrosse (women's) 2nds 9-8 Oxford 2nds Hockey (men's) 2nds 2-2 Loughborough 2nds Netball 2nds 45-47 Notts Trent 1sts Lacrosse (women's) 4ths 0-31 Oxford Brookes 1sts Squash (men's) 4ths 0-5 Nottingham 3rd Table tennis (men's) 2nds w, w/o Oxford 1sts Rugby union (men's) 4ths 52-17 Harper Adams 3rds

SPORT

Friday 21st October

@redbricksport

39

Redbrick Meets: Andrew Kitchener Nicola Kenton Online Editor @QueenNikNak

Was rugby your first sport?

Online Editor Nicola Kenton talks to England, Moseley and University of Birmingham Rugby star, Andrew Kitchener Was Birmingham always your first choice of university with your brother studying here also?

I played a variety of sports growing up. I represented Shropshire in cricket and athletics (shot put), but football was my other major sport along with rugby. I played in goal for Manchester United academy from 8-12 and for the Wolverhampton Wanderers from 13-14 before deciding to focus solely on rugby.

His experience of the uni definitely contributed to my decision to study here, he enjoyed his time here and encouraged me to come to Birmingham. Location was also important; being only 45 minutes from Worcester meant I could combine studying with playing and training for Worcester.

Did your family influence your decision to play rugby?

What is it like balancing rugby and university?

Yes, family played a big part in my deciding to take up the sport.

My brother, [Graham, (below right) Leicester Tigers forward], had also played it from a young age so he was naturally supportive, as were my parents. By watching a lot of his matches growing up, I formed a passion for the game.

Hard work! I found it particularly difficult at first trying to adjust to the demands of university life, so it took a lot of effort to plan and organise my time efficiently between Worcester and Birmingham. I also missed a considerable amount of term as I was away on several England under20 camps throughout the year, meaning I had a lot of catching up to do in my free time to prepare for assignments and exams.

However I’m enjoying the challenge and am glad I’m choosing this path as it will provide me with invaluable qualifications for the future.

NBL continued: The teams battled for every point, exchanging sets 9-8 to the Lions, then 9-7 to the Saxons. The third went to the home side 9-6, and the fourth to Suffolk 9-7. In the final game it came down to the first-tofive point rule, with the Lions just edging it out 5-4, taking the scores for the evening to 2-1 in matches.

The men’s singles would decide the outcome of the tie, as Birmingham captain Toby Penty

saw off Joel Douse in a comprehensive 3-0 win. Despite disappointment in the mixed doubles just a few matches earlier, Penty threw all his efforts into the singles match – diving around the court to secure every point and continue his excellent form in the NBL. The games fell 9-7, 9-6, 9-6.

With the tie already won, the final match was between England

Football (women's) 3rds 2-4 Notts Trent 2nds Hockey (men's) 5ths 3-1 Nottingham 6ths Netball 3rds 18-52 Cambridge 1sts Men's Football 2nds 1-3 Oxford 1sts

You made your England debut in February in the Six Nations, what was that like?

What was it like playing in a home World Cup tournament?

It was a special moment. I don’t tend to get emotional but it was a great feeling to represent my country with my parents watching in the stands, even though we did end up losing the game! Putting on the white shirt and hearing the national anthems before the game was unforgettable.

It was a brilliant. There was a real buzz around Manchester, especially towards the latter stages of the competition, which helped inspire and drive us on. The home crowds played a big part during our matches and definitely influenced our performances. It also meant that friends and family were able to come and support.

The Six Nations was not

You signed on loan for

that

for

Moseley recently, is that so

England. How did you

that it is easier to study at

turn it around for

uni and still

the U20 tournament?

play rugby?

successful

We had a number of quality players unavailable for the Six Nations as they had commitments with their clubs, so having them back for the JWC was a big boost and gave the squad a lot of confidence. Our new Head Coach Martin Haag had a part to play as well, bringing in new ideas and energy. Our preparation before the JWC was excellent and gave us the belief that we had the skill and fitness levels to beat any other side in the competition.

Photo credit: Freddy Nevison-Andrews

number one Fontaine Chapman and Suffolk’s Zoe King. Chapman showed her class and made light work of the match, taking the first two games 9-3 and 9-2 in quick succession. With King clearly frustrated at a number of unforced errors, Suffolk coach Anthony Clark called a time-out, although it was not enough to stop Chapman storming to a 7-1 lead in the final game. The Birmingham player then made use of the double-point powerplay feature, which paid off and secured the win, 9-1.

Lacrosse (women's) 3rds 2-14 Nottingham 2nds Rugby union (men's) 3rds 25-25 Nottingham 4ths Table tennis (men's) 1sts 10-7 Warwick 1sts Table tennis (women's) 1sts 1-4 Notts Trent 1sts

Yes partly. I’m still playing for Worcester but as a young player who won’t play week in week out, being on loan at Moseley enables me to get regular rugby at a good standard. Being just 20 minutes from university means it was an ideal choice from a logistical point of view too. I’ve only played a couple of times for them so far but have really enjoyed it, and the lads have been great in helping me settle in.

Birmingham Lions Make Roaring Start in NBL 21.10.2016 Bradley West analyses Europe's disappointing Ryder Cup

Page 36 Harry Wilkinson reports on the Men's 1sts game vs Loughbrough

Page 38 Nicola Kenton interviews student athlete Andrew Kitchener

Page 39

Photo credit: Freddy Nevison-Andrews

Nancy Frostick Online Editor @nancyfrostick

For more, follow us on Twitter:

@redbricksport

Reigning National Badminton League Champions Birmingham Lions started off the 2016-17 season in fine form with a dominating win over Suffolk Saxons, winning 4-1. The NBL returned to the Great Hall for the first of four home fixtures for the Lions this season after they secured their first NBL title against Loughborough Lightning on Finals Day at the Barclaycard Arena in May. Suffolk Saxons- new to the NBL this season- opened well in the first match of the evening as their mixed doubles

pair of Anthony Clark and Sarah Walker beat Heather Olver and Lions captain Toby Penty 3-1. Suffolk player-coach Clark and former Birmingham player Walker got off to a great start by winning the first two games 9-7 and 9-4 before Olver and Penty managed to find a way back into the match in the third, winning that one 9-5. Thanks to the best-of-five format, it all rested on the final game which Clark and Walker took comfortably 9-2, giving Saxons their first NBL win.

Next up was the men’s doubles as the Lions’ Gary Fox and debutant Rasmus Fladberg took on Andy Ellis and Johnnie Torjussen. The comfortable 3-0 score-line in Birmingham’s favour

did not reflect a fiery match that featured some brilliant rallies and athleticism from some of Europe’s best players. The new pairing between Fladberg and Fox certainly worked from the off for the Lions, with the games falling 9-3, 9-3 and 9-5.

Heather Olver returned to the court and paired up with Hiu Tung for the women’s doubles against Sarita Patel and Sarah Walker. In by far the closest match of the night, this one lasted the full five games – needing the tie-break round in the final match to find winner.

Continued on Page 39