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Issue 1224 Monday February 21 2011

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‘I could never leave my family’ Visa changes could deny students right to bring dependents

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Fran Infante Editor Student visa changes could force parents to choose between education and family as the government ends its consultation period.

The Courier has been contacted by a number of international students concerned about the government’s proposed changes to the UK visa system, which could see parents arriving to study for less than 12 months being denied the right to bring their children with them.

Riham Ashari is studying a Masters in Industrial and Commercial Biotechnology, and lives in Newcastle with her husband Hani and their two children, three year old Hala and 18 month old Mohammed.

The family, who are originally from Saudi Arabia, know how lucky they are to be able to be together while both parents study at Newcastle, but for many more the future may become much more uncertain. If the suggested changes were to be implemented, Masters students like Ashari could face the agonising decision to either end her studies or leave her children behind.

Currently the only instance in which a parent may not bring their child with them on their student visa is if their course lasts for less than 6 months, but as part of a government consultation on the Student Immigration System this could be upped to 12 months, thus affecting all incoming Masters Students.

The consultation period, which closed at the end of January offered students and institutions to voice their concerns on a range of proposed measures to control student migration that include the removal of the post-study work (PSW) visas and severely limiting the hours and conditions under which students may work during term time.

The proposals have provoked condemnation from Newcastle and other universities up and down the country with the Russell Group deeming them “very damaging.” It is reported that during the consultation period the Border Agency received more than 30,000 responses from individuals and institutions including Newcastle University and Newcastle University Students’ Union, urging the MPs to reconsider this apparently short sighted ‘solution’ to rising immigration levels.

Smiling for now: students from outside of the EU and their families face an uncertain future as the government proposes sweeping and unpopular reforms to UK visa regulations

Conservative Party plans to significantly cut immigration have been well publicised since the general election last May, so for many the proposed changes come as little surprise. However, there is the sense that the student population of immigrants has become a scapegoat for a coalition keen to deliver at least some progress before the next election.

Christina Yan Zhang, International Officer for NUS explained to The Courier: “The biggest danger is that the broader immigration debate should include international students. They are not here to work nor do they want to settle here, most just want to get their education and go home – there is no logical reason why intel-

ligent desirable students should be prevented from doing this.”

Not only are the changes, she argues harmful to the future opportunities of thousands of individual students but “it’s also potentially damaging for the nation as a whole.

Britain is competing in a global environment and these new restrictions will damage the ability of British universities to attract the best and the brightest students. They will simply opt for higher education in Australia, Canada and the USA instead.

“The coalition government say they want to reduce the abuse of the system through bogus colleges and such but bringing in these changes and applying them to institutions like Newcastle is only going to harm

hardworking, legitimate students.

“There is even further potential for these changes to damage individual universities. 40 per cent of postgraduates across the country are from outside the EU, and they mainly focus on science and engineering subjects; without them numbers on these courses will be drastically affected and so will research standards of UK universities, putting them behind their competitors on the international stage.

“International students contribute around £12.5 billion a year to UK universities they attend, if these institutions lose such valuable students at a time when many are already struggling to cope with massive teaching grant cuts the effects could be terrible.”

Zhang’s advice to students was “do not be afraid, we cannot do anything if we worry too much, get your friends involved, tell your lecturers, together we can make a big noise.”

One student determined to make his voice heard is 18-year-old Adit Agarwal, who found himself at the forefront of Newcastle’s campaign since early December. As an Indian national Argawal stands to be one of those whose hopes of working in the UK after graduation could be dashed when the government delivers its ‘statement of intent’ on the changes at the end of March. The ramification of which could be enormous as many Indian students rely on the higher salaries Continued page 4

Taxi sex warning

Beyond saving?

Bare cheek

Indie’s oddballs

Hidden addiction

Black cab drivers reported for requesting sexual favours as payment from female passengers News, page 3

Simon Murphy and Harriet King get to grips with Cameron’s Big Idea and question whether it is all really worth it.

Comment, page 10

Sarah Walsh gets back to nature as she takes a nude visit to the city’s Turkish Baths Lifestyle, page 15

“There are zombies probably being killed elsewhere on the coach as we speak.” Elliot Bentley talks to Everything Everything Music, page 31

Harry Slavin reports on the growing gambling culture gripping professional footballers Sport, page 37

Inside today >>>

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Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

News Editors: Simon Murphy and Charlie Oven

Have you got a news story for The Courier? Email us at: courier.news@ncl.ac.uk

University defends course contact hours as NUS produces damning report Harriet King Last week statistics were published by the NUS claiming teaching hours in universities have decreased over the past year. Russell Group institutions, of which Newcastle University is one, were predominantly scrutinised. However, after enquiries were made, it would seem the statistics demonstrate nothing more than gross generalisation.

Medical, Dental and Engineering courses were revealed to have the biggest decline in contact time between students and their teachers.

However, after speaking with Professors Geoff Hammond and James Steele, the Heads of the Medicine and Dentistry Schools here at Newcastle, both opposed this claim. It should also be noted that to some extent the General Medical and Dental Councils define the number of teaching hours on both these courses irrespective of their government funding.

Professor Geoff Hammond emphasized: “If changes do need to be made they are for pedagogic or organisational reasons, not a policy of cost savings. If anything, we will be adding new sessions around health psychology and extending hospital visit duration next year. There is always a balance to be struck between contact teaching and keeping private study time available to achieve the learning outcomes.”

Medical students at the University likewise disagreed with the released statistics. Gordon Bruce, fourthyear Medical student, said: “I think the emphasis should always be less about a sheer bulk of hours and instead about how we are taught. Medicine does require a lot of hours simply because there’s a hefty amount of core knowledge to cover early on, and certainly there are a number of

T

he number of contact hours students have with tutors and lecturers is often an issue of contention, with subjects in Historical and Philosophical studies faring the worst, with an average of nine hours of lectures and seminars a week, in comparison to Medicine and Physical sciences who have up to 19 contact hours a week, according to the NUS Student Experience Survey, 2008.

The obvious argument here is that certain subjects are suffering

Comment Letting agencies need to clean up their act, says Comment Editor Danny Kielty Page 11

Lifestyle Olivia Mason takes to two wheels on a cycling trip in the south of France Page 14

Culture Film: Despite the excessive blood, True Grit is Hayley Hamilton’s flim of the week Page 28

Sport Sports Editor Wills Robinson reports how one LA cricket team swapped bullets for balls Page 37

Meetings Timetable:

On the defence: the Heads of the Medicine and Dentistry schools have opposed claims that course contact hours are declining

hours which are absolutely required to teach the course in.

“However this is not the full picture and there are other aspects that are equally crucial to learning, like patient contact, group work and developing critical thinking skills.”

Despite the false accusations, there are nevertheless those schools within the University, which hold the reputation of having very little teaching hours, for example the English and History schools.

Professor Jennifer Richards, Head of the English School, said: “The importance of employability as well as the student experience needs to be considered. We need to balance what the students want alongside to what employers want out of our students. Employers value the communication skills of our students and their writing skills, but they also want our students to have their own independence when working, the ability to research and think for

themselves.”

An uneasy future lies ahead; the cuts are inevitable but at the moment nothing has been released and so no one can say for sure what the future holds. Nevertheless what has been made clear this week is that teachers value the academic experience their students have at Newcastle University, and have stressed their wishes for contact time not to be affected by the inevitable future higher education cuts.

Can students afford to pay equally for unequal contact time without stopping to think about it?

Miranda Dobson Commentary

The Union Society, King’s Walk, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QB. Tel: 0191 239 3940

with low contact hours that should be increased to give students an education that is value for money.

However, as an English student with only ten contact hours to my name I have to disagree; this amount of time with tutors and lecturers is entirely appropriate for the amount of reading that is required of the course.

I cannot speak for students on other degree programmes; however I would imagine many would agree that independent study and the number of contact hours are relative to each other, and a higher workload outside of University means that fewer hours are suitable.

After all, one of the reasons stu-

dents come to university is to gain independence and the way we learn should reflect this with less reliance on teaching staff.

Despite all this, with the issue of raised tuition fees never far from the headlines, it is difficult not to question whether students with fewer contact hours are getting a fair deal.

Philosophy students, for example, spend approximately £10 per contact hour and with some students claiming but one hour a week for the staggering price of £95, perhaps we should challenge tuition fees in relation to contact hours.

When these figures are compared with the example of a Medical

student who could pay around £5 for a lecture or lab time, they appear extremely unjust, especially when taking into consideration the resources that are needed for science subjects.

I am not the most scientifically minded of people, and I’m not suggesting that students of the Medical School take the brunt of our tuition fees, especially as I have no clue how much your average petri dish goes for these days.

However, the issue of contact hours does beg the question; can students afford to pay equally for unequal contact with their lecturers, without stopping to think about it?

Monday Sport- 12pm, Hancock News & Comment - 1pm, Rm 6 Park Terrace Photos - 2pm, Rm 6 Park Terrace Fashion - 4pm, Rm 5 Park Terrace Tuesday Life & Style - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Fashion - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Wednesday Arts - 12.30pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Film & Music- 1pm, Rm 6 Park Terrace TV & Radio - 1.30pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Editorial Team: • Editor - Fran Infante • Deputy Editor - Joshua Shrimpton Dean • News Editors - Charlie Oven & Simon Murphy • Comment Editors - Danny Kielty & Laura Heads • Life & Style Editors - Mary Mullarkey & Kat Bishop •Fashion Editor - Lauren Girling • Arts Editor - Stephanie Ferrao • Film Editor - Adam Williams • Music Editors - Polly Randall & Joe Skrebels • TV & Radio Editor - Ellie Wilson & Lynsey Fawcett • Puzzles Editor - Andy Pitkeathley •Listings Editor - Ciara Littler • Sports Editors - Kat Bannon, Jono Taylor & Wills Robinson •Photo Editor - Briony Carlin • Design Editor - Helen Mamalaki •Head of Digital Media - Aimee Philipson •Online Editors - Bethany Sissons, Katie Hicks, Elliot Bentley and Colin Henrys •Proof Editors - Charlotte Loftus, Katy Lawson, Hannah Davey, Gemma Farina, Jessica Cree, Amy Jordan, Rebecca Gee, Gemma-Jayne Turner,Verity Cunningham, Emma O’Neil, Georgia Morgan, & Tatiana Horniakova The Courier is printed by: Harmsworth Printing Limited, Northcliffe House, Meadow Road, Derby, DE1 2DW. Tel: 01332 253013.

Established in 1948, The Courier is the fully independent student newspaper of the Union Society at Newcastle University. The Courier is published weekly during term time, and is free of charge.

The design, text, photographs and graphics are copyright of The Courier and its individual contributors. No parts of this newspaper may be reproduced without the prior permission of the editor. Any views expressed in this newspaper’s opinion pieces are those of the individual writing, and not of The Courier, the Union Society or Newcastle University.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

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News

Streets ahead: dancers bag awards as they host debut competition S.HARRIS-WRIGHT

Rosie Perry The Dance Society racked up a string of victories as they hosted their first competition at the Royal Grammar School in Jesmond. The society, placed in every category it entered, scooped five first place finishes as well as one second place and one third place.

On Saturday 12 February universities came from as far afield as London, demonstrating just how keen people were to take part in this event.

Six universities competed in total, including Newcastle, Kings College London, Nottingham, York, Sheffield and Manchester.

The Beginners Tap category had two entrants, with Newcastle coming away with first place (choreography by Anna Simpson and Jasmine Walker), and Advanced Tap beat off competition from three other universities to take a much deserved first place (choreography

by Niki Holgate-Smith and Amy Heptinstall).

Contemporary was a tough class, with four universities competing, but Hannah Houghton’s winning choreography gave the team their second first place of the year to add to their victory in Durham.

Advanced Jazz (choreography by Bethany Bresnen and Katie Shepherd) placed second, while a strong performance by the Advanced Ballet girls (choreography by Sophie Bennison, who also placed third within the solo category) ensured another first placed dance.

Street was another category with just two entrants; however the standard is always incredibly high here. Placing first was much deserved, with the award for best choreography in the entire competition going to Bethany Bresnen and Nat Halhead for their Street piece.

The competition was judged by local dance talent within the North East: Rachel Lane, Hazel Needham and Balen (BBoy of Bad Taste Cru).

Students’ Union president Tom Delamere kept proceedings running efficiently, introducing judges and acts. President of NCL Dance Society Ania Kurek also took to the stage to welcome all visiting universities, and to thank everyone attending, especially those who had travelled essentially the length of the country.

With this being Newcastle Dance

Streets ahead: the dance society scooped five first place finishes, including the street category (above), as they hosted their first ever competition at the Royal Grammar School

Society’s first time at hosting an inter-university dance competition, the society’s committee, which had been organising the event since September, was crucial and the success of the day was a true testament to

this.

After a full day of hard work of competing and society members acting as reps for each individual university, the awards ceremony was held at Baby Lynches in town,

where Tom Delamere presented the prizes.

With Newcastle Dance Society collecting five firsts, one second, and one third, it is clear to see that this competition was a huge succes.

With competitions in Edinburgh and Loughborough on the horizon, everyone hopes the achievements continue well into the term.

Newcastle does The Apprentice as students boost their CVs George Sandeman Both Alan Sugar and Donald Trump have ensured that The Apprentice has been a smash TV show on both sides of the Atlantic. The pointed finger and uttered phrase of ‘you’re fired’ have become iconic television moments.

But now RiseUp, an entrepreneurial scheme run by the University’s Careers Service, is bringing the concept to campus to provide students

with an opportunity to win cash prizes by competing in tasks similar to those seen on The Apprentice.

Task one is to come up with an idea for a new club night, with the winner taking £500. The second is a selling task aimed at budding entrepreneurs who compete to secure the most sales orders in Newcastle and the surrounding area for a £200 prize. Task three sees the business skills competition take on a Dragon’s Den theme, as participants design a healthy snack for the convenience

food market, with the best earning a prize of £200. Similarly, the fourth task sees competitors pitch an original idea that would target and sell to those over 50 with the winner receiving a £200 prize.

RiseUp describes the event as a competition “to out-do fellow contestants by being the most enterprising, innovative and imaginative business people around”. The experience is open to all students, not just those studying business; task one, which headlines the event,

is designed to draw in a diverse range of students. The competition allows individuals to develop their commercial acumen, add something special to their CV and gives the opportunity to engage with business professionals.

Speaking to The Courier, contestant and first year business management student Melissa Whipp stated that the competition would “provide opportunities not really available” during her degree and that it would give her “valuable experience with

professional business people”.

“The cash prize is a big incentive for participation, as is the relevance of the task to everyday students,” said a spokesman from RiseUp. In previous years over 250 students have taken part in the University’s Apprentice competition, with hopes that many more will be attracted by cash prizes and CV-boosting experiences. So if you think that you could design the ultimate club night and want £500 to pad your bank account, then RiseUp wants you.

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Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

News

Bleak future: International students left in ‘limbo’ as coalition considers new visa restrictions As the government’s student visa consultation ends, Editor Fran Infante reports on how changes could affect the futures of international students on campus Continued from front page paid in the UK in order to pay back their high interest student loans in their home country.

“In India there is no official government support to help students fund their studies. We have a different system which gives loans on low interest rates to students, but if you are applying for overseas education you do not qualify for this discount – most students end up paying 1114% interest per annum.”

The process puts a lot of pressure on graduates to find work quickly he told The Courier “when you finish your course, you get a six month payment holiday, then you have to start paying your loan in monthly installments; you only have five years to pay it all back. On the average one year loan for a Masters, a student is likely to have to pay about £2200 a year in interest in addition to the original loan.

“Often the only security accepted on such large loans is property; would-be students frequently have no choice but to mortgage their family home or business in order to raise the funds to study abroad.

Traditional Indian families are often very large and this means that if one student cannot repay his or her loan the risk of a large number of people losing their home is very high.”

With the pressure of their family’s livelihood on their shoulders many Indian students put their British counterparts to shame with their frugal attitudes to repaying their loans; this however simply is not enough if the opportunity to work for a short time in the UK is denied them: “An average starting graduate salary in the UK is more than £20,000 a year; if you save carefully you can easily pay off around £10,000 of

your loan each year that you work here. In India you couldn’t even earn £10,000 in a year, let alone save that much. If a graduate returns immediately to India and manages to get a job without experience his pay is likely to be about £400 a month – that wouldn’t even cover the loan instalment for a month. Even if you didn’t have to support yourself or your family, you still wouldn’t have enough money to keep up with your loan repayments.”

Agarwal has worked tirelessly over the last few months to raise the profile of the difficulties facing international students who can do little but hope and wait until the government makes its announcement in March. On February 3 he presented a motion to Students’ Union Council to support campaigns for International immigration issues, which was passed by an overwhelming majority. Since then he has attended an NUS-led conference on the issue and worked closely with the sabbatical team to do everything possible to oppose the changes.

Asked what has made him so active in the campaign for the rights of international students, the Fresher who studies Biochemistry told The Courier: “My main concern is for the students that are already here, the ones that come after will at least have the benefit of having options because they haven’t invested anything, but for students who are already here the future is bleak. Until the government makes its decision, they feel they are in limbo.

Last week the Vice Chancellor of the University, himself a South African national, confirmed his support for the interests all concerned students at Newcastle: “I was an international student in

the UK myself, and I am now working in the UK under visa restrictions. I therefore fully understand, at a personal level, the concerns of many students.”

There are indeed extremely personal reasons why the Vice Chancellor feels he can identify with international students; another element of the proposals is set to impose limits on the numbers of academic and administrative staff that the University can bring in from outside the EU. Currently the University operates under a quota system, but what exactly will be the case after March 2011 is much less certain. Under the new system the Home Office will have their own centralised quota which they then allocate at will to universities and other institutions on a monthly basis. One of the most worrying potential effects of this is that it competitively pits academic institutions across the country against one another in order to win the right to bring in professionals from outside the EU. Maggie Donnelly, Head of Student Progress also spoke on behalf of the University describing the consultation process as creating “a very difficult position for the University – this is government policy and we are against it.”

Donnelly does offer some hope for the plight of current students; “we don’t believe these changes will be retrospective, it would be unlikely and indeed extremely unfair for the government to change the terms of a visa midway through its duration.”

“My advice to students is not to panic. Students come here to study not to work, so for now, let that be your focus. In the short term no one knows exactly how the changes will pan out, but the University will be as supportive and as flexible as it

Above: Hani Ashari takes time out from his PHD to enjoy a valuable father-son moment with

possibly can be.

Donnelly also acknowledges the reasons behind the government’s move, explaining that in some instances “the student route can be abused as a means to work in the UK, it may be a sign of desperation on their behalf to be seen to be controlling the situation but it’s not the right way to go about it.

“Admittedly the current system is not necessarily adequate. I have seen student fraud; there are definitely people out there who abuse the situation, but the majority of international students are, as you would expect, extraordinarily hard working and law abiding, they should not be made to feel victimised.”

With regard to any changes at all to the current system the University categorically opposes to proposals that have already been dubbed short-sighted and piecemeal by other parties, stating that the proposed changes,“would have an adverse impact on the perception and reality

of the UK as a preferred destination for international higher education.

A combination of some of the restrictions outlined in the consultation, the level of English Language requirement, restriction of working whilst studying, removal of poststudy work, removal of in country visa will have the unintended consequence of making UKHE less attractive and recruitment more difficult. This would significantly affect the income and mission of Newcastle University, many other HEIs and the UK economy as a whole.”

Newcastle Students’ Union is currently organising a postcard campaign which will send messages of opposition to the changes directly to Teresa May. A model letter to send to MPs is available on the website www.theunionsociety. co.uk.

If you would like more information about the campaign or feel you need support on this matter please contact the Welfare and Equality Officer Sarah Fearns on welfare.union@ncl.ac.uk

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

5

News ALL PHOTOS J.OFFREDO

Case Study: Dikshit Modi, 23, from India, studies Msc Microsystems Engineering:

W

18 month old Mohammad. Below: his wife, Masters student Riham, plays with the couple’s 3 year old daughter Hala in Exhibition Park

ithout the work visa system it is impossible for students to return to India and earn enough money to repay their loans Modi tells The Courier.

The most important thing for Masters students is not only the money, but also to be able to return home with some work experience. There is so much competition for work in India that it is almost impossible to secure a well paid job without first being able to show the company that you have some previous experience.

If we are allowed to work in the UK for a year or two then we can return home and get a job with a good enough salary so that we can pay back our loans. That is all we want. I study Microsystems Engineering; this particular course is only available in the UK, USA and Germany.

In India there aren’t any companies that do Microsystems Engineering, so there is no future for me, no company will take me in India unless and until I have work experience; until I can show them I have the necessary skills.

If they take away the right to work after graduation that will hugely affect my future. My future is totally blank right now.

I do not know what will happen to me. When I heard that the visa system might be getting cancelled I could not concentrate on my studies. Everything depends on this – Indian students come here because of the PSW – and not just to the UK but many other countries now are offering the chance to get work experience.

On top of the pressure to get a job for the future, we also have to worry about paying the loans back immediately when we graduate. We have to pay in monthly instalments – I have to pay 30,000 rupees (around £400) a month; for some students it is more like 50,000 rupees (about £685) because of the interest they have to pay.

I am lucky, unlike other students I have not had to mortgage my father’s property to get the money for my studies. My loan is worth about £15,000 for one year of study but with interest and other costs I have to pay about £22,000 in total. With figures like this you can imagine that students coming to study for an undergraduate degree often owe three times as much as me – around £66,000.

“I don’t want to settle in England, all I want to do is stay and work for my two years and then go back home ” So you see that if you owe that much money and are forced to go directly back to India when you graduate, there is nothing for us, only debt that we will never get out of.

If the UK stops giving stu-

dents the opportunity to work for some time at the end of their degrees, the best international students will stop choosing to come to the UK. The option to go to Australia where they offer three years to work is too tempting. I already have 10-15 friends who have decided to go to Australia instead of England just because of the whole debate.

My sister was applying to London universities but since this debate has started, she diverted her place and is now applying to Australia.

“Majority of international students who stay here to work are highly skilled, educated people, they are not on benefits” If the UK government wants to close the PSW system for new incoming students they can. They can change the rules for the future but what we are worried about is how nobody knows how it will affect current students.

I am due to finish my course this summer and I could find out in April that I will not be allowed to work here afterwards.

I have already taken my loans and paid for a qualification that will mean nothing in India if I do not have the chance to get some work experience before I return.

If I return without any work experience from the country where I qualified then the degree becomes nothing for me, it’s just a waste. Especially for specialisms like Microsystems Engineering because it simply does not exist in India and that is a big problem for me.

This is not about immigration; all I want to do is study here, work for a couple of years and then go home. It is not fair that because some small number of students abuse the system, all students are stopped from working.

I do not want to settle in England, all I want to do is stay and work for my two years and then go back home. I couldn’t stay here, my whole family is there – I wouldn’t want to live far away from them.

Most Indian students are the same – they don’t want to stay here because most of them come from big traditional families.For example I have 20 family members, so they want to go back home as soon as they can. It’s just a case of needing to get the work experience to get a good job in India.

This crackdown by the government on the graduate work visas doesn’t make any sense.

The majority of international students who stay here to work are highly skilled, educated people. They are not on benefits or asking anything from the state – they work full time and they pay taxes, so they are actually contributing more to British society than they asking from it.

All they want is the chance to work for a couple of years.

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Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

News

Students warned to be Uni leading way vigilant after taxi attacks in ageing research Helen Lam Students are being urged to be more vigilant with regards to taking taxis home after nights out.

This comes after two separate incidents occurred in recent weeks in Newcastle in which taxi drivers of black cabs purposely took advantage of young vulnerable females travelling home alone.

According to one of the first year victims, the taxi drivers are taking their victims’ home a longer route than necessary in order to ensure that the individual does not have enough money to pay for the taxi.

When this did occur, the drivers are then asking for sexual favours in return for the fee, in addition to any money that the victim has.

The Student’s Union Welfare and Equality Officer, Sarah Fearns, stressed the unusual nature of both incidents in Newcastle. She told The Courier: “It is important to point out that Newcastle is statistically one of the safest cities in the UK’’. However, Fearns added: “It is always important to be vigilant particularly when it comes to personal safety.

Second year student, Nadia De Rosa who regularly takes taxis home alone from nights out expressed her

concern to The Courier.

“It’s really scary that this is happening at the moment and could happen to anyone. After a night out and few too many trebles I always jump into the first taxi I see to take me home, without giving it a second thought just assuming I’ll be fine’’ She said.

Fearns: “Call a taxi from a firm you trust”

The advice given by Sarah Fearns to stay safe is simple and taking only a few easy precautions could ensure a safe journey home.

She urges readers to “make sure

that you are getting in a licensed car and if possible, always try to travel home with a friend. Even official looking taxi ranks can be used by unlicensed cabs so if in doubt, don’t get in the car.

“The best thing that you can do to remain safe is to call a taxi from a firm that you trust, it’s also much cheaper and you can wait in a warm takeaway for it to arrive instead of a freezing taxi queue.’’

This advice follows guidelines set

by Northumbria Police, who also state that individuals should always have their money and keys ready in the taxi in order to enter your home quickly at the end of the journey and if at any point during the journey you feel uncomfortable, ask the driver to pull over in a busy familiar place and get out.

Popular student taxi company Blueline spoke to The Courier about the precautions they are implementing in order to ensure people are staying safe, with the running of a ‘’Stranger Danger’’ campaign.

The licensed taxi firm informed The Courier: ‘’you can be certain that you are taken home safely and securely by a fully licensed vehicle and by a driver who has been carefully vetted by a licensing authority.’’

Satish Beri Newcastle University has been selected to lead a groundbreaking study into health and social care provision for the UK’s ageing population.

The £2 million project aims to investigate how sustainable assisted living technologies and services can help older people remain in their own homes for longer and provide for themselves.

At the study’s launch, Professor Feng Li of Newcastle University Business School, who is leading the study, voiced his concerns about inadequate funding set aside to deal with the challenges of an increasingly elderly population.

He said: “Our current health and social care institutions don’t have sufficient resources or capacity to keep up with our growing, ageing population.

“Demand on essential services is rapidly increasing and this is something we really need to be paying attention to. Unless we make some significant changes in the next decade or so there are going to be serious problems.”

Professor Li also highlighted the importance of technology in the re-

search.

The team is working on sustainable business models that are centred around new technologies and services, potentially saving millions of pounds a year. This is what Prof.

Li refers to as the ‘iTunes effect’.

The phenomenon is based on the consensus that the online music market was in tatters with the surge of illegal music downloads, and lacking a sustainable business model before iTunes reinvented the way in which people obtain their music, allowing there to be an online music market that makes money.

Prof. Li’s team hope to bring this same innovation to assisted living technologies and services.

Prof. Li firmly believes that no single solution will be enough to combat the problem so he has enlisted the aid of a range of experts from a variety of disciplines.

This will enable the study to review solutions from different perspectives.

Prof. Li told The Courier that his team are very optimistic that the research, which will initially run for three years, will be a success.

He said: “We are confident of coming up with good solutions.”

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

News

7

Newcastle takes the lead in breaching the social divide amongst students Bethany Sissons The Director General of the Russell Group has argued it is beyond the group’s power to solve the social divide at University, blaming underachievement in schools.

Quoted by the BBC, Dr Wendy Piatt argued: “it would be quite unfair to punish universities for a problem which lies elsewhere in the educational system.”

As a member of the Russell Group, Newcastle University is taking the lead in breaching a social divide at the UK’s best universities.

Speaking to The Courier, Admissions at Newcastle said: “We work extensively with 113 state schools and colleges in the North through our Partners Programme to encourage and support applications and entries from students from under represented groups.

“This work also includes work with specific groups of students (and parents) from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as disabled students and children in care. The University was recently awarded the Frank Buttle Trust Award for its work in supporting children in care.”

The Partners scheme run at Newcastle University targets under represented groups by offering lower entry requirements for undergraduate courses. Those enrolled on the Partners scheme must pass a two week summer school programme in order to attain a place on their course.

It is significant that courses such as Dentistry and Medicine are not included on the Partners Scheme.

Jessica Cree, a Newcastle student, was offered the chance to take part in the Partners Scheme at school.

Jessica told The Courier: “I suppose the scheme is a good thing. It gave me the opportunity to go to the University I really wanted to attend.

“But I also think I would have been just as successful had I not taken part in the scheme. You could argue, I suppose, that if you couldn’t achieve the entrance requirements, you really shouldn’t be studying that course at that university.”

Jessica also pointed out the negatives of the scheme: “I feel slightly annoyed when branded as a ‘Partners student’. People think that just because you did the scheme, you weren’t clever enough to get in on your own merits, that you were an underachiever.

“I simply took advantage of the scheme. I would have still been able to go to university (although perhaps not Newcastle) with the grades I got.

“It annoys some people when you tell them that the entrance requirements were lowered, just because of the school you went to. Some people I know, for example, went to private school and didn’t manage to get into university because they didn’t get the grades they needed, but people from my school did, even though they didn’t achieve the original entrance requirements.”

It can be argued that questions of social divide in universities is an ongoing issue requiring ongoing solutions.

Sarah Fearns, Welfare and Equal-

ity Officer, told The Courier: “I think that it would be foolish to deny that there is no social divide between universities in this country. You just need to compare the demographic of Oxford and Cambridge to the demographic of universities in the Million plus group.

“Some students whose parents can afford a private education are given the aspirations to aim for Oxbridge and other Russell Group universities (including Newcastle) from a fairly young age.

“For potential students from a less privileged background, achieving access to those high profile universities is just not considered an option.

“What Newcastle does with schemes like Partners is raise aspirations in a way that is sorely needed – especially considering the recent scrapping of the EMA. Sixth form students need to be given that message; that access to prestigious universities is far from impossible.”

Sarah continued: “What I find particularly exciting about the scheme is its focus on the North East. In England, the North East region has the lowest percentage of young people who access higher education.

“It is encouraging that Newcastle chooses to focus the Partners Scheme on a regional issue and accept its local responsibility. With increasing tuition fees acting as yet another barrier to aspirations towards higher education, it is imperative that universities take their responsibility towards equal access seriously.

“The controversial point is that students involved in the Partners Scheme can be accepted on lower grades than those who are not.

Whilst some may feel that they deserve a place with higher grades, this may not necessarily be the case.

We must remember that students from a less privileged background have not necessarily been given the same access to high quality education and therefore may have worked harder against the odds to achieve those grades.

“Given the same high quality tutoring as other students with higher grades at A-level, these students can excel to the same or even better standards of work. University offers are made on much more than just grades.

“Extra curricular activities and personal statements are also taken into consideration. Newcastle breeds graduates who are much more than just brains – just look to the Ncl+ awards to see what Newcastle really values.”

Roisin McFeely, a student ambassador worked on Aimhigher and expressed her concern that with the rise in fees, getting students into Newcastle from disadvantaged backgrounds was going to be harder: “I think now fees are higher, student ambassador help is hindered. It’s a shame that widening participation schemes are potentially being cut down.”

Roisin told The Courier: “The schemes that Newcastle Uni run; Student Guide to Student Life, BSU (Bite Size Uni), Partners, ACE days (Aiming for a College Education), are all about giving people the knowledge to come to any university.”

The Partners Scheme at Newcastle is designd to encourage and support the applications of students from underr epresented groups

8

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

News

Scratch that, WhipBikes told after legal challenge Joshua Shrimpton Dean Deputy Editor A pay-as-you-ride bike hire scheme launched by two Newcastle University graduates last year has been forced to change its name after the pair were accused of “passing off on the goodwill” of a company with a similar name.

Legal action was mounted against ex-Civil Engineering students Rob Grisdale and Jack Payne’s ‘WhipBikes’ earlier this year by a company that trades in a similar industry, but cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The scheme, which allows Newcastle University students to rent one of 150 distinctive green bikes on a per-ride basis, is now trading as ‘ScratchBikes’.

Grisdale, 24, told The Courier how an administrative oversight has resulted in the rebranding of every

bike, their website and all marketing material.

He said: “In the excitement of seeing our great idea come to life, and to save a bit of money, we had delayed spending £200 to protect our name. Unfortunately, it was infringing another company’s trademark.

For months we had been throwing the WhipBikes brand around so suddenly having to find and replace all mentions of the word has been a massive task.”

Despite strong organic growth, Payne and Grisdale decided that entering into a costly court battle was not an option.

“We got some legal advice and soon realised that we had stumbled into the most expensive and complicated type of law. It was going to cost £500 just to respond and acknowledge their letter. We couldn’t afford to fight it so we reluctantly had to say goodbye to the Whip-

Bikes brand,” said Grisdale.

Unprecedented weather conditions over the Christmas period have contributed to what ScratchBikes have called a difficult year. But as spring fast approaches, the entrepreneurial duo have already put the latest challenge behind them and are optimistic for the future.

“We don’t feel bitter about it at all.

The bikes are looking more impressive than ever and we are expanding already. We have just installed a new rack on West Jesmond Avenue and on Jesmond Road,” said Grisdale.

The scheme launched during Freshers’ Week last year and offers a hassle-free alternative to buying, maintaining and storing your own bike. Registered users send a text message containing their chosen bike’s unique ID number, which is then followed by an immediate reply containing an unlock code.

Stuck between a lock and a hard place: 150 bikes were rebranded after the legal action

Porter ‘kettled’ Imperial plans by students as £9,000 tuition fees Glasgow, Hull and Imperial College in London became the UWE occupy first university in England to officially announce its intention of charging £9,000 The Careers Service provides information and advice on developing your skills, finding a part-time job, work experience, supporting business start-up and (when the time comes) exploring graduate opportunities.

For more details about these and other vacancies, including details of how to apply, visit their website at www.ncl.ac.uk/careers.

standards. Full and part-time positions are available. Candidates must be available to work evenings and weekends and have good attention to detail. Cocktail knowledge is preferred although is not essential.

How to Apply: Please email your CV to heather.j.stanley@gmail. com

Vacancies brought to you by the Careers Service...

Job Title: Promotions Work Employer: Anne Savva Promotions Closing date: 01/07/2011 Salary: £8-12 per hour Basic job description: Ann Savva Promotions Ltd is a National Promotional Agency currently recruiting in this area. This is a very flexible position that allows you to accept work when it is convenient for you.

Person requirements: You should be outgoing, presentable and professional, with strong communication skills.

Location: Nationwide

PART TIME VACANCIES Job Title: Casual Food and Bar Service Staff Employer: Newcastle City Council Closing date: Ongoing (Casual) Salary: £6.84ph Basic job description: To work at Newcastle Civic Centre on an as and when required basis, serving food and drinks to customers.

Person Requirements: Experience preferred but not essential Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Job Title: Casual Security Officers Employer: G4S Secure Solutions (UK) Ltd Closing date: Ongoing Salary: £6.00–6.50ph Basic job description: To provide general security duties to a wide range of organisations including office premises and retail businesses.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Job Title: Bar Staff Employer: JD Weatherspoon Closing date: 06/03/2011 Salary: £5.93 per hour plus bonuses Basic job description: You will be responsible for delivering top quality service and ensuring all drinks and products are presented to our high standards. Various part-time shifts are available including early mornings, lunchtimes, late nights and weekends.

Location: Newcastle

Job Title: Bar/Waiting Staff Employer: The Hyena Comedy Club Closing Date: 01/12/2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Person Requirements: Successful candidates must be willing to work as part of a team, preparing drinks and serving food whilst maintaining high customer

Job Title: Customer Sales Advisors Employer: AA Ltd Closing date: 04/03/2011 Salary: £15,230 (pro rata) Basic job description: Front line interface with new and existing customers to sell and service the products we offer, including the new Home Emergency Response product.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Job Title: Elections Assistant Employer: Northumbria University Students Union Closing date: 07/03/2011 Salary: £5.96 per hour Basic job description: We are looking to recruit 8-10 Newcastle University students to support Northumbria Students’ Union in organising and delivering excellent elections. These posts are for 15-25 hours per week for a fixed 1 week contract commencing 21st March 2011 (including paid training on 18th March 2011 from 12-2pm).

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Job Title: In-store Brand Ambassadors Employer: Retail Management Group Closing date: Ongoing Salary £60.00 per day Basic job description: This company are looking for students to promote and demonstrate market leading brands for their clients within the IT and Telecommunication sector.

Location: Newcastle/Nationwide Job Title: Mini Showroom Host Employer: Fawdington BMW Closing date: ASAP Salary: National Minimum Wage Basic job description: Answering a busy switchboard and meeting and greeting customers.

Location: Newcastle Job Title: Senior Sport Coaches Employer: Super Camps Ltd Closing date: 20/06/2011 Salary: £300 - £350 per week Basic job description: As a Senior Coach you will report to the Site Manager and, with guidance, take a lead in running the day to day operations of the week-long courses.

Location: Various across the UK

Simon Childs On February 12, Glasgow University students ‘kettled’ NUS President Aaron Porter.

The students are occupying the Hetherington Research Club building of their university in protest to the cuts in education, renaming it ‘Free Hetherington’.

An occupation against the cuts is also taking place at Hull University, and there was a short term sit-in at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol.

Porter, who has been lambasted by some of the student movement for not criticising controversial police tactics at protests strongly enough, visited Glasgow to take part in a Labour Youth Conference. Upon exiting the conference, he was surrounded by students who linked arms, effectively trapping him, in a way redolent of the ‘kettling’ tactic used by police at protests.

According to a report on the Glasgow occupation’s blog: “Eventually, Porter ducked down and shimmied between our legs, escaping our kettle and sprinting away.”

Commenting on the blog, one student advised Porter: “if you don’t want to be chased out of every city you visit, try not being such a treacherous scab.”

Earlier that week, students at UWE temporarily occupied their student union in solidarity with lecturers who were striking over a ‘restructuring’, which includes the loss of 80 senior academic posts.

Meanwhile, students at Hull University have re-occupied the Staff House building, following a four-day occupation before Christmas.

The Hull occupiers have called for a wave of occupation on February 24 when university Vice-Chancellors from across the country will meet in London to discuss the implementation of higher tuition fees.

A statement on their blog says: “The emergence of a powerful student movement last year shook the government; now we need to take our fight to the university bosses.”

per year in tuition fees.

The highly regarded science institution said it wanted to “maintain the excellence of the education we provide to students”.

The announcement at Imperial casts doubt over the government’s claim that universities charging the top rate would be “exceptional”, and the NUS has predicted that the majority will charge the highest possible fee.

Create Your Campus winner announced at Southampton The winners of Southampton University’s ‘Create Your Campus’ competition have been announced as team FgConcept.

The team impressed a panel of experts and topped a poll of students, beating five other finalists to the prize – designing a new study space in the university’s Hartley Library.

The team will have a budget of £100,000 to £150,000 to work with.

The competition, now in its second year, aims to empower students by “giving them a voice in the decisions concerning the physical educational environment”.

MPs move to ban Oxbridge MA MPs have slammed the practice of handing out ‘complimentary’ MAs to Oxbridge graduates.

Currently, students who graduate from Oxford or Cambridge with a Bachelor’s degree (BA) can upgrade to a Master of the Arts (MA) title six years after they finish studying, simply because the Oxbridge institutions are old and prestigious.

9

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

What are the real implications of Britain’s ‘big four’ supermarkets?

Comment Editors: Laura Heads and Danny Kielty - courier.comment@ncl.ac.uk

> Page 11

Student class needn’t mean cultural clash Susie May Beever

If you have ever been unfortunate and ripped-off enough to be led into attending one of Newcastle’s ‘Battle of the Uni’s’ bar crawls, you will have inevitably noticed the rivalry between Northumbria and Newcastle students.

This is pretty much epitomised in the chant “I’d rather be a Poly than a c**t”, to the ever well-known tune of “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. Clearly, the combination of alcohol and the resounding chants of academic-based abuse, are just asking for trouble, but what is the motivation for such torrents of drunken hierarchy? Why are we ‘c**ts’?

Well, as with most questions, the answer probably lies not in our academic achievements, but in the issues of social class. The Times online University Guide has recently published new statistics based on ‘middle-class’ universities, with Newcastle University being ranked as the 16th most middle-class place to study in the country, amongst which are Durham, Oxford and St. Andrews.

According to the statistics, 80.7 per cent of Newcastle’s student population (coming joint with Leeds) come from middle-class families. And by middle-class, I mean families on a household income of £40k a year or more.

You, The Courier George Sandeman, Combined Honours student reviews the last edition

T

he sex and relationships section is always good value for money, and it didn’t disappoint with a blind date special where one bloke went out with 3 different girls: huge player. Madame vs. monsieur was bizarre and shocking as it was deep and meaningful, whilst Pamela Mardle provided humorous insight into Valentine’s Day. The revelation that sea cucumbers are on the brink of becoming environmental heroes was truly heartwarming, and the idea that drinking games are bad for my liver was news to me. The food and drink section was positively mouth-watering and prompted my flatmates and I to go on a cheeky trip to

The socio-economic stereotype: Newcastle’s ‘Posh versus Poly’ rivalry with Northumbria is one example of the student ‘hierarchy’

So what really constitutes Newcastle as being middle class? Well, from a cultural and student perspective, it’s easy to see why the University lives up to its reputation for being a gilet-haven; the introduction of the ‘rah’ stereotype (most likely induced by two little words: gap yah) has taken the cultural world by storm.

Middle-class is no longer a socioeconomic band determined by the number of zeros in Daddy’s salary; its a culture of its own.

It’s not always been like this, however; there was once a time when Jack Wills was a simple little clothing boutique in Salcombe, large and messy back-combed hair signified a

Munchies.

Fashion, like most things trendy, went straight over my head, although it was nice to see the unspoken rule of not buying the same clothes as your friends’ get some coverage; if only my mates felt the same way.

heavy, late night, and the donning of beachwear in public would have attracted some very funny looks.

Evidently, the rise of the gilet-clad army has coined the new label which is now so frequently associated with the middle-class society; I would have been clueless if someone had asked me the meaning of the word ‘rah’ before I came to university.

However, for those of you who still nod along in false pretence during conversations which use the word rah (you know who you are), the Urban Dictionary defines it as a social stereotype used in college and university, often referring to those who went to (or wished they went

The necessity of madness?

Elizabeth Gray

C OU RI ER THE

NEWCASTLE STUDENTS THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF

14 2011 Issue 1224 Monday February

EST 1948

www.thecourieronline.co.uk

FREE

B.CARLIN

by dangerous drinking games and

sports club initiation ceremonies

Drugs expert calls for end to lethal drinking games

Dying for a drink: drugs expert, Professor

Nutt, warns students are gambling

with their lives as a result of a binge

ss’

•Universities ‘hotbeds of drunkenne Charlie Oven News Editor adA former Government drugs viser has slammed the binge drinkfor ing culture at university, calling an drinking games to be banned. In exclusive interview with The Courier, Professor David Nutt labelled universities “hotbeds of drunkenness”.

Professor Nutt questioned the leare gality of drinking games that common place on campus. “Drinking games should be illegal in universities, because they kill people,” he said.

A prominent aim of drinking games is to get participants drunk in the shortest time possible as part of a phenomenon termed ‘speed

Inside today >>>

Jail break success Inaugural RAG event raises £70k for charity as one team reaches Montreal, reports Helen Lam News, page 3

Cashing in on Kercher With the very public trial of convicted killer Amanda Knox about to be dramathe tised for TV, Niall Haughey questions ethics of a worrying trend Comment, page 11

drinking culture on campus encapsualted

• Initiations ‘primative and medieval’

drinking’.

“Not everyone drinks for fun, a lot of people drink because it is a way of dealing with anxiety and stress, of those people need different kinds help; they need other ways of dealing with their problems,” he said. of Nutt was also highly critical sports clubs’ initiation ceremonies which are banned by the University

Valentine’s menu Think you know your oysters from your avocados? Eleanor Lister picks out the most reliable aphrodisiacs Lifestyle, page 17

but remain prevalent.

“Initiation ceremonies should be outlawed, it’s primitive and medieval,” he said.

The professor suggested hard line of measures for any perpetrators initiation ceremonies: “I was a Presi-I dent at our university sports club, I didn’t condone it [initiations], and didn’t allow it.

From the mundane to the sublime Olivia Mason reviews the BALTIC’s latest exhibition, The Sly and Unseen Day Art, page 24

it “You say to the presidency if happens and we know about it then you’ll be sacked.”

In light of Nutt’s comments, Athletic Union Officer, Charley Wright, clearly affirmed the Athletic Union’s zero tolerance policy towards initiations. He told The Courier: “Initiations are banned. They have been Continued on page 4

Men’s hockey Winning streak continutes with 6-0 victory over York as Royals close in on promotion Sport, page 44

What do you think of The Courier this week? Send your 180-word review to courier. comment@ncl.ac.uk

to) public school, are middle-class, and are frequently known for their impeccable taste in beachwear and hyphenating their last names.

So, does Newcastle truly live up to such a reputation? Culturally, yes. Totting-up the gilet count (real ones of course not the knock- offs for a tenner in Primark) one day on campus came to a total of 18: that’s nearly a total of £1,800 worth of furry hoods, which is a considerable increase in thermal outerwear than any other city I’ve visited over the past couple of years.

If society really has reached the verge where being middle-class is defined by our hairstyles and taste

in pyjamas, then Newcastle is most definitely a university with a high percentage of middle-class students.

But surely the oppression of young people into social stereotypes based on their bank balance is an archaic and conservative idea, I hear you cry. Well, true. Being middle-class doesn’t necessarily mean you fit into a stereotype where your friends have names like Henry HarringtonSmythe and you drive a Mini Cooper, no more than being less financially advantaged means that you wear your Umbros tucked into your socks; thinking about it it’s actually a very demeaning and old-fashioned idea.

It’s very easy to be dragged into a culture where our socio-economic class is defined by such superficial means. While it is true that there is a small minority of students who fit a particular stereotype which we believe to represent their upbringing and background, the reality is more that the trend of Ugg boots and over-sized hairstyles is exactly that -a trend that will surely fade over the next couple of years.

So, with 80.7 per cent (that’s approximately 16,000 students) of Newcastle’s student population being composed of the top three social classes, the University certainly has a large ratio of students from welloff backgrounds, but surely 16,000 students can’t all be the proud owners of a £98 gilet?

Gap yah jokes aside, Newcastle has plenty of other positive reputations as a student city that may be recognised, and which set it a lot higher than plenty of other cities with vast student communities.

We can all think of highly talented individuals who have experienced psychological problems at one time or another: economist John Nash, artist Van-Gough, poet Sylvia Plath name a few.

Those that have seen Darren Aronofsky’s latest film ‘Black Swan’ may appreciate the recent study linking mental health problems with creativity.

Tests carried out on a group of highly creative, healthy individuals at the Karolinska research institute in Sweden, revealed that the dopamine system in their brain (the chemical structure linked to psychosis), was similar to that of a schizophrenic.

The studies show that in these cases, while the thalamus acts as a sort of filter in the brain during cognitive

processes, those with less dopamine receptors have a freer flowing and less restricted thought process, allowing for more creativity.

The link between creativity and mental illness is largely manifest in poetry; perhaps due to its unregulated, abstract nature where freedom of thought flourishes. Keats and Clare are just some of the poets who deliberate their sanity in their writings.

“Studies have shown institutionalisation to be highest among poets. ” The BBC Radio 4 documentary Out Of the Vortex, aired last week, featured the story of contemporary ‘dub’ poet Jean Binta-Breeze, herself a schizophrenic.

Speaking about her book Riddym Ravings (the mad woman’s poem) she recited a monologue based on her experiences with the disease.

It is both fascinating and frightening to listen to. Binta-Breeze described how during her breakdown,

whenever she listened to the radio, she would react to everything she heard, sometimes even physically acting out the lyrics of a song. It is with a hint of irony then, that BintaBreeze cannot allow a radio in her house, given how often her work is aired.

Conversely, I have read about poets who, despite producing disconcerting material, claim to be perfectly happy; believing rather that childhood troubles of certain poets are the cause of mental instability, and poetry is simply the chosen device to channel their emotions.

At what point the creativity process becomes debilitating remains unclear. Psychologist Gordon Claridge suggests that illnesses like schizophrenia may have served a purpose during the evolutionary period, possibly as defence mechanisms (like anxiety, which however undesired, keeps us alert) but which now have an adverse affect.

This does not mean that the creative among us should suddenly become concerned; mental illness affects 250,000 British people, and most are not aspiring poets.

10

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Comment

I do, want to have our civil ceremony in a church Sophie McCoid

Since their introduction in 2005, Civil partnerships have caused controversy amongst certain religious groups in society, who do not believe that same-sex relationships should be tolerated.

Pope Benedict himself once said that same-sex marriage was among the “Most insidious and dangerous challenges that today confront the common good.”

With the Liberal Democrat announcement last week that civil partnerships could soon be allowed

to be conducted in places of worship, the controversy surrounding them is guaranteed to escalate.

Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister, announced that the ceremonies could contain a religious element, such as bible reading and hymn singing, something that has previously been disallowed. The ceremonies could even be carried out in the future by priests or religious figures.

As a Christian myself, I back this change in the law. In this day and age I believe the church needs to move with the times to survive and remain relevant to society.

The Church of England has already pledged not to allow any of its buildings to be used for civil partnership ceremonies and this saddens me deeply.

The Christian church has long be-

lieved that homosexuality is a sin based on various bible passages, such as ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination’ (Leviticus 18:22).

Jesus, arguably the greatest Christian authority, never said anything explicitly about homosexuality being a sin, however, and I believe this is highly important.

Some faiths such as Quakers, Unitarians and Liberal Jews share my view, and will apply for their buildings to host same-sex ceremonies.

The change in the law has been a long time coming, when last year an amendment was added to the Equalities Act which allowed civil partnerships to be held in places of worship if religious groups permitted this. For this to be fully legal, however, a separate consultation and separate legislation needs to be

passed and this is set to be put in motion imminently.

It’s as yet unclear if civil partnerships that are formalised in a place of worship would be classified as marriage or not. Although civil partners already have most of the same rights as married couples, critics claim the arrangement, still carries a ‘second-class status’. If the church can have homosexual clergy why can’t they have a homosexual congregation?

This issue is clearly a sensitive one, and I believe if some religious groups really don’t want same-sex marriages to be conducted in their places of worship they shouldn’t be forced to by government legislation.

The new move could also open up a legal minefield, with same-sex couples possibly taking anti-dis-

crimination action against religious groups if they were barred from getting married in the place of worship of their choice.

The government clearly needs to be very careful when deciding on this issue. If they can manage to strike the right balance however, I fully support the notion.

God is love at the end of the day, and if people wish to celebrate their love in his house, even if they are gay, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed too.

Courier Online What are your views?

Comment on this and other stories online at www. thecourieronline.co.uk

Is Cameron’s vision of the Big Society realistic?

Yes

Harriet King

I was not convinced by the Big Society idea when it was first introduced, and was worried that it was simply speak for the government stopping providing.

The Big Society is under a huge amount of pressure with commentators in every newspaper stating that the idea has failed; Cameron has undermined his own unique selling point by slashing budgets everywhere and rendering the Big Society unworkable.

Yet I do not think that the Big Society is beyond saving. Yes, it has been badly damaged by the cuts and the speaking out by various leaders in the project about how it is doomed to failure due to lack of money.

The Big Society is supposed to be about volunteering, giving something back to the community and country that provided you with an education, health care, and, in some cases a roof over your heads.

Many people do want to do some kind of voluntary work, either by being directly involved in a charity, providing a small measure of expertise, or just helping a group of local teenagers properly organise a kick around on a Saturday afternoon.

The timing of when this work is supposed to be undertaken is the key problem here. Everyone needs money. To make money, you have to work.

The majority of the workforce are employed during the standard weekly business hours; nine to five, five days a week.

This means that any voluntary work needs to be undertaken outside working hours, at a practical rate. Most people do not want to give up three evenings a week, with the odd exception. They want time to socialise, see their families and friends, and sometimes to just go home and drink tea. This is step one in ensuring that the Big Society works.

Cameron is also keen to move away from Big Government into local empowerment.

This is often the least discussed area of Big Society ideology, and I suspect, may be one of the most effective. With government cuts, there will be a less centralised government.

All through the New Labour years, the press and individuals were complaining about the nanny state; the Big Society aims to remove the nanny state.

This is easy to do; the government just needs to make sure it stops nannying.

Now it needs people to get involved at a local level; once people get used to the idea of a more approachable local government, rather than a presumption that all power is at Westminster, engagement will be increased, and the Big Society will stand a chance of working.

The Big Society can, for sure, still work in Britain.

People need to become used to the ideas and concepts that it brings to the table and engage with them. The cuts will be a problem for certain

sectors, which receive mass media attention, such as the way in which voluntary work will be affected, but with a little work and by being practical within organisation, the Big Society can prosper.

No Simon Murphy

David Cameron will have you believe that in Britain there exists a Soviet-style monster state that is chomping up people’s chances of getting on He will tell you that the state is overbearing, it cripples – rather than facilitates – opportunity. The social

together for the common good, are lost – why we need the Big Society, apparently.

‘Statist authoritarianism’ – sounds scary, doesn’t it? That’s the kind of language conservative commentators use to describe the political process in Britain.

One such commentator, Philip Blond – who dreamt up the concept of Big Society – writes: “Society is more free when it is served by market and state, and less free when it is ruled by them.”

Broken families, single-parenthood, absent fathers, unwanted and unloved children – all the state’s fault, argues Blond. He says that if society were policed by itself, through shared commitment to moral norms, heavy-handed state regulation would be redundant.

Blond talks of a ‘communitarian conservatism’, committed to promoting a traditional vision of the good life. The problem is that someone living in a leafy Tory safe seat will have a totally different concepP.HUGHES

tion of what the good life constitutes.

David Cameron has rejected this objection, calling it “snobbery” but it is vehemently conveyed as the coalition takes the sledgehammer to the welfare state.

“‘Statist authoritarianism – sounds scary, doesn’t it?

That’s the kind of language conservative commentators use to describe the political process in Britain.”

While EMA might not benefit many young people living in Tory shires, in inner-city Labour strongholds it serves to help pupils stay on at school so they can gain qualifications. Mr Cameron, show me how a local community could substitute that crucial £30 per week payment that so many thousands of young people rely on.

The PM says people have “the compassion, flexibility and local knowledge to help their neighbours”, but will they dip into their pockets and support their young people through their own choice?

Unlikely. Most people don’t even spare pennies for beggers. There is no army of philanthropists ready to spring to society’s rescue.

That’s why we need the welfare state and redistributive taxation which underscores it. It’s not about ‘statist authoritarianism’, it’s about trying to allow everyone the same chance to flourish. Cameron says the Big Society is not a cover for cuts – it is. Growing evidence that private firms rather than voluntary groups will win new contracts to run public services flies in the face of the PM’s claim.

Ed Miliband wrote last week that “‘red Toryism’, ‘compassionate Conservatism’, that funny tree logo, the huskies and ‘going green’ – these were the cloaks they wore to confuse the voters. What we are witnessing now is the recontamination of the Tory party.”

He is right, do not be fooled by Cameron’s weasel words – there is no new brand of Conservatism, only the same tired, worn philosophy that should have died with the Thatcher era.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

11

Supermarkets sweep the local off the shelf Mind your Adam Williams

The recent Channel 4 documentary series The People’s Supermarket challenged the British public’s reliance on major supermarkets and asked the question, where does our food really come from?

The ‘Big Four’ supermarkets dominate food sales in this country, and have contributed to a mass homogenisation of the nation’s food consumption.

Terms such as ‘locally grown’ and ‘organic’ are worn with pride by numerous products in these stores, but it’s not just about the price in pounds and pence, but the social and environmental costs, which are often not considered by consumers.

The supermarkets’ continual drive for lower prices has sent shock waves through the entire food production system in this country.

There are countless farmers who now struggle to make a living, and a similar number of local family businesses that are forced to close, while the big chains post record profits. 30

per cent of the British butchers that existed in 2000 had gone out of business by the end of the decade.

The social cost of losing these, often family run, businesses is immense, particularly as less than 20 per cent of Tesco’s 2000 stores in the UK actually employ a trained butcher.

However, these are not just British issues, but worldwide ones. Fair trade products are now big business, making hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

They appeal to our compassionate side, and consumers are willing to pay extra if they feel the product has been created in a fair way. But, with dollar signs in their eyes, many conglomerates (including supermarkets) have jumped onto the ethical bandwagon, looking for a slice of the profits.

A leading ethical brand is the chocolate manufacturer Green and Black’s, who are rightly eager to boast their organic credentials, but are now owned by US food giant Kraft.

This is a company which less than 10 years ago fought to prevent legislation in the US, which stated that food products should clearly label whether a product was produced using slave workers, in an attempt to avoid highlighting the unethical origins of many of their products.

However, the bigger issue is not even as simple as having a fair trade mark on your bar of chocolate.

For example, 90 per cent of the green beans that are grown in Kenya are flown to the UK to sell in our supermarkets, coming at a great cost to the environment and begging the question, is it not better just to grow them here in the first place?

It can be argued that the social cost of helping the poverty stricken farmer outweighs the cost to the environment, particularly when much of the produce of Africa is perishable, such as fresh flowers, which make up 25 per cent of Kenya’s total exports.

However, every scenario needs to be judged individually, making it a minefield for consumers, in a world where labels on food seem to give as little information as possible.

While it might seem equally wasteful to transport strawberries from Spain to sell in British supermarkets, the environmental cost is lower due to the natural heat and light in Spain which would need to be recreated artificially here.

But even those ‘local’ products you see on your supermarket shelf may have a hidden cost. Just last year, a report discovered that a clotted cream made in a Cornish creamery took a 340 mile round trip just to

end up in a branch of Tesco, little over a mile away from where it was produced in the first place.

Of course it would be impractical to have hundreds of local traders making individual deliveries to every supermarket, but an individual shop, like The People’s Supermarket, poses no such issues and thus is able to eliminate the cost of all the wasteful journeys a tub of clotted cream must take before landing itself in the aisles of your supermarket.

It has been argued that food should include a ‘carbon cost’ label, much like the nutritional information that is displayed on the front of food packaging, but this has yet to come to fruition.

This is not surprising given the long struggle it took for basic dietary information to be displayed clearly, something which supermarkets campaigned against, in an attempt to keep consumers in the dark and avoid highlighting the low quality of their products, particularly ownbrand food.

Sadly those thousands of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers who have lost their jobs during the supermarket ‘revolution’ will never return, but a People’s Supermarket is the first step towards empowering consumers to make informed choices about what they eat.

Letting agencies leaning on the brink of liability J. WHITTAKER

Danny Kielty Comment Editor

All of us as students will at some point during our time at university come face to face with the hard selling figure with the orange tint, whitened teeth and perfectly shaped haircut: the estate agent.

Amidst the hail of positive adjectives and their contagious spread of urgency, many of us are made to feel that the dampened dinge of the house we’re being shown around is, in fact, the only remaining habitation we can expect to find anywhere this century.

But, despite the fact that most of us weather the initial panic and eventually reach the ‘Promised Land’ of a plush student pad in Jesmond, how much protection are we actually getting from letting agencies and landlords?

A recent study by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health revealed that around one million privately let homes in England are so sub-standard that they are dangerous.

Added to this, attempts to introduce a landlords’ register and new regulation of letting agents by the previous government have been dropped under the premise that they would create too much bureaucratic ‘red tape’. But with a recent survey of 1300 tenants revealing that 73 per cent were unhappy with the service they received from their agent, can we really continue under the current system?

Personally, the service that I have received from my letting agent has been excellent. As is the case with every house, if the boiler isn’t breaking in the middle of December, the light bulb will explode while you’re

hopping on one leg trying to get your jeans off. But with a simple phone call, two immensely friendly Geordies come to fix the problem (and retune your radio to a commercial station) in no time at all.

But this isn’t the case for everyone.

I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from friends both at Newcastle and other universities bemoaning poor service.

A friend at Aberystwyth University came to move into his house at the start of his tenancy, only to find the food and dishes of the previous tenants still festering in the kitchen, and so much damp in his bedroom that you could see (and smell) the droplets running down the wall.

The estate agent had promised the required full clean of the house before the tenancy began, but they’d evidently sent in a cleaner armed with a couple of cheeky sprays of

air freshener before making a quick exit. Students stereotypically live in relative filth, but still.

In situations like this you can easily go and make a complaint to the Citizens Advice Bureau. But Lizzie Iron, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s head of welfare policy said: “We are really disappointed the government has decided not to take this forward, because we felt that regulation was going to be really important to give tenants peace of mind and better support for landlords”.

The government says that they want to focus on increasing home ownership, but where does this leave us as students? If your letting agent drags its feet in replacing a boiler, a washing machine, or worse something structural in your house, you aren’t exactly in the best of positions to pay for the problem yourself.

While increased regulations would involve more ‘red tape’, it would surely provide a valued safety net for students (and landlords) alike.

There is of course a range of university-approved housing, but this is limited. For students on a budget living in areas like Fenham, money is tight as it is.

Considering the current climate and vulnerability that many students face, it is advisable, at the very least, to go and get a second opinion from someone who has prior experience. This could be a parent, or someone on campus such as the Student Advice Centre, who will even take a good look over your contract before you put pen to paper.

With a kind of morbid optimism, the damp which my suffering friend endured did at least save him countless pounds worth of blu-tack when putting posters up on the walls.

manners Katy Covell Columnist

Who here would willingly leave life in a student-shared house to return to halls?

Just as I thought, very few. The very thought of having to move back into my old halls brings me out in a cold sweat; with the boxy little rooms, dingy corridors, and the tiny, airless kitchens that possessed more than a slight resemblance to interrogation rooms, nothing could persuade me to renew my residency there.

That said, sharing a house can also be rather stressful at times. Don’t get me wrong - I adore my housemates and I think that they quite like me, but it is no secret that we all have certain habits that annoy the hell out of each other.

Indeed just this morning, as I pattered somewhat bleary eyed into the bathroom, I noticed all that remained of the loo roll was a minute strip of paper.

Now I know that forgetting to replenish the bathroom stock of Andrex, having just finished off the last roll, is hardly a cardinal sin, but after a rather uncomfortable experience last week, I’m starting to lose my patience with the phantom bogroll bandit.

This morning I knew to check the loo roll holder, but last week I was not so wise… As I prepared to cease perching on the lavatory I realised, to my horror, that the cardboard pip of the ‘rouleau de papier toilette’ hung paperless from the looroll holder.

Luckily both of our bathrooms are situated right next door to one another, and so I managed to waddle next-door, where upon I was extremely relieved to find not one, but two rolls of paper.

I hope that the documentation and publication of this highly sensitive event will, alongside my no doubt being heckled in public, result in the instigation of a new ‘roll reload’ initiative amongst my housemates.

Staying in the bathroom, my housemate Sandra (her name has been changed for confidentiality and amusement purposes) noted that someone amongst us six girls seems to have an aversion to the bath mat, for there is always water all over the floor.

I can only presume that this person likes to air dry after a nice long shower and so frolics around in their birthday suit until all the excess water has vacated their skin in favour of the tiled floor.

Fair dos, but, perhaps they might like to consider for a minute the trauma I feel at having to shove wet-socked feet into my shoes every morning.

I must not, however, paint myself as a communal-living dream. I am partial to rather long showers, renowned for hoarding house mugs - the record is thirteen, sometimes a bit slow on the washing-up front - and occasionally guilty of nicking other folks’ milk.

Actually, on second thoughts, perhaps I should just stop complaining, put some shoes on before I enter the bathroom and settle for wearing my very own roll of Andrex tied on a loop of string around my neck...

12

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Comment

Lot 2011: auctioning off the right to a fair start Stephanie Ferrao

With over half of the Conservative party funds coming from the city’s companies and bankers, the backscratching of the economic elite has become a particularly enraging injustice when youth unemployment runs at 20.5 per cent and many highly-qualified graduates are still struggling to find jobs.

The Daily Mail reported that lucrative city internships were auctioned off at the Conservatives’ Black and White Party fundraiser.

Tory supporters at the £400 per head event could bid for internships for their children, giving them a head start in some of the most competitive industries.

Auctioned lots included a week at Mayfair-based hedge fund Caxton Associates (sold for £2500), a fortnight at the ‘social bible’ Tatler Magazine (sold for £4000) and a day as an extra in Downton Abbey (sold for £25,000).

Another lot was a week’s work experience at top-flight PR agency, Bell Pottinger, whose eponymous founder Lord Timothy Bell was Margaret Thatcher’s spin-doctor.

The lot sold for £2000, giving a fortunate individual a career kick-start that could be gained by no other means.

Public Relations is, as with many others, an industry where work experience is the most marketable asset, and interviewers would view work experience at a top agency as a sign of real determination and ambition, unaware that it was purchased rather than earned.

I came across this story shortly after attending an interview at Bell Pottinger’s London headquarters, and was shocked and infuriated to think that any one of the competing

graduates or recent trainees could have been the beneficiary of a similar leg-up.

The Tories’ auctioning of work experience is particularly hypocritical given that the coalition is currently unrolling its Equality Strategy, which to quote verbatim, claims to “promote diversity through internship programmes”.

Recent investigations such as the BBC’s documentary Who Gets the Best Jobs? have sought to show how

some of the most bright, ambitious graduates are frozen out of the best positions because they can’t afford to undertake unpaid work experience in London.

We may have moved away from overt social distinctions, but the class system is a key decider in today’s hyper-competitive world, as the purchase of privilege proves.

George Osborne’s signature quote “we’re all in this together” smacks of ignorance and shows why he’s

Sold down the river: does the auctioning of work placement schemes really tally with the Conservative promotion of ‘Big Society?’

often kept out of the media spotlight; he illuminates the complacent distance between the government and the electorate they purport to serve.

Frighteningly, the marketisation of work experience has filtered down to university level, as last year Oxford University’s charity Red Dress Ball auctioned off prized internships, including a mini-pupillage with Neil Kitchener QC and a summer internship with a prominent city law firm.

Though the organisers claimed that work experience looks good on your CV but it won’t get you the job, the reality couldn’t be more different.

Work experience marks out the ambitious and driven candidates who have sought to experience life in an industry on their own merit, rather than those who rest solely upon their academic credentials.

To break into competitive industries and impress hard-nosed recruiters, candidates often need to be all-rounders who have racked up several placements, in addition to a degree and extra-curricular achievements. The invitation-only Tory party fundraiser shows that the old cliché “who you know, not what you know” is alive and well in Britain.

Though many graduate schemes use online applications to break down the prevailing contact culture, meritocracy is only achievable with a more egalitarian government.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

13

Naturist session at City Pool: is nude too rude? > page 17

Sex & Relationships blind date

Dangerous Liaisons

Elliot Bentley & Gracie Whittington He said: Perhaps I should have made more of an effort? Brought a bunch of flowers along, or paid for a fancy three course meal? Or maybe it was the setting - a miserable, rainy Sunday night in a bar on Osborne Road.

Whatever it was, I don’t think I impressed Gracie very much. In fact, I don’t think she was particularly interested in looking for a boyfriend at all. Though I can’t really blame Gracie for not being particularly receptive to the idea this was a date date, particularly considering her recent love life.

I wasn’t exactly cranking up the romance either, being (here come the excuses) blocked up with an awful cold that had started that very morning and subconsciously occupied with the work I had due in at 11am the next morning.

It was a nice evening overall - short and sweet. The first thing I discovered about Gracie - other than the fact that we share a mutual friend who had in fact volunteered us both for this column - was that she’s a mega-genius. I thought my ‘A’ in A-level maths was quite an achievement, but Gracie took her maths A-level in Year 11! Though I was worried that I would fail to keep up with her considerable intellect, in conversation Gracie hides it beneath a sweet and bubbly personality.

Unfortunately, when we sat down and conversation finally started flowing, it appeared that we had little in common besides drinking (and even then, I was struggling to keep up with the rate at which she

finished off those double Archers and lemonades). She told me about her gap year and other interesting things she had done, but ultimately there was very little we were able to connect over.

Being a Sunday night, the bar closed at a disappointingly early 10:30pm, and we began to trudge back home through the rain. We both made excuses about being tired and 9ams the next morning and split, though not before a particularly unromantic stop at my house for Gracie to use the loo.

(Alright, I did invite her round for further drinks, considering it was so early and such, and offered to walk her home. I was trying to be nice, but in hindsight I probably looked rather desperate.)

The bottom line is that if you shove

two strangers into an awkward social situation for a few hours, romance won’t necessarily blossom.

Gracie’s a lovely girl, and I’m sure she’d make an amazing girlfriend but she’s not for me.

She said: I was very nervous before my blind date and beginning to regret that I had allowed myself to be cajoled into agreeing to it. I had the classic problem of having nothing to wear and my flatmates kept feeling the need to give me no end of advice.

Some of this advice was admittedly helpful such as don’t eat garlic or onions before you go, have a drink to calm your nerves and if all else fails and the date is horrendous, then just get drunk!

madame vs monsieur

K.VONG

Our agony duo Madame & Monsieur consider whether men should be hair-free...

I recently shaved my balls to try and make myself more appealing to women. However, I gave it a slight trim and it became incredibly itchy. So much so, I was scratching all the time. In the end, I resorted to shaving my privates entirely. This has made it unbearably itchy! I now am so sore that I don’t want to go to lectures as it is really embarrassing when people clock me scratching in public. I have just tried aftershave balms, moisturiser and even baby lotion.

These have made the region silky smooth, but not reduced the itchiness and subsequent rash. What should I do?

On the other hand, some was a tad less appropriate such as; “Just keep on walking and get on the Metro if you see them and they don’t look nice”, but I thought that advice was a bit too harsh to follow! We arranged to meet at the Jesmond Metro Station at 8:30pm so Elliot could lead the way and I wouldn’t get ridiculously lost, as my sense of direction isn’t the best!

After a few minutes of confusion and a text to him saying I was there, we realised that we were both stood a few metres apart!

This helped to break the ice a bit and we began to chat and cover the basics: home town, where do you live etc. We walked down Osborne Road to head to a bar for some drinks and it was nice for me to go to somewhere new because I hadn’t yet been to any of the bars in Jesmond.

Elliot did well at keeping the conversation flowing and there weren’t too many awkward pauses as we exchanged perspectives on Newcastle and compared nights out and favourite places to go. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I soon began to relax, which was probably aided by the move from singles to doubles!

We bought a few rounds of drinks each and Elliot definitely got lucky managing to get one for half the price. The bar closed fairly early because it was a Sunday, which was a shame, and so we decided to call it a night.

At the end of the date Elliot was a gentleman and walked me home and we exchanged a swift hug goodbye.

I enjoyed the evening and it was nice to try something new and have a different experience, but I doubt I will be repeating it any time soon!

don’t go rubbing down there in the middle of the park, that doesn’t end well...

Madame

Monsieur Anyone who has never trimmed their balls has probably never gotten laid. If you let that area go unmaintained it can become an unappetizing jungle for both male and female alike. Blokes should just want to keep it tidy and should avoid going overboard by shaving it all off.

There is always a bit of initial itchi-

ness no matter how little you trim.

However, your situation sounds more psychological than physiological. You obviously were never fully comfortable with the idea and your extreme itching is a combination of nervousness, natural razor irritation and whatever you have been throwing on your skin. Some girls will love the fact that their new playmate is silky smooth, and it will look a lot bigger than with a pube-fro! Just

Did you not discuss this with some femme first? Shaving such sensitive areas of skin is always a no-no. Hair removal creams would have been a much better option, leaving your balls with a shine like just washed chick peas and smelling of jasmine.

However, take some words from the wise; cucumber scents will arouse a woman less than Boris Becker’s toe hair.

Although I suppose it’s a bit too late for these pearls of wisdom! Not quite satisfied with clawing your swinging tackle you decided not to leave your pork sausage out of the violent groping sessions? Someone mustn’t have quite made their entry grades. Then you turned to moisturisers and baby lotion? Lather it up until you can’t see the wood for the trees and let it all out to air for a few hours in the safety of your room.

#12 No-strings fun Pamela Mardle Columnist

Friends? Lovers? Apparently there’s a fine line between the two. Except ‘lovers’ translates more smoothly into ‘rabbits’ when a relationship status on Facebook hasn’t sealed the deal. We all know sex without commitment can sometimes be the most fun.

Connection and intimacy is not what we’re looking for here, but hilarious and carefree moments of sexual deviance can be expected from the friends-with-benefits situation so favoured by students and young people alike.

Keeping it from mutual friends can only add to the excitement.

Heading into lectures on the same route as your course mate and diving in bushes every five minutes to keep up the pretence that you were not rocking the upper floor of their flat that night is guaranteed to give you a cheeky glint in your eye. Departing from the taxi and casually strolling back to your flat before U-turning to your preferred bed for a night of passion can be risky, but the obliviousness of flatmates can be astonishing.

Everyone loves having a dirty little secret, and the stealth nature of the soiree enhances the buzz you get from being naughty.

Of course, at some point it will most likely come out, probably when you’re caught raiding the fridge for ‘pleasurable’ foods in a less than dignified state of undress by the flatmate who was most oblivious to the sneaky situation. Busted. When this happens, you obviously kept it a secret to ‘protect’ them from the awkwardness. It has nothing to do with their naivety adding to your teenage kicks.

But what about when all the initial excitement ends and it does become awkward? After the giddy thrills of the surreptitious stages, one is bound to end up keener than the other. You are no longer guaranteed a night of fun following a less-than-exciting round of pub golf; the 3am booty calls go straight to voicemail. In the strained attempt to keep the rendezvous as far away from a relationship as possible, someone is bound to freak out when the sleepovers become more frequent and lengthy. In such an unconventional liaison, it is difficult to know each other’s boundaries. Unless you know each other inside out (if you’ll pardon the pun), you’re unlikely to be aware the line between what’s fun and what’s freaky.

14

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Life & Style Health

health

Vajazzle your vajay-jay: all that glitters isn’t gold After last week’s discussion on hair removal, Lifestyle’s grooming expert goes undercover to investigate vaginal art...

In my last article, I uncovered the weird and wonderful world of what lies beneath, whether it is au natural or silky smooth. This week, I have taken the notion of female grooming one step further and conducted some investigative journalism of my own to discover the marvels of a new treatment puzzling popular culture – the vajazzle. Defined by the urban dictionary as a verb to describe the decoration of the genitals with sequins for aesthetic enhancement, surely it shouldn’t be such a taboo? Even the few friends I told about this investigative excursion were shocked at my choice, as if I was a feature at a freak show. My boyfriend was also suitably apathetic about the subject, unsure of what he was going to think of this new decorative art upon completion. I was perplexed that something that is intended as just a bit of fun had such a social stigma attached to it, despite being a talking point amongst young women worldwide.

After being let in to the secret world of vajazzling via some internet research and my new friends at Indulgence tanning and beauty where I had my consultation, I found that it is a common misconception that the craze began life on the popular ITV2 programme The Only Way Is Essex. Rather, it was the actress Jennifer Love Hewitt who was the first celebrity to illuminate this surprisingly stigmatised beauty treatment.

As a consequence of being one of the first companies to offer this unique beauty treat to their customers, Indulgence have naturally attracted a plethora of press attention, taking this affordable finishing touch to increasingly wider audiences.

The procedure itself was little more

than 15 minutes in total as the gems of my chosen design were strategically-placed in a position of my choice. It is integral, however, that all is maintained in order for it to be effective and a Hollywood is available at an additional cost. There was no pain and the treatment room was relaxing, having the aroma of essential oils that is commonplace in any beauty parlour. Whilst it was being carried out, I could speak to the beautician about whether it was a surprise that she would be spending her days sticking gems to women’s vaginas but she replied, rather diplomatically, that she relishes in the fact that she is widening her repertoire and is a change from the massages that she was used to giving in the plush London spa where she used to work. During the treatment, I was expecting to feel uneasy, given that my friend was also sitting in on the treatment taking notes however I felt like I was merely getting a routine leg wax or something to that effect as there was little exposure or embarrassment involved.

After the treatment, whilst settling the reasonable fee of £10, I took the opportunity to discuss the notion further with Vanessa, the informative and helpful manager, taking into account the slightly more sinister side of the treatment. When asked if the vajazzle had been popular so far, at first it shocked me to be informed that ‘dancing girls’ were the demographic that bought into the trend most significantly.

However, in retrospect, the nature of the career denotes being innovative with beauty techniques such as this. Despite this rationale, it saddened me that this treatment that is supposed to be humorous and

Trend setter: the actress Jennifer Love Hewitt was the first celebrity to model a vajazzle

a fad for anyone has a potentially sinister moral undercurrent. Also, Vanessa was explicitly clear about making a policy not to offer the male equivalent of the vajazzle, yet there had been a few enquiries of a suspect nature concerning the ‘pa-

jazzle’. Does this mean, as discussed in last week’s article, that it is just as crucial to men in the modern age to maintain or is it merely the male voyeurs of society eager to get in on the action? Only time will tell how much longevity crystal art will have

in the world of beauty.

As for my experience, it did feel somewhat exciting to know that you had a sparkling treat underneath that only the most trusted would ever see but it didn’t bring me any closer into realising the solution to the bigger question of hair removal. After tireless research and discussion on the subject, I have concluded that it is a matter of personal choice. This may sound like a cop-out answer but it is like everything within the world of beauty: some people can’t go out of the house without layer upon layer of makeup and fake tan whilst others of us roll out of bed and straight into uni in the morning.

I feel like the same ethic can be applied to hair-grooming methods.

There will be some people within society that wish to look what they perceive to be their best all the time and this may be the expensive and sometimes painful regime of waxes and vajazzles, where others might not think that it is an acceptable procedure to carry out. Either way, there is one mantra that I have discovered in my research: you have to do what feels right for you and don’t feel pressured by men, by society or by the media to look a certain way downstairs.

As soon as you stop using your own happiness as a motive is the moment that I consider there to be something inconsistent within society. As for me, it just so happens that this week, that came in a shiny gem form. Unlike the gems themselves, if people just remember that it is all in the name of fun and expression, there is no reason the vajazzle trend shouldn’t have staying power for the individuals who like to try something new.

Meditate your way to a new you

Andrew Curry tries DIY meditation to help ease the stresses of student life Let’s face it, we’ve all get stressed from time to time. Maybe you just failed to get a top score on Angry Birds, perhaps you’ve missed a deadline, lost your wallet/boyfriend/close family friend, or maybe you just can’t handle the necessity to choose between Popworld and Flares. Whatever your reasons for stressing out, at university blood pressures tend to rise. It was far easier at school. You’d come home, jump into the bath, sack off the homework and pack in the dinner cooked by the mother.

The only stress you’d have was whether your European Drivers fake ID would work, and whether or not your former best friend fancies you (they didn’t). Now we are all in the mad and bad world of academic independence we find ourselves in a whirlwind of activity.

You’re late for everything, miss all your deadlines and keep forgetting to defrost your Kievs for dinner. So what is the best way to chillax? To calm down and unwind at the end of another long day of Media Studies? Powernaps? Long runs? Litre of Jagermeister? All valid suggestions, but for a safer and slightly more bi-

zarre option you could try a cheeky 16 minute meditation session, courtesy of The Guardian’s ‘Live Happy Programme’.

Somehow, out of all of my relaxed colleagues, I was the one chosen to test drive the Meditation programme. I’ll be honest, I lead a fairly active lifestyle and have a strange disorder which means I only really sleep about five hours a night and am visited by extremely vivid dreams that feature strange people I don’t really know. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I downloaded The Guardian’s podcast one fine evening and settled into a feature entitled ‘Sleep happy, dream happy’. After about 30 seconds of elevator music, a man who sounds exactly like Jimmy Saville comes on and instructs you to get ready for bed. He’s incredibly strange and speaks slower than you can process, setting up a lethargic rhythmical droning, a bit like those air conditioning units in hotels. I can’t really understand their logic of picking a man with the most annoying voice/ accent combination since Cilla Black.

He keeps telling you to remember your day and to run yourself

through your routine. The worst part is, every three to four minutes he’ll pause for some sort of dramatic effect but, just as you begin to hope he’s finally shut up, he starts up his droning again, determined to make your last few waking minutes as dull as possible. Once you’ve grown accustomed to this small drawback, the effect is strangely soporific. I’m not quite sure if it’s simply because he’s so slow and dreary, akin to most maths teachers, or because what he’s saying is having an effect but, after about 10 minutes I find myself nodding off, entranced by the ‘regular breathing pattern’ that he’s kindly set up for me.

He talks his way up your body, telling you to ‘switch off’ various parts. Not gonna lie, when he starts waxing lyrical about how relaxed he thinks my pelvic area is I feel a little disconcerted. Much as I am a fan of strange disembodied voices watching me sleep, it doesn’t altogether add to the relaxed vibe. However, the techniques he encourages do seem to work. You feel incredibly relaxed and chilled to the bone and truly ready to sleep for hours. What you’re left with is a dual effect. On

‘Live Happy’: Andrew thought that the Guardian meditation podcasts failed to deliver.

the one hand your body is completely shut down, lying relaxed and calm on your bed. Your mind, however, is strangely kept alert by the process of listening to this strange man talking you to sleep. He suggests counting backwards from 1000 and, for one horrible moment you think he’s going to count all the way down until you submit, but luckily he stops at 990. As you are beginning to get drowsy, however, the last 30 seconds of the podcast comes up as an advertising blurb which wakes you back up again.All in all,

it was an extremely strange way to end the day. Whilst it did relax the body, it was such an alien process that the mind was kept active by the strangeness of it all. I’m sure there are many more variants, hopefully with less regionally annoying narrators, but I’m afraid to say that this really did not function well in Casa Curry. It has promise, but fails to truly deliver on its promise to make me ‘sleep happy and dream happy’.

Looks like it is back to the Jagermeister. Now there’s something that will knock you out.

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

15

Health Life & Style

health

What would it take for you to bare all?

Sarah Welsh explores the myths surrounding nudism after a naturist evening at City Pool’s Turkish Bath

Doctor, Doctor:

“I have terrible stomach ache and think I’ve got a stomach ulcer”

Baring all: Naturism is defined as a ‘way of life in harmony with nature’, but modern naturists believe that public opinion and media coverage has led to unfair misconceptions .

When I think of nature, David Attenborough and Human Planet spring to mind. Naturism, however, is an idea completely separate, with connotations ranging from ‘equality and self-respect’ to ‘weird and wacky’.

Admittedly, it’s not the usual way to spend your Saturday evening, surrounded by 30+ naturist members in city pool. However, in a bid to abolish my naïve view, I decided to attend a modern nudist event...

I managed to drag my friend Hayley along with me to the naturist evening at Newcastle’s Turkish Baths. Rod, the leader, welcomed us with open arms and led us in to explore.

Rod is a former alumnus of Newcastle University, and is part of the Three Rivers Outdoor Club - a naturist group based in the North East of England. It is named after the ‘Land of the Three Rivers’; in other words, the area surrounding the Tyne, the Wear and the Tees. Although the group do not have a fixed site for their activities, they hold swimming sessions at the Turkish Baths, and have camping and caravanning exemption certificates. They are also an affiliated club of British Naturism.

We were slightly apprehensive before entering the pool. However, we were recovering from the night before and feeling slightly fragile, so a steam sauna and swim was ideal therapy.

The Turkish Baths were heaving with naked bodies. Nonetheless, Hayley and I tottered in in our bikinis, feeling rather imposturous.

Worried that we would not be welcome for covering up our bits, we were pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. Everyone got on with steaming and hot-to-hotter

saunas and we were hardly noticed.

The only difference was that members were ‘at one with nature’, if you like. All shapes and sizes were present, with no judgement passed.

After the initial strangeness subsided, Hayley and I continued like normal.

I am all for acceptance of unique bodies, something that is a huge issue for so many people. It appears that the society norm is based on the glamour models that line our magazine racks, or the Calvin Klein beauty that appears on the advert of Take Me Out. Embarrassing Bodies is a great example of the weird and wonderful! However, few people feel comfortable enough to expose much of their body, even to those whom they are most as ease.

For me, swimwear tends to leave little to the imagination anyway, so going without is only a couple of small steps and not too drastic in such circumstances as the Turkish Baths.

A swim, steam room, and multiple hot rooms later, we were left cleansed and relaxed. All in all, it was an enjoyable event. The baths are a great way to unwind; however you wish to do so. Personally I am more comfortable being clothed, but each to their own and those who decide to go without should be equally accepted.

Naturists are a minority group, who are often misunderstood. I was unenthusiastic at the idea of nudists, which I admit was a slightly ignorant view but no doubt the majority one.

The International Naturist Federation represents millions of naturists around the world, and describes it as: “a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice

of communal nudity, with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment.”

As a novice, I was very surprised to learn that naturism is an activity enjoyed by people of all ages. Furthermore, there is no discrimination when it comes to background, age, shape, sexuality, creed or colour.

Naturists believe this is irrelevant when it comes to enjoying the freedom of naturism, which is why it attracts people from all walks of life.

In practice, naturists enjoy the same activities as everyone else, but prefer to do so without clothing when the weather is right.

I was also unaware that naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. Their philosophy has many sources, tracing back to health and fitness in Germany in the early 20th century. Further inspiration comes from the concept of returning to nature, and creating equality. More recently, clothes-free beaches and other types of nudist activities have served those who wish to take part without belonging to any clubs, like tourist beaches.

Many people associate nudism with eroticism, and although it contains aspects of this for some people, many modern organisations argue it need not. I certainly did not feel this was the case at the Turkish baths, and it is fair to say that the public and media often oversimplify this relationship. Naked does not need to equal sexual desire.

According to the international definition, naturism is “a lifestyle in harmony with nature, expressed through social nudity, and characterised by self-respect of people

with different opinions and of the environment.”

The usage and definition varies geographically and historically.

Germans, for example, have a reputation for their openness and nudity, whilst the Brits seem too immature to accept such displays of social nakedness. It causes us to become giddy and silly.

Various people engage in nude recreational activities, either as individuals or in groups. I am not a nudist, but I confess to have been skinny-dipping out of the public eye and away from civilisation. I would like to think, as with lots of things, it is a spectrum.

Naturism is practiced in many ways: individual nudism, nudism within family, nudism in the wild, social nudism, militant naturist, campaigning or extreme naturists.

In places like the beach or the Turkish Baths, wearing no clothing is not too extreme. However, other nudist events include horse-riding and camping is something I find difficult to comprehend.

Everyone has their own beliefs and ways of life, and naturism is one of these choices. It challenges certain taboo subjects, such as sexuality, confidentiality, attractiveness and vanity. This brings with it controversy and social isolation.

Should social nudity only be for the physically beautiful? Is it too embarrassing or animalistic? Are nudist clubs going against the law or religion?This is for you to debate; clothing is optional.

To get involved, visit www.threeriversclub.org.uk, or www.nudeswims. co.uk. Organiser Rod is now offering Courier readers half price entry with a student ID.

If you repeatedly find yourself tormented by a burning, gnawing sensation in your abdomen, then you may well be the victim of a gastric (stomach) ulcer. Affecting as many as 1 in 8 people in the UK, you could find yourself suffering from ‘peptic ulcer disease’ at some time in your life. Although those affected tend to be older, the student lifestyle is not conducive to its prevention. Irregular mealtimes and a high fat diet can contribute to an ulcer’s development. Regularly having a few too many glasses of your favourite tipple will not only significantly increase the likelihood that you will contract an ulcer, but it will also slow down the rate at which they are able to heal.

But despair not; excessive alcohol consumption and poor diet tend only to play a limited role, as the chief causative factor is a nasty little bacterium called H. pylori. This accounts for approximately 60% of all stomach ulcers, and can be transferred through kissing or sharing food utensils. As this bacterium also results in halitosis, it is likely that an unpleasant aroma emanating from your partner would have prevented you from catching it over your valentine’s meal.

The second most common cause is the long-term use of painkillers including aspirin and ibuprofen, which can damage the stomach lining. By reducing the use of these and taking antacids, it is possible to get respite from the ulcer’s symptoms. Drinking milk is an often cited remedy for the pain; however its long term benefits are doubtful, as it may lead to excess acid production.

If you believe you have been struck

by H. pylori then you are now able to buy home test kits from the pharmacy. Failing that, a trip to see your GP will allow them to identify it and put you on a course of antibiotics.

Although, complications associated with gastric ulcers are rare, when they do occur they can prove lifethreatening. As such it is always advisable to see your GP if you suspect you have an ulcer.

Pete Warcup

Stomach ulcers affect about 1 in 8 people in the UK.

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Lifestyle

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Travel

travel

The ultimate Italian adventure

The Penny Pincher #12 Travel

Sarah Bennett explains how she enhanced her CV last summer with a working holiday in Italy’s own Newcastle Sarah Bennett Columnist

ACLE: Many native English speakers from across the world flock to Italy to work with the children during the day live with their families for a really genuine Italian experience

Fancy adding to your CV this summer but don’t want to fork out for a plane ticket to America, or even sort out the visa? There is an alternative for you; it’s a little bit closer to home, possibly easier to apply for, just as hot and just as challenging and rewarding.

I first heard about ACLE in my second year, when my friend Steph announced that she was going to Italy for the summer as a tutor teaching English to Italian children. She admitted she didn’t really know when or where she was going, because the emails had been a bit scarce. We kept barraging her with questions nevertheless, until one day she announced that she had been accepted and had a date and a destination.

The fact that she is bad at keeping in touch via Facebook even when on home turf didn’t help, as we waved her off on her adventure, not to hear from her for several weeks. Fortunately, she did get in contact on her return, only to enthuse about the amazing time she had, both at camp and about all the new friends she made and experiences she had, and suggested that I should apply for the next year.

ACLE (or to give it its full title, Associazione Culturale Linguistica Educational) is a non-profit organisation run by the Italian Ministry of Education. It offers Italian children from the ages of 6-16 the chance to take part in full immersion English camps, where all the tutors are native English speakers, including Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, Canadian and even

South Africans, as well as those from our fair isle. The camps are overseen

by Italian camp directors, but most are usually English teachers themselves. The focus of the camps and the way of learning English is away from the traditional Italian way of teaching, described as “chalk and talk”, moving towards providing English education via more creative methods, such as games, songs and drama, which ACLE believe are more stimulating and motivating for the students. Now I’m pretty enthusiastic and crazy and have experience of working with children, so I took my friend’s advice and applied for Summer 2010.

Having experienced the same barrage of questions as Steph (no, I really don’t know where I’m going to end up and no, I don’t speak any Italian) I got on a plane to Nice, hopped on a train that went via Monaco to a little town called Sanremo. Here we were given a five-day ‘Introduction to TEFL’ orientation course, got fed well, had nice accommodation and got to meet new people from all over the world, as well as having the opportunity to talk to tutors who were returning for second and third summers in Italy. The orientation cost about 200€, inclusive of everything I’ve just mentioned, but I had this taken off my wages as I worked through the summer, so didn’t have to worry about paying it up front.

After orientation, we were all shipped off in small groups to camps all across the country, travel all paid for by ACLE. The camps were either one or two-week camps, and most

of the time you had the same group of children for that week or two. For my first week, I ended up in a small town called Castelnuovo (ironically ‘Newcastle’ in English!).

In this first week, I taught 10 eightyear olds, which was a nice introduction to ACLE life. Italian children can be very lively so the games and activities I did were mostly aimed at trying to tire them out as much as possible, and Sleeping Lions was always a tutor’s favourite.

However, a lot of work was also done on working on the students English. There were always other tutors at the same camp with their own classes, so days usually started altogether with a camp song. Perhaps the hardest part of that first week was the show that we had to put on with our class at the end of the week, all in English.

Considering I had fairly young students this was quite daunting, but somehow I managed it! Whilst we spent 9-5 in lessons, the camp directors in charge made us feel welcome, by going out for meals and also ice-cream at midnight along the promenade at the beach – which is apparently the ‘done’ thing in Italy as everybody was out at that time, strolling along!

However, the best thing about the job was being able to stay with host families. These were families whose children were going to the English camps, (obviously, you didn’t have the class with your host siblings in!), and they got a discount for putting up a tutor. It was such a great way to get integrated into Italian life, as

the families I stayed with were so welcoming and nothing was too much for them.

My second camp was for two weeks in a town called Scafati. Now this doesn’t sound that exciting, but it was only 10 minutes from Pompeii, and Mount Vesuvius, an area I’d always wanted to visit. This dream was fulfilled because being at a two week camp meant that we had the weekend to explore the local area, so as well as doing Pompeii, my fellow tutors and I also managed to visit Sorrento and drive a boat around the Isle of Capri. Not bad for a working holiday!

I again had a wonderful host family, who again made all us tutors feel welcome by inviting us to a large family dinner. One night, they also produced a large pizza with chips on top. I couldn’t get my head around this, but when I mentioned how I liked pineapple on my pizza, they looked at me as if I was crazy!

Without hesitation I would apply for ACLE again, and as returning tutors you can earn a bit more than the base rate of 225€ a week. I loved the mix of work and culture that I was able to experience whilst working for ACLE, something that just makes it stand out to me more than applying to Camp America.

If any of this sounds like fun to you, go to www.acle.org where you can get much more information and you can also start your application online. The deadline for this summer is 1st April so get them in soon, as it’s a two part application, but definitely worth it!

Congratulations, we’ve survived January! But although we’ve had some nice days, the grey skies over Newcastle look set to continue for a while. You may be letting your mind wander to where you’ll be spending your summer holidays.

As university students, we must admit we have the luxury of being able to travel outside of the normal school holidays and this allows us to access available off-peak fares. It’s always worth booking holidays in late June/early July; a quick search of trips to Tenerife on the 25th June and 17th July show the earlier date saved over £100 per person. Here are some tops tips to getting the best deal for your holiday: Skyscanner (www.skyscanner. net) – flight finder This is a great online tool for finding flights. You can select a departure and destination airport specifically, or select the UK as a whole. If you don’t know where exactly to go, you can even select ‘everywhere’ as the destination. It can also tell you when the cheapest flights to a specific country are, so if you fancy jetting off to Thailand, you can compare all the different months without typing it in separately. Also, I recommend signing up for their ‘Airmail.’ You get information about deals and flights and they regularly run a competition for a holiday or similar.

Booking.com – a cheap hotel finder This was a gem I found last year while on my year abroad. Although I don’t mind hostelling, I found it a little intimidating when I was on my own. This site is perfect because you can search cities and order results to show the cheapest first. Although all the deals I got were good, the best result was three nights in a city centre bed and breakfast in Prague for just £70.

What is also great about this site is that most of the hotels on there do not charge a deposit, so when you turn up to the hotel you can pay in cash of the relevant currency. You are obliged to enter your card details, but only for the hotel’s security in case you do not turn up. However, there are some good deals that require you to pay upfront – just check the details of the hotel.

East Coast (www.eastcoast.co.uk) – cheaper trains Now I know this operator runs the north/south route directly to London, but you can also buy tickets off here for all the routes on the National Rail network. For some reason, whenever I go to buy tickets, East Coast always seem to have the cheapest advance fares! (I also hope you all have your 16-25 Railcard handy…)

For example, I live in the depths of the south, but buying from East Coast I can get a return ticket for £54.70, compared to National Rail’s offering of £93.00. It is really a no brainer!

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

Travel

17

Lifestyle

travel

Cycle touring: a holiday with a difference Best An alternative to adventure holidays, Olivia Mason discovers the benefits of cycling around France of Britain Sarah Bennett visits Somerset: a land of cider, festivals, and Hot Fuzz

Fantastic scenery: The Languedoc region of France is home to the country’s most beautiful countryside, and the vineyards, forests and mountains make it a great place to bike

With more and more exciting adventure holidays advertised these days, why spend your summer on the beach? Embrace your youth and consider the often-overlooked holidaying option of cycle touring – whereby you attach everything you need on to your bike and cycle round a country - simple. Well, sort of.

This is not exactly the holiday for you if you enjoy sitting on a beach but it is a fantastic and very cheap way of travelling to new areas. The best thing is you can go just about anywhere. Staying in Europe is advisable for logistical ease, but you could go around some of the best parts of the world visiting some of the most beautiful wilderness available.

As far as I am concerned there is one obvious place to go – France, home of the Tour de France and a wonderful place to cycle. It has perfect weather in summer, guaranteeing a good tan, with the sun shining all day. The road system is also very good in France with a network of paved roads in good repair and with little traffic.

A long tradition of cycling in France means that French motorists are patient and very considerate of cyclists. And with most villages and towns less than 10km apart there is not necessarily a need to cycle for long distances at a time. Secondly, it has beautiful countryside full of vineyards and chateaus that are relatively untouched, perfect for cycling aimlessly and exploring new places.

Now I have wetted your appetite, how exactly do you go about it?

The first issue is the bike. Although the rusty old thing you cycle to university with does the job now, it is not really ideal for cycling round a country. Therefore purchasing a bike suitable for touring is a must. This

means it must have a good range of gears and be able to take bags and lots of weight. This can be pricey but if you search second hand websites bargains can be found.

Luckily getting the bike to France is the easiest task with the Eurostar traveling regularly from London to Paris allowing bikes on board. If you book soon for summer you can get very reasonable deals making it much cheaper than flying somewhere, just ensure you have booked a place for your bike on the train.

Appropriate clothing is another must.

Cycling for long distances is hot work therefore you need breathable fabrics that do not rub. Packing in advance, taking into account these issues will ensure no uncomfortable clothing. A tent is another item that will make your life easier, it will save you a lot of money and means you will never be lost without a bed for the night.

Secondly, planning your route is

essential; there are plenty of guides around on how to do this as well as maps of France. Romantic as the notion of cycling aimlessly through French vineyards is, the reality is often very different. In the past, there have been arguments amongst authorities about cyclists, and arguments have been raised about the damaging effects of extensive biking. Therefore, decide what you want to see and how far you want to cycle; France is a big country remember.

You do not need to travel long distances to see superb scenery though; you can stay and cycle in one region if you want to.

The Languedoc region of France boasts some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. It is home to the Pyrenees, and the vast vineyards, emerald forests and impressive mountain ranges are a perfect backdrop for cycling.

If you’re planning on cycling in the Pyrenees then there are numer-

Home of the Tour de France: France boasts some of the safest roads and cycle routes.

ous cycle-hire firms. One of these is PyrActif, a small English & Frenchspeaking firm that offers road and mountain bike holidays. They have been operating since 1994, and cater for every level and style of rider; from beginners, through to experienced racers. With a vast network of quiet local roads and trails, they offer an opportunity to ride whatever and however you want to. They even provide facilities including accommodation, airport transfers, pick-up/drop-off at our local railway station guided rides, and sports massages.

For the more adventurous rider there is the option to plan a more intensive journey that travels round the whole of the country.

Accommodation is again an easy component. For the budget traveler there are plenty of campsites all over France that give a cheap price for a single pitch; often these sites are very well equipped with swimming pools and other facilities. If camping seems a bit too much work then there are countless youth hostels and hotels, with at least one in every town, just book ahead in busy summer seasons.

Most importantly, embrace cycle touring as a fun way to meet new people and experience different cultures. Cycle touring allows you to explore rural places and undiscovered gems in a country. Just be realistic: it is an adventure to plan far in advance and look forward to, not a last minute decision.

There are plenty of books on the subject and you could even take part in a guided tour. It can be a romantic holiday for two or a few weeks of fun with friends. But definitely a very real alternative to the package holiday that can lead to an adventure full of numerous memorable experiences.

Somerset - a land of beautiful countryside, natural wonders and Arthurian legend. And all only just over an hour’s flying time from Newcastle.

For those who don’t want to leave the area after a couple of days at Worthy Farm, the nearby town of Glastonbury holds some magic and mystery. Rising up above the town is Glastonbury Tor, a small hill with a tower atop. It may not look like much, but this site is believed to be the site of Avalon, which nowadays has special religious importance to the Pagans and Druids. However, you don’t need to be of this religious origin to enjoy the view from the top as you can see right across the Somerset Levels, which are a rich area of biodiversity and wildlife.

Aside from the countryside, there are other interesting attractions that have their own legends attached to them. One of these places is Wookey Hole Caves. Archaeologists have found that this cave system has been home to man for over 50,000 years and they’ve also found bones of tropical and ice age animals such as mammoth, lions and bears. Not content with all this history, Wookey Hole even has its own legend. In one of the cave chambers is a humanshaped rocky outcrop, which is said to be of a witch who was turned to stone. Even here, Arthurian legend is not forgotten, as some people believe it was Arthur who slew her and turned her to stone. Others believe it was a monk who turned her to stone by throwing holy water over her.

A natural wonder of Somerset is Cheddar Gorge. Driving through it is one of the best ways to view it.

You start in fields and countryside but as you go deeper, the banks get higher and higher until they turn into steep cliff faces. There are even areas of the roads where it is single file, because the cliff faces are so close. Within the gorge, there are more caves to visit, a 9,000-year old complete skeleton to view, or for the more adventurous, you can climb and abseil the rock faces. A view from the top of the Gorge is always worth it, and on a clear day you may also see Wales!

When you’re done sightseeing, the only way to finish a visit is to sample the local brew. Like drinking Guinness in Ireland, scrumpy cider is best enjoyed in the county it came from.

Glastonbury Tor offers spectacular views

18

Lifestyle

reviews

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Food

food & drink

compare the market

Sky Apple Café

Lucy Johnson samples the best vegetarian burgers the city offers

182 Heaton Road Heaton 0191 2092571 Do not be fooled by the casual café like vibe this place oozes, this is no greasy spoon. Situated on Heaton Road in the heart of Heaton this is the perfect place to head to for an evening out or daytime treat. Our booking was for dinner and although very basic in appearance the place was full of a few students and older couples creating a sophisticated yet very relaxed atmosphere.

The food here is all vegetarian but the menu caters for everyone with oriental based dishes, Italian, and more traditional style meals.

For starters we opted for vegetable spring rolls and Tortelloni with a creamy, cheese sauce. My goodness, we were impressed! The spring rolls were crispy with a proper vegetable filling within. And the Tortelloni were lovely pieces of fresh pasta stuffed with butter beans, pesto, and cheese complete with a spinach and cheese sauce which, although rich, was absolutely gorgeous.

Feeling slightly full but now eagerly anticipating our mains we waited for our plates to arrive. A real ad-

5/10 ASDA Chosen

By You Meat Free Burger43p per burger Heaton’s hidden haven:This quaint cafe produces a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes, and offers a daytime takeaway service.

vantage to this place as a student is that they have no alcohol license therefore you bring your own drink which enabled us to share a lovely bottle of rosé and ease into the atmosphere nicely.

Our mains arrived soon after and looked so delectable that we felt compelled to take photos, slightly childishly. We had chosen a Japanese style Okonomiyaki pancake, something of a cross between a Yorkshire pudding and an omelette served in its own miniature frying pan, an appreciated touch. It came complete with fried tempura vegetables and a noodle salad, making it a perfectly well rounded meal. My friend had the Aubergine Cacciatore which

consisted of baked aubergines with vegetables in a tomato sauce served with fried polenta and a small salad.

The sauce was very tasty and full of lovely vegetables with the polenta adding a bread like quality to bulk it up impeccably.

At this point the idea of pudding filled our guts with dread but missing out on more beautiful food seemed a worse fate. I had a berry cobbler with custard that hit the sweet tooth without being too heavy. My friend played it safe with the sticky toffee pudding, which we both believed, was one of the best we had had in a long time, with a really dense cake covered in a sticky sauce. Although forcing ourselves

to eat, leaving these desserts seemed impossible.

The Sky Apple Café is definitely somewhere to try; the food is absolutely gorgeous with a varied and exciting menu. We even had a glance at the lunch and breakfast menus, which look equally mouthwatering. They even provide a ‘Heat and Eat’ service that operates as a posh takeaway.

Prices are very reasonable too with many lunch dishes £5 and dinner ranging from £8-£9. The service and atmosphere were spot on and this is definitely somewhere to while away an evening or lunch.

Olivia Mason

Georgie Davies cooks up a tasty treat without any meat It really is a common misconception that vegetarian food is purely for vegetarians and utterly boring for anyone else. Vegetarian dishes can quite easily and deliciously constitute a main course and can provide an interesting and yummy alternative that us carnivores often wouldn’t think of trying! I’m not going to bombard you with soy and tofu-heavy recipes, just simple delicious meal ideas that happen miss out the meat part!

This vegetarian lasagne is a really nice twist on a standard veggie lasagne. The Bolognese sauce is replaced by three vegetable layers: the first is simply sliced courgettes blanched in a little salted boiling water, lay these in a dish and top with a layer of pasta sheets and béchamel sauce. The second layer is mushrooms a la crème, take 200g of sliced mushrooms and fry them with a little butter and seasoning, adding a couple of heaped tablespoons of crème fraiche and a handful of chopped parsley to make a sauce, put this layer on top of the béchamel then top with another layer of pasta and béchamel. The third layer is a Pepperonata sauce, sweat a chopped onion in some butter and add two peppers sliced into sticks, cook until soft and then add a tin of chopped tomatoes, season and reduce. Add this layer to the dish and top with pasta and béchamel, if there is more space in the dish repeat the layers, finishing off with

Veggie alternative: Healthy and tasty, the meat-free choice doesn’t have to be tasteless

béchamel sauce and grated cheese.

Cook in a 200C oven for 40 minutes, until the top is golden.

Why not try making your own houmous, its super cheap and easy to make and totally delicious. Take a 410g tin of chickpeas, pour into a colander and rinse, put them in a blender and with a small clove of garlic, a good glug of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, and 100ml of tahini paste (this is a sesame seed paste that can be bought in most supermarkets, but can also be replaced with peanut butter for an equally yummy dip!), and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Whizz it all up and taste for

seasoning, if it looks too thick add more olive oil until the desired consistency is reached. Serve in a bowl, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika. Eat with breadsticks, pitas, or crudités. For an adventurous twist, why not try adding pesto or roasted red peppers?

For a delicious light supper or lunch (or tasty starter), try a goat’s cheese and caramelised balsamic onion tart. Take some rolled out puff pastry, cut into a small rectangle and place in an oiled baking tin.

Using the tip of a knife mark a border inside the sheet about 2cm from the edge. Slice two onions in half and

then slice it into half rounds, add to a pan on a low heat with a knob of butter. Cook down on a really low heat until the onions are soft, add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and two teaspoons of caster sugar. Continue to cook for a further ten minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Cover the pastry with the balsamic onions and crumble some goat’s cheese over the top and season, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some thyme. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes. This dish can also be added to according to personal taste, with ingredients such as tomatoes, leeks, asparagus and many more.

A perfect lunch dish or starter that is well placed in the Vegetarian camp is a good warming bowl of soup. Try this butternut squash soup with an Asian twist. Chop one onion and add to a medium heat pan with a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter. Peel and chop a butternut squash, and peel and chop three carrots, add them to the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Add a mug of vegetable stock and simmer until the vegetables are really soft.

Add half a can of coconut milk and grate in a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger and a teaspoon of turmeric.

Whizz up using a hand blender or a food processor; add more stock until you reach a desired consistency.

Serve scattered with coriander and crusty bread for a perfect warming lunch.

One of the cheapest of the group, and the most similar to meat – they’re good sized, but lack flavour.

A good staple to have in the freezer, as long as you’ve got something to put them with.

8/10 Good Life Spicy Bean Quarter Pounders– 43p per burger Reasonably priced and the tastiest of the lot; they’re not too spicy, smell gorgeous and are great to have with a salad or as part of a bigger meal. Definitely worth forking out for to keep in the freezer for a quick veggie treat.

2/10 Quorn Burgers - 47p per burger The most expensive of the lot, and the most disappointing. The burgers look really odd even when they’re cooked; they’re tasteless, dry, look and taste an awful lot like cardboard, and are definitely not worth the money.

7/10 Tesco Meat Free Burger20p per burger These burgers were definitely designed for barbeques – they’re thick and moist but lacking in flavour. They’re the best of the cheapest brands but they’ll probably taste better in a bun with a good dollop of ketchup - possibly worth saving till summer comes.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

19

Couture for Spring/ Summer 2011 > Page 21

Introducing the first ladies of fashion

In light of Samantha Cameron’s appointment as ambassador to the British Fashion Council, Clare Slipper explores the increasing contribution that first ladies have on the fashion world ‘Political fashion’: not exactly a term found in every fashion bible, especially if one imagines party rosettes and coloured ties as examples of dressing to represent one’s agenda.

Rather, moving with grace into public (and political) attentions are the better halves of our rosette-touting political candidates: the ‘political WAGS’ – without a hair or pearlstring necklace out of place.

Arguably at the front of the ‘G20 spouse’ fashion pack is Michelle Obama. An icon in her own right for her unstinting support for her husband and charitable work, her style choices too have become somewhat of a global obsession as websites are dedicated to the sheer admiration of the First Lady’s fashion choices. The adoration for Mrs Obama doesn’t stop with her public admirers; her support of up-and-coming designers has earned her a high regard amongst the fashion elite. Her choice to wear a Jason Wu gown to the Inaugural Ball in 2009 propelled the little-known designer to the dizzy heights of New York Fifth Avenue – a feat the designer himself has said to admit would have been unthinkable without her support.

From one Mrs O to the next, it is impossible to discuss power-dressing spouses without a nod in the direction of the original pioneer of fashionable First Ladies: John F Kennedy’s wife, famously nicknamed Jackie O. A former debutante, Jackie Onassis exuded high style with an overall well-presented and ladylike class which have now become part and parcel of a First Ladies image. The hot-pink suit worn on the day of her husband’s fateful trip to Dallas remains one of the most recognisable First Lady outfits, not just because of its tragic associations. Taking inspiration from the fashion powerhouses of Valentino and Givenchy, she disseminated

grace and sophistication to the population from the top-down – in coordination with her husband’s political prowess. A recognised fashion icon, Jackie O set a blueprint for the meticulous styling of modern-day political WAGS. An example of this is Carla BruniSarkozy, a former fashion model and muse who, in the 1990s, was one of the top 20 highest paid models in the world. Her whirlwind marriage to French President Nicholas Sarkozy may have had rash undertones however the same can certainly not be said of her fashion choices.

Immaculately groomed and oozing beauty, the French First Lady is the epitome of class. She will not let her clothes speak on behalf of her as she appears confident and in control. Perhaps the Margaret Thatcher of the 1980s could have been taught a lesson on how to power dress with nothing but panache.

Closer to home, we now have our own fashion First Lady in the form of Samantha Cameron. Creativelyminded and innately stylish, she was appointed as an Ambassador to the British Fashion Council in September last year, and will thus advise and host receptions at number 10 in London Fashion Week at the end of this month. ‘SamCam’ is a quintessential English rose in the way she exudes delicate elegance – however, she is not your typical Tory wife due to her championing of high-street designers such as Reiss, Jigsaw and Jacob. Through her personal style she has won herself a platform without reliance on the status from her husband, which fundamentally outlines her amiability as a fashionable and admirable figure in both politics and business – creating a stir that is far less controversial than her husband’s!

This is where the importance of

the issue lies: in fashion, ‘what and whom you are wearing’ is a point of mass discussion and contestation in magazines. However in avoiding vanity and appearing utterly ostentatious, the political WAGs may in fact have a hard time endearing themselves to a sceptical public who are ready and waiting to jump on the first faux-pas of a political candidate and his fairer half. Case in point – who can deny that part of

Cherie Blair’s legacy was her ability to always appear far dowdier than she actually was?

While their husbands campaign for the minds of the population, their wives must win over their hearts, without stealing the limelight. With this in mind, what better place is there to start than using style as a medium for their dual role of marital support and self-expression?

Have your say We asked some of our writers what they think of Samantha Cameron’s appointment by the British Fashion Council...

Rosanna Sopp, Second year Classical Studies: “In a Council full of men, it is refreshing for a woman to be given this position.

Therefore, on paper, she seems like a very good candidate for the role of ambassador. I love that she is making a name for herself as something other than the wife of the Prime Minister” Aimee Philipson, Second year History: “Admittedly, when I first heard that Samantha Cameron was an ambassador to the British Fashion Council, I was sceptical but given her CV of being former creative director at Smythson, she could be an interesting and capable choice.”

Poppy Gardner, Second year Combined Studies: “Samantha Cameron is in no way exemplary of our wellestablished British style. Ask Paris, ask New York, ask Milan what the keyword for British style is, and they would say eccentricity. We need someone who represents this, not a prime minister’s wife.”

Katie Lauren Henry, MA Media and Journalism: “Politics and fashion are two concepts I’d not really consider putting together. Sam Cam is not someone I’d look at and think is really fashion-forward.”

Michelle Obame: a winning combination she exudes poise, sophistication and style

Royal hues: how true blue is the shade of the season

It started with Kate Middleton, now Jade Taylor discovers why royal blue is the must-have hue As patriotic as us Brits are, in the run up to the wedding of the year, we’re celebrating all things royal and that’s not stopping at our ‘I heart Kate and Wills’ teacups. No, following our queen-to-be, with hand-on-heart we’re pledging allegiance to one colour this season: royal blue. Bringing the sea to the city in floating fabrics and inky blues Kate tidal-waved this season’s trend when she sported her (instant sell-out) Issa engagement dress and we’ve not looked back since! Even this season, Issa are channeling the block colour trend, featuring plenty of blue hues with primary-coloured turbans to off-set the blue.

Revive your wardrobe with billowing satins and kitten heels to secure effortless regal perfection. Think less

nautical, more ‘city siren’ and swap those regimented stripes for silks and satins to create ultra feminine chic- all of course must be in this season’s key hue, blue. Be inspired

by Mathew Williamson’s beautiful spring cocktail dress collection; layering sheen fabrics to create that, ‘straight out of Balmoral,’ elegance.

But for those of us sidelining royal functions this year, pristine glamour is not out of reach. Sheer is everywhere so for a day time look, try teaming a Topshop blue capeblouse, tailored bell bottoms and a thin waist belt (a staple for any fashionista this Spring/Summer) to imitate catwalk class. For a more teamed-down day look, swap your on-trend bell-bottoms for cigarette pants.

Other designers taking the fashion crown this season are Isabel Marant, Mulberry and of course consistent catwalk favourite Prada. The designers have donned their tailor-perfect garments, luscious lace and cute tail hems to pay homage to this season’s staple shade; royal blue.

For those of you who fear block colour, worry thee not, for this season craves accessories! Electrify plain outfits by accenting them with a blue embellished cape or floppy hat to shade you from the ‘neverpresent’ British sun. Summer is the season of fun so be bold in your blue and relish in silk headscarves and classic box bags to polish this look.

If you don’t fancy going totally true blue, there is always the little touches that will inject this colour

into your outfit as a simple navy blue accessory will not only utilise the trend but will have fashion longevity. Also, Cheryl Cole has started the season by trimming her perfectly preened self with royal blue nails with The Hills star Lauren Conrad closely following suit. For, we ask, what is a girl to do when she’s lacking an 18-carat sapphire to brighten up her fingers? Paint her nails of course. Models Own do a fantastic range of blue nail polishes so stick with ‘Betty blue’ to keep bang on trend this summer.

So, whether you are all-out for regal glamour or just adding a touch of coloured class to an outfit, there is only one colour cool enough for our temperate sun Spring/Summer 2011.

Kate: ever the advocate of the royal trend

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Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Fashion Events

Events Love, Fashion and Champagne

Victoria Mole covers a unique event combining sport and style for a worthy cancer charity Love, fashion and champagne: the perfect ingredients of a Valentine’s event to remember. The Valentine’s Ball held 12th February at the Newcastle Falcons, Kingston Park was a black tie event with a sparkle featuring a fashion show, red carpet entrance and three course meal with a hog roast! The night was already set to be spectacular, all the more so due to the extremely worthy cause that inspired it. The event was held in support of the Robbie Anderson Cancer Trust and the Teenage Cancer Trust, charities whose focus is helping teenagers that are battling cancer to do so in the most comfortable and enjoyable environment possible.

A video that was shown before the fashion show commenced explained that the money made from the evening would aid the development of specialised teenage wards, something that would benefit many young people who are suffering.

The most moving part of the event was how much of a collaborative effort the evening was; patients joined the runway alongside models and Newcastle Falcons rugby players.

The singer that provided the music during the meal was also an inspiring ex-patient.

As soon as I arrived at the venue we were introduced to the organiser Georgie Fowle of Addoastra Events Management; she and the events team were busily making sure that everything was running smoothly and it was clear to see how extensive the amount of preparation must have been. The room was stunningly decorated in a fantasy-like fashion; glamorously attired couples and families sat around tables adorned by pink candles and the way that the

A. TUKMANOV

Love, Fashion and Campagne: using fashion to raise money for teenage cancer trusts

runway was lit looked enchanting.

We spoke to a couple of members of the events team and they explained how successfully they felt that the night was running and that this is the third event done by Georgie and definitely the best one yet.

As the photographers and I assumed our positions at the foot of the runway, the show was in-

troduced by a cabaret-style dance routine performed by some of the models and a small speech about what was to come. Several labels such as Gio Stockings, La Senza and Topshop presented a sample of their Spring/Summer 2011 collection on the runway. The introductory video for Miss Selfridge was particularly artistic with a merry-go-round in

the footage where the horses were decorated like Russian dolls. The models used in the catwalk were all of petite frame but there was a distinct height range, which made the show appear even more full of variety although one feature of the models that was kept relatively the same was the birds-nest bun hairstyle from Chanel’s pre-Autumn/Winter 2011 runway show. The stylists had fashioned their hair into buns and the makeup was reminiscent of the 1940s: simple black lashes with minimalist eyeshadow and then the focus was on the pout using reds and warm pinks to highlight.

This season’s looks have layering, texture and print integrated into a new fashion phenomenon: sectioning. Usually the models’ bodies would be sectioned distinctly by top and bottom half, with one half being heavily patterned and the other a block colour, often black. This is a fantastic way to manipulate bodily proportions by creating the impression of longer legs with high waists and can draw attention away from any body section that someone may want to downplay by accentuating the opposite half with pattern, waist belts are a prominent feature of this look. Dorothy Perkins maximised the effect with hareem pant playsuits and some of the models wore attention-grabbing blouses with black leggings.

Frassy Rags indulged in the exotic with fiery colours and the layering was all about tops made from weightless material that flows rather than fits. The prints were a tantalizing mixture of geometric and ditsy in order to remain striking yet softened. Miss Selfridge stuck to our favourite long-surviving leopard

print and sailor-style ensembles.

The textures were exotically silky and fur shawls were even used to layer, however the simplistic trench coat is still ruling outerwear. This was similar to the outerwear of Dubarry, the rural look is eminently Spring/Summer 2011 and the subtley tweed-esque coats complimented the rest of the collection’s natural wool and felt-like textures.

Simplicity is definitely a central theme to this season with Gio Stockings’ underwear collection keeping it strictly black with only subtle lace detailing. This let the fit of the underwear be the focus, and let the body do the talking as opposed to the decoration of the lingerie. Another very simple brand is Keep Calm and Carry On, the logo looks effortlessly suave on the pieces. The clothes are ideal for someone who wants to stay casual but on-trend.

Something very note-worthy to mention was Kiara’s jewellery collection. The necklaces were sparkles galore and heavily embellished with charms despite not being chunky.

The long necklace will be a staple piece to own this season.

The night was beautiful and all the guests appeared to be enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was calm and intimate with candles and relaxing ballads sung in the background. Most importantly the cause is something that everyone is able to empathise with and can understand why it is so important that we contribute in any way possible to help lessen the suffering caused by cancer.

For more information on how to donate to the Robbie Anderson Cancer Trust, email Georgie at info@addoastra. com

Diffusion lines: when the stars hit the high street

Rosanna Sopp tracks the decadent and exciting story of guest designers in our favourite stores Over recent years there have been more designer collections than you can shake a stick at. Designers and the big shots from high street stores are clearly realising the power of combining forces. Celebrities are getting in on the trend too, with more and more actors, singers or reality stars creating collections for New Look, Topshop and Macy’s, to name a few.

Debenhams led the way, having first introduced a collection of hats

by Philip Treacy and eveningwear

by Ben Di Lisi in 1993. Now, 18 years later, they boast 21 designers across womenswear and menswear.

One of the main questions one asks when designers join forces with the high street is how well do the collections translate? Are they similar to the designs off the catwalk, or are they just cheap(er) imitations? H&M have been known to receive designer collaborations very well; Viktor&Rolf, Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin and even Madonna have all had successful collections, with people queueing for hours on the opening day for a chance to fight over a pencil skirt.

However, with Lanvin dresses going for £149.99, it is still debatable as to how ‘high street’ they really are.

Admittedly, designers’ items would

Sonia Rykiel designed for H&M in 2010

go for thousands straight off the catwalk, but a £200 dress on a rail with £25 dresses can hardly be considered at the same high street level.

Furthermore, as the mark down is so significant, the same quality of material and craftsmanship is extremely unlikely. Another question raised is whether or not they understand what the consumer wants. The average sized woman in the UK is size 14-16, and some would argue the clothes are made for those with model-like proportions, with some collections not stocking higher than a size 14.

The pairing of Kate Moss and Topshop in 2007 was seemingly inevitable, as the store already sold most of her trademark items - skinny jeans, waistcoats etc. This seemed at the time, and continues to be, a perfect partnership; Kate has produced 14 collections of sold-out, highly fashionable clothes which mimic her own wardrobe to a tee.

Therefore when she announced the arrival of her final collection in November of last year, the fashion world was shocked. Her foray into

fashion has been one of the most successful, a path that many other celebrities have taken, and many have failed. This was probably due to the fact she is a model first and a celebrity second, and her experience in the fashion industry is invaluable. Celebrity collections bring with them a great deal of prejudice.

While designers’ collections are criticised for being too expensive for the high street, celebrities are critiqued for having no creative input, and for creating collections that they themselves would never be seen dead in. This hypocrisy often ends in badly selling collections, as can be seen with Lily Allen’s ‘Lily Loves’ collection for New Look.

Critics found her collection unflattering and boring, however the clothes did go up to a size 18, and in comparison to what the designers have produced what Lily showed was a very affordable collection.

It can be argued that, as they were once a member of public and a consumer themselves, celebrities do know what the customer wants.

For high street shops like Topshop and H&M, using celebrities in marketing is crucial, as fashion is fast paced and disposable - there’s very little time to create an image synonymous with their brand. This is where the celebrities come in - their famous faces provide positive credentials that the public can identify with- Kate Moss is streetwise, the epitome of edgy class, Madonna is funky, modern and confident, while Lily Allen is individual and cool.

It doesn’t necessarily even matter if the celebrities had nothing to do with creating the clothes - to the consumer and the shops, what matters is the fashionable reputation and media buzz they bring.

For the designers it is a different matter- they have a reputation of beautifully made and current clothes to uphold. While the designer’s collections may be quite highly priced, it cannot be said that they do not fulfil their purpose - they give people without thousands of pounds the opportunity to have a taste of the catwalk.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

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Couture Fashion

Couture

The guide: catwalk couture covered

Don’t know your Gaultiers from your Givenchys? Poppy Gardner guides us through couture In the wake of 2011 Couture Week at the end of January, a great number of people have been wondering exactly what couture may be defined as in this day and age, and whether it deserves its revered place in the modern world of fashion, where disposable trends are ever on the rise.

Couture is short for haute couture, which is the name given to custom-made and fitted dresses created by the most able seamstresses for private clients and prices which would make the mere mortal pass out with shock quicker than you can say Armani Privé.

Technically, haute couture is used in modern France and Paris in particular as a protected name which may only be utilised by a certain number of high-end operators-the ‘Big 4’ being commonly acknowledged to be Givenchy, Dior, Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier. However it has become a term more widely applied for any wildly expensive custom made and fitted garment, regardless of whether it is made in London, Milan, New York, Paris, or Tokyo. Couture is still regarded as separate from the now far more popular ready-to-wear collections shown twice annually at the worldwide fashion weeks, so ‘Couture Week’ has become an entirely separate entity, albeit with the same amount of famous faces.

The thing is, couture has seen quite the transition of late. While couture used to be the big attraction to a

CATWALKING.COM

Couture Fashion Week: Poppy Gardner gives her guide to Couture, an important fashion concept that not all of us are familiar with

fashion house, and for them their greatest financial asset, in these recent times of recession and high pressure jobs, even the most sartorially discerning women are opting for the ease and relative economy of the ready-to-wear collections.

Indeed, with a couture dress averagely fetching around £50,000, fash-

ionistas from London to Manilla are questioning the current relevance and accessibility of Haute Couture.

Yet there are still people that commission these clothes. Yes, they are mostly oligarchs, heiresses and ancient European monarchs, but there remains a market of dedicated disciples. Plus, many feel that judging

couture by its practicality is missing the point of couture altogether. Couture for centuries has been about beauty and theatrics, and if anything perhaps we should learn to look at couture as something which may not be attainable, but inspirational and aspirational. We should learn to look at these wondrous fashion

artefacts as art for arts sake. You wouldn’t refute Damien Hirst as an artist because you can’t afford his paintings, but you might well have a £1.99 poster of his on your wall.

Moreover, many designers and brand ambassadors are claiming that while the public are indeed correct in their feelings that couture is virtually irrelevant in the fast-paced world of fashion; it is the maintaining of the image of a haute couture house and a luxury feel to the brand which keeps the big spending customers rolling in.

If anyone reading this has ever gone into Chanel, you’ll know what they mean. You can virtually smell the money and prestige the minute you cross the monochrome threshold.

If it is the case that couture’s purpose is obsolete, then we can look on these garments as ‘objets d’art’, creations of pure artistic expression. Couture is becoming more and more akin to a window into a designer’s mind, and perhaps we can hope for their creations to become more and more avant-garde now that their commercial market has all but died out.

In this way, couture may go through one further transition, to become a trend driver and thematic inspiration. The ready-towear collections these days have become the mainstream so we may be looking to couture for inspiration in the future. With this in mind, there’s hope for haute yet folks.

Hair: how styling raises the fashion stakes

Victoria Mole discovers the staggering yet untold contribution hairstyling makes to fashion Fashion is constantly advertising additions to your wardrobe to dazzle any onlookers, so it’s often overlooked that your greatest statement can actually be made with what you were born with as opposed to how you accessorise it.

Hair: the pride and bane of women (and nowadays many men) nationwide. It is already acknowledged just how much maintenance it requires to stay looking presentable, the average British woman will apparently spend a staggering £27,722.52 on haircare in their lifetime according to a study by TRESemmé. Just like your wardobe, your hairstyle requires an ocassional update. You were already born with a unique style; the colour, texture, thickness and shape of your hair is genetic, however it is the most easily changeable aspect of the human form.

Your hair colour may not determine your intellect or your temperament but whether you intend it to be or not it is a reflection of your personality. The lengths to which you go to maintain it speak volumes about how you want the world to receive you.

The girl whose hair always manages to look immaculate is displaying a perfectionistic nature and tendency to place importance on how others perceieve her, whereas the girl parading the technicolour tresses is

wanting to be noticed for not conforming and showing a strong sense of security in her own identity.

Fashionistas are famed for their outrageous coiffures; and catwalk hairstyles, despite being everchanging with the seasons, can be like a brand label. Models are, as the name would suggest, moulded to fit the specifications of the designer and this includes their hair.

In the runways of New York for Spring/Summer 2011 the vintage prints weren’t the only vintage featured on Marc Jacob’s models, the models had crimped and curled grey hair, at times emerging wildly from underneath wide brim hats.

On the other hand Rodarte models sported a scooping side fringe fastened in place with a clip, definitely a more high-street-friendly style! The hairstyles on the catwalk for Spring/Summer 2011 have varied from the free-flowing locks and middle partings of Alberta Ferretti models to the sleek scraped-back up-dos with the defined side partings of Gucci models in Milan.

The hairstyles by designers in advert campaigns tend to be less striking and easier to imitate. Similarly to Marc Jacob’s scooped side fringes, in an ad for Louis Vuitton the models have large fringes that cover one eye and flick to the side.

Despite the emergence of futuristic and more artificially-appearing hairstyles, traditional beauty styles still remain in place with the simple ringlets of Roberto Cavalli and Dior ads.

Not only are designers shocking with their hairstyles, 2010 has seen influential celebrities reveal a transformation after a trip to the salon. Cheryl Cole’s red hair brought some much-needed attention to this stunning colour as Cheryl’s barnet has quite a cult following.

Also, Emma Watson’s pixie cut received an abundance of attention and gave some of those debating whether to go short or not the last push to get the chop. There is no denying that the general public are influenced by images of the rich and famous although Emma Watson has actually cited her mother’s pixie-do as the inspiration for hers in an interview for MTV News.

She certainly has the face shape to support it, a big mistake that many make is choosing a hairstyle based on how it looks on somebody else.

Longer, more angular hairstyles tend to flatter and balance out a rounder face, whereas rounded and shorter styles can soften an angular jawline.

This season it is all about fringes, whether heavy and full or sweeping sides, the modern coiffure has to

be one that requires heavy maintenance to keep poised. On the other end of the spectrum is the messy top-knot bun, once only for the sight of your slippers, it is now donned more and more publicly as the evolved version of the messy bun.

The must-have product to invest in this season is shine serum, recommended by many hair stylists to rejuvinate your hair. It’s brilliant for making hair shine without appearing greasy and this is as close as it gets to the sheen of the flawless locks seen on glossy magazine pages! Moreover this year’s colours are all about the metallics!

Golden blonde, lead black and copper red are taking the stage but not to neglect brunettes, dip-dying is an on-trend way of rejuvenating your colour without much change to your gorgeous natural one.

With the time of year emerging to spring, it’s all about new beginnings everywhere from the weather to your hair and the best way to turn heads this year is by using what’s on yours.

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For more exculsive articles check out www. thecourieronline.co.uk

Louis Vuitton at Spring/Summer show ’11

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THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

Listings

Listings

what’s happening on your campus? monday

tuesday

Listings Editor : Ciara Littler - courier.listings@ncl.ac.uk

thursday

wednesday monday

Give it a Go!

Public Lectures

Desi Soc

Give it a Go!

17:00-19:00, £7, for 3 weeks

Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, 17:30-18:30, FREE

Oh So, Groat Market, 22:00-03:00, £7/£5

17:00, FREE

Massage Training Course Come and join this two hour long, three week training course to teach you basic massage skills for you to apply to yourself or people around you. Probably best to bring loved ones/needy housemates with you to this one or your skills will be in demand for years to come. A great opportunity to learn from a trained professional. For more information and to sign up, e-mail giag.union@ncl.ac.uk or visit www.facebook.com/giag.newcastle

Public Lectures Looking healthy

Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, 17:30-18:30, FREE Professor Dave Perrett FBA from the University of St Andrews lectures on ‘Looking healthy at any age: how lifestyle affects our facial appearance’. Professor Perrett will discuss how what we eat (not just how many calories we consume) and our lifestyle affects skin colour and appearance. Fruit and vegetable pigments that we ingest colour our skin making it look healthy, and at the same time can aid our immune system and protect against the stresses of ageing. Likewise even a modest amount of exercise (one hour of vigorous exercise) enhances blood flow in the skin and improves our health and looks.

This is a British Academy lecture in association with the School of Psychology.

In response to the English Social event “You be the Seeker”, in The Courier, Issue 1224.

We apologise unreservedly for any comments made in last weeks edition that may have caused offence to some of our readers. We did not intend to cause upset in publicising the event for the English Society social, and hope that our readers continue to see The Courier as a newspaper that strives to represent the student population with equality and respect.

Your City:

1. Performance

Fair trade, tax paid?

The current basis for international trade fails to fully eradicate poverty, making necessary a wider view of fair trade. Its success so far leaves it well-placed to tackle the pricing manipulations that strip profits and tax revenue from the poorest countries.

What is the role of tax havens in international trade? Are multinational companies meeting their responsibilities in developing countries?

Which of the world’s poorest countries could nearly double its GDP if it received a fairer price for its exports?

Alex Cobham, the Chief Policy Advisor of Christian Aid, asks these questions and more to kick of Fairtrade Fortnight.

Women for Women Pub quiz

Mr Lynch’s, Jesmond, 20:00-23:00, £1 per person The Newcastle Women for Women International Society are inviting you to join us at Mr. Lynch’s to take part in a pub quiz. It’s our first social of the new year and we’re looking forward to catching up with all of you. We’re finding some great goodies for the winners so make sure that you’re swotting up. Take part in teams with the bargain price of £1 per person, so bring along your mates, flatmates, other halves etc.

It’s going to be a fun excuse to get your friends together along with the opportunity get competitive.

Siege and Storm Launch

Discovery Museum, Jesmond, 10:3012:30 & 14:00-16:00 To celebrate the launch of the Siege and Storm exhibition, come to Discovery Museum and meet a soldier from the English Civil War. Learn about what life was like while Newcastle was under siege and make your own Civil War craft.

Victoria Tunnel A large network of tunnels, used for transportation in the late 1800s exists over 80ft under the city and parts of it are open for guided tours. Used as a WWII air raid shelter, an art space, and weirdly, a mushroom farm, it has recently been open to the public for an interesting and informative tour. Starting just near the Cluny, in the Ouseburn Valley, this promises to be a fascinating night and a chance to experience Newcastle as it used to be.

Desi Soc proudly presents Desi Jam, the biggest Bhangra night to hit Newcastle. Featuring the one and only Aman Hayer. There will be student drink prices all night.

For tickets contact Saab on 07954577704 or Deleep on 07791788478

Drama Festival

Public Lectures

Durham

Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham and around the City, February 23-26 Four jam-packed days of theatre. The Durham Drama Festival is one of the highlights of Durham’s theatrical year. With a range of respected industry professionals, an exciting lineup of workshops and question-sessions and a multitude of fantastic new performances (not to mention the legendary DDF social events) the festival is a wonderful showcase of some nation-leading theatrical talent.

Members of Newcastle’s own Theatre Society will be performing over the three days, so don’t miss out. Visit http://www.dramafest.co.uk/ for more information and to buy tickets.

Contemporary Portugal

Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, 17:30-18:30, FREE Professor Costa Pinto discusses Portugal’s imperial and colonial past, vital to understanding the country’s unique history. On the eve of the 20th century Portugal was the ‘ideal’ state envisioned by liberal nationalists: culturally homogenous, with no national, ethno-cultural, religious or ethno-linguistic minorities, nor any territorial claims in Europe.

Your North East: The beach at Almouth in Northumberland captured in the low light on one of the sunny days this winter.

Photo by Charlotte Loftus. To enter your pictures into Your North East, send your photo to courier.listings@ncl.ac.uk

International Students International Development Conference Focus groups

Inequality: Challenging an Assumed Reality

Come over to one of the three focus groups which will take place at the Union, where you can share your ideas with us about what you expect from your Union as International Students and what can be done to improve your University experience. The focus groups are open to all, and will be held at the temporary Union Building at 1 Park Terrace, Room 3 from 2pm until 4pm on Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 and Friday 25 February. There will also be refreshments.

For more information and to secure a place contact the International Officer, Sofoklis Paraschou, at international.union@ncl.ac.uk

The IDC is a conference run by students who have come together to question what is being done about inequality in the world today. Unfortunately inequalities are often left assumed, and unquestioned.

This conference will engage with these assumptions, providing delegates with a chance to challenge the assumed realities of inequality, and to develop mechanisms with which to deal with them.

The IDC will provide a platform for stimulating debate and discussion amongst students, academics and members of the public. It will bring together experienced speakers in the form of global charity organisations, academics, and

Student Union Building, Room 3, Wed 23, Thurs 24, Fri 25, 14:00-16:00

Armstrong Building, Saturday February 26, 09:00-18:00,

Our top events happening in Newcastle this week 2. Theatre

On a Clear Day You Can Yes, Prime Minister Theatre Royal, February 22-26, See Dover 14:00/14:30/19:30, £9.50-£31 Star and Shadow Cinema, February 26, 18:30, £15-£56

Part of the Films without Borders season.

Actors for human rights in this theatre performance weave together factual information and testimonies gathered from interviews with Calais migrants seeking to enter the UK. Moving and impressive dramatisation of the experiences of people in Calais, France who are travelling to come to the UK. Go to http://iceandfire. co.uk/outreach/scripts/on-a-clear-day/ for more information.

Desi Jam

Following a sell-out season at Chichester Festival Theatre and successful West End run, Yes, Prime Minister arrives at the Theatre Royal for one week only. In a world of spin, Blackberrys and ‘sexed up’ dossiers, the PM is staring disaster in the face. The country is on the brink of financial meltdown. Jim Hacker and his team of advisors try to rescue the country from the edge. Will they succeed? www.theatreroyal.co.uk for more information.

journalists. Speakers will include; Bill Kerry, co-founder of The Equality Trust and John Hilary, the Executive Director of the charity War on Want, Dr Paul Roux, a senior paediatrician in Cape Town and Kathrin Hartmann, a German Journalist (as well as many more).

The conference will challenge guests to analyse inequalities in the world, looking at race, gender, health, youth and debt amongst other themes. The opinions and actions of the speakers will hopefully inspire guests to think about the issues raised, and demonstrate things that can and should be done.

For tickets visit www.idcnewcastle.com

NUGSS present The Grand Duke

3. Dance

4. Music

Danish Dance Theatre

An Evening with Andy McKee

Performing Arts Centre, Royal Grammar School, February 24-26, Performance 19:30, £8/£5

Andy McKee is considered one of the world’s finest acoustic guitar soloists.

He is one of the most seen and heard musicians on the web with his YouTube video views in excess of 78 million. McKee’s dazzling technique, online media success and engaging live performances have grown his global audience and put him on a meteoric rise.

For information and tickets visit www. thesagegateshead.org

Newcastle University Gilbert and Sullivan society present; The Grand Duke. The story takes place in the duchy of Pfennig Halbpfennig, where a conspiracy is brewing to overthrow the detested despot Grand Duke Rudolph (Matthew Goode).

The leader of this conspiracy is theatrical manager Ernest Dummkoph (Philip Hall) who loves his leading lady Julia Jellicoe (Ellie Roberts) but

Northern Stage, February 25-26, 19:30, NUS £9

The first UK tour for the internationally acclaimed company celebrating their 30th anniversary. Enigma layers powerful, beautiful and sensual duets as the dancers strive to understand each other. CaDance is a testosterone-fuelled competition between five male dancers, driven by a thrilling score performed live on stage. In Kridt (Chalk), a man on the verge of death remembers his life, told by the people he has known.

The Sage, Gateshead, February 12, 20:00, 14.50/15.50

NUTS present The Pillowman

Cluny 2, Byker, February 20-22, Doors 19:00 - Performance 19:30, Tickets on sale on the door, £6.

NUTS return with The Pillowman kicking off their spring season of plays. A black comedy, written by Martin McDonagh, The Pillowman is about a writer in a totalitarian state who is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child murders that are happening in his town. Check out the Facebook group, ‘The Pillowman by NUTS’. is consistently rejected. The other leading conspirator Ludwig (George Edwards) is to be married to his fiancée Lisa (Roisin Staunton) but on the day of his wedding he reveals the conspiracy to the Grand Duke’s detective by accident. Ernest and Ludwig seem done for, until the notary Dr. Tannhäuser (Luke Hewitt) suggests the men fight a statutory duel. A duel with no weapons, but where the loser of the draw of a card legally dies, and even though he still breathes, the winner takes all of his responsibilities.

Head down to the Royal Grammar School in Jesmond to find out what happens next. Visit www.students. ncl.ac.uk/nugss or e-mail nugss@ ncl.ac.uk for more information and for tickets. Tickets also sold OTD.

friday Do you want your event advertised in The Courier?

This listings spread is for you. A place for students and societies to advertise any events that they are organising. From team trials, to fundraising and charity nights, to live music and art shows - we want you to know what is going on around your university campus - and more importantly we want you to be able to let others know about it too!

To get details of your event published in these pages, all you have to do is email the date, time and location of your event with a short description to: courier.listings@ ncl.ac.uk.

weekend Give it a Go!

Burlesque dance lesson Saturday 26, 14:00, £5

Fancy learning how to strut your stuff like the Moulin Rouge ladies? Join in Give it a Go’s burlesque dance taster session with professional dance teachers. This two hour session will improve your confidence and teach you how to work it.

Fay Heild Trio + Slake The Cumberland Arms, Ouseburn, Sunday 27, 20:00, £8

Fay Heild Trio + Slake (formerly Beggars Belief) brings us music from a range of instruments, including fiddles, concertina, nyckelharpa, and guitar. Fay leads with a voice whose rough edges are still thrillingly intact, and which goes straight to the living heart of the songs.

Her strong voice, with soft, comforting northern tones, delivered songs from the length and breadth of the country. Contained within a festival bursting at the seams with talent, her performances really stood out as one of the highlights.

24

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Life & Style

Star Wars: A Lost Hope?

We look at the films that never won critical acclaim > Film, page 27

art

Stand-out scenes Rosie Tallant on an exhibition informed by the artist’s experience of war

At first glance, the colourful paintings of abstract expressionist Albert Irvin are the sort that might prompt less than complimentary comments.

The more sceptical viewer will claim ‘a kid could have done that’.

Although this may have some truth in it from a practical perspective, it is unlikely that any of us could create such a blindingly bright painting, on such a large scale, with a fraction of the expression that Irvin has.

Irvin’s Complete Prints exhibition will be on display at the University Gallery, allowing the North East to experience his dynamic, abstract work.

Being placed so near to Newcastle University’s campus, Irwin’s art will no doubt lure the eyes of many students with its intense colour that intentionally aspires to the condition of music.

Irwin states that this musical inspiration has existed from his early figurative paintings, and continued through to his first abstract ventures. This development was initially inspired by his experiences as an RAF navigator, where he developed cartographical expertise through mapping terrains, and this influence can certainly be seen in the varying angles and line constructions that appear in his paintings.

Since the early Eighties, Irvin has

produced screen prints that display the same vivid colour and form as his paintings. Consequently, his Complete Prints exhibition maps his development as an artist and demonstrates each of his inspirations and mediums in brilliant detail.

Amongst the crowded, loud landscape of Irvin’s work are hints of his wartime experiences as a child, as well as his work with the Royal Air Force. The dramatic and intense life that he seems to have led is certainly reflected in his painting, and photographs of him in action show the messy, adventurous nature of his artistic process.

Unlike many contemporary artists, Irvin’s choice of studio is neither modern nor glamorous. For the past four decades he has worked from a pair of classrooms in the former Stepney Green School in east London, which closed its doors to pupils in 1970.

His work-space consists of two first-floor classrooms where the blackboards are still in place.

It seems unlikely, and yet somehow miraculous, that such bursts of extravagant colour and shape can arise from what seems to be the ashes of Irvin’s educational past.

Even though it will undoubtedly occur to the majority of exhibition visitors that Irvin’s paintings look like a child did them, the experiences and inspirations that lay behind them make the Complete Prints a celebration of colour, shape and music.

Complete Prints is at University Gallery until 8 April

Splashes of colour: Albert Irvin’s Complete Prints exhibition draws inspiration from his own colourful life spent serving in the RAF

stage

museum

For the love of football On the sinister side of spiritualism A new exhibition at the Discovery Museum pays tribute to the loyalty of the Toon Army’s legion of fans, as well as the diverse and bizarre paraphernalia that has proliferated around the club in its 119 year history.

Working with local collectors, including Mick Edmondson from the Back Page, Newcastle-based football and sporting memorabilia shop, the Discovery Museum has put together a collection that, amongst other things, proves a fact we’ve known all along; that Newcastle fans are so dedicated they’ll buy anything.

Some of the items might be expected, such as pin-badges in the shape of an NUFC shirt.

Newcastle ice cream, however, complete with black and white stripes, is perhaps a lesser known promotional ploy, but it’s surprises like these that make the exhibition as entertaining for non-fans as it is for die-hard followers.

Outside of fan commitment, football memorabilia is a serious player in the antiques industry.

The legacies of past players and managers are also reflected in the exhibition; one item that will undoubtedly bring back memories for older fans is the pair of boots worn

by Kevin Keegan in his last match as a player for Newcastle in 1984.

Sir Bobby Robson’s death in 2009 caused thousands of fans to pay tribute at St James’ Park.

This dedication is echoed in the exhibition, with items like the Bobby Robson commemorative medal, as well as more down-to-earth Bobby themed memorabilia, like a ‘Wor Bobby’ mug, demonstrating the affection Newcastle fans have for their most cherished figures.

For the uninitiated, NUFC: For the Love of Football is a revealing insight into the passionate history of Newcastle United and its loyal Army. For the fans themselves, there’s bound to be something to catch their eye.

NUFC: For the love of football is at the Discovery Museum until 26 June Joe Barton

The Live Theatre’s spring season presents the new play Faith & Cold Reading, written by the local playwright Shaun Prendergast.

The play is a dark comedy, full of drama and excitement that hovers between the real and supernatural realms. The protagonist Freddie is a gangster who struggles to overcome his grief after the death of his mother.

Desperately hoping to maintain a connection with his mother he turns to Sam, a medium who is in financial debt to Freddie. Freddie must then face the difficult decision, will he willingly forget Sam’s debt and instead receive spiritual help and guidance or will he remain true to his tyrannical and violent personality.

Starring in the role of Freddie is the actor Stephen Tompkinson, best known for his role of Danny Trevanion in ITV’s hit drama Wild at Heart.

Prendergast, a close friend of Tompkinson’s created the role of psychopathic Freddie specifically for Tompkinson. This demanding

role offers Tompkinson the opportunity to delight North East audiences with his acting versatility, making the transition from TV drama to the demands of the live stage.

Tompkinson’s character has a complex personality, he initially appears to be the cold-hearted villain but secretly he is an emotional man who greatly loved his now deceased mother.

This play provides a brilliant opportunity for audiences to see worldclass acting and Tompkinson honour’s his friend Pete Postlethwaite by dedicating his performance to his memory.

This small cast size proves that big budgets are not essential in creating a dramatic and intense play, a delightful sign that drama is continuing to flourish in the difficult economic times.

The production is directed by Jonathan Moore, previous credits include the acclaimed opera production of Greek, which was transformed into a BBC Film winning several awards including the Royal

Philharmonic Society’s Award for Best Film.

Newcastle’s Live Theatre is privileged to be the chosen destination for the world premiere of the play.

Prendergast admires the Live Theatre for its innovative work and for the inspiration that it provides for local youngsters to get involved with theatre.

Prendergast can only hope that this play will be as successful as his first play Potter’s Wheel, which won him five awards and showcased at London’s prestigious Old Vic. No doubt Faith & Cold Reading will run to sell out audiences thanks to the attraction of seeing Tompkinson’s acting in such an interesting and varied role.

Both the artistic team and cast promise to make this play an emotional and powerful production that will excite and entertain audiences.

Faith & Cold Reading is on at the Live Theatre until 19 March Juliet Armstrong

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

25

Arts Culture Arts Editor: Stephanie Ferrao - courier.culture-arts@ncl.ac.uk

photography

Hostages of war: life in the Lodz Ghetto It seems a romantic idea, that a man employed as a photographer uses his camera to take secret, forbidden photographs, buries the 3000 negatives underground and returns to find them after the devastation of World War Two. However this is exactly what Henryk Ross did and his photos are far from romantic; an honest depiction of brutal ways of life inside Poland’s Lodz concentration camp from 1940-44.

The Archive of Modern Conflict are displaying the Lodz Ghetto Album as an opportunity for the public to have a rare glimpse into a hidden world.

The enlightening thing about Ross’ exhibition is how he brings about a new view point; other photographs from the ghettos of the Holocaust, whilst undoubtedly tragic, are often consistent in their portrayal of the starvation and deprivation the community endures.

However Ross’ selection of photographs is infiltrated with images of comfortable families, jovial occasions and playfulness. Is it an insight into the fact that even within Lodz there was segregation and discrimination in how people were treated?

It appears some were better off than others and this situation arose from members of society having roles in the running and administration of the Jewish Council and consequently leading more privileged lives.

Therefore the frequent comparison, of images depicting sheer desperation and corruption against

H.ROSS

those of the minority actually enjoying the fruits of the Holocaust, creates a contrast that works to emphasise each of the two parallels in the exhibition.

It is hard, therefore, to decide if the photographs of celebrations and relative opulence in such a terrible time are uplifting or if, at times, they would make one feel even more uncomfortable than gazing across the images of skeletal bodies we have unfortunately come to associate autonomously with concentration camps such as Lodz.

Nevertheless the most tragic aspect of all in Ross’ album is the pitiful truth that regardless of how they spent their time in the Lodz ghetto, the inmates’ time nearly all concluded in the same manner. Irrespective of their day to day role in the ghetto, or how they have appeared on Ross’ time-capsule negative strips, by 1944 most of the inmates were no longer alive.

The pictures themselves developed bearing the scars of being buried underground, yet unlike the Jews who also spent their time trapped at Lodz the photos Henryk Ross took have been released and exposed so many truths to the Holocaust.

The exhibition therefore is a confrontation of the way in which concentration camps have been presented in the past and will challenge the different ways lives have been spent when the ultimate fate is the same.

Lodz Ghetto is at the Side Gallery until 26 March Jenny Hyndman

Looking back: photographer Henryk Ross’s exhibition is an insight into the lives of the occupants of the Lodz Ghetto in Poland

news

art

Lit and Phil struggles for funding Unconventional truths Hidden just down the road from Central Station, Newcastle’s historic Literary and Philosophical Society is hardly a regular student haunt, but a recent appeal has highlighted what an important asset it is to the city.

More commonly known as the Lit and Phil, the society was founded in 1793 and is currently home to the largest independent library outside London, housing 150,000 books as well as 20,000 LPs and CDs. It was originally established as a society to discuss science, philosophy and the arts, and has welcomed speakers including John Betjeman and Oscar Wilde in its illustrious history.

But the remarkable building it has called home since the early 1800s is now in desperate need of funding to improve disabled access, help preserve its vast collection and to fund essential repairs to the Grade II listed building. The library is now asking for donations and book sponsorships to secure its future.

With government cutbacks resulting in many public libraries across

the country being closed, the importance of a quality local library has been thrust into the spotlight, and rightly so.

While Newcastle already has a tremendous public library in the city centre, the Lit and Phil is a much needed antithesis to that.

There are no flashy glass walls or space-age elevators in the Lit and Phil, just a wealth of books and a vast archive of music that cannot be matched elsewhere.

Public libraries are a crucial part of society and a specialist library needs to exist to complement them, offering more depth in particular areas of knowledge, like the Lit and Phil does.

The library is free to visit but requires users pay a membership fee to borrow books but offers a heavily discounted rate to students. A recent attempt to get local young people to join the library has seen membership levels swell to their highest since the 1950s, but the library still faces financial difficulties.

The recently launched campaign has already gained the backing

of actor and comedian Alexander Armstrong, who was full of praise for the ‘breathtaking’ collection.

While it is argued that the internet has replaced the need for libraries, the cultural and social benefits should not be underestimated. The library provides a place to think, a place to be creative and innovative.

It is no coincidence that the Lit and Phil was the public location Joseph Swan used to first showcase the electric light bulb in 1879. Unlike the internet, the library is run by real people who are passionate and knowledgeable about literature.

The library is able to attract inventors and great thinkers from across the world to speak at its events and allows like-minded people a chance to converse and create.

There are already plans to cut Newcastle’s public libraries and this makes retaining an independent one like the Lit and Phil all the more important. Once it’s gone, it’s gone and we must strive to save this vital asset.

Adam Williams

The Opus Gallery’s current exhibition Seeing is Believing explores innovative and unconventional approaches to photography, questioning normal practices and with a focus on isolated and vacuous spaces.

Furthermore, with six different artists exhibited, one has the potential to explore a wide variety of works and understand the true scope of this media. Most striking are a set of gorgeous expansive photographs of landscapes that have an almost painterly quality to them, with subtle feelings of movement.

This would be describing Travelling Still by Rob Carter, who uses his different trips around the world as a starting point for his art. His collection of photographs compiled over a four year period divides into two distinct sections - those in the bright lights of Tokyo and Vegas and those of calm, serene beachscapes and poppy fields of Holland.

This second half appears almost reminiscent of Mark Rothko, with the horizontal, broken up lines of colour, conveying abstracted under-

tones.

The sensation of movement achieved through using a revolving camera lens and long exposure displays the idiosyncrasies of Carter as a photographer.

His focus is concerned with obscuring and manipulating the surface of the image, as if there is for example, a film across the lens. This is totally appropriate to Lisette New York from 1942 in which one appears to be the voyeur, peering through frosted glass at a scantily clad woman.

His work is at times arresting in its depiction of female sensuality.

If you have an interest in photography as a medium, even the slightest of interests, this is definitely something culturally compelling to do with your time.

With a wide range of content, in this highly rated institution, to divide opinion, why not join the debate.

Seeing is Believing is at Opus Gallery until 21 April.

Catherine Langley

26

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Culture Film

film film of the week

True Grit Director: Joel and Ethan Coen Cast: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld Runtime: 110 mins

‘They told me you had grit and that is why I came to you.’ Fourteen year old Mattie Ross, (Steinfeld), enlists the help of notorious Marshal Rooster Cogburn, (Bridges), when she endeavours to hunt the man who murdered her father and bring him to a swinging end. But the difficulties of a working relationship between the young girl and a drunken, fattening cowboy are exasperated by the interference of Ranger LaBoeuf (Damon), who is pursuing the sizeable reward on murderer Chaney’s head for killing a Texan sheriff.

Written for screen and directed by the brothers who brought audiences No Country for Old Men, Burn after Reading and The Big Lebowski, True Grit represents, according to them, their interpretation of the original 1968 novel rather than a remake of the 1969 film.

Mattie’s place in the audience of a public hanging immediately establishes her as a strong character, a quality to be illuminated as the three

main characters clash. The Coens’ script has unquestionable clout, and the cut-throat culture of the western cowboy bloodies the dialogue, LaBoeuf and Cogburn as likely to fire words as bullets while power continually shifts, leaving characters beautifully exposed where moments prior they may have sat with poise. Attention to silence is also observed, as Cogburn and Ross wait for hours in slow-drifting snow, or as events unfold, Mattie is left alone with Chaney, as if to chat in disregard of circumstance amongst the bone-dry branches and cosy fire. It is the little details which make the film artful, as can be expected from any masterful Coen production; from their negotiation of vast landscapes to perfectly-timed comedy, there are certainly moments of beauty in this project.

But the film is not entirely successful in avoiding a question of its own necessity, and some viewers acquainted with the 1969 film may find this adaptation a little redundant. It is certainly similar - at least in terms of plot - in more ways than it is different, and Coen fans may be expecting a production more independent of its forerunner. Despite the Oscar buzz surrounding Bridges, his portrayal of Cogburn polarizes him with the warm fatherly figure embodied in John Wayne, present-

ing instead a mumbling old man of coarse exterior with nothing and no-one, evoking surprisingly little empathy and placing a focus on Damon intensified by his long absences from the story. Young actress Hailee Steinfeld provides a more than convincing performance, balancing her relentless determination to avenge her father and her gradual evaluation of the two men who share her journey with flare. Harsh but true, Bridges fails to compete with the depth of character hinted by his two co-stars.

Some viewers may feel undecided about this film for some time; in a similar way to No Country for Old

Men it requires a little time to unpack after it has ended. Overall, the drama is well executed in most parts, although with definite space for development in others; at times both actors and directors could and should have pushed further to deliver more much needed bite. Regardless it is still an entertaining watch, complimented by a superb score by Twilight composer Carter Burwell.

Enjoyable throughout and moving in places, but some Coen Brothers’ fans may feel a little disappointed.

Verdict: A very enjoyable watch, but too close to the 1969 film to avoid comparing it constantly.

An extremely well written script and an interesting clash of an old cowboy, overconfident sheriff and the young girl trying to maintain a workable coexistence for her own purposes. A little bloody in places, and could have benefitted from gun battles with more flare or quick-fire action, which viewers over the years have come to expect from Westerns. Yet beautifully shot with some moments cinematically spectacular.

Hayley Hamilton

awards season

Have the Oscars lost their shine?

Amidst a plethora of award ceremonies, Beth Kirk asks whether the Oscars really do matter There’s something rather unsettling about Oscar season. You can practically smell the Botox in the air as every celebrity readies themselves for the biggest show of the year.

Dresses selected, hair tried and tested, they’re preened and crimped to perfection, and ready to go - and maybe that’s what it’s all about now. Who wore what, and oh God did you see Helena Bonham Carter, I mean, mismatched shoes and what appeared to be a dead pigeon.

Around all the hype and excitement you can’t help but wonder, is it even about the films anymore, and who really cares anyway?

Everyone’s got to admit, though, there’s nothing quite like winning an Oscar for a film’s reputation.

It’s the status everyone wants; the Golden Globes and the Baftas might hold our attention for a little while, but the Oscars are what really count, and that Best Picture award is like Midas’ touch. Even though the Screen Actors Guild Awards seem

to be able to decipher the winner - they have for the past few years and it seems likely they will again this year - it’s obvious which award the directors, writers, actors and actresses would really like to win.

This year has been exceptional in terms of cinema though, particularly in the way that the majority of the Best Picture nominations are selected from main stream offerings and the films which made the most money at the box office. The King’s Speech was a phenomenon and remained sold out around England weeks after its release date, and 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, Inception and The Social Network were seen by millions. In fact, this year few of the films nominated didn’t break into the mainstream, and the smaller scale films still seem the most unlikely to win an award, or so the bookies seem to think.

Oscar winners have always been commercially viable films though; take a classic like Breakfast at Tiffa-

Social: David Fincher’s film looks set to be the biggest challenger to The King’s Speech, which swept the board at the Baftas

ny’s for just one example. It doesn’t mean they’ve ‘sold out’, maybe it just means society’s taste in films has improved; but then considering that Sex in the City 2 made over nine million, I somehow doubt that.

The Oscars this year did miss out on some absolutely fantastic films though, and neglected to give some actors and actresses the recognition they really deserved, and - at the risk of sounding like a compete snob - Cannes, Sundance and the film festivals seem to be the best place to look for real gems at the moment.

For a start, foreign language films might have their own award category, but it’s a shame that even when they surpass any American cinema at that time, they’re not recognised;

also, Ryan Gosling missed out on a truly deserved Best Actor nomination for Blue Valentine, a film which didn’t even get a look in for Best Picture. But then the film remained in the arthouse cinemas and not the mainstream ones, and maybe that’s what matters at the moment. At least some films, such as Winter’s Bone got all the nominations they earned.

I can complain and suppose till I’m blue in the face, but everyone will still sit up and take notice at the Best Picture winner, and the actors and actresses will still plaster that award over every film poster till the end of their days.

The Oscars are in their 83rd year and have built up a reputation over that time, and you can try and scorn

them, try and act like they don’t matter, but they do, and actresses will continue to cry for years to come.

Besides, apart from a few terrible, terrible past mistakes (Braveheart did actually win Best Picture, you know), the kudos it gives to smaller film makers who win awards like best Short Film is invaluable, and it’s fantastic when a film can come from nowhere and win an award.

One day another awards ceremony might come along and depose the Oscars, but that’s in the far distant future, and even though the real film buffs will look to the smaller festivals as well, unless something truly drastic happens, the Oscars are in charge.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

27

Film Culture

film

Film Editor: Adam Williams - courier.culture-film@ncl.ac.uk

awards season

When the Oscars get it wrong Joe Skrebels looks at the times the Academy made the wrong choice The Oscar nominations are a fraught process for those who pay rapt attention to them year after year. After predictions are made and selections are analysed it seems that often the most interesting (and on many occasions, infuriating) facet of any year’s choices is not who’s in there, but those missing in action.

Perhaps the most conspicuous omission this year came in the form of a Christopher Nolan-shaped hole in the Best Director category.

Inception may have cast a folding cityscape of a shadow across many of the nominations, but Nolan himself has been offered the token gesture of Best Screenplay and nothing more. It’s yet another chapter in the ongoing discussion that plagues the Academy Awards – how have some of the greatest films, directors and actors of our time failed to be recognised by the most prestigious film award going?

The classic case was that of Martin Scorsese. Widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost directors, critically and publically adored, not to mention eminently bankable; and yet, time after time, Scorsese became the perennial bridesmaid of the Best Director category. With five nominations (for Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Aviator consecutively) under his belt, it’s now accepted wisdom that his 2006 win for The Departed was more of a collective award (or apology) for his near-misses in previous years.

Of course, Scorsese did finally win, which is more than can be said for

ETA: May 2011

A dream combination: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Inception, which proved that mainstream blockbuster films can also be intelligent

many other worthy contenders.

Pixar have yet to win a Best Picture award despite crafting some of the best-loved films of recent years. In fact, it was not until last year (with Up and the nonsensical extension of the Best Picture category to accommodate ten nominees) that they had been nominated for that particular category at all. With the final instalment of the Toy Story franchise up for the award this year, it seems that Pixar have finally got their (albeit very slim) chance of breaking the curse.

However, don’t consider this simply a recent phenomenon. Even back in 1941, that Citizen Kane of movies, Citizen Kane, missed out on Best Picture, largely due to some particularly suspect block voting and threats levelled by William Randolph Hearst, the wealthy newspaper magnate

and supposed subject of the film. It seems that while Hollywood may have moved away from such methods nowadays, similar problems are still manifesting themselves in today’s Oscar voting structure. The same actors, directors and genres of film are nominated every year, the same voters are called on to make those same decisions and the Oscars seem to offer little in the way of variation. The true problem then seems not to lie with the non-recipients themselves, but in those who choose who the recipients should be.

After another year of almost completely predictable choices, that much-needed variation does not seem forthcoming and it seems that those, like Nolan, most deserving of their efforts may well stay in the non-nominated shadows for the time being.

Overlooked for Best Film

4) Saving Private Ryan The reinvention of battleground aesthetics laid out in Steven Spielberg’s meaty epic led to it being nominated for a whopping 11 awards and winning a whole scoop, but criminally losing out on Best Picture at the hands of Shakespeare in Love. It really is Spielberg at his best, but the movie’s greatest strength lies in phenom-

Attack the Block Director: Joe Cornish Cast: Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway

film five

5) Pulp Fiction One of the most influential films of the 1990s was overlooked at the 1994 Academy Awards - Pulp Fiction was left empty handed thanks to Forrest Gump. Quentin Tarantino’s trademark web of events as part of a larger story was never more refreshing, spawning many imitators but remaining strikingly bold even today, having never been eclipsed by his subsequent efforts. Despite being nominated for seven awards, the star-studded twisting tale of crime walked home with the solitary Best Original Screenplay.

preview

enal performances that reach from the leads right down to the smallest supporting roles. Having raked in $481 million, the unflinchingly realistic war film has set a new benchmark for war movies and seemed a cert for the big award.

3) Star Wars Despite a surprising loss to Annie Hall in 1977, George Lucas was not the defeatist type, unleashing the famous sequels which have earned $4.5 billion to date, although never winning the big prize. Star Wars won Best Visual FX that year but also earned its place in eternity. It remains one of the most memorable fantasies ever made and puts more recent ‘epic’ blockbuster mediocrities to shame.

2) E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Another snub for Spielberg, as the loveable alien critter lost out on the big prize to Gandhi. Despite winning best Music, Sound and FX, it

had every right to be disappointed judging by the large following the film has gathered with fans of all ages. It helped alter the course of scifi movies by suggesting that intergalactic aliens might not be monsters but caring, friendly and even loving creatures.

1) The Shawshank Redemption Another victim of Forrest Gump’s domination in 1994 where, despite receiving seven nominations, it failed to win a single award. This may be down to the lukewarm box office reception it initially received, which was barely enough to cover its budget. Andy Dufresne’s escape from prison is told through the narration of Morgan Freeman’s character Red and has become a massive DVD success, leading to it being voted the best film never to have won Best Picture in a 2005 poll and spawning some of the most memorable quotes in film history.

Oscar nominations Best Picture Black Swan The Fighter Inception The Kids Are All Right The King’s Speech 127 Hours The Social Network Toy Story 3 True Grit Winter’s Bone Best Actor Javier Bardem – Biutiful Jeff Bridges – True Grit Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network Colin Firth – The King’s Speech James Franco – 127 Hours Best Actress Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone Natalie Portman – Black Swan Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine Best Director Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan Ethan and Joel Coen – True Grit David Fincher – The Social Network Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech David O. Russell – The Fighter Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale - The Fighter John Hawkes - Winter’s Bone Jeremy Renner - The Town Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right Geoffrey Rush - The King’s Speech Best Supporting Actress Amy Adams - The Fighter Helena Bonham Carter - The King’s Speech Melissa Leo - The Fighter Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom Best Foreign Language Film Biutiful - Mexico Dogtooth - Greece In a Better World - Denmark Incendies - Canada Outside the Law - Algeria

After years of being a writing partner, Joe Cornish is finally being let loose to direct his own film. Since 1997, Cornish has always been “that other guy”. That other guy that was with Adam Buxton on The Adam and Joe Show, a cult sketch show that aired on Channel 4. The other guy who’s helping Edgar Wright with The Adventures of Tintin, which is currently in production, and Ant Man. He is usually the lesser known one, but he works damn hard directing a number of sketches on The Adam and Joe Show (including the brilliant Toymovie sketches in which toys recreate famous scenes) and presenting a radio show with Adam Buxton.

Now, Attack the Block is his first attempt at helming a film on his own. With Nira Park, the producer behind most of Edgar Wright’s vehicles, including Spaced, Hot Fuzz and the recent Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Attack the Block looks set to be an interesting tale of space invaders.

A trainee nurse is attacked whilst wandering the lonely, dark streets of South London, by a gang of youths, only to be saved by a falling meteor hitting a nearby car. A small alien jumps out of the meteor and attacks the gang of youths who then kill the creature. Thus begins a turf war between the youths and the invading aliens. It all seems a bit like an alien Shaun of the Dead, but someone close to production has described it more as The Warriors meets Aliens, which is surely an interesting combination.

Much of the cast is made up of relatively new actors, but you do have Nick Frost and Jodie Whittaker providing some bigger names. Joe Cornish is well known for his quirky humour, so whether that will translate well into a sci-fi epic set in South London is something we will have to wait and see but, with Nira Park attached, quality isn’t too far away.

Attack the Block has its world premiere at the famous South by Southwest festival in March 2011 with an expected cinematic release in early May. Chris Taylor

28

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Culture Film

film in cinemas Never Let Me Go Director: Mark Romanek Cast: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley Runtime: 103 mins

Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 novel, Never Let Me Go is a disquieting depiction of an alternate reality in late 20th Century England which confronts ontological questions of scientific discoveries and human nature. This highly anticipated film adaptation remains true to the original plot of Ishiguro’s novel, which observes the fragile, intricate bonds between the three protagonists; Kathy (Mulligan), Tommy (Garfield) and Ruth (Knightley), from childhood to young adulthood. They grow up together in what seems initially to be an ordinary, pleasant English boarding school, Hailsham House, isolated somewhere in the English countryside. And yet there is a persistent, troubling undertone

Gnomeo and Juliet Director: Kelly Asbury Cast: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine Runtime: 84 mins

This is undoubtedly the most unusual adaptation of the classic Romeo and Juliet story that I have ever seen, but it still does exactly what it says on the tin. The Blues (Montagues) hate the Reds (Capulets) and no one can remember why, until the love story between Gnomeo (McAvoy) and Juliet (Blunt) causes them all to question what they’re fighting for. All pretty standard, apart from one necessary editorial change – they don’t die. No one’s killing off a couple of gnomes in a U rated film

Just Go With It Director: Dennis Dugan Cast: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman Runtime: 108 mins

Adam Sandler teams up once again with the director of Happy Gilmore in Just Go With It, a film based loosely around the 1969 comedy Cactus Flower. Here Sandler plays Danny, a plastic surgeon who pretends to be a married man about to get divorced in an effort to pull attractive younger women. But he meets his match when his latest catch (played by swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker) discovers his ring and demands to meet the woman he is supposedly divorcing. Thinking she may be

of unease and unnaturalness that is developed through the film’s eerie cinematography, soundtrack and narrative allusions that suggest that these Hailsham students are ‘special’, eventually escalating to the revelation of the inevitable fate of these children that has been decided for them.

The film focuses in particular on Kathy, Tommy and Ruth’s reaction to and acceptance of their predetermined destiny. Their relationships become ever more intertwined and complex as they enter the adult world and face the shock of reality upon leaving Hailsham. The repressed, secretive environment in which they were brought up has led to their confusion of and alienation from the ‘real world’, causing them to turn to one another, as well as to art, in order to reach out to the depths of their souls. Although not immediately evident, it is undeniable that Never Let Me Go is part scifi in genre, despite a lack of flashy, technological elements that are usually associated with typical science fiction movies. Combined with an apparently conventional British veneer which displays a familiar culture and landscape, an unusual – especially one with an Elton John soundtrack.

Gnomeo is about as good as it looks on the trailer; it’s another one of those occasions where the trailer shows you all the really funny bits.

If the sneak peek of brightly coloured animated gnomic antics set to ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ made you squeal with glee, then you’re probably going to enjoy it.

The cast is stellar, and it is quite something to behold Michael Caine’s voice issuing from a wee red hatted gnome. Some of the characters are genuinely hilarious – Ozzy Osbourne’s voicing of a dippy fawn was dream casting – and the script is in places original and intelligent.

English Literature students should appreciate the occasionally very well incorporated Shakespearean references, and the beady eyed viewer will appreciate the visual jokes. One of the best things about this film is the way it creates a Toy Storyesque mythology around garden ‘The One’, he is ready to go to any extreme for her, and this provides the basis for the remainder of this surprisingly long romantic comedy.

What follows is a series of implausible scenarios as Sandler enlists the help of his assistant (Jennifer Aniston) to act as his soon to be ex-wife and pretends to have had two kids with her. The lies get more and more ridiculous as the film unfolds, resulting in everyone heading to Hawaii for a family trip. As the characters get to know each other, a number of scenes are set up for comedic effect and result in pure farce. Most of these do hit the spot, but a few fall flat and fail to illicit the response the director will have been hoping for.

Nicole Kidman appears on the island in her most surprising and extrovert character to date, acting as the foil for Jennifer Aniston to show off her own understated comedic talents. Compared to some of the films she has been in recently this is one of her best performances in

and disturbing portrayal of society is exhibited, where a selection of individuals are denied basic human rights and the questioning of this predetermined social hierarchy is forbidden. The film deals with matters of love, betrayal, jealousy, hope, hopelessness and, above all, acceptance. It is this acquiescent approach to life that is perhaps the most frustrating and disconcerting of all - the characters’ quiet submission to the

path that has been forged for them.

Mulligan delivers a pure, convincing performance that is extremely touching, particularly alongside the more contrived Knightley, who is never quite as believable. The most natural and authentic however is undoubtedly Garfield, who plays vulnerable Tommy beautifully.

raphy, credible performances, and fusion of difficult thematic threads, Never Let Me Go is a heart-wrenching portrayal of relationships, of the purity of human essence and the value of life.

Emma Douty

Verdict: With a spectacularly subtle yet effective use of cinematogme, then you’ll hate it. A lot. The dialogue between Gnomeo and Juliet is stilted and lacks emotion, some of the jokes were distinctly lacklustre and I was more interested in watching the sumptuous visuals than what became of our star-crossed lovers – although perhaps I’m expecting too much from a family film. Suffice to say, this is no Shrek.

ornaments; the gnomes (and other garden paraphernalia) are careful to ensure that they are never spotted moving when carrying out their feud leading to some fun moments.

The level of detail in the animation is fabulous – the chinking ceramic noises when the characters move

is utterly adorable and delighted the child in me. The filmmaker’s attention to detail really should be applauded. Gnomeo and Juliet is entertaining for a light watch, but nowhere near as good as it could be. If you are like the four cynical people who refused to come and see with

Verdict: I love gnomes – they’re hilarious – so this was good fun for a Saturday afternoon. I can’t recommend everyone to see it, but if you can appreciate a well-crafted family film, give it a whirl. Cynics, stay away. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate a spot of gnome banter will probably want to stick pins in their eyes.

Charlotte Loftus

are on screen. It is in his interaction with the children that Sandler is at his best, and he seems more comfortable clowning around with them than he is in his more mature loving scenes. Disappointingly, his character plays it safe and there is very little originality in his rude-guy persona - he has been playing these kinds of roles for longer than anyone cares to remember now.

years, aided by a genuine chemistry between her and Sandler. However, despite this there is no getting away from the fact that from quite early on it is clear the path the film will take and this predictable nature

does take away some of the charm from the film. The young performers are excellent (especially the precocious Maggie, who imitates an hilarious Cockney accent) and provide several laughs whenever they

Verdict: Fans of Adam Sandler will lap this up whilst everyone else will probably find Just Go With It a juvenile, predictable and distinctly unfunny film. I found this to be harmless good-natured fun with a sweet ending; better than most rom-coms which I have been made to see in the last few years.

Simon Howard

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

albums

music

29

Music Culture Music Editors: Polly Randall & Joe Skrebels - courier.culture-music@ncl.ac.uk

the top 5

James Blake James Blake

It’s barely touched the shelves of your local record store, but already there seems to be little left to say about James Blake’s debut fulllength. Some have clutched it to their hearts as a piece of pop experimentation: some have expressed disappointment that the more songorientated approach of this album has pushed the dubstep explorations of his EPs to the background.

To have no opinion is, quite simply, not an option.

But beyond the hype and the astoundingly quick internet backlash, this intentionally modest album still has a lot to say to me. Much has already been made of Blake’s use of silence as a compositional technique, the dramatic pauses in his music that make them so ultimately rewarding (the wait for the first bass drop in ‘The Limit To Your Love’, for example). But his minimalism goes far further than that: on James Blake, beats and dancefloor needs fade into nothingness at the same time as he throws away the singer-songwriter toolbox. Out of this demolition of genre, something new and beautiful

grows out of the wasteland.

Take ‘Wilhelm Scream’: a heartstirring soul hook finds itself subsumed beneath digital noise and distortion so imperceptibly you don’t realise it’s happened, until by the song’s end you realise it’s vanished.

The album stands as a monument to understatement, to leaving the most significant messages and sounds unsaid. Not to say that James Blake is a blank canvas – the emotional punch of a ‘I Never Learnt To Share’ or ‘Why Don’t You Call Me’ seems to me undeniable – but he leaves a lot of the heaviest work for the listener.

It’s this refusal, in 2011, to pander to the need for information that helps make this such a remarkable listen.

I wouldn’t claim that this is a perfect album (if nothing else, ‘Measurements’ is an unconvincing conclusion). But it is an album whose shattering of dance and singer-songwriter conventions already makes it feel like a landmark. Eleven years in, we might finally have the first album of the twenty-first century.

The Joy Formidable

PJ Harvey

The Big Roar

1. Rihanna – S&M Music Video The video to Rihanna’s most controversial song yet was released last week, much to the disdain of disgruntled radio listeners. Radio 1 have even taken to playing a dire edit of the song re-named ‘Come On’, with the words ‘whips’, ‘chains’ and ‘sex’ removed. The video’s surreal at best; in one scene she dons a set of PVC undies, complete with some sort of matching swimming cap. If she wanted to be talked about, she definitely went the best way about it.

Mark Corcoran-Lettice

Let England Shake

The Megaphonic Thrift Decay Decoy

The Decemberists The King Is Dead

Though they formed in 2007 this is The Joy Formidable’s debut album, and taking a bit of time appears to have paid off for the band. For a three-piece the Welsh outfit make a decent racket, all swirling guitars and thumped drums. Ritzy Bryan’s vocals are perfectly suited to the task at hand, coasting nicely over an impressively big sound which could transfer very well to live shows (the band is currently touring Europe).

This result is evident and highly enjoyable in opener ‘The Everchanging Spectrum of A Lie’, an extended outpouring of melodic noise. Due to the album’s relatively long lead-up some songs are recognisable, but the fun ‘Austere’ doesn’t suffer for familiarity, jaunty bass and a shrill vocal loop slaloming into an energetic chorus. The simple – but well executed – formula of catchy playing and tuneful vocals means there’s several potential singles and no real bombs. Listeners with a phobia of protracted instrumental sections might find some of the tracks overlong, and perhaps towards the end of the record things do become a touch samey.

The Big Roar is an assured first release though, and hints at still unrealised potential from The Joy Formidable.

Flicking through her discography, it would seem as if, with each album, she made a Doctor Who-esque transformation into another personality.

So, with Let England Shake, Polly Jean moves away from her native Dorset, which she focused on in White Chalk, and instead focuses on the horrors of war and England’s role.

Some would say that this album was a protest album, Polly Jean’s pleading that war is never right.

Whilst there is a definite sense of morbidity to many of the lyrics, with focuses on scattered limbs, graves and heaven, it feels more like war poetry than it does a melodic lecture. There are times when the message is obvious, such as in ‘England’ with, “England you leave a taste/A bitter one,” but it doesn’t feel too overbearing.

Let England Shake is all about attempting to shake the listener up.

With Harvey’s powerfully echoing voice complimented with shoegazey guitars and an unusual bugle cavalry call throughout ‘The Glorious Land’ which is repeated at seemingly random points.

Let England Shake might seem like a protest album, after all she debuted the title track in front of Gordon Brown, but it’s the sadness, beauty and tragedy that shines through.

As a product of the early 90s, it’s all so easy to look back with envy at the music which dominated the industry whilst we were captivated by The Animals of Farthing Wood; where Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails were household names as The Script and Bruno Mars are today.

The harsh reality as to why that time will never truly be repeated is that it simply hasn’t been done better since. For everything that The Megaphonic Thrift do right in Decay Decoy, its only true accomplishment is making you want to listen to the bands that inspired it.

The layerings of obscurely-tuned guitars may be an ode to Washing Machine-era Sonic Youth, but with the internet re-establishing music’s timeless element, such crafted imitation feels accomplished yet ultimately hollow.

However, it’s a criticism that shouldn’t undermine the talent of The Megaphonic Thrift as a creative entity; even Bob Dylan had to learn to reanalyse existing sounds before creating his own.

Decay Decoy is a disappointingly respectable debut for a band that simply needs to garner the confidence to rework and refresh a dated sound. Until such a time, they will remain Yuck’s inferiors.

There are a large number of very talented bands who were unnoticed by the public for a long time, but now they‘re famous, everyone wonders why it used to be like that. The Decemberists are likely to become one of them: The King Is Dead, their sixth album, finally reached number one on the Billboard 200 after its American release in January.

The latest record from Oregon’s favourite indie-folk band is now notably influenced by Blues and Country (rather than Country and Western) music. This leads to a new-found sense of changeability - an impetus towards making every song perform a different function. Some tunes are more catchy than others, upbeat songs alternate with quiet ballads and the harmonica frequently conjures a melancholic atmosphere, just as the parts magnificently sung in two or more voices do.

In general, you can find a track on The King Is Dead for every mood you‘re in, for every time of the day, no matter if it‘s a sunny morning or a rainy afternoon. It is astonishing that it took such a great band almost ten years to reach the top of the Billboard charts. But it is not astonishing that The King Is Dead did just that. It‘s simply very good music made by a very good band.

Martin Flynn

Chris Taylor

Stuart Edwards

Lisa Bernhardt

2. Lady Gaga - Born This Way New Single Sounding awfully similar to Madonna’s ‘Express Yourself’, Lady Gaga’s highlyanticipated new single after months away, is a single destined to be a classic ‘club track’. She’s coined it her ‘gay anthem’, fitting in lyrics like ‘I’m beautiful in my way/’Cause God makes no mistakes’. It’s far more carefree than the stuff you heard on The Fame Monster, and it’s yet to be seen if the single is a fitting homage to the ‘Queen of Pop’ or just a shoddy rip off.

3. The Strokes – Under Cover of Darkness New Single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ is the Strokes back to their best. Sounding similar to classics such as ‘Last Nite’, The Strokes return is definitely worth the wait. After doing their fair share of solo work, they prove that they definitely work best together; the song’s filled with riffs that no doubt many a teenage Strokes fan will be trying to imitate on their own guitars.

4. Fenech-Soler – Demons Music Video Slightly weaker than previous single ‘Lies’, the follow up to their debut is a definite guilty pleasure. The video’s nothing you haven’t seen before; lots of slow motion shots of the band mucking about with coloured smoke, women jumping about in a lot of fabric and significant overuse of a wind machine. It’s an interesting single nonetheless, but we have yet to see what their debut album may hold.

5. Magnetic Man feat. John Legend – Getting Nowhere New Single More subdued than some of their earlier releases, Magnetic Man have used John Legend’s vocals to amazing effect. Giving an otherwise weak song a dubstep edge, it’s an eerie and deep song and Legend’s vocals complement the song completely. Keep an ear open for the Skream remix, it’s worth a quick listen.

Lucy Johnson

30

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Culture Music

music listings Monday 21st Blind Visionaries.

Head of Steam. £3. 7.30pm A decent local band that have an indie-rock feel to them, but are quite unique in that they have a quirkiness to their songs. There’s an eccentricity that runs throughout the band’s material, which would work well live on stage.

Tuesday 22nd Feed Your Head + The Kush Head of Steam. £4. 7.30pm For those of you who prefer something more of a retro scene, this night is definitely for you. The line up puts together two bands that perform music reminiscent of the late mod scene that developed into early punk. If you’re into bands like The Jam, why not give this gig a go?

Wednesday 23rd Beardyman, Digital. £8.50. 8pm The ever-evolving beatboxer from London will be warmly welcomed at Digital which should shape up to be an interesting night if anything. He is famous for his beatboxing skills and music looping live on stage, with his catchy music and addictive lyrics it should be worth a venture down that end of Newcastle.

Thursday 24th KT Tunstall., The 02 Academy. £20.43. 7pm The little lass with one hell of a voice!

Her glistening career and numerous albums set the stage for what should be a memorable gig, then add to that the fact KT is renowned for getting the crowd involved and has amassed hours of festival stage time, you should get your tickets fast!

Friday 25th Ben Montague & Leddra Chapman.

02 Academy. £8. 7pm Before the madness of ‘Dirty Pop’ kicks off, why not try a gig with a slower feel to it? His amazing voice has been grabbing a lot of attention, especially since he headlined at the Isle of Wight Festival, so couple that with an acoustic set and we have something good in the making.

Saturday 26th Little Comets.

Northumbria Union-Domain. £8.

7.30pm A local band that go from strength to strength. Extremely popular in the student scene here and with good reason, as they’re a must see whilst you are at Newcastle Uni. The indie-rock quartet sings with a hint of Geordie, which is very refreshing, and will be promoting their debut album In Search of Elusive Little Comets, so head down and show your support!

Sunday 27th Fay Heild Trio + Slake The Cumberland Arms. £8. 8pm Something a bit different to end the week; the evening will be showcasing the newest material from her album Looking Glass which came out last year. Having already proved herself at many festivals throughout the country, she has become recognized for her soft, yet distinctive tones. Expect an almost folk feel to the evening.

Chris Scott

interview

A shot in the arm for new music lovers Olivia Mason chats about fame, fortune and the perils of hype

Appearing from almost nowhere The Vaccines seem to have hit instant fame, reaching number three in the BBC Sound of 2011 poll not to mention NME’s new band of the moment. The latest indicator of their success is their illustrious position as first act on the NME tour whilst their current single ‘Post Break up Sex’ is also leaping up the charts.

When you point out this to lead singer Justin Young a smile creeps over his face but his words remain modest. “It is certainly flattering but its important not to get too caught up in things.” Justin explains that the band know all too well what it’s like to be ignored so are not quite ready to embrace their new found fame just yet. Justin acknowledges it is all too easy to become wrapped up in success; some people even stop liking you because you have hit main stream acclaim. Granted they appear cynical but they are also quietly pleased with their quick success. Justin only graduated from Kings College London in June so they’ve had to pick up the touring lifestyle quickly.

They formed in London when Justin and Freddy Cowan got together and recruiting Árni Hjörvar and Pete Robertson later on. Justin and Freddy seem fairly blasé about the whole process, both claiming it is actually very easy to start out when you’re in London. “The only problem is getting rehearsal space,” Freddy considers, this issue was overcome luckily through the sneaky use of band rehearsal space paid for by Justin’s previous band. If it is so easy to start out in London, everyone in a band must surely know everyone; the answer is an obvious ‘yes’, ‘after a year you are mainly in the same circles.

Freddie is even the brother of Tom

introducing

Christopher Haywood revives his feature to bring you Air to Achilles Admittedly, it has been a while since this feature last appeared; it’s been 14 weeks to be precise, which I have to admit is one pretty impressive work rate. But – and there is a but – this overwhelming gap between introducing Grandfather Birds in November and now Air to Achilles in February is rather fitting, because it encapsulates – I might just get away with this – the fundamental and irreconcilable stylistic gulf between these two acts, despite their similar, endearing Geordie charm.

Why? Because Grandfather Birds, and this isn’t a criticism, are very much a symbol of those bands at the very heart of Newcastle’s music scene right now; from the outside, a scene largely “dominated by guitar based music” and conventional indie. Now, considering Air to Achilles are a symbol of the leftfield, the unconventional, it’s no surprise then

Cowan from the Horrors and Justin once shared a flat with a few of the members from Mumford and Sons.

Clearly some famous connections then.

Talking to them, they seem to be a band who want to avoid hype at all costs. With Justin sounding remarkably upper class rumours have circulated he is related to royalty, of course this is no truer than any other gossip but it’s not the usual branding of rock and roll antics. They seem completely unaffected by their success and seem most excited when discussing their tour bus: “sleeping on it is very therapeutic and it’s the nicest tour bus we’ve had” (out of three may I add). I inform them that Alex Kapranos and Zane Lowe are fans which you’d think would be exciting but Justin pushes this away saying that it’s no different to having any other fans. If this is the case I doubt that they conform to pressure from the music industry Justin explains that producing music is not about “worrying about living up to other expectations, we started with modest ambitions”. I can only attribute their laid back attitude to their little time spent in the spotlight.

With Jessie J and James Blake at numbers one and two on the BBC sound of 2011 poll, this signals a shift away from the traditional type of music The Vaccines stand for. I ask if they are fans of this type of music and if they are trying to move the music scene away from this with their more pop type sound. “It is the job of other people to compare,” Justin points out “but the dubstep movement is something to be admired” Freddie enthuses, “as it is the most recent movement to come out of nowhere with a few guys in a record shop starting it, a very romantic idea. But we are not trying to be something new or different we just make songs we like”. These songs they describe as ‘poppy’ and ‘direct’, devoid of hidden meaning.

Watching them on stage later their stage presence is bewildered, lost, but grateful. This echoes in their outlook. I ask what their idea of a perfect night is: for Justin a trip to the cinema hits the spot, sadly something he has had little time to do recently.

While Freddie is more laid back, going wherever looks good that night.

Surely they must be socializing lots while on the NME tour, “I haven’t

that they feel that the fact that they “don’t sound like a local band” has in effect “held us back a bit”.

Yet, let’s get something straight from the outset: Air to Achilles’ struggle to align themselves with the ‘traditional’ and the ‘standard’ is not in itself because a synthesiser accompanies them on stage. It’s instead because they use the synth not just for the myriad of sounds that it affords, but for its resonance, and the “many textures to it”, acknowledging themselves how “vocally you can really connect to it on so many levels, and sometimes it has a real melancholy to it and you can react to that.” Hence, the gurgling electronics of ‘If My Heart Stops Beating’, and even the psychedelic sonics of ‘I Dreamt About You’, fuse with a Depeche Mode-esque despondency and introspection. It’s because of this that Air to Achilles are much more than an “electroKings of Leon”, which one reviewer likened them to; a comparison the band was all too kind not to criticise, but one I can honestly say is probably the worst compliment I’m ever

likely to hear.

However, it also does Air to Achilles no justice to see them merely as a synth band; beneath a brooding digital pulse, their arrangements are strident and “there’s a certain intensity to it”, which “finds that fine balance where they all work together.”

Thunderous drum fills, muscular bass lines, crunching guitars and shout-sung vocals are channelled towards a series of choruses aiming for the epic. For much of their set, there is a particular majesty and robustness to their psych rock that is far from the flimsy and limp.

At the same time it wouldn’t be right of me to say that Air to Achilles are the final, definite article at this stage, and I hope they don’t take this the wrong way. Having only been gigging for over a year now, as expected they’re not a refined, live act, still seemingly in the process of trying to realise how to exhibit their real force of character on stage. There’s a sense that like any other burgeoning band in its relative infancy, Air to Achilles – and credit to them for this – are still hon-

really spoken to anyone much, I just enjoy watching from the balcony, Freddie does know a few guys in the other bands though.” Justin disagrees. Not the words of an out of control indie rock band for sure.

Justin even relishes the idea of a nap later, which we both agree you always regret. Finally what does the band want for 2011? “Creative fulfillment,” Justin muses.

The Anti-Band: The Vaccines are trying to avoid the trappings of similarly hyped arists

ing themselves. After all, having already developed so much in so little time - something they’ve “been really proud of” so far – it’s inevitable that their ascendancy will continue, especially now having “reached a point where we’ve got some people who want to hear [us].” Now why don’t you join suit?

WHO AND WHAT ARE THEY?: Try to imagine an early Human League, with commanding drums, bass lines and riffs to top.

WHY ARE THEY?: Typical backstory: formed from the remnants of college and university friendships.

HOW ARE THEY?: Before going on stage: unsuspecting and unimposing. On stage: intensely despondent.

WHEN AND WHERE ARE THEY?: Free Tuesday 22 February? Catch them at the LYH in the next stage of North East Unsigned.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

31

Music Culture

music

Music Editors: Polly Randall & Joe Skrebels - courier.culture-music@ncl.ac.uk

interview

Everything Everything but the kitchen sink Elliot Bentley meets indie’s latest oddballs to chat about computer games and onesies “We kind of wanted some uniformity to what we do,” Everything Everything bassist Jeremy Pritchard tells me. The band’s solution? Custom-made jumpsuits.

“We used to use our own shopbought boiler suits for some of the videos which you may have seen.

And Alex [Robertshaw, guitarist] came up with the idea for some that might look OK on us. So we got them made, and chose all the colours and the fabrics and everything.” The band seem particularly proud of this idea, so I decide not to mention the recent trend for ironic onesies.”They’re unusual to play in - they’re not jeans and a t-shirt. I’m really pleased though, the air that it lends the show is exactly what we wanted.”

Working on the atmosphere of their shows seems to be a priority to the band right now playing gigs far bigger than they’ve ever experienced. At the moment they’re on the NME Awards Tour (having been nominated for “Best New Band”) with Crystal Castles, Magnetic Man and the Vaccines.

“We were kind of finding our stride a bit at first,” Pritchard says (drummer Michael Spearman is also here, but he stays quiet for the majority of the interview). “The two nights in Manchester were quite good actually, we were getting used to all the bits and pieces we’re involved with now.”

They’ve been on one of these NME tours before - specifically the NME Radar Tour, (the “early learning tour” as Pritchard calls it) which they co-headlined just nine months ago with Hurts and Darwin Deez.

It’s a big step up in a short amount of time. “Five tour buses, four bands, a big production crew who are here twenty-four hours - it’s like a big travelling circus really. At some point someone will be awake on the gypsy caravan!” “Everything’s got bigger,” says Spearman. Pritchard continues: “Yeah, apart from the boring practical stuff we’ve had to

debate yes

learn how to engage large audiences and keep the people at the back of the crowd just as interested as the people at the front. Which is a skill that we’ve learnt - accidentally I suppose.”

Which is where the custom-made boiler suits fit in, presumably. “It takes the focus off what you’re wearing - like if you were in the Drums or something.”

“It’s also about not having to choose what to wear every night, too,” adds Spearman.

A year ago, Everything Everything were being tipped to be “big in 2010” - who do they see doing well in 2011? “Well, on the BBC list we were talking about Wretch 32 [a London grime MC],” says Spearman. “Warpaint. Jay Pool. James Blake.”

“Dutch Uncles. Egyptian HipHop,” adds Pritchard. “There’s a lot of good bands in the North East - Vinyl Jacket. There’s a young band called We Beat The System that are quite good.”

Those who have listened to debut

album Man Alive may have picked up on the references to video games scattered throughout. Are all the band gamers, I ask?

“The other two are disabled by computer games, and Mike and I are disabled by our inability to become even remotely interested in them and therein lies the dynamic. [Lead singer] John’s just about on the right side of being engaged in reality.”

“We lost Alex about a year ago,” says Spearman. “There are zombies probably being killed elsewhere on the coach as we speak. They’re supposed to be doing interviews and such right now like we are, but they’re probably shooting zombies and Nazis right now, because that’s realistic, isn’t it?”

As diplomatic as the pair are trying to appear, a there’s a clear note of frustration in Pritchard’s voice. “It’s not just about recreation. Whether or not we enjoy playing computer games or whatever is irrelevant really. Because it’s a huge part of the lives of most people in our generation,” he says through what may as

B. CARLIN

NME Tour O2 Academy, 8th February This year’s NME Shockwaves tour was a gig of two halves. Newcomers The Vaccines opened the show with their potentially anthemic and infectious vocals and got a fantastic reception for such a new band. They were followed by Everything Everything, whose lively and melodic synth-pop was the perfect tempo for getting everyone bopping around rather uncooly. However, these high-energy indie-pop acts seemed mellow compared to what followed.

When Magnetic Man started up, 2010’s dubstep craze came flooding back to me. The crowd were really into it and I remembered how you could lose yourself in this music.

But other than their one song that everybody knows, ‘I Need Air’, the sound of Magnetic Man was indistinguishable from any other dubstep set you’d hear in Cosmic this time last year.

Surprisingly, half the crowd headed for the exit before the next act even came near the stage. Crystal Castles may not have had as much hype recently, but those who left missed a treat – the atmosphere was amazing. I don’t know if it was that I hadn’t had a proper mosh in ages, the euphoric feeling you always get dancing in strobe lights, or my memory of their exhilarating set at Reading in 2007 that made it so good.

Their music doesn’t seem to have changed much (Alice Glass’s demonic screeching certainly hasn’t), but it doesn’t matter. ‘Crimewave’ might not sound too impressive when you play it off your laptop, but when it’s live, it’s incredible, and remarkably, still sounding as futuristic as it did five years ago.

Briony Carlin

Chapel Club The Cluny, 12th February

“Everything’s got bigger”: The band discuss “boring practical stuff” that comes with playing to large audiences and keeping interest

Is the NME still relevant?

The NME is a musical institution, simple as that! Yes it may have offended your favourite band or slated your favourite album but look past its occasional strong opinions on your dearest group and you will find an establishment that has provided us with constant updates and analysis of independent music, and all of its wide-ranging offshoots, for the past 59 years.

Yet, in the age of Twitter, Facebook and an onslaught of music blogs how, I hear you ask, is the NME still relevant? The answer is simply its well-honed ability to focus attention on bright up and coming acts and to bring new talent to a far wider ex-

well be gritted teeth. “We are very much in the minority.”

Let’s move on to nicer topics: how’s the recording of the new album coming along? Is there a new album? “We’ve got a few starting points that we’re exciting about, but at the moment we’re so out of practice of arranging and writing that we’re stalling quicker than we will do in the future because we’re just not in that mindset. We’ve got a month between this and the European tour, and we’ve got April as well - we’re going to knuckle down.

We’re trying to get ahead of ourselves, because so many bands find this stumbling block on the second record.”

So the cliche of the difficult second album is true? “The second album is, practically speaking, difficult,” says Spearman. “But then I think bands get better at writing songs, too.”

Fingers crossed, then. Finally, will Everything Everything win NME’s best new band award? “No!” laughs Pritchard. “Two Door Cinema will win.”

live

posure than many of its competitors can offer.

Its impressive website offers a constant feed of music and film news, downloads and blogs and reminds you that legendary bands including Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and the Killers have all been introduced to a wider audience through its pages.

Furthermore, it’s arguable that the NME continues to bridge the gap between exciting new bands and the music fan with its NME Radar tours which, in the age of the auto-tune’s radio dominance, gives the NME more relevance than ever - the New Musical Express still fulfils its function.

Jack Kidder

The NME was once heralded as the bible for music lovers nationwide. Its opinions were taken as gospel to thousands of loyal readers and many new bands could use the magazine as a springboard to launch their career and get noticed by a larger population of new music fans.

But over the years, we’ve seen the influence of NME begin to shrivel up, and if its drastically crumbling readership is anything to go by, we could soon see the magazine drop off the radar completely.

We could blame other sources of media for this decline in popularity; music blogs can be found literally all

no

over the internet offering every possible opinion on current bands as well as mp3s. Websites like YouTube and MySpace let us find music and bands easily without force feeding us the same regurgitated indie bands that are all fished from the same stagnant pond of bands that all look and sound the same. But other magazines like Kerrang! are still being sold in their droves, so obviously the other media outlets aren’t an inhibitor for printed musical publications. Maybe we should just retire the magazine to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and look back on its golden era with rose tinted glasses.

Chris Scott

Attending a gig has never seemed like such a gamble as it has in recent months. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what changed and when, but where once you could be fairly certain that a great band more-or-less guaranted a great gig, that no longer seems to be the case.

Therefore reviewing Chapel Club’s gig at the Cluny is quite a difficult proposition. The band were mostly on good form – their setlist on the whole served to highlight how many great tracks can be found on their recently released debut Palace, from the Smiths-esque swoon of ‘O Maybe I’ to the thunderous drums of ‘Five Trees’, passionate sing-along tunes in waiting.

Complicating matters was the atmosphere; was it the Saturday night crowd? Was it the people who came just to see what all the fuss is about?

Admittedly, many of Chapel Club’s songs aren’t obvious toe-tappers, but the sheer lack of any movement or reaction from the crowd was alarming. At points the band didn’t help themselves – the choice to centre their set upon an eight-minute EP track was a badly misjudged one. Yet the many loud conversations taking place during the more intimate moments, combined with a general lack of attention from the audience led to a sonically impressive but awkward evening.

Ben Travis

32

Culture

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

TV & Radio

tv & radio

tv highlight

Let’s Dance For Comic Relief

Let’s Dance returns with a whole host of stars taking to the floor for Comic Relief Saturday 7pm, BBC1

national television - so perhaps it isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The celebrities taking on the challenge and putting their two left feet into action this year are an eclectic mix, which includes Noel Fielding, Colin and Justin and Ed Byrne.

However, the celebrity most people will be interested in seeing is Katie Price; one can but wonder whether her dance moves will be hindered by her (erm) assets.

The show is on for three weeks and each week the stars will battle is out to impress a live studio audience.

Also on hand to critique the acts, are a weekly panel made up of comedians and past contestants. Along with the viewers the panel will vote for their favourite acts to go through to the final and be crowned champion of the show.

Throughout the weeks the show will also feature performances from Jessie J and JLS - I wonder if Aston could teach Justin how to do a back flip?

Whilst this show may not be to everyone’s tastes (I have it set on Sky already) it is all in the name of charity and no-one can deny the good work Comic Relief does. This year money raised will specifically go to help eradicate malaria in African countries.

The show started on February 19, if you have missed the last few catch up on the iPlayer to make sure you are ready for the final dance off on March 18, and don’t forget to vote it all goes to charity.

Comic Relief is back and with it comes a plethora of celebrity trials and challenges in aid of the charity. The cast of The Inbetweeners have already travelled around the UK to find some of the rudest named villages, Olly Murs and various other celebrities are trekking through the desert and Kimberley from Girls Aloud is taking part in a paraglide.

Yet the event I am most looking forward to is the return of Let’s Dance for Comic Relief. The last series saw Rufus Howard do a phenomenal rendition of Cheryl Cole’s ‘Fight For This Love’ and who can forget the first series when Robert Webb put on a spectacular peformance from Flashdance? I am hoping this year’s show will create some similarly comedic moments.

The show is hosted by Steve Jones and The One Show presenter Alex Jones. The show encourages celebrities to show off their dancing skills and talents by recreating famous dance routines, including ‘I Love to Boogie’ from Billy Elliot and Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’. Personally, I would quite enjoy this challenge as I like to think of myself as an equivalent dancer to Rhianna, and have been known to create routines with friends that would rival The Saturdays. However, that is often after a few drinks and is not broadcast on

Rosie Daly

soaps

BBC

Coronation Street:

Mon, Thurs, Fri on ITV1 Sunita is devastated when Dev makes a shocking confession and an anxious Faye arrives at the Windasses’. Tyrone breaks down as Julie helps him grieve and later in the week she panics when she wakes up with no memory of the night before.

Owen seeks revenge when Eileen incurs his wrath and the factory girls are stunned when she is arrested for fraud.

Eastenders

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri on BBC1 Alfie comes up with a plan to impress Kat and Patrick puts himself in charge of getting them back together. Shirley tries to persuade Heather that George would be better off without her and Roxy hires Tanya as the new manager of the beauty salon. Zainab is horrified when Dr Yusef moves to the Square and he tries to find out who’s been starting rumours about him.

Emmerdale

Let’s Dance: A variety of celebrities take part in the dance of their lives to raise money

Weekdays 7pm on ITV Nicola and Carl begin to worry about Jimmy, but the police have some shocking news for Nicola.

Lisa is troubled when Lizzie spends overtime with Derek and it leads her to make the hardest confession of her life. Cain is convinced he hasn’t lost Charity and attempts to apologise, but is it too late? Aaron is thrown to receive a call off Flynn, whilst Jackson struggles to hide his true feelings.

Hollyoaks

tv previews

Benidorm Friday 9pm, ITV 3

Silk Tuesday 9pm, BBC1

Junior Doctors Tuesday 9pm, BBC3

BBC

Friday Night Dinner Friday 10pm, Channel 4

BBC/Phil Fisk

Weekdays 6.30pm on C4 Ste gives Brendan an ultimatum when he discovers he was behind Noah’s sacking, while Gilly struggles when news spreads that he has been charged with rape. Lee and Leanne embark on a money making scheme and Amy tries out as a teaching assistant at Hollyoaks High, then finds out her boss Pete is an old friend of Brendan’s. Warren is determined to discover Brendan’s dark secret.

Neighbours This new series follows the lives of seven qualified junior doctors as they leave behind five years of medical study and start work on the wards, in our very own Royal Victoria Infirmary and The General Hospital in Newcastle. Among the recruits are John, Suzi, Keir and Andy, who are in their second foundation year.

The junior doctors learn to handle working in the heart of the hospital’s busiest departments; A&E, gastro, plastic surgery and paediatrics.

Suzi starts her first shift in A&E and is thrown into the deep end with a cardiac arrest.

This series exposes both the professional and private lives of the junior doctors. With thousands of young doctors starting their foundation year, we will see frustration, tears and laughter on their first day, which nurses call ‘black Wednesday.’ It will be interesting to see what happens so close to home.

The TV genre of legal drama has proven to be very successful over the past years. Series like CSI: Miami and The Closer are popular amongst a broad audience, as well as being critically acclaimed.

Although these shows may differ, there is one thing most of them have in common: They centre crime investigation and hardly include the court room. This new BBC drama is one of the few which does.

The story evolves around Martha Costello, an ambitious barrister attempting to become a silk (a Queen‘s Counsel), and her equally determined colleagues. According to writer Peter Moffat, it‘s a “closeto-life“ story about a young female lawyer dealing with hard cases, ethical issues, competition and the struggle to balance her professional and personal life. That sounds promising, but will Costello really be a positive role-model for aspiring female lawyers?

Its summer all year round at the Solana, so get ready for another dose of sun, sea and Karaoke nights at Neptunes. Yes, ITV’s smash sitcom is returning for a fourth series.

The show faces the dilemma of dealing with the loss of numerous popular characters, such as Geoff the ‘Oracle’, Telle, Martin and of course the late Geoffrey Hutchinson, who played the iconic Mel. This will certainly alter the dynamics of the show, but also provides an opportunity to freshen its content; a necessity for any long running sitcom.

In true Benidorm style, they have compensated through the introduction of entertaining guest stars, such as Cilla Black, Denise Welch and the return of Tim Healy playing Leslie.

Madge goes missing, Mateo has to work with Leslie and romance is in the air as Benidorm returns to entertain the nation and depict the stereotypical ‘Brit abroad’ in hilarious style.

This new six-part comedy stars Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners) Paul Ritter (Pulling) and Tamsin Greig (Green Wing). It is a truly original series surrounding The Goodmans, a family who have slightly eccentric tendencies. Each episode takes place on a Friday night, when two brothers in their twenties go round to their parents’ for dinner.

The first episode involves a clear out, where Dad is reluctant to chuck anything away and Mum is too excited about the start of MasterChef to care. Brothers Adam and Jonny find the dinner unnesscary, with Dad slugging ketchup from the bottle and Grandma wearing bikinis round the house.

This series sets to be highly entertaining, with an original format and characters played by well established comedy actors. Let’s face it, anything with Will off The Inbetweeners is bound to be worthwhile watching.

Rosie Libell

Lisa Bernhardt

Simon Riddlesden

Lynsey Fawcett TV & Radio Editor

Weekdays 1.45pm & 5.30pm on Five Paul pressures Lyn to spend more time with Rebecca, but she uses Lyn as a cover for a secret tryst with Michael. Donna discovers Andrew’s real feelings and challenges him to do the right thing, but causes a startling declaration.

Donna embarks on inspiring the residents before leaving for New York and Sonya urges Toadie to make amends with Jade.

Home and Away

Weekdays at 2.15pm & 6pm on Five Robertson and Charlie piece together the final moments before Penn’s death. Irene is having a hard time looking after Lily and is hesitant to tell her the truth about her father.

Alf is released from prison but he is frustrated when he sees what John has done to the Surf Club. Nicola is determined to give Marilyn her baby so she can have a normal life.

Lynsey Fawcett TV & Radio Editor

33

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

Culture

TV & Radio

tv & radio

nsr

Fridays at NSR are the perfect end to a busy week at uni! We’ve got a jam packed schedule and as ever broadcast from 10am-10pm, so there’s bound to be a show you can tune in to.

Cara and Richard start off the mornings with top tunes and banter. Then at 12pm we’ve got NSR’s sports show. From the latest football signings to university team sport, our presenters stop at nothing to give you the best sports updates. If you’d like to contribute to the sports show email in on nsr.union@ncl. ac.uk and get your views aired!

Another feature show is NSR Film, where we take a look at what’s out and set to be released in the week.

This week is set to be a busy one with the BAFTAs being announced and our knowledgeable presenters will no doubt have opinions on the winners and losers this year.

Shows from the likes of Joe and Cat and Rosie take you through Friday afternoon with yet more of the week’s hits and some of their favourite tunes from times gone by. If you’re still tuning in come the evening then we have some great specialist shows for you.

My very own Live Transmission airs from 6.30pm, where myself and cohost Christian look at new alternative releases and you can hear up and coming tunes from old and new artists. We try and give you some unusual story snippets along with the regular features ‘Golden Oldie’ and ‘P.Diddy News’.

Finishing off the day and the week here at NSR we have Mark bringing you MMMMM from 8-10pm. Every week he gets sent new stuff from record companies and it is his mission to sort the wheat from the chaff and bring you the best new music.

His famously weird jingles also make it a worthwhile listen.

Kirsty Graham Deputy Station Manager

TV & Radio Editors: Lynsey Fawcett & Ellie Wilson - courier.culture-tv@ncl.ac.uk

radio highlights

YouTube clip of the week “Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom” Uploaded by: ParryGripp

BBC

BBC

3rd Degree Monday 1.30pm, BBC Radio 4

The Radio 2 Arts Show With Claudia Winkleman Friday 10pm, BBC Radio 2

University lectures can be a challenging time, often leaving us feeling confused and drained. In an attempt to challenge our brain cells further BBC Radio 4 have created a show which initially appears a radio version University Challenge.

I have tried to watch University Challenge - I got a question right once. A complete guess, but still right. However, in my opinion it lacks a bit of celebrity trivia, and this is exactly what 3rd Degree has included. The show is being described as a dynamic new radio show which will travel to six universities and pit three undergraduates against three of their lecturers. The show is presented by Steve Punt (The Now Show and Horrible Histories). The show will also follow Steve as he tours the universities’ facilities.

The quiz includes a quick fire round, specialist subjects and a section of highbrow vs. lowbrow questions, testing contestants’ knowledge of current affairs and academic subjects. Students may be at a disadvantage on specialists subjects but they will be able to gain some points with their ability to distinguish Lady Macbeth from Lady Gaga.

This week, Claudia Winkleman speaks to Matthew Fox, star of Lost, and actress Olivia Williams. The pair star in the world premiere of Neil LaBute’s new play, In a Forest, Dark and Deep. It is a black comedy surrounding sibling rivalry, which escalates into a psychological thriller. It will be interesting to hear about the dynamics surrounding the play and get an insight into Matthew Fox’s life after Lost.

Claudia also welcomes awardwinning comedian Boothby Graffoe; who has returned from a three year break to release his new album Songs For Dogs, Funerals...

Judith Mackrell is also in the chair providing us with the latest from the dance world and we hear a preview of Sunday’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards from film critics Boyd Hilton and Peter Bradshaw.

Claudia explores in detail a new major exhibition, The Doctor Who Experience at Olympia in London. It charts the history of the iconic programme from its first series in 1963 to the current episodes. It features original costumes and a veteran Tardis, as well as artefacts from the show’s astonishing 47 year history.

Rosie Daly

Lynsey Fawcett TV & Radio Editor

laugh-fest Have I Got News For You and the survey based quiz, 8 out of 10 Cats. How many American panel shows exist?

Then there is our collection of superb sketch shows, like Harry and Paul, and comedy entertainment shows like The Graham Norton Show and TV Burp. Does America produce comedy of this style?

They have funny and entertaining chat show hosts, but often have to curb what they say for fear of offending - and one of their most popular comedic interviewers is Craig Ferguson, a British export himself, who retains his Scottish accent despite living and working in the USA for so long.

the British-ness gets stripped away, they very often flop, proven by a comedy classic that they’ve tried to imitate – Fawlty Towers. Watching the Americanised version is simply cringeworthy.

Even their remake of The Officedespite its critical approval - is no match for the true-to-life awkward humour of the original.

American comedies often neglect an important ingredient that the great British comedies make great use of - visual comedy. It’s something that is still crucial today, as shown by the serial award-winning success of Miranda - a show that relies heavily on slapstick and physical humour.

American comedies, with few exceptions, seem to lack this very effective device, focusing on just writing funny dialogue instead, which I don’t think is always enough to make a comedy stand out from the crowd.

In fact, I believe Britain will always take the lead in making the greatest comedies, continuing to create stars for America to fall in love with, following in the footsteps of Ricky Gervais in The Office and Steve Coogan in I’m Alan Partridge.

Tom Delamere shares his YouTube video of the week. To catch the best each week, visit www.thecourieronline.co.uk.

Maybe it’s because I’ve had pet hamsters from a young age but there is something about this clip

that makes me smile. Although repetitive, the tune that accompanies this video nicely compliments the montage of animals chomping away on their favourite snacks and brightens my day every time.

A special mention to the hamster in the car around the 42 second mark – definitely the coolest animal in the clip.

tweets of the week Jedward Now the shower is flooding the bathroom we did it and let it flood so we could tweet it! Ah save the towels! They are meant to dry not wet.

Theo Paphitis Thought of @DuncanBannatyne kissing James Caan’s beard too much before bed! It would be like Dragons Den meets Brokeback Mountain, not good.

Peter Serafinowicz I’m Required To tell You I’m A Sex Offender #candyheartrejects

Derren Brown And once again I have dressed like a tramp.

comment Adam Rummens argues that American comedy programmes will never be able to match up to their British counterparts

Watching the recent British Comedy Awards made me realise just how brilliant British comedy is. Who doesn’t love the hilarity of The Inbetweeners, the laughs and slapstick of Miranda, or the biting satire of The Thick of It? I believe there is so much more to like about the shows that we produce in Britain than American comedies.

Of course, America has had some great comedy successes, with Friends, The Simpsons and Family Guy to name but a few.

However, I don’t think its list extends as far as ours does. We had the world of comedy talking long before them, with the huge impact of Monty Python 40 years ago, a brilliantly funny show that’s still popular today.

Our comedic diversity is stronger too. Think of all the British panel shows that make us laugh, including Would I Lie to You, satirical

It’s clear that American bosses have admiration for British comedies...Why else do they so often take our gems and remake them?

It’s clear that American bosses have admiration for British comedies too.

Why else do they so often take our gems and remake them? But when

National Pride: When British comedy is at its best, it beats anything that America offers

36

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Culture Puzzles

puzzles Across 1. Ethiopian capital (5, 5) 8. Sound of happiness (8) 10. Substance used to disperse crowds (7) 13. Flow of electricity (abbrev.) (2) 14. Inuit (6) 16. Tooth on the rim of a gear wheel (3) 17. Weather over a period of time (7) 19. Intense dislike (4) 20. Remote in manner (5) 23. Stick out (8) 24. Advertisement, recommendation (4) 26. Colloquial term for cigarettes (4) 28. Material for testing (8) 30. Brand of cat food (5) 31. Michael, Clive, Nicholas or Sid (4) 32. Manic depressive disorder (7) 35. Value of goods or services produced by a nation (abbrev.) (3) 37. American state, capital Carson

City (6) 39. 49 in Roman Numerals (2) 40. South African President (7) 41. Cross section of aircraft wing or tail (8) 42. Commotion, stimulation, agitation (10)

Down 1. Member of central Mexican ancient civilisation (5) 2. Checkers (8) 3. Expression of grief or sorrow (4) 4. Highest male voice (4) 5. One of Santa’s reindeer (7) 6. And other similar things (abbrev.) (3) 7. One who prepares burial sites (5, 6) 9. Injury, hurt or damage (4) 11. Nazi secret police (7) 12. Device for gliding across snow

Puzzles Editor: Andy Pitkeathley - courier.puzzles@ncl.ac.uk

(3) 15. Professional breach of standard or code (11) 17. Express strong disapproval of (7) 18. Cain’s brother (4) 21. A rest from work with a cuppa (6, 5) 22. Effect on sound waves as things get closer or further away (7) 25. ‘Frosty’ children’s winter favourite (7) 27. Firm control (4) 29. Death of soft tissue (8) 30. Bird of prey (6) 33. Norwegian capital (4) 34. Fruity preserve (3) 36. Industrial machinery, equipment (5) 37. World’s longest river (4) 38. Foolish, stupid (4) 39. Irish Paramilitary group (abbrev.) (3)

word link

wordsearch

Find the word that can be placed between these words to make two new words or phrases

Find all the words in the grid below, the words are all linked. This week’s link is British Universities.

Keele Warwick Durham Leeds NottingBangor Bristol ham Bath Cardiff South Exeter Imperial bank Oxford York

RAIN

RACK

FOOT

PIGEON

HOT

DANCE

BROKEN

CLEANER

RATTLE

SKIN

phone in Use the clues and the keypad to find the answers to the grid using the week’s theme to help you. For example the number 3 in a clue could be D, E or F. This week’s theme is British Comedians.

Across

Down

1. 4378247 4. 6263673 5. 38267

2. 499273 3. 26953 4. 66726

sudoku

andy’s number cruncher logic problem Gordon, Stanley and Bobby, not necessarily in that order, are the striker defender and goalkeeper in a local football team. The goalkeeper, who is the shortest of the three, is a bachelor. Gordon, who is Stanley’s father in law, is taller than the defender. Who plays in which position?

logical What does this say?

Keep your brain in shape by trying to complete these sums as fast as you can without using a calculator

EASY

77

Divide by 11

+3

50% of this

=

-1

3/10 of Divide Cube Square root by 9 this this

=

x25

Divide Square 50% of 3/5 of by 14 root this this

=

Half this

MEDIUM

77

Divide Times itself by 7

HARD

77

-7

Multiply by 0.8

+6

Double this

-2

Square root

The puzzles get harder as you work your way down the page.

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

37

Sports Editors: Jono Taylor, Wills Robinson and Kat Bannon - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

37

events won

by Newcastle in Stan Calvert 2010

days to go

Kicking ‘the hidden addiction’

Harry Slavin explores the neglected dangers that gambling poses within the sporting world In a time when gambling and betting within the world of sport has once again reared its ugly head, there is a chink of light forcing its way through the murk and mire from the modest town of Paisley in the West of Scotland.

With betting scandals being unearthed in the domains of cricket, snooker and football, the realisation that gambling is beginning to take a very strong stranglehold on sport around the globe is a fairly grave and worrying idea. Whether it’s bowling deliberate no balls, agreeing to lose certain frames, or getting yourself sent off, scandal is rife within sport at the moment and with the ever growing role betting has to play, it is difficult to see where the starting point for cleaning up the integrity of each sport is.

While betting on this side of the coin can of course be dangerous, the potential to lose a career is a very real threat, as three Pakistani cricketers found out only last month. The implications of being unwittingly sucked into a lifestyle of obsessive gambling can be far more detrimental to a person’s life than a five year ban from first class cricket.

The effects gambling can have on someone’s life are not well known to the majority of the public, due largely to a severe lack of awareness on the topic. Gambling is an addiction but does not get the same coverage as drugs or alcohol for the reason that there is no obvious direct effect on health.

This could not be further from the truth. The large amounts of debt and the feeling of futility in fighting these debts off lead many gambling addicts to take their own lives.

The problem of gambling amongst professional footballers is one that has long been neglected within the sport. A number of young, up and coming talents have to leave the sport every year due to problems with gambling; a past time that now seems to be ingrained into the lifestyle of professional players.

As harmless as the odd flutter on the horses can appear, a gambling addiction can be picked up very quickly, especially it would appear amongst younger people, who may be more willing to take a risk.

Big names in the world of football such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen have admitted falling foul of gambling addictions and blowing vast sums of money on betting, most notably at a pretty young age.

When you add to this the infamous story of the student who lost his student loan by placing £4000 on Angola to beat Mali when they were four goals up with only 10 minutes left, only for Mali to score four goals in reply and draw the match, then a problem amongst younger generations is definitely visible.

This pattern is a good indication then as to the aims of a new project started in Scotland, targeting young professionals and teaching them the

dangers of a long term gambling habit. There is a genuine fear within charities and agencies that gambling is set for a massive boom within the next 10 years and with the target market becoming younger and younger the Scottish PFA has taken the first steps in order to protect its younger players and help them avoid the difficulties that come with gambling addictions.

PFA Scotland, an independent union for professional footballers, has joined forces with the RCA Trust, a Scottish charity which helps clients overcome addictions including drugs, alcohol and gambling, to set up an initiative which will aim to address all youth players in the SPL about the dangers of excessive betting.

“The large amounts of debt and the feeling of futility in fighting these debts off lead many gambling addicts to take their own lives.”

Chief Executive of the RCA Trust, Dr. Alex Crawford, believes the problem of gambling is very much underestimated in today’s society and is something that needs to be tackled sooner rather than later, stating that “problem gambling is the hidden addiction in our society. Compared to alcohol, drugs or smoking it is relatively unknown.

With the massive expansion of gambling opportunities in this country we would expect to see a substantial growth in problem gambling and its associated problems such as debt, offending, homelessness and relationship problems to increase considerably over the coming years.”

This has already been the reality for some footballers who have had their careers hampered by debt and addiction. One of the most recent to speak out about his troubles is Scotland striker Kevin Kyle. The former Sunderland striker recently spoke about his tormented time on Wearside where his problem stopped him developing the potential he had, and where a lack of people to talk to or help him with his difficulties left him feeling very alone. Now back in Scotland playing for Hearts, Kyle has come out and spoken of his approval of the scheme, suggesting that this sort of project would have definitely helped him in his battle against addiction a few years earlier.

Dr. Crawford says that Kevin Kyle’s story of developing a problem as a teenager is not an unfamiliar one within the game. “We have heard stories of players losing their sometimes considerable weekly wages in betting games. One well known former footballer has publicly written about how he became

The recent gambling awareness initiative in Scotland addresses a very serious issue not only in football, but in sport as a whole

homeless because of his gambling and the difficulties caused by his debts to bookmakers.”

While there are specialist clinics in the UK which help athletes deal with other addiction issues, such as the Sporting Chance Centre set up by recovering alcoholic and former Arsenal captain Tony Adams, this pilot scheme is the first of its kind in the UK which has been set up solely to alert footballers to the dangers of gambling, the main goal of which is, according to the RCA Chief Executive “educating young players about the potential impact of gambling on their performance and financial wellbeing.”

With seven of the 12 SPL teams already signed up, it is an issue which is being taken very seriously within the game and an issue that is seen as hazardous to the playing careers of young footballers. There is a hope amongst teams that by tackling the problem of gambling, a considerable amount of young players will not be as likely to drop out the game. The RCA and PFA Scotland have been advised by football managers that as many as 95 per cent of promising young players drop out of the game as a teenager and it is predicted that gambling does have a significant role to play in that number.

As well as teaching players about the importance of their own wellbeing with regards to gambling, the pilot hopes to hammer home to young players the importance of refusing to use betting markets to their own advantage, and Dr. Crawford asserts that there are concerns about the impact of gambling on sporting

integrity.

“There have been media stories concerning investigations of players who bet on matches or whose activities have caused suspicion about the possibility of betting irregularities.”

“The problem of gambling amongst professional footballers is one that has long been neglected within the sport” While there are more widely known examples, such as Matt Le Tissier’s failed attempt to put the ball out for a throw in within ten seconds of a match, the most recent betting scandal in football happened north of the border. Motherwell’s Steve Jennings, originally from Merseyside, was innocuously sent off during his teams match with Hearts, only for bookies to be alerted by bets of up to £500 being made from new accounts on a red card being shown during the fixture.

Again Crawford is under no illusion that football is whiter than white, suggesting that, “Given that illegal betting activities have been identified in other sports, most recently in cricket, it would be naive to not expect that there is the possibility of similar problems in relation to football.”

There is no question that betting and gambling within football are on an accelerated rise with more

bookmakers and scandals appearing overnight. The impact of betting markets on individual teams may also leave some clubs with their hands tied when it comes to creating policies to regulate gambling and its influence on the sport in the future.

You only have to visit the websites of the 20 English Premier League clubs to discover that a staggering 19 have official Betting partners. The only one that doesn’t is Manchester City. With this kind of grip already held over the top flight, it is difficult to see where the betting markets grip on the world of football will loosen.

Gambling addiction is a huge problem in society, not just within sport.

Crawford and the RCA Trust, the only charity to offer gambling counselling in Scotland, reckon that they are “only scratching the surface because we only see about 1% of problem gamblers and 0.1% of at risk gamblers in Scotland.” As sobering as this statistic is it illuminates the complete lack of awareness of this addiction.

Young professional footballers are the most important group to inform without question and for a couple of reasons. They are by far the most vulnerable in society with a large amount of money at a young age and totally susceptible to parting with it.

Most important of all though, if the next Kevin Kyle is warned of the dangers of gambling and staves off the path of horse racing and spread betting, then Scotland might, just might, be able to produce a semirespectable national team.

38

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Sport

Straight batting outta Compton

Sports Editor Wills Robinson looks at how a cricket team in Los Angeles is looking to “drop the bullets and pick up the cricket bat” When you think of gangs in southern California, you imagine guns, knives, flat-peak caps, Bloods and Crips, and rap music; but would you ever think of cricket? Can you really imagine the quintessentially English, gentlemen’s game being played on the streets of Compton, a Los Angeles city notorious for gang violence and its rap music heritage?

America is home to baseball, basketball and American Football, but cricket is very much a curiosity.

It all started fifteen years ago when the Beverley Hills Cricket Club, whose players were mainly British expacts, needed an eleventh player.

British Hollywood film producer, Katy Haber asked the homeless Ted Hayes if he wanted to play. This was someone used to playing basketball and baseball and previously hadn’t even possessed the word ‘cricket’ in his vocabulary. He played, scored six runs, despite dropping the bat and natural running in the direction of baseball’s ‘first base’, and he was inspired.

“The Aim of playing cricket is to teach people how to respect themselves and authority, so they stop killing each other”.

He went on to become the founder of the Compton Cricket Club (also known as the Homies and the POPz), and now uses cricket to spread a gentlemanly etiquette in one of the most hostile areas in the USA. At first, they started to train the homeless in alleyways with dustbins as stumps, but now they use proper cricket nets and play on a proper cricketing surface. They have been dubbed the “US Ambassadors of Good Will and Peace in the sporting world of Cricket” and are one of the only teams in the world to comprise totally of North American players. Hayes said that the game, “teaches you how to win, but in a gentlemanly manner”. “The aim of playing cricket is to teach people how to respect themselves and re-

Ted Hayes, founder of Compton Cricket Club has become a “homeless activist”

spect authority, so they stop killing each other”. He was moved by the culture and the heritage that surrounded what has now become the second biggest sport in the world, and is now hoping to spread the ideals, not just around his city but all over the world.

The gang lifestyle in Compton became notorious after rap group NWA released their album ‘Straight Outta Compton’ in 1988. Moving into the 21st century the city has always been stricken with problems surrounding crack cocaine, as well as the homicide rate being considerably above the average of US cities.

It was named the 15th most dangerous place in the USA by the FBI. In the fifteen years since the clubs founding, its popularity has grown and grown. They have received worldwide media attention and have been on tour to Britain three times, meeting royalty at Buckingham Palace and even presenting a cricket bat to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Founder Hayes said that when he met Prince Edward he just gave him a hug and said, “What’s up homie?”. Currently, they have to travel 30 miles away from their home town and are currently raising funds to build a cricket facilities in their own community. Their message to those living in Compton has been to “put down the bullets and pick up the cricket bats”, and their success has been remarkable.

In 1996 when Hayes started recruiting players, he went to schools, and many of the new players, who had never heard of cricket, were from different gang backgrounds. At first they didn’t get on, but through playing cricket, teenagers who previously wouldn’t have met, or may even have been in conflict on the streets, were playing together.

Ricardo Salgado for example was a former gang member, and doesn’t know where he would have been had he not been introduced to cricket. “Cricket kept me off the streets”, he says while showing off his former gang tattoos. Unfortunately he couldn’t visit Australia with the team because he is under parole, after serving four years behind bars.

However, he is looking forward to the sides future tours.

A story that encapsulates how close the gang culture is to the team is that of the Cazarez brothers, Jesse, Emido and Ricardo Cazarez, were all gang members, constantly involved with drugs and violence. They were introduced to cricket and, even though they had never even heard of the game, the found it as a way of avoiding the gang culture on the streets of Compton.

They had been playing for only a year when one brother was a victim of a drive-by shooting, even though he was just an innocent bystander.

Emido Cazarez explained how much he had bonded with his brothers whilst playing at the club, and that even though one of his brothers was dead, he was grateful he could use cricket to spend valuable time with his brother Ricardo.

Isaac Hayes, son of the founder of the club, explained how hard it is keeping the team together. “Some guys had kids, some guys got shot, some guys got killed and some went to prison.”

It’s a sharp reality that the players have to face in one of the most noto-

riously violent communities not just in America but globally. The ethnically diverse population of the city provides a hotbed for gang affiliation. Hayes, however, prides himself on recruiting the youngsters before the gangs do. He and the producer of Blade Runner Haber visited numerous schools in the surrounding community to attract young people to play.

A lot of kids thought it wasn’t very ‘cool’, which isn’t surprising in a community such as Compton. However, those who met Ted were inspired and began to see how cricket could improve their lives.

“Founder Hayes said that when he met Prince Edward he just gave him a hug and said, “What’s up Homie?”

The success of not just the club but alspoHaye’s activism is remarkable. No one would ever place gang culture next to cricket, but it shows the positive effects that sport has on crime. The ‘Homies’ and the ‘POPz’ are an example to the rest of the world that more sports clubs and organisations should use their sport as a medium to better the lives of people in their community.

Isaac Hayes, son of club founder Ted Hayes would be in a gang if it wasn’t for cricket

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

39

Can England win the Grand Slam?

Sport

After victory in Cardiff and a comfortable win over Italy at Twickenham, talk of England doing a clean sweep in 2011 has already started.

Yes Jono Taylor Sports Editor Let’s get one thing straight; England may not have played one of Europe’s finest in this year’s Six Nations so far, but it appears far too easy to use the sympathetic fixture list as a criticism. England may have dismantled Italy with relative ease last weekend, but it is far too easy to point the finger and say ‘look at the opposition’.

We must also not forget that the Italian side that were put to the sword at Twickenham were the same side that came within minutes of beating Ireland a week earlier in Rome. England comprehensively beat the opponents that were put in front of them, and what is more, they played with flair, heart and creativity.

England’s opening victory in the Millennium Stadium has also appeared to almost slip under the radar. To open the competition in such an intimidating environment is a huge ask, and one that Martin Johnson’s men dealt with superbly.

The most pleasing element of England’s first two performances in this year’s Six Nations is the pace and intensity that they are playing at. Similar to the 2003 World Cup winning side under Sir Clive Woodward, the men in white now finally appear to be ruthless in attack, and willing to exploit every weakness that the opposition has, with no room for sentiment.

Perhaps the most impressive player against Wales and Italy has been try-scoring sensation Chris Ashton, who followed up his two scores

No Colin Henrys Online Sports Editor With England topping the RBS Six Nations Championships after the first two rounds of fixtures, many fans, pundits and former players are now claiming that a first Grand Slam since 2003 is on the way. These jingoistic statements are remarkably premature however.

A win in Cardiff against Wales should not be underestimated but this was a Wales side in decline, with several key players, including British Lions Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones unavailable through injury.

England won the match but showed a distinct lack of discipline

in the Millennium Stadium with a scintillating four tries against Italy.

Six tries in two games is an incredible tally for any player on any side in the world, and the 23-year-old has risen to prominence at the perfect time.

The Leicester Tigers half-back partnership of Ben Youngs and Toby Flood also appears to be excelling, with both players seemingly hitting form at the perfect time ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand later this year. In Youngs, Johnson has now found a scrum-half who consistently demands the ball from his pack, and through his quick recycling of the ball, England’s backline are consistently given the service that they have been craving ever since the retirement of legend Matt Dawson.

“The men in white now finally appear to be ruthless in attack and willing to exploit every weakness the opposition has” Toby Flood on the other hand is keeping the nation’s sweetheart Jonny Wilkinson out of the fly-half position, which is testament to how well Flood is playing at the moment. Wilkinson may have found some consistency since his move to French side Toulon, but Flood has been playing at this level for club and country for well over a year.

Johnson made a controversial yet completely warranted decision to keep Wilkinson on the bench so far in this campaign, and such a decision clearly highlights Johnson’s confidence and unyielding belief in the virtues of youth. at the breakdown and conceded several needless penalties. Some better kicking from Wales’ James Hook and Stephen Jones could well have made for an entirely different score line.

The accomplished performance against Italy that followed showed marked signs of improvement but, even with Italy now a vastly improved side on recent years, a large home win is no more than should be expected of a team of England’s calibre. After their 59-13 demolition of the Azzurri, head coach Martin Johnson rightly called for further improvement still.

If such improvement isn’t found, England can forget any hopes of a Grand Slam. Silly mistakes against a below-par Welsh side and a very poor Italian outfit will not go as unpunished against teams such as France and Ireland.

The former look very good value for a second consecutive Grand Slam this year and, while defeat to

England’s Remaining Fixtures v France - February 26, Twickenham v Scotland - March 13, Twickenham v Ireland - March 19, The Aviva Stadium

It is difficult not to be optimistic with this current England side. With Dan Cole dominating in the scrum and James Haskell adding pace and guile to the back-row, England’s forwards are one of the most formidable packs in world rugby. Add this to the consistent distribution from Ben Youngs to his mercurial backline containing Flood, Ashton and the experienced Mike Tindall, and Johnson appears to have formulated a side that, on their day, can challenge any side in world rugby.

England have made a solid start to this year’s Six Nations, and now must use the confidence and momentum they have gained from the previous two matches to push on towards the Grand Slam. Make no mistake, if England do go on and win the Grand Slam, as well as the Triple Crown over the next few weeks, then they will certainly arrive in New Zealand in September as one of the pre-tournament favourites to lift the World Cup. England’s next test is against France this Saturday, and it will prove to be their biggest challenge in this year’s Six Nations. France have also opened their account with two victories, and the pre-tournament favourites will arrive at Twickenham with the aim of claiming their third successive European scalp.

Although the French pack appear as powerful as ever, Johnson must have the courage to attack the French back-line, and have confidence in Youngs, Flood and Ashton to wreak havoc.

The sense of optimism in English rugby has never been greater since 2003. England can certainly win the Grand Slam, and if they manage to expose and infiltrate the French weaknesses this weekend, then 2011 may well be a year to remember for this young, vibrant side. the French has ruled Ireland out, the Triple Crown is still very much in their grasp.

For England, their opening successes have been rightly praised but six tries for Chris Ashton means that he is now a marked man. It is difficult to imagine him being afforded such an easy ride against the likes of France’s Damien Traille.

“After their 59-13 demoltion of the Azzuri, head coach Martin Johnson rightly called for further improvement still” He also owes a lot to the excellent service provided by Toby Flood, but France’s defence coach Dave Ellis has already confessed that his side will be targeting England’s number 10, and it is likely that both Scotland and Ireland will do so as well.

There are concerns about stand-in captain Mike Tindall too. While still an imposing presence at centre, his diminishing pace is beginning to come to the fore and several times over the last two weeks he slowed up England’s fast counter-attacks, a trend which was already evident during the autumn internationals.

Concerns about individual players are not confined to the backs either.

Mike Tindall, England’s stand-in captain, has consistently performed in the centres

One real issue appears to be prop Andrew Sheridan’s fitness. ‘Big Ted’ returned from a lengthy lay-off to play against Wales but was injured again before the Italy match.

Alex Corbisiero did little wrong on his debut in Sheridan’s place, but the Sale prop’s strength and experience will be missed more against better opposition, and the chances of him playing all three of the remaining matches look slim based on his current record.

Alongside Sheridan, Dan Cole still seems prone to moments of sheer idiocy and quite often looks like a sin-binning waiting to happen, much like Trevor Woodman used to in England’s World Cup-winning side.Furthermore, Woodman’s former front-row team mate Steve Thompson, as good as he is, seems to throw at least one poor line out a match even now when he only plays as a replacement.

In short, England’s fantastic start to the Championships is very encouraging, particularly in a World Cup year. However, with France also on top form and Ireland still tough opposition, talk of an English Grand Slam is distinctly premature.

Les Bleus still have Italy and Wales to play, so should England be defeated next week, or even against Ireland in the final round of fixtures, not only will be there no Grand Slam for Martin Johnson’s men there will probably also be no Championship win.

So much is riding on the next match. What price is Chris Ashton’s swallow dive celebration going wrong going to cost, when England are four points down in the dying moments of the match?

It ought to be unthinkable, but sadly England’s national sports teams seem to find a way of defeating themselves even when no one else can, and for that reason alone, fans ought to be pessimistic.

Martin Johnson is still straining for England to improve despite hammering Italy

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Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Sport BUCS

Netball Round-up Harriet Needham

Blades make their point to Dundee

S.TYSON

Newcastle 2nds 50 Sheffield Hal 1sts 29 Last Wednesday saw another great performance by the Seconds. The tie against Sheffield Hallam proved to be a sensational match, with Newcastle immediately taking the lead from the outset.

They did not stop pushing and the girls excelled throughout.

Sassa Hamilton at Goal Defence picked up some marvellous interceptions, pressuring a well-built Goal Shooter. Both Fiona Moss at Goal Shooter and Anna Dickinson at Goal Attack shot perfectly, getting them into the net from any position in the ‘D’.

Persistent, excellent interceptions from Wing Defence and joint Captain Issy Retberg around the centre circle resulted in her deservedly earning the player of the match accolade. In the end it was a deserved victory for the Seconds after a top draw performance.

Newcastle 3rds York 1sts

25 33

Last week proved the toughest match of the season so far for the Third team, and the first loss the girls have suffered all season. The girls started off well, matching the opposition goal for goal, but the fast pace of their opponents meant that they gradually pulled away. Charlotte Plumtree played brilliantly in defence, continually forcing errors and carrying the turnovers forward, and deservedly earning herself player of the match.

The shooters had a tough ride against a defence that was clearly too close to the Newcastle attack for all to see. However the umpires failed to act on it, meaning that York maintained a seemingly unfair advantage. The team played well and showed true determination, but it was difficult to beat a side who, throughout the entire game only made a handful of unforced errors.

Newcastle 4ths 38 Sheffield 2nds 44 The girls made a solid start to the game, dominating in the first quarter and generating a decent lead of seven at the quarter time whistle. However the disruption to their journey to Sheffield started to show as the game went on. Despite this, no one gave up and all the girls worked hard the whole way through the game.

Sophie Kennedy in defence did not relieve the pressure, forcing the opposition into making a number of errors.

Player of the Match and Wing Attack Jo Pilkington picked up numerous loose balls and passed the ball into the centre circle with what seemed like effortless precision. The birthday girl Pippa Jackson at Goal Attack was brilliant, showing fantastic leadership throughout.

This was a very unfortunate result for the girls in a game which they truly deserved to win from the outset.

Despite matching the opposition hit for hit, Newcastle claimed the victory last week at the Sports Centre after defeating Dundee in both Sabre and Epee although beaten in Foil

Women’s Fencing

Newcastle 1sts Dundee 1sts

109 109

Laura Mason at the Sports Centre Although aware this match was going to be a close one, neither team quite anticipated the nail biting display that took place last Wednesday afternoon at Newcastle Sports Centre.

The game began in Newcastle’s favour when the home team won the toss for their preferred weapon sequence. As elite athlete and Wales representative Jenni Tillott’s main weapon, Sabre was selected to be

first up in order to present the greatest opportunity to put Dundee on their back foot. Despite being considered the hardest weapon to gain a large advantage, due to the speed in which the hits are conceived, Tillott worked her usual magic and gained an early lead. Holli Prescott and Laura Mason then continued Newcastle’s display of good fencing to maintain this optimistic start, finishing nine points ahead.

In the Foil, Dundee performed well, overtaking the lead Newcastle had gained in Sabre and leaving The Blades struggling to gain valuable points. Beginning the last weapon, Epee, Newcastle spirits were low.

Aware that they had a large advantage Dundee was tactically playing

for time.

In the first two bouts this was working well for the away team and Newcastle found themselves 9-2 down. Then Laura Mason, not willing to bow down to the prospect of a loss, approached the piste with nothing to lose. Gaining a large score in a short amount of time her fluid fencing finished the bout 11-15 to Newcastle in this weapon. Although overall when the hits were totted up Newcastle was still behind, suddenly a win seemed within their reach.

A new high in the Newcastle camp, with Tillot and Prescott now performing more positively, went in Newcastle’s favour, putting the pressure on Dundee who now had

to work for a win which they previously thought was inevitable.

In the following bouts, both teams showed plenty of skill and determination. The intensity increased further as Newcastle continued to gain on their opponents.

In the last bout the score finished even. Dundee, desperate for the win, lost important points and Newcastle, equally desperate not to lose, gave away a valuable few too. When the time came to a close the score finished an even 109-109. However, having won two weapons, it was Newcastle that came away the deserving victors, a fitting end to by far the most exciting match of the year so far for the Newcastle women.

Umpires see yellow as Royals hammer five past Hull Men’s Hockey

Newcastle 1sts Hull 1sts

5 1

Calum Mackenzie at Cochrane Park Newcastle successfully progressed through to the semi-finals of the Northern Conference Cup with an emphatic 5-2 victory in what proved to be a lively encounter against Hull.

Newcastle put their lower division opponents under early pressure and Hull struggled to gain any lengthy periods of possession. However the Royals failed to settle into the fluid passing hockey that has characterised their season to date. Therefore, despite the clear superiority they displayed they were unable to open the scoring.

The large and raucous home following were to be disappointed

when Newcastle’s efficient short corner team eventually entered the game. A quick thinking Pat Ost was able to cleverly square the ball across the face of the Hull goal, where it found Patch Brown. ‘The Horse’ was presented with the simplest opportunity to take his tally for the season to 24 and give the Royals a much deserved lead.

In no time Hull were facing a twogoal deficit. Newcastle began find gaps in the Hull defense and eventually some manic defending lead to a short corner. Ex-Ireland youth international Mike Pollock stepped up and imperiously drag flicked the ball past the keeper’s outstretched hand to the despair of the home support.

The game began to run away from the home side when man of the match Ian Rossiter started to terrorise the Hull defense. From a short corner, Charley Wright’s miss trap fell to Beej Gowing, who found the

unmarked Rossiter on the far post and coolly proceeded to give Newcastle their third.

Hull looked to hold on until half time without conceding a forth until the Royals were able to implement another of their short corner routines. The ball was worked to Rossiter who with time and space was able to fire a first time shot past the Hull keeper. As the half-time whistle blew in a hard fought first half, the Royals knew they had put themselves in a position of dominance.

The second half started with some fierce challenges and the umpires failed to stamp their authority on the game. Charley Wright made his displeasure clear simply to be met with a green card. The Royals were playing within themselves and therefore did not truly threaten to add to their first half haul.

Hull were able to grab themselves a consolation after a slick attacking move, but in response the Royals

quickly reinstated their four goal advantage. From deep in his own half John Colville launched a 50yard aerial that found Hector Hall.

Facing the narrowest of angles the Newcastle Captain somehow produced an unlikely finish to round off the scoring.

The game finished in an ugly fashion when John Colville and then Kieran Borrett were both placed in the sin-bin after receiving yellow cards.

However, this was of little concern to the Newcastle side whose performance fully justified their place in the semi-finals.

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Add Team Newcastle on Facebook for the latest fixtures and results. Or for more news check out thecourieronline.co.uk

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

41

BUCS Sport

Durham find themselves in too deep against Royals as Newcastle wave hello to BUCS semi-final spot Waterpolo

Newcastle 1sts Durham 1sts

9 0

Stuart Mac Manus at City Pool Newcastle Men’s Waterpolo team are reaping the rewards of a strenuous training regime as their results begin to reflect their hard work. Last weekend they looked sharp as they edged a step closer in their attempt to secure top spot in the UPOLO table with a convincing victory over local rivals, Durham.

With the BUCS semi-finals at the end of the month, the team are clearly in peak condition as they stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter.

Team captain Alastair Walker continued his fine form as he led by example to kick-start the win. Meanwhile, National League duo Michael Grantham and Stuart Mac Manus combined impressively on the counter attack, slotting an impressive total of nine goals passed the helpless

Durham goalie, proving themselves a partnership to watch for the future.

Durham’s attack had little to offer the sturdy Newcastle defence, with the home side going further ahead in counter attack; goals came from Terry Clarke and Luke Watkins in the second quarter to make the tally eight. Meanwhile, Michael Alsancak, self confessed Yorkshire casanova, put the game beyond doubt as he hammered home the ninth against a thoroughly demoralised Durham keeper. However, despite such fluid transfers and movement up front, man of the match went to Alex Kerr in defence, after a performance to demonstrate the strength and depth of a strong Newcastle side ahead of this month’s semi-finals.

Newcastle will be up against Bradford, Loughborough and Nottingham in what promises to be an enthralling set of games for a place in the BUCS Finals. The semi-finals will be held in Northumbria’s Sports Central on Sat February 26 4pm-7pm, come down and suport us.

S MACMANUS

Man of the match Alex Kerr’s strong performance held ranks in defence to allow the Newcastle attack to fire nine goals past Durham

Thai kick their way to gold in Edinburgh Thai and Kickboxing Rory Brigstock-Barron at Edinburgh Last week Newcastle University Thai and Kickboxing Club showed their class with an impressive set of results in Edinburgh, returning with five golds out of the seven categories. 11 of the club’s fighters ventured north of Hadrian’s Wall for the semi-contact kickboxing event in what was to prove a great day for everyone involved.

The students who competed, Mhairi McDonald, Lois Hart, Harriet Morton, Paddy Noble, Maen Al-Zubaydi, Luke Burl, Andy Newton, Serghei Makovejev, and Alex Hawke, were accompanied by kickboxing coach Linda Stevenson, kickboxing club president Lawrence Hares and club fight captain Sam Bhatt.

As if the success of the students was not remarkable enough, for a staggering four of the five winners it was their first kickboxing competition, exhibiting the commitment of the fighters to their discipline and the calibre of the coaching at the club.

In perhaps the pick of the fights, Newcastle students Lawrence Hares and Andy Newton fought out a close three rounds in the final of their category, with club president Lawrence eventually losing out to five-time British kickboxing champion, Andy Newton.

The club’s outstanding performance will certainly enhance the University’s reputation on the national kickboxing scene, and lays down a marker for what is set to be a fantastic competition on March 19 in the sports hall, showcasing some of the most talented young fighters from all across the country.

Cochrane puddle Kat Bannon Sports Editor Cochrane Park lived up to its already waning reputation last Wednesday after its inability to handle overnight showers caused the cancellation of both BUCS and Intra Mural fixtures.

Lacrosse, Men’s Football, Rugby Union and Women’s Rugby were amongst the sports cancelled in the early hours of the sixteenth, after the grounds at Henderson Hall were deemed unsuitable for play.

Meanwhile, Men’s Football Firsts were transferred to Longbenton 3G to avoid the cancellation of their cup game against York.

Heavy snow beginning in late November caused the postponement of over 64 fixtures of both indoor and outdoor sports. The limited number of available Wednesdays, especially combined with the rearrangement

of Stan Calvert, has forced BUCS fixtures to be rescheduled to weekends and evenings. With deadlines to be met for certain leagues and knockout cup competitions, clubs cannot afford further rescheduling based on the poor condition of University facilities.

The pitches at Cochrane, as stated

by Newcastle University Sports Director Colin Blackburn, have suffered considerably from the accumulation of bad weather. The all weather service given to the Stan Calvert pitch in 2007 and the installation of the 3G pitch at Longbenton in 2008 have helped curb the effects of the unpredictable Tyneside weather. However, perhaps more development needs to take place to ensure Cochrane is up to scratch in 2012, when it is planned to be used as an Olympic football training venue.

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Sport

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

BUCS

Newcastle beat Leeds to maintain promotion challenge Men’s Football

Newcastle 1sts Leeds 2nds

3 1

Jonny Addy at Longbenton 3G Newcastle’s First 11 played host to a spirited Leeds side on Thursday evening. The Royals went into the game on the back of a superb display in the cup against York, and the lads were extremely confident before kick-off.

With Newcastle knowing that they would top the Northern 2B league with a victory, there was a nervous energy on the pitch and sidelines, and the boys took this into the start of the game.

Manager Mark Woodhall rang the changes with a few tired legs from Wednesday’s fixture and this paid dividends in the opening exchanges.

With Longbenton offering a perfect surface to suit the passing style of the Newcastle side, the Royals started brightly, attacking with pace and purpose, looking assured at the back against a tricky Leeds front two.

With George Coyle and Elliott Connolly reinstated in the centre of midfield, the passing was accurate and chances began to arise.

With pace to burn through Mike Peace on the right and ‘40 per cent faster’ Dan Clements playing off striker Jonny Addy, there was plenty of options for Newcastle’s playmaking trickster and self-confessed ‘3G Addict’ James Swainston whenever he had the ball at his feet.

However, a lack of clear-cut chances began to frustrate the home attackers and Newcastle had to be consistently alert to Leeds’ counterattacks.

Skipper Andrew Hartley partnered ‘man-mountain’ Rob Pearson at the heart of the Newcastle defence with Mitch King and Kurran Dhugga defending soundly and offering attacking options down both flanks.

A period of sustained pressure on the Leeds goal resulted in Newcastle taking a deserved lead after 25 minutes.

From a Swainston free-kick, the ball was only half cleared and striker Addy pounced on the scraps to fire

into the goal, despite the best efforts of the away goalkeeper. This sent the crowd wild and gave Newcastle impetus to drive on and further the margin.

However, unfortunately for the Royals this did not happen. Instead Newcastle invited pressure onto themselves and, on the stroke of half-time, Leeds levelled.

Poor defending all-round resulted in the Leeds attacker placing the ball past the hapless Matt Thorpe, silencing the partisan home crowd.

Half-time was definitely needed for the Newcastle boys and after an inspirational team-talk from Woodhall and assistant manager Simon Lister, Newcastle went back onto the pitch with a renewed optimism to grab the game by the scruff of its neck and get the result that they knew they were definitely capable of achieving.

This battling quality has been everpresent this season and the ability to grind out results when not everything is going in the Royals’ favour is a credit to the managing and playing staff and is reflected in the club’s league and cup position.

Patience was the key to the second half for Newcastle- Leeds defended stoutly and were a difficult outfit to breakdown.

The introduction of Ed Savitt upfront offered new options for the Royals, and it was his strength that allowed Newcastle to take control of the game on 75 minutes.

Backing into the Leeds centre-back in the penalty area, the defender opted to uproot Savitt, which left the referee with no other option than to give the spot-kick.

This resulted in ‘big time’ midfield maestro Coyle coolly slotting home from the 12-yards and once again creating pandemonium on the sidelines.

Newcastle knew they had to be resolute for the remaining 15 minutes and Tim Rakshi’s hard-tackling epitomised this after being brought on at full-back following King’s exit with a mystery illness, rumoured to be a result of too much pre-match Red Bull.

Savitt then secured the victory, showing excellent determination to pressure the Leeds defender and finish with aplomb when one-onone with the goalkeeper.

Eyes on the game: Newcastle Men’s Football firsts edged Leeds University out thanks to two second half goals to take them top of the

The Royals successfully saw the game out and deservedly now sit top of the league table.

Coyle was awarded Man of the Match for his drive and determination throughout.

After the game, delighted Club President Matthew Gouland commented: “I’m buzzing. It’s always difficult to focus after such an impressive display the day before.

“Although the football was not as good at times today, the boys dug in and showed the spirit and character that was needed to take the three points.

“This was a massive night for the club and the boys responded. Well done to everyone involved and we look forward to more challenges in the coming weeks.”

BUCS Results Badminton

Mens 1sts 3-5 Nottingham 1sts Mens 2nds 2-6 Leeds 2nds

Basketball

Mens 1sts 54-79 Glasgow 1sts Mens 2nds 53-58 Leeds 2nds Mens 3rds 54-68 TASC 1sts Womens 1sts 24-27 York 1sts

Fencing

Mens 1sts114-121 Heriot Watt 1sts Womens 109-109 Dundee 1sts

(Newcastle won on more weapons)

Football

Mens 1sts 7-1 York 1sts (Cup) Mens 1sts 3-1 Leeds 2nds

Golf

Golf 1sts 2-4 Lincoln 1sts Golf 2nds 2.5-3.5 Northumbria 2nds

THE COURIER Monday February 21 2011

43

BUCS Sport J. OFFREDO

Royals run riot as York crumble in quarter-final Men’s Football

Newcastle 1sts York 1sts

7 1

Colin Henrys at Longbenton 3G

BUCS 2B table. Above: James Swainston defends Newcastle’s lead against Leeds winger last Thursday night at Longbenton 3G

February 16 Hockey

Mens 1sts 5-1 Hull 1sts Mens 2nds 4-0 Leeds 3rds Mens 3rds 1-1 Sheffield 3rds Mens 4ths 0-3 Sheffield Hallam 2nds Womens 2nds 1-3 Leeds 2nds Womens 3rds 2-0 Leeds 4ths

Lacrosse

Womens 2nds 21-0 Stirling 1sts

Netball

2nds 50-29 Sheffield Hallam 2nds 3rds 25-33 York 1sts 4ths 38-44 Sheffield 2nds

Table Tennis

Rugby

Tennis

Squash

Volleyball

Mens 4ths 19-55 Durham 3rds Mens 1sts 1-4 Edinburgh 1sts Womens 1sts 2-2 Nottingham Trent 1sts (Nottingham Trent Won)

Mens 1sts 13-4 Aberdeen 1sts Mens 2nds 0-17 Lancaster 1sts Mens 1sts 8-4 Sheffield 2nds Women 2-3 St Andrews

An inspired second half performance saw Newcastle’s Men’s first team storm into the semi-finals of the BUCS Northern Conference Cup after their second 7-1 win against York this season.

Danny Clements fine goal scoring form continued when he gave the hosts the lead but a calamitous own goal by goalkeeper Matt Thorpe levelled proceedings.

York looked the best team until a goal by Tim Rakshi on the stroke of half time put Newcastle back in front and after some stern words at half-time, an improved outfit added five more in the second period and Thorpe also saved a penalty to add to York’s woes.

Switched from Cochrane Park to Longbenton as a result of the recent wet weather, the 3G surface made for a very open game with both sides having early chances. George Coyle and Ed Savitt both missed the target for Newcastle, while Tom Clarke put a great chance for the visitors wide.

It was the Royals who took the lead shortly after the 15-minute mark; a good ball over the top by Coyle was crossed in by midfield partner Rakshi and Clements was left to tap the ball in.

York soon equalised though, with the goal arriving in freak circumstances.

Tom Clarke ran far too easily through several Newcastle tackles, but his shot across goal was well cut out by Mitch King. The danger was seemingly averted but Thorpe somehow contrived to bundle the ball over his own line, despite being under no pressure.

From there on the visitors dominated, with Clarke in particular getting in behind the defence all too often.

Despite Ed Houlton’s considerable height at the back, the ball over the top was causing Newcastle far too many problems and Jack Beadle also missed two good chances to put York in front from such moves.

Completely against the run of play, Newcastle managed to grab a priceless goal just a minute before half-time.

Under pressure from Tim Rakshi, a loose back pass left York ‘keeper Sam Clitheroe stranded, and it was Rakshi who was quickest to the loose ball to finish powerfully and give the hosts an undeserved halftime lead.

Stern words were spoken at halftime and manager Mark Woodhall

commented after the game that “a few things were said that the boys needed to hear”. Whatever these things were, they made a massive difference to Newcastle, who dominated much of the second half.

That said, only an offside flag denied York an equaliser when Beadle’s deep cross was headed in by Conor Brennan at the back post, and the two combined again minutes later only for Brennan’s shot to be tipped wide.

However, such chances were rare for York, as Newcastle pinned them back into their own half. Substitutes Elliot Connelly and Jonny Addy both had efforts on goal before Addy was brought down by Clitheroe in the area after beating him to a loose ball.

George Coyle sent Clitheroe the wrong way from the resultant penalty to double the Royals’ lead.

The hosts continued to press too; Addy’s audacious overhead kick attempt was miscued while Connelly hit a post after being fed by Mike Peace from the right wing.

It was Peace who was central to Newcastle’s fourth goal after his fantastic ball across the box was tapped in by Addy from three yards out to make it 4-1.

York’s day went from bad to worse shortly afterwards as Clarke missed the best opportunity to gain a way back into the match.

Newcastle’s Kurran Dhugga was punished for a very debatable handball on the line, but fortunately escaped a red card for the offence and Thorpe dived to his right to save Clarke’s spot-kick.

The missed chance meant the game was as good as over, and any remaining doubts were soon allayed when Clitheroe badly misjudged a cross by substitute James Swainston from the left wing, leaving Peace with an easy tap-in.

Swainston then got a goal of his own moments later, as he cut inside from Connelly’s pass and beat the ‘keeper with his right-footed shot to make it 6-1.

Newcastle even had time for a seventh as Coyle doubled his tally from long-range with a low, powerful effort that Clitheroe could only help into the net.

Speaking to The Courier at the final whistle, manager Woodhall was keen to keep his team grounded, urging them to play as well over 90 minutes as they had done in the second half in future.

However, he did concede that his team’s reaction to the half-time team talk had been great, concluding that he was “chuffed for the lads” as they marched on into the semi-finals of the cup.

44

Monday February 21 2011 THE COURIER

Grand Slam Champions? > Sport, page 39 Sports Editors: Paul Christian, Jamie Gavin and Tom James - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

Sports Editors: Jono Taylor, Wills Robinson and Kat Bannon - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

Raiders set Calvert precedent

Despite conceding their first ever points against the Mustangs, the Raiders continued their fantastic form this season by thrashing their arch-rivals, and in the process, winning the first Stan Calvert points of the season

Men’s American Football

40 Newcastle Raiders N’thumbria Mustangs 6 Matthew Carney & Craig Miller at Gateshead International Stadium In a double header for both league and Stan Calvert, the American Football teams of Northumbria and Newcastle squared up on a chilly day at Gateshead Stadium. At stake were play-off hopes for both teams in the league, Stan Calvert bragging rights for the year, and the staggering record of Newcastle never conceding a single point to Northumbria in any competition. The much improved Northumbria Mustangs came to the match in high hopes of breaking this record, and causing a massive upset in the Raiders season.

Newcastle received the ball to start the match, and their spread offence took to the field to show what it could do. Moving the ball well with hard running down the middle, the running back pairing of fresher Tom Leaver and Iain ‘Fish’ HeronStamp pounded the middle of the Northumbria defence. However, as is Newcastle’s curse, penalties put them into a fourth and long situation. Rather than punt, defensive

captain Jim Harvey entered the fray.

On a play designed to gain just a few yards, Jim ran the distance, scoring the Raiders’ first touchdown.

What followed was a defensive battle. Newcastle struggled to get their offence moving, being halted by broken plays, missed assignments and penalties. The defence of both sides stepped up, with Newcastle’s defensive line being responsible for numerous sacks and tackles for a loss.

Nose tackle Ed ‘Oblivion’ Green and defensive end Neil ’Piano’ Smith were consistently found in the backfield making tackles, and defensive captain Jim Harvey, one of the hardest hitting safeties in the league, led by example with hard hits and bone-crunching tackles. He stepped in on the offence to score the Raiders final touchdown before

Glasgow Tigers Newcastle Raiders Stirling Clansmen Northumbria Mustangs Edinburgh Napier Knights Durham Saints Teesside Cougars Sunderland Spartans Edinburgh Predators UWS Pyros

half-time, leaving the score 12-0.

After the break, Newcastle returned to their spread offence. Consistent catching by receivers Jonny Williams and Adam Farenden helped keep the chains moving, but the stars of the show were still Fish and Tom Leaver. Both would pick up injuries by the end of the day, but their hard between the tackles running kept Northumbria on the back foot. Driving all the way to the one yard line, a goal line stand by Northumbria looked to be on, until quarterback Albert Parkhouse kept the ball on a sweep and ran it in for the score.

This sparked the Newcastle offence into life. The game’s tempo changed when rookie Dan Sleath laid the wood on a Mustangs player on a peel back block, lighting him up. The Raiders defence and special P 6 4 2 6 6 3 5 6 2 5

W 6 4 2 4 2 1 1 1 0 0

L 0 0 0 2 4 2 4 5 2 5

F 252 140 40 107 91 22 72 70 18 8

A 44 30 20 149 120 58 118 108 48 173

% 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.67 0.33 0.33 0.20 0.17 0.00 0.00

teams stepped up their games, stopping Northumbria from gaining any first downs, and blocking or returning punts for great field position.

Newcastle’s offence took advantage, smashing in another touchdown from the spread attack.

In the fourth quarter the game took another turn. Northumbria, by this point playing for pride, broke a long run. Their running back, playing with an ankle injury and a freakish athlete, broke tackles on a simple between the tackles run play, breaking free and running around 90 yards for Northumbria’s first ever score against Newcastle.

This prompted them to celebrate as though they’d just won the game, which only angered the Newcastle side. The next drive, linebacker Kieran Broome intercepted a short screen pass, and ran it in for a New-

castle touchdown.

On Northumbria’s next possession, they went to the air to try and move the ball. Mujeeb Lawal, an import from a southern team now playing for Newcastle, tackled a Mustang receiver as he went to catch the ball.

The man in the air resembled a helicopter, doing a 270 degree flip in the air before landing on his face.

No one noticed the ball had been intercepted by rookie Ryan Weeks, as more attention was paid to the massive aerial hit. Tempers frayed between the Newcastle and Northumbria sides, and a shoving match ensued, with the players having to be split up by the referees.

To rub salt in the wound, Newcastle scored on the last play of the game, with Albert Parkhouse connecting a long pass to ight end Ed Green, who had played both ways for most of the day. First blood to Newcastle in this year’s Stan Calvert!

MVP Honours went to the following: Special Teams MVP- Neil ‘Piano’ Smith, Offensive MVP- Andrew Skelton, Defensive MVP- Kieran Broome, Game MVP- Ed ‘Oblivion’ Green, Hit of the Day- Dan Sleath.

If you’re interested in getting involved with American Football, contact President Matt Carney via email: m.carney@ncl.ac.uk for all the necessary information!