Lent 2012 by The Griffin Magazine

The Griffin Magazine LENT 2012

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The Griffin

nother term over, another step closer to reality. It’s been a term of big changes for many, but then again it always is. The intensity of term is such that we may find more can go on in our friendships, relationships and personal development in a short eight week term than in the entire summer vacation. The closeness of the collegiate system, the compactness of Cambridge itself and the intensity of the workload appears to have a transformative effect - something unique to this place for which we should be thankful. And so our underlying theme within this term’s Griffin is change. Your editors each

stand at very different points in their University careers; one being ever-so-close to Graduation and the other having just celebrated (mourned) the halfway mark (see p.8 for Hayley Irons halfway story). Times they are a changin’ as you can see by the crocuses on the lawn - spring presents the theme for this edition’s fashion shoot (p.16). College is changing too largely thanks to Dr. Alan Howard’s donations (see p.5 for an interview with him). Societies are changing too as a new one joins Downing (p.20 for more info). We invite you to peruse our collection of features, comment and sport and hope that you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed chasing you all up for the articles. Thanks must go out to all those who contributed content and to Michael and Louise for their invaluable input. This is our last edition of the Griffin. It has been an honour serving you and we would like to take this time to wish everyone the best of luck for Exam term! Keep calm and think of May Week (and Summer - p.14).

Tristan Dunn

Henry Marshall

CONTENTS

LENT 2012

FEATURES JAILBREAK!

INTERVIEW WITH DR. ALAN HOWARD

HALFWAY HALL

By Theo Evan By Henry Marshall By Hayley Irons

ON BEING VARSITY EDITOR

MIXTAPE

TRAVEL INSPIRATION

By Louise Benson

By Hamesh Khatkar By Harry Hurd, Victoria Herman

FASHION SPRING IN YOUR STEP By Louise Benson

COMMENT, INTERVIEW & ARTS GOOD WITHOUT GODS

Q&A GEORGIE ERANGEY

THE CULTURAL LINEUP

FRONT & REAR COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: NICHOLAS SCHULMAN

By Jack Carrington

SPORT FOOTBALL & RUGBY

ROWING, SQUASH & NETBALL

ULTIMATE, WOMEN’S FOOTBALL, BADMINTON & HOCKEY

Editors Tristan Dunn and Henry Marshall Design Louise Benson Production Sub-editor Michael Derringer

Jailbreak! THEO EVAN TELLS ALL ABOUT HIS 2012 JAILBREAK EXPERIENCE WITH EMMA JENKINS

n early Michaelmas, overtaken by a moment of impulse so foreign it has been resolutely cut from my memory, I signed on to do Jailbreak. In a misplaced attempt to be “masculine”, I followed through with this forgotten promise. So come the morning of January 27th, I stood on Parker’s Piece dressed in a fine Primark onesie, amongst clowns, carrots with my partner Emma, in ostentatious rainbow trousers. Someone counted down and off we went. After bothering the morning coffee crowd in Nero we got a ride from a lorry driver at Market Square, offered to take us to the M11 roundabout just outside of town. We chatted about cycling, passed many other hitchhikers with arrogant smiles, soon arriving at the outskirts. Not one minute later a policewoman pulled up. She told us we were crazy. Then she took us to Duxford. From Duxford we hitched with a window cleaner to Bishop’s Stortford service station. It was a battleground, with several teams advertising themselves, all equally colorful and promiscuous. Emma spied a foreign lorry whose driver, Blaine, spoke no English. He loved his tobacco and his chocolate, spoke lowly of our fruit. We dissected he was going to Brussels and he offered to take us along. So off we went, chatting as Blaine smoked and drove for hours in silence. We crossed the channel as the first team to leave the UK. We drove for hours to an ominous truck stop south of Brussels and waited into the night for Blaine to reload. From Leuven we hitched with two Belgian 20-somethings who took us to Liege. They offered us beer and the pleasure of a Coldplay listening experience. It felt like home again. The gas station at Liege proved the end of our luck. Soon another team turned up and after two hours of competing for rides, they and

Emma went to sleep. I stayed awake, maintaining my charitable prostitution for a ride. Eventually, around 4:30, Erkan the Turkish Trucker offered to take us to Bonn. For all of his vices, Erkan was incredibly kind. He fed us (McDonalds), dropped us south of Cologne and told us what the Turkish trucks looked like as well as their routes (east, through Vienna and Budapest to Istanbul). Our initial hope of getting to Vienna felt within reach once more. But Saturday morning disappointed as the truckers told us they “weren’t allowed” on the autobahn. So began a day of desperate hitches south in West Germany, fruitlessly trying to cut east towards Münich. Stranded in Karlsruhe, contemplating a train, we met a man whose sole conversation involved yelling “Basel!” at us, loudly and repeatedly. Scared and confused, we got in. Gone were our plans of heading east. We decided to commit to Switzerland and, after our drop-off outside the town of Offenburg, quickly hitched with two kind Germans who were probably

younger than us. They asked me to play my guitar in their car, a most uncomfortable endeavor, however appreciated. They raised their fists and yelled “Jailbreak!” and I felt appreciated. Dropped at the train station in Lörrach, their hometown, we had plenty of money to reach Zürich by train. We wandered about Zürich for a couple of hours in the dark, deciding not to pay for accommodation before our morning flight. We spent the rest of the evening in a McDonalds, chatting to some Swedish au pairs. Wasted and wounded, grounded into an airplane seat, I slept properly for the first time in nearly two days. Landing in London only two days later, I looked, felt, sounded decrepit and damaged. I was hungry as hell and desperately needed sleep. I had been stressed and disappointed, repeatedly and pointedly. We’d reached Zürich with no money, limited knowledge of French and German (all in Emma, none in me), minimal sleep and minimal food. There’s something to be proud of. M

A thousand formal halls DOWNING ALUMNUS AND NOTABLE BENEFACTOR ALAN HOWARD SPEAKS TO HENRY MARSHALL

“I

think it’ll be a rather boring to write about my career” - so claimed Dr. Alan Howard in the first 30 seconds of our conversation. This is coming from the man who read Chemistry at Downing from 1948, before moving to work in the department of Medicine and Pathology. During his career he developed the Cambridge Diet, which has been used by millions of people worldwide, as well as more recently developing a supplement to prevent age-related macular degeneration (the major cause of blindness in those over fifty) called Macushield. Dr. Alan Howard is 82 and despite spending half the year in Cannes, he keeps in constant dialogue with his research team, who are currently undertaking clinical trials to establish the beneficial effects of Macushield – the product for which he is a co-inventor. He started the Howard Foundation more than a quarter of a century ago after launching the Cambridge Diet in 1984. Both the USA and Germany went “wild” over the diet plan earning Dr. Howard a significant amount of money. He tells me: “I decided to use the money to fund my future projects as, having spent 20 years trying to apply for grants in order to raise enough money for research, it was an awful penance. This then became one of the aims of the Foundation: biomedical research.” He went on to say: “but, the money was quite large, more that I expected, so I thought ‘Well, why not have the Howard Building?’ and so I gave the money for that in 1985.” Since this time, Dr. Howard has also provided half of the finance for the Howard Lodge, and used money from the sale of the Cambridge Diet to construct the Howard Theatre which opened in 2009.

The Theatre is a sustainable venture the Lensfield Road area. I envision a for the college in a number of ways. Out swimming pool, with badminton and of term time the Theatre is fully booked squash courts and more tennis courts. for scientific conferences, many of which Right now facilities are rather lacking.” are organized by Dr. Howard himWe go on to discuss his time at Camself, who hosts some world-renowned bridge. He can’t decide on a favourite experts. memory, but says that during his time Installed in the theatre are numer- as a fellow between 1955 and 1985 he ous ‘green’ initiatives; the toilets use attended well over 1,000 formal halls, sitharvested rainwater, the roof has solar ting at high table and meeting some very panels and the heating is geothermal with interesting people. pylons installed 40m underground. Dr. The college was also the place Howard sat on the committee to over- where, in 1950, he took a young lady see the theatres design and construction called Grace to the 1950 May Ball (at the with a few touches, huge cost of 5 guineas such as the luxurious a ticket which equates Total cost for construction of leather seats, being his to roughly £120 now – the Howard Theatre idea directly (“When about the price of the you go to these scien2011 May Ball). Grace Total number of Downing tific conferences you and Alan were marFormal Halls attended by need seats in which you ried in 1952, and it is Dr Howard can sit for hours.”) after her that the room While he is clearly extremely proud under the theatre is named. of the theatre, he exclaims his grandiose He feels most excited about his most idea was to build an Opera House in recent scientific work on macular degenCambridge “somewhere near the station eration highlighting that people fear two so it could act as a regional cultural focal things: dying and going blind. The suppoint”. Unfortunately, the funds were not plement he has developed could prevent there – Alan mutters something about this – it is indeed an exciting prospect, “£100 million pounds” – and instead and one that Dr. Howard certainly seems settled for the designers of the Sydney keen to continue to focus on. Opera House to design a smaller venutre After speaking for over half an hour, which became the Howard Theatre. it turns out that Howard’s suggestion What would he like his next project that his life was dull is incorrect – he has at Downing to be? “If there is any more achieved a huge amount for for millions money, I’d like to improve the sporting of overweight people, for those at risk life of the college. I think what Downing of age-related macular degeneration and needs is a sports centre, around about for all of us here at Downing. M

£7.8m

1,000+

Half way HAYLEY IRONS GIVES A INSIGHT INTO THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF HER DOWNING EXPERIENCE THUS FAR

T 8

he song ‘Seasons of Love’ from the musical ‘Rent’ explores the different ways in which you can measure a year. I’m sure ‘in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee’ is a pretty apt way to measure my week when I have three supervisions and I haven’t started the work for them, and ‘in laughter and strife’ certainly captures the somewhat schizophrenic nature of being a student here. However, it wasn’t until I became a member of the Midway committee that I really thought about what it meant to be halfway through my time at Cambridge. What had changed since the beginning? What has shaped my time here, and what lies ahead in my time left? I can still remember the sheer terror I felt on the drive towards Cambridge on Saturday 1st October, 2010. Scared out of my wits by the Cambridge stereotype, I was convinced I would be shunned for not being intelligent or rich enough. About 6 hours later, I was having the time of my life, and had already fallen head over heels in love with Downing. With very few exceptions, I couldn’t tell if the people around me were educated in state or private schools and quickly realised that no one else cared about the distinction either. The friends I made in freshers’ week are the friends that still surround me today, though some new relationships have blossomed since then! Following the many freshers’ fairs, I ended up going along to the rowing squash with a friend and before I knew it rowing became a huge part of my life. I have always admired the collegiate system at Cambridge as it allows students to get to know people in 2nd and 3rd year rather than just their own, and the boat club was particularly accommodating in allowing cross-year friendships to arise. Rowing is clearly not everyone’s cup of tea, but Downing seems to offer something for everyone to become submerged in and excel at.

The start of my second year here saw a big change in that I switched subjects to Law. I was also a member of the freshers’ representative committee, a Lower Boat Captain and rowing for the women’s first boat. It was a tough term, to say the least and there were times I wondered what on earth I was doing here. Then someone would leave a cheery note in my pidge, or we’d win a race, or there’d be a birthday and I’d be transported back to my freshers’ week adoration of my college. Yes, there are days when I want to (and sometimes do) sit rocking beneath my desk, but I know the people around me will always be there for me to moan to or cry on, and that I will do the same for them tomorrow when they are mid work crisis. The support system at Cambridge is particularly well adapted to dealing with student issues, and my director of studies has consistently made

himself available for a chat whenever I felt I needed it. In truth, having less than 18 months left here is a very sad thought indeed, as I’ve never felt so at home anywhere. Having to leave the comfort of the bubble and brave the big wide world is going to bring its own challenges, but I’d like to think that three years at Cambridge will have given me the strength to face them. In the past year and a half here I have met so many people, managed to survive exam term and even won a rowing headship. Whatever the future brings, I know I will take with me some amazing memories and lifelong friends. I will end with passing on the very good advice a friend gave when graduating last year and hope that all of you take it to heart: Never waste a minute here, it goes by so fast. M

Moving print: a snapshot LOUISE BENSON, VARSITY EDITOR FOR LENT 2012, ON EDITING CAMBRIDGE’S OLDEST NEWSPAPER

E 10

stablished in 1947 as Cambridge’s independent student newspaper, Varsity has provided a creative platform over the decades for an immense array of talent: it was here that Sylvia Plath and J.G. Ballard both published their first works, and Jeremy Paxman worked as editor of the paper in 1972. Varsity’s independent status is easily overlooked; originally started as a radical, honest voice within the university, its financial autonomy from the student union allows the freedom for students to express their views – critical or otherwise – on the university with a candid edge rarely afforded in the media. And in a time when the future of print media is increasingly uncertain, Varsity continues to arrive in porters lodges all over Cambridge every Friday of term, upholding a piece of Cambridge history even while Hermes has all but replaced the UMS system. This was what appealed to me when I first arrived here. I had never worked on a newspaper before; I thought of them as abstract, fixed, and at a far remove from me and anything I had to say. Newspapers were what you flicked through over your morning coffee, or picked up briefly in train stations. The first time an article of mine was printed in Varsity the transition that had taken place, from my emailed word document to the copy of the paper I picked up the following day, thrilled me. Anyone can publish their thoughts online, and pieces can be updated and corrected in the forgiving language of html: print is final. As editor now, the pressure of working to a strict print deadline and being held responsible for all published content can be

intimidating. A different sort of pressure exists in the changeover of editor that occurs at the end of each term: you only get one chance to make your mark. When I applied for the job, I wanted to return to the independence of Varsity from the university. We are free, within reason, to print exactly what interests us, in the manner that we would want to read it – something which I felt had been lacking from the paper throughout my time in Cambridge. Investigations, interviews, a drugs survey that (rather unfortunately) made international headlines, late nights, countless cups of tea, and a certain amount of humour, all went into this term’s issues of Varsity.

Redesigning the paper, choosing everything from the fonts to section colours, brought back to me that first excitement of realising my potential to change what I had thought was immovable. All of the letters and angry emails we’ve received bring this home even more to me – debate on all aspects of life in and out of Cambridge is what we want to spark. Varsity has enabled me to frame my own snapshot of the university in a way that I never thought would be open to me, arriving as I did knowing no one here with no background in media; more remarkable, though, is the snapshot that I hope it has provided to many others in Cambridge. M

Mixtape

COMPILED BY HAMESH KHATKAR

Originating in the 1970s, East Coast hip-hop has been noted for its emphasis on lyrical dexterity and is characterized by multi-syllabic rhymes, complex wordplay and intricate metaphors, lending itself to aggressive beats and sample collages. All of this is clear through the tracks extracted below.

DEAD WRONG INTRO, THE XX VS B.I.G. The opening track of 2009’s most unique debut, remixed with a Biggie classic, results in a relaxed hip-hop introduction.

PUFF PUFF PASS, YOUNG BUCK Thoughts as to whether the Tennessee MC would fit with the East Coast aesthetic of G-Unit were quelled with his performance on the group’s debut album, and his credibility was famously verified at the 2004 VIBE Awards. On this cut, Buck is joined by Ky-Mani Marley, resulting in a smoking song that would make father Bob proud.

I’M SO HIGH, TONY YAYO Tony Yayo, the mythical fourth member of G-Unit, was locked up during his crew’s rise to hip-hop domination. Soon after his release following Eminem wearing a “Free Yayo” shirt to the Grammys, he was reimprisoned for drug possession. He revels in these issues. “I’m fresh out of jail smokin’ pounds of haze. Duckin’ my P.O., ‘cause I’m high for days”.

TIL THE END, LLOYD BANKS On the Eminem-produced and Nate Doggassisted “Til the End”, G-Unit’s capo tells hood tales with such lyricism that any question as to why he is considered one of the most lyrical rappers of our time is quashed.

CLUBBIN’, MARQUES HOUSTON Produced and written by R. Kelly, “Clubbin’” is the lead single from Houston’s debut album and is his biggest hit to date.

HOTEL’, CASSIDY Cassidy’s debut album is divided into three parts. The first part (credited as “Cassidy”) reflects his pop side, the second part (“The Problem”), is directed to fans of his mixtapes, and the third (“B. Reese”) is intended for his early fans. The lead single “Hotel” earned months of steady airplay.

C.R.E.A.M., WU-TANG CLAN For a contemporary interpretation, try 50 Cent’s cover (C.R.E.A.M. 2009) or the “Cold Cuts and Lorenzo” remix.

STRAIGHT OUTTA SOUTHSIDE, G-UNIT

The fresh war with former member, Young Buck, has little detriment on this rendition of N.W.A’s classic. Instead, the Ron Browz produced opener features the hottest NYC-style beat on the album, reminding the listener of the original three-man, no holds barred style of G-Unit’s earliest mixtape work.

LOSE MY MIND, YOUNG BUCK On this rather personal track, Buck manically yells his frustrations over a murky backdrop by Eminem. He seems to genuinely struggle between maintaining his hard, nonchalant persona and expressing how he really feels, revealing an element of vulnerability unseen amongst his G-Unit cohorts.

BONUS TRACKS Wanksta - 50 Cent Nuttin’ But a G Thang -- Dr. Dre Hit ‘Em Up - Tupac Who Shot Ya - Notorious B.I.G.

SCAN TO GET THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Travel inspiration VICTORIA HERMAN’S TALE OF HONDURAN HAZARDS

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y far the most nerve-racking day I have whittled away at home, or abroad, was on the banks of the Rio Cangrejal, La Ceiba, Honduras. The night before hadn’t gone too well either; barricaded inside a 12 bed dorm in Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, home of all night gun fire and, if the one available TV channel was telling the truth, the majority of America’s Most Wanted. Catching the first bus out at 5am was more a relief than a chore, and three hours of white knuckle bus riding later we arrived in La Ceiba, a port city on Honduras’s northern coast, met by turquoise on one frontier, and green on the other. We found a hostel easily; beautiful rooms (for $2 a night); beautiful view; questionable host – an expat American

who demanded cash up front, no photos with him in, and no real names (we suspected he had some more unsavoury business dealings, and he had, apparently, had to leave the States in a ‘hurry’). That aside, everything was going well: we piled on the ex-army truck; wound through jungle roads; and hopped straight into the river for some white water rafting. Hopped straight in – no safety talk, no life jackets, no idea how not to die. Thankfully, our ‘guide’ arrived to deliver our instructions, we said a prayer to the water as, as he said, ‘if the water takes you, only it can save you’…..joy. We also got taught how to drown ‘properly’. Out of our group all 12 survived… a man on the boat behind broke his arm (I have it on good authority he is absolutely fine now).

HARRY HURDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 4,500 MILE LAND ADVENTURE

aving taken 5 weeks to drive our trusty 1-litre Ford Fiesta (named Flo) from London to UlaanBaataar in Mongolia, it was now time to get home again. It was September 1st and we wanted to celebrate my birthday in Amsterdam on the 10th September. The prospect of driving around 4,500 miles in under 10 days was daunting, but as we saw it, very possible. After buying as much dried food packets as we could find in the one supermarket in UlaanBaatar that sold them, we set off. The idea was that we would only ever stop for petrol. Despite a few incidents (a wheel falling off in the Siberian Mountains, being led through a disused building site by Russian police with AK-47s, numerous near-misses with Russian lorries and countless bribes) we arrived at the Russian border with Latvia in near enough one piece.

Flo had managed around 95 hours of continuous driving, with only brief rests to refuel, but now at the border we had a queue to wait in. That was when she broke down with exhaustion. Smoke poured out of the engine and a noise that sounded like a pneumatic drill roared. We subtly pushed her through the border gates, trying not to espouse suspicion from the Russians, and push starting her (with the help of some Latvian soldiers) got on our way to Amsterdam. We made it to Amsterdam 2 days early on the 8th September, albeit arriving on train. We had been arrested near Frankfurt by some over-zealous German police who noticed (amongst other things) that we were leaking petrol, had no number plates, and had egg cartons for headlights. Still, it was a great birthday in Amsterdam. P.S. Take a look at the Daily Starâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report on our trip - http://tiny.cc/Mrally

Spring in your step THE MASTER’S LODGE FLOODED WITH SUNLIGHT SET THE SCENE FOR THIS SPRING’S STRIPED DRESSES, PATTERNED SKIRTS, AND DESERT BOOTS

PHOTOGRAPHS & STYLING LOUISE BENSON MODELS ABI CALVER & KATIE ADNAMS

Humanism: good without gods JACK CARRINGTON TELLS US ABOUT DOWNING’S NEW HUMANIST SOCIETY

Y 20

ou might have noticed that there’s a new society in Downing. The Humanist Society was set up at the beginning of Lent and since then we’ve become affiliated to the DCAC. I feel it would be helpful to write a brief article in the Griffin explaining where we stand. This term the new Downing Humanist Society held its first event - a talk by Andrew Copson, the chief executive of the British Humanist Association, entitled “Good without Gods: humanist morality”, where he explained how people who describe themselves as ‘humanists’ might approach questions of morality. So, what is humanism? The definition of Humanism is often the subject of contention. Of course, there’s the historical intellectual movement of Renaissance humanism and many other definitions besides. In its modern sense, the word has come to signify a secular and naturalistic approach to ethics, which rejects the supernatural and emphasises the inherent human capacity for reason and moral action. Humanists believe that morality has a foundation in the social instincts of human beings and has been worked out and refined through reason and debate over centuries - rather than being the result of divine revelation. Humanists reject the idea that human beings are inherently immoral as a false and dim view of human nature. Instead we recognise that, in the words of A.J. Ayer, if the capacity for evil is part of human nature, then so too is the capacity for good. Whatever their religious or non-religious beliefs, people are equally capable of acting with kindness and altruism or with cruelty and selfishness. An essential

Humanism big-names, from left: Andrew Copson, David King, Richard Dawkins & Robert Ashby

part of the ongoing human project of morality is the quest to find societal rules and norms which encourage the former rather than the latter. This does not mean we believe that human beings always get it right - far from it, in fact. Yet humanists tend to be cautiously optimistic about the human capacity for moral behaviour. In his talk, Andrew Copson gave a quotation from Charles Darwin which I think sums up this view: “The social instincts – the prime principle of man’s moral constitution – with the aid of active intellectual powers and the effects of habit, naturally lead to the golden rule, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them likewise”; and this lies at the foundation of morality.” In other words, human beings are hard-wired to be moral; if we were

incapable of finding ways to live in peaceful cooperation, I venture that we would never have come this far as a species. Though sacred texts often reflect the results of human moral reasoning, they also reflect our fears, superstitions and prejudices. I would therefore disagree with the suggestion that they offer a superior source of moral understanding, or access to some universal moral ‘truth’. Instead, I would argue for the humanist position that morality is an inherent aspect of the human condition and that we don’t need gods in order to be moral. So that’s the kind of stance that the new Downing Humanist Society hopes to encourage. Whatever your beliefs, I hope you’ll agree that the DHS will add to the vibrancy of the college’s already impressive list of academic societies. M

Passing on the torch 2011-2012 JCR PRESIDENT GEORGIE ERANGEY GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON HER TIME AS HEAD OF THE JCR How would you summarise your experience as President?

Challenging and rewarding but one of the best things I have done at Downing. It was what I expected but with more responsibility than I thought; you have a lot of responsibility and sit on 9-12 committees. A very hidden part of the role is how many different fronts you represent students on. It isn’t just the open meetings! 22

Of what achievements are you most proud?

great deal of important academics including the Vice-Chancellor. How much time did you spend on average on JCR related matters?

Hard to put an average on a typical week as the workload varies considerably. On a lower week it would be 20 hours but it could be 3540 hours in a busy period. That is perhaps because I chose to do that rather than it being compulsory.

Workload: “On a lower week it would be 20 hours but it could be 35-40 hours in a busy period”

Best and worst parts of the job?

Re-writing the constitution as well as redesigning the website are certainly my best achievements. I am also proud of meeting my manifesto pledge of getting a quote into every email!

Best part: Being able to make a difference on college life Worst part: When things happen that you don’t expect and you end up having a lot of your time taken up.

Any moments that particularly stick in

Any words of wisdom for the incoming

your mind?

president and committee?

The moment I won the election really sticks out but I also really enjoyed commemoration dinner - that was incredible. All the major benefactors returned and I was surrounded by a

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Also have pride in what you do because you can make a difference.

The cultural lineup THE GRIFFIN GUIDE TO HOW TO FILL THE EASTER VACATION FILM

EXHIBITION

THEATRE

BOOK

Picasso and Modern British Art TATE BRITAIN UNTIL 15 JULY

Lucien Freud Portraits,

SCREENING AT SIX O2

The flood of obituaries following the death of Britian’s most expensive contemporary painter tended to focus on Freud’s tangled family web and acrimonious arguments with his brother Clement. With some months’ distance, the NPG have collated an exhibition focussing on Freud’s portraiture.

ACADEMIES -19TH – 24TH MARCH

This documentary marks the debut of director Roger Sargent. Sargent has been photographing one such band, The Libertines, since their earliest days roaming around East London, long before the drugs and bustups between frontmen Carl Barat and Pete Doherty led to the band’s premature end. Fans know the story all too well, but new interviews and rehearsal footage make for a worthwhile viewing.

Survival of The Beautiful

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE

DAVID ROTHENBERG

The only musical I have ever liked. The tale of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (the only good thing to come out of New Jersey apart from Bruce Springsteen). Italian-American hijinks involving lots of strangely manly falsetto, shockingly good 60s pop songwriting and the music industry both pre- and post-Beatles.

Leaving his sanctuary of musical writing behind, jazz musician and philosopher tries to understand meaning of beauty in art/ science/evolution. Could be incredibly hokey and biologically dubious, so should be worth a read. Apparently it’s also really well written - pleasantly meta. Through the Language Glass: How Words Colour Your World

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

GUY DEUTSCHER

She Stoops to Conquer, NATIONAL THEATRE UNTIL 21 APRIL

In this imaginative take on class war, we find the wealthy and well-bred Kate Hardcastle who must ‘stoop to conquer’ her low-born lover by masquerading as a barmaid. This 18th Century comedy, from Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith, has lost none of its punch and is sure to be executed wonderfully by a cast featuring Katherine ‘Becky from Corrie’ Kelly.

Linguistics is a field which rarely troubles the bestseller lists, yet its subject, language usage and evolution, is perhaps the one thing common to all human beings. In this dynamic and engaging book, Guy Deutscher explores whether our mother tongue might limit or define our modes of thought and expression.

KRISTINA BUGEJA

The Libertines: There Are No Innocent Bystanders

Jersey Boys

FARHAN MANNAM

The Woman In Black Post-Potter gothic horror. More about physically manifest angst than adrenaline (although those of a nervous disposition might find it scary). Visually brilliant with flawless set and costume design. Highlights include “she drank lye while mummy was out”.

Picasso’s own work collocated with that of those influenced by him (Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland, David Hockney, Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore). Should be very interesting to see how, and how successfully, modern British artists appropriated elements of his style.

FILM Boy

BETH OPPENHEIM

IN CINEMAS 2 MARCH

… It’s 1984. Eleven-yearold Boy lives on a New Zealand farm with his nan, little brother and his goat, Leaf. Boy’s absent father makes him a target for the school bullies. With the reappearance of said pa, soul-searching ensues as Boy grapples with reconciling reality with his childish imaginings. Soundtrack complete with some sweet, sweet reggae tunes to welcome in the spring. Bel Ami

SARAH FOX

TIM KENNETT

IN CINEMAS 17 FEBRUARY

EXHIBITION

THEATRE

The God of Small Things

Hockney: A Bigger Picture

ARUNDHATI ROY

ROYAL ACADEMY UNTIL 9 APRIL

A collection of Hockney’s landscapes spanning fifty years. Gigantic, chromatically pulsating with his penchant for the pastoral, we see the British landscape like never before. The exhibition features his iPad drawings and films, providing the viewer a window into his mind.

BOOK

The Master and Margarita THE BARBICAN THEATRE 15 MARCH - 7 APRIL

Cheeky bit of Soviet satire that will no doubt be rendered something spectacular by Simon McBurney and his innovative physical theatre company ‘Complicite’. Bulgakov’s novel tells of a visit by Satan to the firmly secular 1930s Russia. The plot spans timeworn, universal binaries: good and evil, innocence and guilt.

Not a new book, but definitely worth endorsing. The non-chronological narrative disorientates, transgressing literary boundaries in a way that has wounded critics, her book has been labelled a ‘car-crash’. Her story exposes the spectre of the Indian caste system; the lengths that a community will go to in order to protect its ancient rites. It is undeniably not the cheeriest read, but a vital one nonetheless.

Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude

According to wikipedia, this upcoming adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel is an “erotic-drama starring Robert Pattinson”, which, to my mind, sounds deliciously oxymoronic. I’ll probably go just to disapprove, in an unpleasant, ogre-ish sort of way.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

A comparison of Turner - 19th century big-dog painter – with his 17th century French predecessor Claude, examining their shared style of landscape painting. The National, of course, hosts some of Turner’s finest and most famous paintings, which are always worth checking out, and re-examining in new lights.

The Duchess of Malfi THE OLD VIC - 17 MARCH - 9 JUNE I have been promised that this revival of Webster’s classic revenge tragedy will be gory to the extreme. They promise a “dark and bloody” “poetic masterpiece”, so I’m expecting at least two murders per act. Any less than that, I want a refund.

The Golem

Les Adoptés

Photography: New Docu-

Matilda the Musical

Tree of Codes

19 MARCH YORK CITY SCREEN

mentary Forms

CAMBRIDGE THEATRE ‘TIL OCTOBER

JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Roald Dahl’s larger-thanlife Miss Trunchbull, twinkling Matilda and wonderfully vacuous Zinnia Wormwood should find themselves comfortably at home on the West End stage. Bringing back sunny memories of trying to make pancakes with the power of your mind certainly make this one worth a watch.

Redrawing the boundaries between literature and art, Foer uses die-cut techniques to rebuild Bruno Schulz’s The Street of Crocodiles as a tactile and consciously material literary sculpture. Each page functions in its own right, whilst its relationship to the narrative’s whole is glimpsed through tiny paper windows.

Mélanie Laurent’s ‘breezy and luminous’ directorial debut pitches family against romance, testing values and priorities in a time of crisis. The film will be screened in Picturehouse cinemas nationwide.

14TH MARCH – 5TH JUNE

TATE MODERN - UNTIL 31 MARCH

Each room contains work by a different artist, with the exhibition as a whole questioning the relationship between photography and documentary, and the part museums have to play in displaying photographs.

GUSTAV MEYRINK

Jorge Luis Borges keeps telling me to read this book, so I’m going to finally get round to it. A novel about a Golem, the clay-man-monster of Jewish folklore, in late-era Austro-Hungarian Prague. Should satiate my desires for the fantastic and the nightmarish.

Football

CAPTAINS TOM NUTT & ALEX HANSON REPORT ON THE MEN’S FOOTBALL SEASON 26

It has been a highly successful and promising term of football. The DCAFC first XI have had some of the early season shine wiped away following a quarter-final Cupper’s exit to Division 2 Pembroke. However, this ended a 7-match winning streak, which has put the club in pole position to win the PWC Division 1 league title – no mean feat in an association with nearly 70 teams involved. This has included some excellent victories over title-rivals, Homerton and Jesus, the latter beaten convincingly. Victories in the final two games of the season, to be played this term, will see the title return to Downing for the third time in four years. Rob Dunn, Clark Glasgow, Keith Hagyard and Tom Lloyd have all had a superb term providing arguably the best defensive line-up in the league. Tom Nutt has been a fluid presence in midfield allowing top goal scorers Dan Sellman and James Corcut to pound it into the back of the net. Having been promoted to Division 3 last year, the second team has comfortably retained their status in the league for next year.

However, it is in the cup competitions where the team is once again excelling. Following victory over St. John’s II, they have the Plate semi-final to look forward to, as they look to emulate the penalty shoot-out win over King’s which brought the silverware back to Downing last year. The team has been banging the goals in thanks to Jack Beattie’s screamers, Namdi Mcewan’s pace and Louis Ross’ goal hanging. Old timers Mikey Stephens, Tom Cousins and Adam Turner have continued to provide a solid base at the back in their last season for the club. The third team, as ever combining a mix of consistent performers with international flair, has seen them reach 5th place in Division 5. The season’s highlights included a hard-fought win against Girton II, and a number of brilliant performances throughout the squad. As always, the football club has proven to be one of the most successful clubs in college, and any support in the run-in, as we look to once again bring titles back to the college, would be greatly appreciated.

Having had a below par Michaelmas term, in terms of results, the Downing Rugby team were feeling refreshed after a much needed break. With 7 members of the squad playing in the Varsity series in December, we knew we had the firepower to cause some serious problems for the other teams, and that is exactly what we have done. Due to cancellations and postponements, our first game wasn’t until the end of January against league-leaders St. John’s. A 28-23 victory was the first in over a decade for the rugby team, and this started what has turned into a run of 5 matches unbeaten this term. A quick turnaround during the week saw us travel to Jesus, who we were unlucky to lose to earlier in the season. Still riding high on confidence from our performance against John’s, we hit the ground running and ran out 27-10 winners. Our third game in the same week was against

a sub-standard Queen’s team. Definitely our worst performance out of the three, yet we still despatched them 51-10! After that, due to the adverse weather conditions, we didn’t play for 3 weeks, until the Old Boys came to town. As a scratch side, we were always confident against them, yet their extra bulk made things a bit closer than we would have liked. A 24-17 victory was probably fair given the conditions, and that we hadn’t picked up a ball for nearly a month. A scrappy Robinson side provided tough competition, but our dominance showed, eventually securing a 14-0 win. With one more game to go in the league, we are looking at finishing 3rd, possibly 2nd if other results go our way, which is a great effort considering where we were at Christmas time. Cuppers is now under way, and Downing can be confident about getting to the business end of the tournament, particularly with a couple of extra players who have been brought in!

Rugby

STEVE TOWNEND TELLS OF THE UPS AND DOWNS OF DOWNING RUGBY

Rowing ZARA GOOZEE & MIKE WHETNALL ROUND UP A SUCCESSFUL LENT TERM FOR THE BOAT CLUB

Lent term began promisingly, with a fantastic delivering a savage blow in particular to Caius turnout from the Squad at our training camp M2, from whom they took the M2 headship. in Banyoles, Spain. We made fantastic gains Sadly, M1 did not manage to catch the fearsome throughout the camp, proved upon our return to Head of the River boat Caius, but day after the Cam, as the men roundly defeated Queen’s day proved that they were at least their equals, and St John’s at the Winter Head to Head – both fiercely chasing them all week, never wavering. crews who had outpaced us in the Fairbairns in W1 had the task of retaining Lents Headship Michaelmas. The squad looked set to be stronger position gained last year. On four consecutive than ever, with days the ladies LENT BUMPS RESULTS 2012

senior training rowed the 2k course TUES WED THUR FRI SAT undertaken by finishing at least five rowers from M1 boat lengths ahead M1 — through to M3. of the nearest oppoW1 — When the nent and showing ice struck, there was very little M2 — DCBC proved challenge from any its dedication other crews. W2 W2 — in a severely also had a successful M3 — painful week week moving up and a half of two spaces after land training, which arguably put us well ahead bumping 1st boats and narrowly missing out on of any clubs that had previously been snapping a position in Division 2, but in a strong position at our heels. The success of the men in bumps to take it next year. cannot be faulted. M3 were narrowly denied DCBC are in a strong position going into blades on their final day, but have proved to be Easter term having had the most successful Lent GRAPHICS: ANNABEL CROWTHER

a fantastically committed crew, proving the depth of the Men’s Squad. M2 achieved their blades,

Bumps ever and no crews being bumped down all week!

Squash

The main thing you should know about Downing Squash is that Jack probably can’t make it – he has a choir rehearsal. Sorry mate. Despite old

one match, training under ten-times Earth’s gravity with coach Andy has clearly paid off. Downing 2nds squash team has prospered this term with professional training and matches in the college

man injuries, making out with girls from Harry Potter (“she’s like my sister” apparently) and chairing an inhuman amount of debates, the squash team has had a successful term. Having lost only

league every week, each player has shown improvement. The team looks forward to following up our league success by steamrolling through the Plate competition in the near future. JAMES HAY

Netball LADIES FIRST CAPTAIN ANNABEL CROWTHER REPORTS ON THE NETBALL SEASON Following on from an encouraging start to the season during Michaelmas, thanks to the welcome injection of new talent, Lent saw both the Mixed and Ladies continue to show themselves as strong and threatening teams. Beginning the term with losses to Queens and the emerging talent of Murray Edwards, the Firsts’ Ladies have since risen on a wave of successes after drawing against Emma, to win

and promising shooter, ensuring that this term the team has seen a string of confident victories. The First Mixed team have managed to attain some amazing results both this term and last, beating teams like Girton 38-3. Special mention should go to Dan Sellman who continues to add flare to the game. The Mixed Seconds have also seen an exciting term, with two wins, two losses and one concession (from

against Catz and further dominate the Jesus team, who boast the top position within the league every year. The victory is certain to have mixed and muddled Division 1 of the league. Cuppers saw the firsts reach the semi-finals, narrowly losing 14-11 to Murray Edwards. In the Seconds, Bea Downing has emerged as a key

the opposition, not from us). A special mention to Fran Thornton and Rob Hall who have really come together as a shooting force in the past few weeks. Finishing this year’s Netball season, Mixed Cuppers is expected to be an equally exciting tournament for both teams at the end of this Lent term.

Ultimate

CLUB CAPTAIN ANDREW AVERY REPORTS ON THE ULTIMATE FRISBEE SEASON 30

Looking to keep the momentum from a highly successful Michaelmas (including their highest ever finish at cuppers), DCU again decided to

and are currently on track to finish 9th. Congratulations must also be given to the huge Downing contingent that have represented

field two mixed ability teams for Lent term, in order to further develop its fresher intake. Splitting into Downing Eagles and Lions, both teams stormed the first matches of Lent term with solid victories over ARU Darkside and Homerton respectively. Downing Lions swiftly reached the top of the college league and stayed there, fending off the likes of Churchill Beta and ChrEmBroke, and are preparing to play St. John’s Wings in the semi final. A win here and then again in the final game would mean a Downing team at the top of the college league table for the first time in the club’s history. Eagles fared less well, narrowly losing some tough fixtures against Trinity, St. John’s Wings and Penguins, which dropped them into the bottom half of the table. After a victory over Frisee Rascals and a huge 13-0 victory over St. John’s Talons however, they are back on form

the university team (Strange Blue), with no less than 12 players making it through trials, and the firsts and seconds both captained by Downing members against Oxford at Varsity. Sam Turner’s first team beat Oxford firsts at indoors before being narrowly defeated at outdoors, while Chris Barnes’ seconds outdoor squad sent Oxford seconds packing with a solid victory. Both the firsts and seconds are now gearing up for regionals, which will be hosted in Cambridge this year on the 10th/11th March. To celebrate the 5 year anniversary of DCU, the club is ordering a batch of limited edition Downing College Ultimate discs, complete with griffin design on the front. Along with the organisation of a tour to Bologna this summer, DCU is fast becoming one of the best established and most formidable teams in Cambridge Ultimate.

Women’s football

It was a valiant game, despite the cold and the rain, we played extremely well and only lost 4-2 (although one goal was such a joke it should have really been 3-2). All of the team played incredibly well, it was great to have Caroline Fitzner join us towards the end, Katie Tillson was brilliant in defence as always, and Beth Campbell stood out as particularly interceptive. There was one dodgy moment around the goal (ok, there were a few), but we were saved by the other teams poor coordination. In fact, they gave us a good game, and we were well matched, but we were just unlucky. Football season is nearly over, and the improvement on last year is phenomenal. So we’ve only won one game, but every other match has been a one or two-goal loss (rather than 11 goals, like last year) and we have crawled up two places in our division to stand third out of five teams in Division 3. The team have worked incredibly hard, attended practice regularly, and most importantly, bonded. Thanks for a fantastic year - your captain is very proud! HAFSA ZAYYAN

Badminton

Lent 2012 has been a great term for the men’s first badminton team. Having been promoted to the top division, the team was under pressure from the very start, particularly as Downing has not managed to survive more than a term in the top flight for some time. The first fixture was against Corpus I. The firsts stepped up to defeat last terms champions and took the match 5-4, showing great promise. The fixtures rolled on and the wins began to stack up, with 6-3 victories against Johns I, and Robinson I. It eventually took all the might of Queen’s I to reverse the trend, and even then only narrowly beating the Downing men 5-4. The firsts are set for a strong finish to a superb year of badminton.

The Ladies’ Badminton Team got off to a good start this term with a bye against Newnham, although a win evaded them for the next two matches against Murray Edwards and the Clinical School. The standard of their teams was high and we did the best we could with constantly changing doubles partners and very few training sessions. A huge thank you goes out to Captain Vickie Braithwaite, who didn’t stop arranging our matches even when 3,000 miles away in Africa and to Hai Xi Yan, university team captain, for coaching us on those invaluable badminton techniques during the training sessions that did materialise. With more focus on training and a team that is really starting to come together, let’s hope that we will be ready for our forthcoming matches in the Mixed Cuppers Tournament. TOM HAWKER

Hockey

After nonchalantly avoiding relegation last term, Downing Hockey entered the Lent league determined to remain a respectable Division 1 side. With arctic conditions freezing every pitch in the world, matches were postponed for a few weeks. Whilst the other teams froze to a halt, Downing plotted their path to victory - donning some new, fashionable pink socks. The “Pink-socks” cut through shivering Girton and Emma sides 4-0 and 3-1 in just two consecutive days. Special mention goes to Tim Hillel for scoring his first ever goal - what a little trooper. A couple of weeks later, Downing

were pitted against a strong John’s team, and despite being 1-0 up at half time, succumbed to Johnian pressure. All in all, a great term for the Downing Pink Socks, with their position in division 1 secure and some mediocre banter to go with it. JAMES HAY

Lent 2012 5SJTUBO %VOO t Henry Marshall