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Kickboxers put up a fight UoK Kickboxers’ brilliant month kicks off with tournament This month has been great for UoK kick-boxing. Kent kick-boxers competed in a number of events and all who participated trained hard and did extremely well. The first event in the diary was the UoK Fight Club, which took place on the 15th November at the Herne Bay Judo Club. On this occasion, ten students competed in several fights to showcase their skills in semi contact noncontested bouts. “Semi contact” means that a point system is used to determine the winner, and in addition, a generous amount of protective gear is worn so as to reduce any injuries to the fighters. A huge amount of fighters travelled to compete in the UK Warrior Gym from all around the Kent area and were matched up
on the day, according to their weight and levels of experience. Fighters from kick-boxing societies came from various regions such as Reading, and Hastings, and the day consisted of approximately 30 fights. The support was rife in the wings, as the matches were watched by about a hundred spectators.
On the 21st November, an additional fight night commenced, in which four of Kent’s fighters competed. Carlos Gomez, Dino Binji, Samantha Wright and Makesa Mwanza all competed in semi contact bouts. These fights were contested and although the Kent fighters did tremendously well, not all of the
fighters won their two matches, despite being agonisingly close. Binji grasped victory in his two semi contact fights, Gomez and Mwanza drew in their fi xtures, whereas Wright unfortunately tumbled to a defeat in her matches. As if that wasn’t enough to keep the society busy; the head coach, Adam Denne, competed in a kickboxing fight on Saturday 28th November at the Body and Mind Centre. A great fight, and one for confidence boosting, it took place in Canterbury, with Denne fighting well, earning himself a victory. The Kickboxing Society has a second fight coming up in the Spring term, the location of which is yet to be confirmed. Find out more about the society and updates on the upcoming tournament by logging onto their website at w w w. u k c k i c k b o x i n g . c o . u k
Kent men’s 3rds aimed to stretch their winning streak to four in a row, and delivering a victory on this occasion seemed a feasible task to step up to. Immediately London Met’s lack of discipline lead to several penalties. One allowed a medium range attempt at goal, which Kent then slotted to take the lead to 0-3 after five minutes. The possession for the first 10 minutes was all Kent’s, resulting in the day’s first try. A second try arrived after a lax 20 minutes, when a down the line play finds a player on the wing with a bit of space. A cheeky grubber kick unluckily bounces out, but the result is a lineout for London on their 5m line. A great steal by the pack allows the backs to link, releasing the Kent side to score between the posts, subsequently converted making it 0-17. Greater pressure from London Met leads to Kent defending in their 22 for several minutes. Mat Jones unfortunately was injured meaning a shuffle of the back line, and Kent worked tremendously hard to keep the game going their way with this unexpected arrangment. The London Met pack then put a quick series of play together to score in the corner, but were unsuccessful in converting. Score at 5-17. The third try came on the 40 minute mark after a dominating period by the pack. A stolen scrum in the opponents 22 allows the backs to run at London met. A lucky pass allows Kent to crash over the line for the scorer’s second of the game. Conversion brings the scoreline to 5-24 at half time. The second half started positively as the new substitute wreaked havoc with the opposition, which then lead to try. number four. Score: 5-29. 10 minutes later, some great ball carrying down the centre creates space for good handling,
interview: hockey scholar Natasha Brennan - p23
continued on page 23
December 2nd 2009 Free - please take a copy
Entertainment: Isy Suttie akaa
Sport: Comment piece on
Dobby from Peep Show live at Orange Street - p18
IQ: Interview with street graffer Oreo - p11
Issue 4.9
Thierry Henry’s controversial World Cup Qualifying handball - p22
Body found after supermarket shooting
Vickie Campbell
Jacob
UoK rugby wreak havoc for London Met
Makesa Mwanza
er spap nts w e A n stude f by so run tudent y of s for niversit the U Kent.
Vanessa J Richards A woman’s body was found at the Ambassador Guest House in Victoria Road on the morning of Friday 27th November after a man was shot and injured by police in the Wincheap Morrisons store the previous night. Armed officers stormed the supermarket at 10 Perch Road, at around 8.40pm, Thursday evening after receiving several reports concerning a
man brandishing a firearm. The officers ordered the man to drop the weapon and it is understood that when he refused, the 32-year-old was shot in the arm by a police marksman. A spokesman for the police said: “Whilst investigating these reports, officers shot and injured a male.” The gunman was then hospitalised due to injury, although the wounds are not believed to be life threatening. Detectives are waiting to question the man who is still
in hospital receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to the arm. No one else was injured and a weapon was recovered from the supermarket. Crime scene photographs of the pistol wielded by the gunman have been released by Kent Police, who have confirmed that the weapon is a Power Line 15XTCO2 BB hand gun. The firearm is generally intended for target shooting and is an air-powered weapon that shoots small ball bearings. Tom Davis, a local student and
employee at Morrisons spoke to InQuire about the incident: “I was unaware of there being a strange man in store. I was just working, when out of the blue my supervisor approached me, lost for words and sounding in shock. She then shrieked in horror and grabbed my arm, so I turned around and saw for myself two members of the armed response unit bolting down the aisle adjacent to the row of checkouts. Both of them carried huge guns. Everyone froze. They shouted something like ‘put it down, PUT IT DOWN!’ Next there was a very loud bang that was obviously a gun shot. Everybody jumped and either went into shock, screamed in panic or dived for cover.” Inquiries led the police to a guest house in Victoria Road, half a mile away from the Morrisons supermarket, where they discovered the body of a woman in the early hours. Police carried out a forensic examination of the scene and suspect that the two incidents may be linked; however, the woman has not yet been identified. Officers will be conducting house-to-house inquiries in the Victoria Road area of Canterbury during the next few days. Doreen Green, 65, told reporters that police surrounded the Ambassador Guest House building just after 1am and ‘barricaded’ the end of the street. “It was all very quiet there wasn’t any shouting, just lots of police milling around.” A report has been sent to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following the supermarket shooting, as is standard practice when
last issue of 2009
armed police shoot someone in the course of their duties. Subsequently, IPCC Investigators examined accounts from independent witnesses, after checking police logs relating to the incident. The IPCC issued a statement the following morning, on Friday 27 th November: “Taking into consideration all the information available at the moment, the IPCC has decided this case should be investigated locally. “If any further information comes to light during their investigation which causes concern, the case should be referred back to the IPCC.” A Morrisons spokesman comments: “We can confirm that there was an incident and that we are helping police with their inquiries. The police are fully investigating the incident.” At time of writing, there was no further information released on the identity of the victim or suspect in question. Area commander for the city, John Molloy, remarked: “The positive community response to our request for support and help has been greatly appreciated. “People have expressed praise for the swift and calm police response, and we would also like to pay tribute to the staff of the Morrisons store for their professionalism during this incident.” “If there is anyone who has yet to provide information to the police in relation to the events of Thursday evening, however unimportant you believe it to be, please contact us on 01622 690690 or Kent Crimestoppers (anonymously if you wish) on 0800 555 111.”
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A 20 year old student at a university in London has said that she will soon begin work as a stripper so that she can afford to pay for her studies, as she has still been left waiting for her loan to come through.
It has been revealed that a shocking amount of students will be working over the Christmas holidays through research conducted by www.studentgems.com. Out of the 1,126 that took part in the survey, 82% will be working over the festive holiday, with 16% working both Christmas and Boxing Day due to increased wages. However, most will probably be still in debt in their mid-thirties. Most students prefer to work over weekends, with 28 % working at least one day. However, this becomes more common over the holidays, with the number of students working rising to over 50 %. On leaving university, the standard student loan is £12,000. Reports have shown that 58 % of
post graduates are still paying off debts when they start earning more than £15,000 a year. Whilst the fee is small to start with, it accumulates as the graduate earns more. In addition, 93% claim that although their jobs over Christmas are not relevant to their chosen career path, they are necessary. Co-founder of studentgems. com, Joanna Ward commented: “As long as working does not inflict upon commitments to their studies then it is a good thing to do as it helps prepare students for working life.” A senior lecturer in the Department of Management at the University of Reading has conducted a study on the effects of employability on degree performance. Of the 1,182 students that participated in the survey, around half admitted to working during
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chairwoman@inquiremedia.co.uk Adam Silver - Newspaper Editor newspaper.editor@inquiremedia. www.joylandbooks.com
co.uk Nicola Standley - IQ Editor iq.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk Daria Oldale - News newspaper.news@inquiremedia.co.uk Tinashe Mushakavanhu - Comment newspaper.comment@inquiremedia. co.uk Nik Williams - Culture
Proposed plan for the park’s main plaza
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Lisa-Marie Janes
co.uk Anna Maysey - Entertainment newspaper.entertainment@inquiremedia.co.uk Sally Gower - Sports newspaper.sport@inquiremedia. co.uk Sam Hall - Website Editor website.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk Romana Roske - Web News website.news@inquiremedia.co.uk Yogini Jivanji - Web Comment website.comment@inquiremedia. co.uk Alex Wood - Web Features website.features@inquiremedia.co.uk Grace Evenhuis - Web Entertainment website.entertainment@inquiremedia.co.uk Carl English - Web Sport website.sport@inquiremedia.co.uk
BUCS Cup progression for badminton Successful badminton boys take it to the next round. alone anything else. I’d rather I didn’t have to work during termtime but I couldn’t get through university if I didn’t have a job.” Undergraduate Joshua Ryan from Canterbury Christ Church University plans to work on Christmas Day stating: “My family lives in Wales and it’s ridiculously expensive to go home anyway so I’m going to stay here and work. Christmas is such a peak time it would be crazy not to”.
Dreamland to re-open
Vickie Campbell - Chairwoman
Jane Tranter - Features
term time, with a fifth working more than the recommended 16 hours. In relation to her findings, the lecturer said: “The picture is one of a majority working to support themselves, who derive little or no long-term benefit.” Meanwhile, a recent study by NatWest revealed that 44% of current students said that they simply couldn’t get by without termtime employment and 34% admitted to having skipped lectures because of their job. Additionally, a study by the former Department for Education and Skills reported that 86 % of those in their second year or above had worked during their summer breaks. Third year student Emma Williams is one of many choosing to work over Christmas. “The student loan I get doesn’t actually cover a semester’s rent, let
Margate’s Dreamland attraction has been given an opportunity to be rebuilt and redesigned as a vintage theme park. The Dreamland Trust was awarded £3.7 million by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Monday 16th November. The theme park was at its peak in the 1920s, when it attracted thousands; however, most of its major rides were dismantled by the 90s. In 2005, Dreamland was sold to the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company for £20 million, prompting local residents to form the Save Dreamland Campaign which aims to reopen it as a vintage amusement park. However, after an all-consuming fire last year that led to the devastation of the UK’s oldest rollercoaster, it was closed down. Over 400 people attended a public meeting in Margate in
March, where plans for a new Dreamland were unveiled. Campaigners supporting the restoration of the attraction were notified that they had been given £384,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to start the ground-breaking project, with Thanet District Council (TDC) pledging to pay an extra 10%. Chief executive of the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, Ros Kerslake, commented: “Sea Change funding will be a massive boost for the scheme and will help us in our aim to develop an exciting area of fun and historical importance that can be enjoyed by the community, as well as serve as a huge stimulus to the local economy by boosting tourism and creating jobs. Dreamland is the type of challenging project that we at the trust love to take on.” Supporters anticipate that the new theme park will become a centre for the celebration of British popular cul-
Margate’s desolate theme park set to receive a facelift ture, focusing on the music and fashion of young people in the post-World War II period. In addition, the park will also include a collection of historical rides, recovered from other parks, that will be repaired and reopened, while the Grade II-listed cinema structure will be upgraded. The funding by DCMS will be administered through the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) Sea Change programme which aims to reinvigorate seaside towns through investment in culture and heritage. Many local organisations supported the Dreamland Trust’s application which emphasised that the park would attract up to 700,000 visitors a year. Furthermore, the opening of the park will create considerable employment opportunities. Admission to the park and landscaped gardens will be free of charge to local people and visitors whilst wristbands will be sold for those who want to enjoy the rides. Chief executive of CABE, Richard Simmons said: “Projects like Dreamland demonstrate how culture can be a catalyst
Sandeep Sharma
Kent 2nds
With the teams tied at four matches apiece, it came down to the number of individual games won, or “rubbers.” Kent narrowly defeated Portsmouth 10 rubbers to eight, with each of the six players contributing to the aggregate result. In the opening match, James Court won in straight games, forcing multiple errors from his opponent. Nick Poursadigh and Conrad Mo were unable to replicate this early success, as Portsmouth levelled. Richard “The Wall” Higgins and Team Captain, Joe Garnett
Portsmouth 2nds
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put us back in front; the highlight of this contest being when Higgins cut a beautiful shot which barely skimmed over the net, and found time to turn and smile to acknowledge his vociferous, spectating team mates. A heroic comeback at the last from Virad Patel was not enough to prevent the boys in purple from restoring parity. In the fifth, Poursadigh and Mo became more comfortable as the first of their games progressed, forcing one of their frustrated opponents
to slam his racket against the ground. They cruised in the second having nine points to spare. Court found himself at 12-12 in the first game of the sixth when he played an extraordinary forehand, which caused the shuttle to dance on the tip of the net, before trickling down the other side. Although he went on to lose that game, he targeted his opponent’s primary weakness in the second. A chuffed Patel remarked that, “Courty put the smash into the locker and brought out the drop”. Regrettably as he led at 18-17, an incoming smash struck him on his left eyelid as he tried to turn. Despite an ice-pack and a half-hour break, he struggled in
the third, which he lost 21-10. For the first time, Portsmouth took the lead at 4-3; Higgins and Garnett lost the first by 2 points, won the second by three, but only just made double figures as they were demolished in the third. It was up to Patel to step up, and deliver he did. He motioned the bird into his adversary’s blackspots with ease, to win in straight games. A quick tally up from both Captains confirmed their differing fates. In the 3rd Round, Kent face a stiffer challenge, in the form of Imperial College 2nds away, who have dumped out Canterbury Christ Church’s 1st Team with a scoreline of 7-1.
Matthew Field
The community radio station, run by a large body of students from both the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church, finished runners-up to Westminster’s ‘Smoke Radio’ for their live coverage of this year’s Lounge on the Farm Music Festival. ---------------------Student to start stripping due to loan delays.
Lisa-Marie Janes
Nick Poursadigh on the court
Interview: The Best Of Brennan Hockey scholar, Natasha Brennan, talks to inQuire
to recapture the flair that these places enjoyed in their heyday. It is ambitious plans like these, creating new national attractions that can rekindle the English love affair with our seaside.” Next year, the project hopes to receive £2.65 million of Lottery support, with the total cost of the project estimated at £12million. To find out more, visit www. dreamlandmargate.com.
What first inspired you to play hockey I started playing in secondary school. I suppose it was because my sister played as well, so in the end I took it up too. Then I got quite into rugby as well, and still play a lot. I just really enjoy it. In what ways does having the scholarship help you progress? It’s been really, really good! I get provided with a lot of support. It’s helped me work on things such as my strength and conditioning, as well as weights. The funding is brilliant too. Actually, the scholarship has basically helped organise my life! Do you have plans for when you’ve graduated?
Dreamland’s cinema, circa 1950
Oh, that’s completely up in the air. I’ve still got six months left though, so I’m hoping I’ll be inspired with regards to doing something.
games and still win a Gold medal.
What do you feel are your top three sporting achievements so far?
A sporting hero that may be obvious would be Kelly Holmes because of her drive and determination that led her to a very successful Olympic Games in 2004. I also love Brian O’Driscoll; his tenacity makes him a legendary try scorer. I also have to include Rebecca Romero; she’s a brilliant athlete.
Receiving my first senior indoor and outdoor caps, winning a Gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Sydney 2007, and representing England in the 2005 Junior World Cup in Chile. If you could be any sports hero in the world, who would it be and why? I think it would be fun to be Usain Bolt as it would be cool to eat some chicken nuggets and then jog a World Record at an Olympic
Who are your sporting heroes and why?
What are your sporting ambitions? I would love to keep progressing in my chosen sport, be successful at club level, as well as having an opportunity to receive further international caps and represent England in a major tournament.
Sally Gower
CSR take silver at Student Radio Awards
86% students to work over Christmas
www.joylandbooks.com
News in Brief
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Lucky to boast one of the stars of the sports world: Natasha Brennan
National football results Portsmouth 1 Manchester United 4
West Ham United 5 Burnley 3
Wigan Athletic 1 Sunderland 0
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Everton 0 Liverpool 2
Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick and Ryan Giggs’ 100th Premier League goal saw another three points go to Manchester United.
Three consolation goals were not enough for Burnley to outsmart the Hammers in a thrilling clash at Upton Park.
Wigan bounced back from the previous week’s 9-1 defeat to Spurs to win at home against Steve Bruce’s new side Sunderland.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points with the help of a Didier Drogba brace.
The Reds recorded their first Premier League win since October the 25th to defeat Everton in the Merseyside derby.
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It was a disheartening moment for Ireland – so close and yet so faraway. Thierry Henry’s golden handshake controversially denied the Irish a part in the FIFA World Cup extravaganza set for South Africa next year. Former Irish superstar, Roy Keane, unequivocally said they deserved the hard kick up the backside for failing to take their chances. It was their game to lose, and indeed, they chose to lose. For all the apparent unfairness of the result, regardless of the rancid dishonesty from Henry that provided it, there are moments in even perfectly poised matches when you just know how it must end. Every chance they fluffed pushed them further and further from the intended destination. Even though Ireland started stronger, with France weighed down by home pressure, especially defending a narrow lead in the second leg. Unsure whether to sit on the lead or try to double it, they did neither. They strolled a bit in midfield,
and Henry and Anelka showed flashes upfront, but there was little cohesion and penetration to their play and Ireland thoroughly deserved it when Duff’s perfect pull-back presented Robbie Keane with a facile finish. At that moment, all the bars in the UK rallied behind the Irish. Then Keane’s magic failed him. Never mind Henry’s dishonesty, you cannot afford to waste crucial chances like the one the Tottenham star threw away. The blame is not just on the waste of the strikers. The Irish defence was questionable too. France only needed one chance. They got it, albeit controversially. Talking about France’s winner, Roy Keane laid the blame on Ireland’s defence rather than Henry, who handled the ball before crossing for William Gallas to head in. “I’d focus on why they didn’t clear it,” he said. “I’d be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the
ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?” All the Irish have to do is move on. They need to raise their game a bit higher. They need to grow from boys to men. They need to take chances and be recognized not just as a fighting side but a winning side too. France is going to the World Cup. And while they are perfectly capable of crashing out early, as in 2002, they are also genuine contenders to win the event. Aside from the World Cup,
The resulting goal of Henry’s handball is a slap in the face for the ROI continued from back page
Mixed fortunes for Badminton squads Sandeep Sharma Men’s 1st vs. LSE Despite not having won a game yet this season, LSE grounded Kent 6-2, with a stellar Matt Westwood on top form to clench the consolation points. In the opening match, team Captain, Oliver Crabb, and Sam McDonough were stretched across the court, often forced into defensive positions. For one point, McDonough dived full-length in an impressive display of agility, but only to see his intended drop-shot fall on the wrong side of the net. Jimmy Lam, an exceptionally gifted player seemed rather out-of-sorts; otherwise relaxed on court, it was most definitely a shock to see him lose his second game of his first match with a mere six points. Appearing in good spirits were
Yuxiang Zhang and Jonathan Yu, despite narrowly losing their first; they were unlucky not to stage a late comeback in the second, defeated 22-20. Westwood, on the other hand, played an extended range of shots that bamboozled his opponents; his favourite appeared to be a sumptuous backhand lift at the net, from virtually the floor, high to the back. So impressive was his poise and positioning, that David Arnold, looking on, commented how he was ‘barely needing to move’. With a tough trip to Portsmouth this week, the 1st team will have to firm up their cracks; as Zhang so eloquently put it, “the Great Wall is under repair”, in reference to the Chinese pairing. Men’s 2nd vs. City Meanwhile, the Mens 2nd team had a remarkably straightforward encounter with City, as they won 8-0. Our job was made
Thierry Henry’s handball has also sparked debate on whether football should introduce technology to arbitrate during such controversial moments in the beautiful game. Tennis, rugby, cricket utilize technology in the umpiring of games. It is a shame to let obvious unsporting goals stand, especially when the constituency that matters most, the fans, watch it as it happens on screen. It’s an undeniable fact: football needs to retain its integrity.
much simpler with a 2-0 head start, owing to two of their players being unable to make the trip. All but two of the remaining six were won in straight matches; James Court was the only player to have been thoroughly tested, with three points being the highest margin for error across his matches. He appeared to strain a muscle in his right back upper thigh; court jester, Virad Patel was quick to declare “his bum hurts”.Sorry to end on a bum-note [Ed: sigh].
which then saw their winger score, taking his tally now to four tries this season. After a neat conversion it was 5-36. A valiant counter-attack by the forwards then saw Kent shrug off a tackle to score in the corner. A clever misleading of the opposition meant the score was swiftly taken to 5-46. The closing minutes of the tie bore a heavy period of pressure from the home side, but determined defending on the Kent try line left London Met disappointed. The final score came just before the full-time whistle, and was the result of another excellent run, which lead to a penalty in London’s 22 and one final try. The match ended with Kent thrashing London Met 5-52, keeping the thirds in contention for promotion; three points off leaders Goldsmiths. UoK’s next game is a crucial home tie with Essex; a side currently lying third in the league. Sally Gower
The Little Star awards, in association with Cancer Research UK and TK Maxx, are open for nominations again. These worthwhile awards, aimed at recognising the courage of children who have had to battle cancer, are now in their seventh year. Cancer Research UK, who run the awards, believe that: “every child who confronts cancer is extra special” and therefore there is no judging process. The first three hundred nominees receive a £50 TK Maxx gift card, a trophy and a signed certificate from a host of celebrities. Nominations are open to children from across the UK and last year thirty-eight children from the South East received a Little Star award. Cancer is still the most common cause of childhood death in the UK, however, as TK Maxx managing director Suzanne Given says: “Thousands more people are alive today thanks to Cancer Research UK’s work on children’s cancer.” The survival rate for childhood cancer is now 75%, as opposed to
Tibor Fazakas
Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Katherine Graham
Worldfest hits UoK Daria Oldale The Herald
Comment: What effect does this offence have on football?
Getty Images
So, Christmas is edging closer. While this certainly provokes a scurry of excitement, it also makes me wonder when and how I will exercise over the month at home. Granted, it looks like I’ll have my usual holiday job at Waitrose back, which will inevitably mean a great deal of dashing around the store like a headless turkey in order to fetch product after product for customers; but will I then feel too tired after my 12-hour days to think about going for a walk or a run? There is little doubt in my mind that the temptation to “slob out” with a boxset of DVDs will be considerable. However, I also believe that the grand scheme of keeping myself in relatively decent shape during the month, (at least so I’m able to walk back in through the front door in January) I can turn down the endless supply of chocolates and mince pies that will lead to feeling full on “stodge”. I noticed only this week that instead of buying chocolate as a jumpstart for the day (self-confessed Whispa addict alert!), I found myself over by the fruit section picking up a few Golden Delicious. Statistics from the BBC news website over the previous two years have actually shown that the blame for obesity is split fourfold. Food comes in with a whopping 40% of the blame, with lack of exercise accounting for 18%. That’s less than half as much blame on the absence of a treadmill than the presence of a regular Maccy D’s! The individual is blamed by 13% and genetics are given 11% of the blame. So, this in mind, I’ve set myself a sensible target. Instead of pushing myself to consistently exercise in some way; I’ll concentrate on eating healthier for the next few weeks. It may take a colossal amount of effort to refrain from the Guylian shells; but with the cheesy tunes of Davina’s High Energy Five calling, and the newfound craving for fruit and vegetables, I think ultimately, I’ll be headed for an balanced Christmas. Sally Gower
Henry denies Ireland World Cup with handball
Claudia Dewald
Health & Fitness
Awards honour child cancer sufferers
Little Star winner Morgandie Harrold with her proud parents 30% in the 1960’s. However, cancer prognosis in a child is still something that no-one wants to hear, and this is why the Little Star awards are essential to families faced with the disease. The Cancer Research UK website illustrates the importance of these awards with tales of previous winners such as Morgandie Harrold, who suffered with cancer as a baby. Her mother, Lyndsay recalled that: “Just after diagnosis, we heard the story of a little girl with the same type of cancer, and how she was
awarded a Little Star, and it gave us all something positive to focus on. The awards are fantastic for really giving a morale boost to children and their families who have encountered cancer.” If you are interested in submitting someone for the award, e-mail littlestar@cancer.org.uk or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/lit tlestar. All children that have cancer or who have been treated for cancer in the last five years and are under the age of 18 are eligible for nomination.
The University of Kent will yet again be hosting its annual WorldFest celebration in February, an event that commemorates cultural diversity and multiculturalism in Kent. The event’s focal point, a 30 ft high yurt, will accommodate an ethnic market offering exotic cuisine from around the world. Additionally, volunteers at the event will run various workshops, ranging from language taster sessions to dance classes. Dance classes will include Bollywood, flamenco, salsa and belly dancing, whilst language instructors will be running sample sessions in Japanese, Polish and Arabic. Last year, festival organis-
ers erected a small, temporary ice rink outside the Gulbenkian and held various theatrical performances in the theatre. Film was another integral element of the event, as the Gulbenkian cinema screened a number of movies such as Brazilian film, Central Station and French dark comedy - Un Conte de Nöel (A Christmas Tale). This year, the festival will mainly centre in and around the yurt, a circular wooden structure traditionally used by Mongolian nomads, which will be located outside of the Templeman library. WorldFest will commence on Monday 22nd February 2010 and will continue to run until the 27th. All proceeds from the event will go to the Seeds for Africa, a charity focusing on agriculture in the continent.
Have Your Say: Do you think beauty pageants are empowering? Conducted by: Lucy Bainbridge
“I once attended a beauty pageant in Italy and I found it demoralizing particularly because of the amount of men in the audience. I didn’t like the fact that there had to be a swimwear section in most of them – the bigger girls never score as high as the slim ones which is unfair.”
“It is fine if the contestant is a willing participant and they are an adult. If that’s how they want to show off assets and talent then it’s up to them. I don’t agree with children’s pageants because it is not their decision and all it is, is parents living their life through their kids.”
“I take a neutral stance because I think it is empowering for a woman to be able to show off her talents, style and personality but on the other hand it is not fair because it is not an equal playing field as it applies only to a particular type of beauty.”
Florence Dellow, 19
Josh Greenroyd, 20
English and American literature (2nd year)
Law (3rd Year)
Toby Santo, 20
Psychology (2nd year)
Gavin Webster, 40 War Studies (1st year)
Tokunbo Ahmed, 20
Actuarial Science (2nd year) “I think they could be quite empowering because it is good to be proud of your body, but I disagree with the children’s pageants because they are too young to participate in that sort of thing.”
“I am against them because they aren’t really measuring beauty; they are measuring the candidates’ ability to conform perfectly to a certain image that is considered as ‘beautiful’. Something as natural as what you look like shouldn’t be in competition. People’s individuality is what is beautiful not the image that society and the media classes as beautiful.”
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Graduates endure unpaid internships for work experience themselves have benefitted from 18,000 unpaid man hours a week, many people argue this should not allow businesses to work unethically. It may be the case that some companies are just as unaware of the law as stu-
dents are, but others are simply capitalising on a legal gray area. Heather Collier, director of the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE), asserted that businesses should always emphasise the fact that their internships are voluntary and that there are no contracts involved. Moreover, the majority of interns claim that work experience is also found to be unsatisfactory. Although opportunities may get your foot in the door, two thirds of those working for free feel exploited or undervalued, while failing to progress their knowledge. Bruce Woodcock of the Career Advisory Service at UoK commented: “Some unscrupulous businesses use students for a few months and then discard them for another intern; while some students may benefit from these placements it’s more like-
New music building planned for Kent campus Following a generous donation from the Colyer-Ferguson Charitable Trust, the University of Kent is currently planning the construction of a new building dedicated to the enjoyment and practice of music. It will be located next to the Gulbenkian Theatre in order to create an exciting arts centre on the Canterbury campus. The £4.5 million grant from the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust is supplemented by a legacy from Sir James Colyer Fergusson himself, as well as by contributions from the government’s Matched Funding Scheme.
served for individual practice. The current plan on which the architects are working on will also enable the structure of the auditorium to be modified: it will be able to transform from an open and flat space designed for band performances into a concert hall with enough room for eighty members of the orchestra and two hundred members of the choir, as well as three hundred and fifty spectator seats. As there is no academic musical programme offered at Kent University, all the musical activities organised are extra-curricular. In the near future, those interested will be able to be part of an ‘arts hub’. For more information, visit www.kent.ac.uk/arts.
An impression of the proposed Colyer-Fergusson Building
www.efestivals.co.uk
The start date for construction of the ‘Colyer-Fergusson Building’ is yet to be confirmed, but the university aims for its completion by early 2012. Out of the eighty-one architects that contended for the project, the director of music, Susan Wanless, and the University’s estates department finally opted for London based Tim Ronalds Architects. The building will provide an incredible opportunity for students, staff and the local community to rehearse and perform in state of the art music facilities; currently the University does not offer those interested in music a location that satisfies musical requirements. However, rehearsal space is provided, although this is re-
Double success delights for Rowing Club Rowers glide to victory at Windsor on 1900m course
Rowing Wild: The Men’s 2nd IV survived collision with a buoy in windy conditions to row home with victory
Tim Ronalds Architects
Edoardo Quadri
ly companies will profit more from the use of free labour.” However, the general opinion is that the effects of free work experience can be negative to both parties; students want to be able to gain both a relevant portfolio and have money to feed themselves, while businesses which only accept people with other means of financial support are excluding much of the potential talent. Finding paid work placements is difficult, yet not always impossible. Websites such as www. studentgems.com aims to match employers who need cheaper workers with students who need both money and experience in their chosen field. Additionally, the UoK’s Careers Advisory Service offers advice and support concerning work experience, and is open 9am-5pm weekdays in both term time and holidays.
Sam Webb
Last year, over 16% of students partook in unpaid employment in order to gain work experience. Many consider this neccessary in setting themselves apart from the increasing number of university graduates. The country’s present economic condition has made it more difficult than ever to find a job; a degree no longer guarantees employment. Recent reports reveal that 1 in 5 students agree to work for free in order to succeed in their chosen field, leading many to fear that some businesses and companies may take advantage of willing students to help cut costs. The average unpaid student internship lasts 10 working days; this means that as many as 592,000 students may have been
exploited, performing around 44.5 million hours of unpaid labour. Simultaneously, it is estimated that around 86% of students are unaware that this is illegal. However, many feel that they don’t have many options, particularly since the UK is currently experiencing its worst rate of employment since 1993. A study of some of the top UK graduate employers shows that the number of graduate vacancies has diminished by 25%. This has forced university leavers who find themselves amongst the unemployed to either take a postgraduate course or to try to improve their employability by working without any cash incentives. Higher education minister, David Lammy, noted that: “Like everyone else, graduates are not immune from the effects of a recession.” Whilst even MPs
Lounge on the Farm scoops award Hannah Stewart Lounge on the Farm was awarded ‘best line up’ at the UK Festival Awards 2009. The local Kent festival was held in July of this year and took place at Merton Farm in Canterbury. A panel of judges, including music journalists, made the decision to reward the up and coming festival, which has worked hard in order to beat off fierce competition from the likes of Glastonbury, Bestival and T in the Park. Headline acts such as Temper Trap, The Horrors and Edwyn Collins completed an eclectic lineup that catered for a wide range of music tastes. The festival, which debuted in 2006, was founded by Sean Porn and a self proclaimed ‘son of a farmer’ on a chance meeting. Both felt that there was a lack of “decent contemporary cultural offerings” in or around Canterbury and took the opportunity to resolve this dilemma.
Ideas were swapped, numbers were exchanged on the back of a cigarette packet and imminent plans to create the festival began. The festival’s capacity admits just 5000 people, which invokes a friendly and intimate atmosphere, and organiser Matt Gough says the personable feeling of the festival gives it more of a “pumped up village kind of feel.” Representatives from the UK Festival Awards say that it is “all about the creative programming and strength in depth”, of how a festival uses their resources to balance their line-up. Food plays an integral part to the weekend; Lounge on the Farm is becoming increasingly renowned for the quality of its cuisine, with most food ingredients being sourced locally within a 20 mile radius. Game pies, Kentish hog roast and the festival’s own cider feature on the menu, and the festival even offered lessons in how to forage from the countryside.
Ben Rowan The stage was set at Eton’s Dorney Lake on Sunday 22nd November, with the Women’s 1st IV and Men’s 2nd IV competing in Marlow’s Four’s and Pair’s Head. With a win in both the Women’s and Men’s Novice cat-
egories, it proved to all competitors that Kent Rowing Club is a force to be reckoned with. However, despite Kent’s success, Dorney Lake pushed each athlete to their absolute limits. The weather conditions were exacerbated by Dorney’s lack of cover and allowed the wind to play a vicious game with the
athletes. Coxes had to be on full alert as the torrential downpour of rain made steering the 1900m course much more difficult. Kent, however, refused to be intimidated, and with a final recap of the race plan they were ready to go. The Women’s 1st IV, made up of Sarah Fish, Alice Mason, Briony Rose and Antonia Gerlach, were
Join us at trampolining club for a bounce Chani Walter The Trampoline Team is quite an unheard of club at Kent, but we are also an active, friendly and open one! We are not a constricted ‘Team’ as such, as we will train up and take anyone who wants to compete with us, we compete in BUCS as well as our less serious, University-wide competitions all around the country, including Manchester, Bristol and Southampton, as well as Varsity which is held at our club for those who don’t fancy going away to compete. Levels range from novice to elite, so whether you are an absolute ‘never-been-on-a-trampoline’ beginner, or a ‘learnt-to-bouncebefore-I-could-walk’ elite, there is something for everyone!
We welcome people of every age, ability and gender, and with the recent addition of fantastic, brand new equipment, including our rig, matting and 2 of the 4 trampolines, its a great way to enjoy a fantastic workout, meet new people and have a laugh with friends, as well a learning a few skills along the way. We also train our coaches out of our enthusiastic members in order to keep the club in the hands of the students, and have frequent socials which are as energetic as the club sessions and bring members together. Oh, and we also like to dress up a bit! Everyone ‘makes the team’ at our club, so please come along and see what we are all about. Our club sessions are Wednesdays 7
until 9.30pm and Saturdays 2 until 5pm in the Small Sports Hall. For further information, contact co-captains Chani at cw262 or Sophie at sr268.
Cecile Graat
Amelia Cox
the first of the Kent crews to set off. Coxed by Cat Pateman, the women didn’t get the start they wanted. ‘I thought it was all over before it had even started’ commented Women’s Captain and Stroke, Sarah Fish. ‘We were just being blown in to the bank’. Forcing themselves to adapt their technique so they could row through the difficult conditions, the women received a boost at the 1000m mark as they realised they were gaining time on the crew in front. With motivational cheers from the crowd, the women pushed on and put down a very impressive time of 9 minutes 43 seconds, beating 2nd place Sir William Perkins School by a remarkable 12 seconds. Now it was the task of the Men’s 2nd IV, coxed by Jen Fisher, to bring home a similar result. Made up of Ben Rowan, Mark Humphreys, Tom Davies and Ash Roberts, the men’s crew were more than ready for the occasion. Training had been intense up to the race, with the men squeezing in extra water outings in anticipation of Marlow Head. But, within 100m of the race,
the crew struck disaster as the two strokeside oarsmen were dragged down as a result of a collision with the buoys. Fighting to stay in the race, Jen Fisher’s calming influence in the cox seat kept the boys focused on the job in hand, as they battled on with the strong waves and headwind. With a few pushes, the men’s crew were back in contention, putting down a time of 7 minutes 30 and beating rivals such as Exeter University and Medway Town Boat Club. The Chairman of Kent Rowing Club, James Cooper, commented on the wins; “It’s a great day to learn that one crew has won, but it certainly made my day when both crews came home with a victory.” Both crews were clearly elated on receiving their medals. Two man, Tom Davies, said that he felt like “dropping to his knees” when he received his prize. The season is shaping up nicely for Kent Rowing Club. After winning the 52km Boston Marathon in September and their success at Marlow, the club is looking stronger than ever. Let’s hope this success is not short lived. Find out more at www.kentrowing.co.uk
Belsham on course for seniors tour Sally Gower Mark Belsham, a golfing enthusiast and professional teacher of the sport from Sholden, Kent, has earned himself a place on the European Seniors Tour to take place next year, having qualified in Portugal earlier this month. Belsham finished seventh in the 72-hole tournament at the enticingly plush Vale da Pinta course on the Algarve. The Kent golfer strode home impressive scores of 73, 72, 67 and 67 for a five-under-par total of 279, a mere seven shots behind the tournament’s winner, John Harrison, also from England. He said of the qualification: “I’m over the moon - and quite surprised! The key round was the
third round, when I moved quite a long way up the field with my 67.” The PGA Seniors Tour, which runs through to next year, has expanded in recent years. The latest winners included household names such as, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance and Mark James. The rather aesthetically pleasing 18-hole course at the Portuguese resort is now 8 times consecutive host of the European Tour Qualifying final. The top 20 participants of the tournament all earned themselves full membership of the noticeably remunerative European over-50s tour. The Vale da Pinta golf course is widely regarded as one of Europe’s top courses in terms of design. Belsham dedicated a special thank you to his caddie, Roy Smith, who “did a great job”.
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Labour MP Barry Sheerman calls students ‘lazy’ Last week Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman made claims that university students “don’t work hard enough”. Speaking in the House of Commons, Labour backbencher Sheerman criticised the language skills of British students, alleging that many gain degrees without learning to “speak or write English properly”. The National Union of Students argued against the comments, claiming that Sheerman is “out of touch”. Aaron Porter, the vice president of the N.U.S, suggested that Mr Sheerman should visit a university to “find out what life is really like”. He also went on to say that things have changed
since the 1960s, when Barry Sheerman was “lucky enough to receive a free education”. Since the introduction of top up fees in 2007, students have had to work harder than ever to stay financially afloat. Many feel that Sheerman, along with other MPs that voted for the increase in tuition fees, has helped contribute to the increasing financial pressure involved with higher education, consequently diverting students’ attention away from academia. As a result, there are now record numbers of students supporting themselves with part time jobs in addition to their loans. The outspoken MP revealed his approach to backbench politics in The Guardian stating: “If something is wrong, I tell the leaders of the labour party, give them a good kicking.”
Sheerman’s tactics became apparent as his views on students came to light last week, when ministers launched a full scale review on student finance. Many believe this could be a precursor for the introduction of even higher tuition fees, which could see prices rising to a possible £7000 per year. Speaking in response to the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, he suggested that “we make sure students work a bit harder” as they “don’t at this moment”. Although critical of many students’ work ethic, Barry Sheerman claims to be a firm believer in the merits of a university degree. Speaking to the minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, David Lammy, Mr Sheerman asked for a continued commitment to Higher Educa-
tion spending and said that universities are an “absolutely vital resource” for our economy. However, he continued to voice further concerns, asserting that many potential university students are not “suitably qualified” to undertake a degree. David Lammy declined to comment on last week’s controversial outburst. Richard Franklin, a third year Multimedia Technology & Design student at the University of Kent, thinks that Barry Sheerman’s comments are unjustified. “I can’t speak for everyone but I work really hard most of the time. Does he really think we just sit around?” Stu Brown, a third year Philosophy student, also felt Sheerman overstepped the mark. “I understand that he wants British students to be well
trained coming out of university but I think we are more than put through our paces here at Kent.”
Daily Mail
Ben Rowan
Remains found under Marlowe Theatre Recent excavations on the site of the Marlowe theatre have uncovered extensive evidence of a Roman house. The building was recently discovered by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT), and it is strongly suggested that the remains may be of a townhouse belonging to a rich Roman citizen, dating from some time in the second or third century AD. The project, led by archaeologist Jon Rady, has been running intermittently since 2008, prior to and during the construction of the new theatre. Mr Rady spoke to InQuire reporters about the nature of the building: “This excavation has been the first chance to explore the archaeology in the northern end of Canterbury; it’s an area we know little about in the Roman period.” Previous excavations exploring Canterbury’s Roman heritage focused more on the southern areas of the city, particularly when the Time Team televised the ‘Big Dig’ excavation in Whitefriars and St.George’s street in 2000/01. Mr Rady further commented: “This is a significant find for Canterbury, it adds another bit
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to the picture. Especially in this part of the city, there are plenty of blanks that need to be filled.” This first excavation into uncharted territory has revealed the structural remains of five large rooms surrounding a courtyard. At least one room possessed an under floor heating system, known as a hypocaust, and the tile stacks which supported its suspended floor survive in the far north corner of the site. However, little evidence exists that can shed light on the inhabitants: “The problem is that buildings like this would have been kept quite clean,” explained Mr Rady. Nevertheless, the water-logged ground has led to the preservation of artefacts made from organic materials which do not usually survive. These include the remains of a Roman leather shoe and a wooden platter from one of the medieval pits, as well as three coins dat-
ing from the Claudian period. Also found were pieces of highly decorated plaster and scattered pieces of mosaic, or tesserae, which suggest the inhabitants were wealthy enough to have afforded expensive embellishments such as these. The site remained water-logged due to the building’s location, which is immediately adjacent to the branch of the River Stour that flows through the centre of Canterbury. However, the building itself appears to have been constructed on an area of higher ground within the floodplain. The local perception of news concerning Canterbury’s historical heritage appears to be mixed. Robert Matthews, 27, a local book shop owner, commented on the recent discoveries: “It shows that Canterbury is still a significant Roman site. I find it interesting, yes, but I think I’m one of the few people that do.”
John Rady
John Rady
Rebecca Bright and William Reed
Enter tainment 19
6 Comment Carnage Pub crawl CARNAGE! Carnage has provoked a lot of criticism for the antics that students got up to when they took to the streets of Canterbury. The public along with city councillors raised concerns of ‘swearing’, ‘shouting’ and ‘drunkenness’ in the High Street and claimed that as a result students are encouraged to drink excessively. But what is Carnage really about? Does it pressure students in to antisocial behaviour or is it a way of making new friends and exploring the city like never before? Carnage pub crawl trailed to The Foundry, Beer Cart Arms, The Loft, Aubrey’s and finally Chill. With 600 students, 32 stewards and six Carnage staff it made for a good night. Not everyone was happy as Councillor Nick Eden-Green explained: “Why should we all as council tax-payers have to pay to keep order?” There were also claims that the subway at St Georges Place linking the High Street and Chill ‘had clearly been used as a urinal’ by the students and that noise levels were excessive. Despite this wave of criticism, Canterbury Police were not called at any point. Monitoring Carnage nights does not cost the council extra money as it falls within the regular working hours of licensing officers. Taxpayers are safe! And to be honest, when does the subway at St Georges not smell of urine? I don’t think you can blame that one solely on the students. Carnage is a great way of socialising with a wide variety of people, allowing students to mix with people outside their course and outside their corridor. It provides an especially important function for those new to the University who are able to explore our great historic town in a safe and controlled way. For £10 this is a small price to pay. We should always encourage Freshers to be outgoing. Students are no more rowdy than a bunch of louts out on a Friday night. So next time councillors, if you want to come along and see what we really get up to, all you have to do is ask! Ben Rowan
What is the real truth about loving your body? Nick Batley Kent Union hosted what it optimistically called “Love Your Body” week, which as far as I could tell consisted of handing out condoms and testing for chlamydia. What they admirably wanted to promote was sexual health awareness and a general goodfeeling about one’s own body. The message got lost in translation. Students are unlikely to partake in anything unless dragged kicking and screaming to such events. Whilst it is, of course, a serious issue, sexual health awareness has been done to death and the more worrying, (but underplayed) factor of body awareness is the growing problem of body image. There has never really been as much pressure for people to conform to what are generally unattainable ideals as there is now, and this is something that applies not to just women, but men also. Travelling on the Underground, I see wall posters inviting women to cut themselves up in the name of ‘beauty’. I see magazines with gratuitously breasted girls and
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men with ridiculously sticky-out six-packs. There is of course the whole ‘size zero’ debate, unlikely to be helped by Kate Moss saying that she lives by the motto “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, a slogan emblazoned across many pro-ana sites, who’ve managed to confuse the psychological disorder anorexia nervosa with a lifestyle choice. All this has caused a backlash against anyone remotely thin, even those who are naturally so, and altogether, no one quite knows what they’re supposed to look like. It’s easy to say that you’re not influenced by what the current social climate dictates you should do or what you should look like, but it is a lot more difficult to actually live by that. Yes, we all have those little things that we wish could be improved, but there is no need to go on a crash diet or for a doctor to cut you up and replace your skin with silicon. There is a huge backlash against
both extremes, with the government demonising the overweight, and the general public demonising anyone who dares to be thin. Perhaps this is what “Love Your Body” should have concentrated on. The idea was admirable, but it was aimed at the wrong cause. It should have been more about teaching people to feel more comfortable with the body they were given. Some people are designed to be skinny; some people are designed to be curvy. Chances are that you’re perfectly fine the way you are. Demonising people for being a certain shape is heart-
less and ultimately dangerous. As the pop superstar singer Christina Aguilera unrelentingly sings in one of her chart busters, “we are beautiful, no matter what they say”, and whilst eating disorders are a complex field, a field which my psychologystudying friend could probably write twice as much on, ‘bitchiness’ is sometimes a contributory factor, and is ultimately a pointless, damaging and dangerous activity. Once you learn to love yourself, you won’t need to hate others anymore and no longer will words bring us down.
“Encouraging young people to sit on their rear-ends all day, engaged in idle and occasionally dangerous fantasies”. Of course, this sounds like anger against computer games... Actually it’s a nineteenth century complaint about the rise of the novel in public discourse. This is the parody that defenders of the gaming world often reach towards. Any politician or other public figure who decries the pixelated playthings of generation Y as violent, subversive or desensitising is just another old fogey, trying to attack a medium they don’t really understand or appreciate. Of course, there is some truth in this. The vast majority of computer game critics have not actually played these games themselves. Many of them are also the kind of people who probably some fifty years ago would have listened to the Beatles and shrugged off their parent’s protestations at
the music’s lack of sophistication as simply down to their being ‘past it’, ‘out of touch’, or just ‘old’. What I am getting at is that every generation has its own pet habits and loves. Ours happen to be computer games. Labour MP Keith Vaz has raised concerns regarding the Actionvision published, Infinity Ward developed first person shooter ‘Call of duty: Modern Warfare 2’. He said he was “absolutely shocked” by the level of violence that the game involved. The gaming community has responded with a defence of this scene, claiming that it has been altered so that the level in question is optional and can be skipped. They also point out that it is highly integral to the plot of the game, and is not done as senseless violence in any way. Neither of these defences are entirely convincing. If they were willing to make it optional, it can’t have been that important to the game’s plot. Marketing this as a game, suggests the people
Vanessa J Richards Fancy a night of low-brow clubbing? But you’re bored of the monotony that is instilled in local club events?! Well, dust off your stilettos for the night that is rumoured to going to be “totally awesome”, “hot” and “insane” (says almighty Facebook). Set for Tuesday, the 8th of December, the Big Night Out Company teams up with The Prince’s Trust, inviting you to Chill’s dancefloor and go “BoNkeRs” for charity. This one-off event is sure to set the bar for a great month of festive partying – and all in the name of a good cause. All profits from the night go straight to the Prince’s Trust, the charity that was founded in 1976 by the Prince of Wales which helps young people in need, such as those who are unemployed, underachievers, leaving care, young offenders or ex-offenders. The charity has several programmes to aid these young people to get (back) on their feet through training, skill building, business loans etc.
Tuesday 8th Dec Clubbers can expect a great quality music mix consisting of all chart mash-ups, club anthems, dance, electro, R’n’B, indie and classic student anthems – per-
fection on the turntables, we say. Naturally there will also be several drink offers on the night, for instance bottles of Becks (£1.50) as well as £1.50 bargains on
Vodka, Malibu etc. and mixers. All you need to do is buy a Facebook T-shirt for £6 from one of the following contacts, which will entitle you to free entry and free queue jump into Chill nightclub on the night. Customise your shirts in style of your Facebook profile with your name, , status and ‘about me’ and you are good to go! You can buy shirts by contacting The Big Night Out Company with your name and amount of t-shirts needed (bonkers@thebignightoutcompany.co.uk) or by looking out for the reps selling t-shirts on campus. Further details on contact information can be found online at the event’s facebook site. Head to The Thomas Ingoldsby Wetherspoons for a warm-up from 8:30pm onwards and enjoy the exclusive new cocktail “The Prince’s Trust” – available for one night only – and then carry on down to Chill for the main event. Your support helps our university’s PT team in the nationwide fundraising challenge against all other universities. Raising the roof is rarely so charitable and rewarding.
For more information, full listings or booking please call 01227 769075 or visit www.kent. ac.uk/gulbenkian. Highlights Saturday 12- Thursday 17 Dec 2pm: Strangeface: A Christmas Carol presents an extraordinary adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas ghost story. Eccentric masks, wild puppets, and a magical set combine to create an entrancing brew. Tickets £13 Saturday 19 Dec 7:45pm: Ben Mills: Christmas Concert-Ben Mills, fresh from the release of his new single Freedom takes to the stage with his new band to put on a jaw dropping musical show. Tickets £12.50
g For more information, full listings or booking please call 01227 769075 or visit www.kent. ac.uk/gulbenkian. Highlights h director d Mon 7 Dec: Thirst. A vampire film as only the of Oldboy could deliver, featuring a self-sacrificing, bloodsucking priest with an equal craving for flesh and blood. Co-winner of the 2009 Cannes Jury Prize. Fri 11- Mon 14 Dec: The Men Who Stare at Goats. A journalist thinks he’s uncovered the story when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit. Based on the book by Jon Ronson. Cheap nights for both available, please see programme.
A defaced billboard on the London Underground
Modern Warfare 2: The novelty of computer games Michael Trimmer
Bonkers at Chill in aid of The Prince’s Trust
who designed it imagined that this sort of behaviour would be some kind of entertainment. The idea of massacring civilians at an airport being ‘entertainment’ to me seems somewhat…wrong. This furore comes a few years after a court case in the US where a group of disgruntled parents fought and won against ‘Rockstar games’ the purveyors of the “Grand Theft Auto” series, after it became clear that a scene of gratuitous sex with prostitutes was available to be viewed in the source code of GTA: San Andreas with just a fairly simple code adjustment.. What happens here isn’t much worse than that which we see in films like ‘Trainspotting’ or ‘Bad Boys 2’ and yet there is no similar moral outcry there. However, as an entertainment form the film is significantly different to the video game. In a game, you are invited to participate in simulated versions of the events. In film, you are simply invited to watch. There is a big difference between
observation and participation. As someone who has felled my fair share of the Covenant forces in Halo and laid waste to many cities and villages in Age of Empires, I too am implicated in the violence in computer games. But as is fairly plain for anyone to see, it is not violence itself that is the issue, but the nature of the violence. Violence is part of the human condition, and the idea that all violent computer games are somehow a negative influence is wrong. Evidence repeatedly shows that computer games act as a useful vent for aggressive energy, which might otherwise find a more destructive outlet. No one is seriously suggesting that those who play this game will then proceed to unleash violence. What is being suggested however is that maybe we should look more closely at what kinds of violence we’re glorifying and enjoying, and whether or not the idea of getting entertainment from these things isn’t somehow strangely perverse.
Monday mic night, Tuesday bluesday and more An overview of Canterbury’s favourite student music club Conrad Ash As bohemian as it gets, Orange Street Music Club is one of the most popular nights out available in Canterbury, and is definitely the kind of place your parents warned you about when you became a student. This is a place where you can find any form of entertainment, from stand-up comedy, to open mic nights, art exhibitions, and every type of music you’ve heard of (and maybe some you haven’t!). Iconic portraits of rockstars and screen legends line the walls of the genre- spanning venue, giving it a cult cool atmosphere and slipping you into the perfect mood. Chairs and sofas ring the stage, the central essence of the club, where you’ll see singers, DJs, magicians, and more. If you really need to take your head somewhere else after a hard day’s studying, Orange Street is the place to go. You can en-
7 days a week joy chilled out drinks, and drift off with smooth musical stylings or even use it as a starting place for a well tuned night out! One of the most popular nights of this vintage venue is Bluesday Tuesday, which, as you can guess, is on every Tuesday night. Bands, sometimes called up professionally (or sometimes just a rabble of local chaps), jazz out on stage with saxophone solos you can get lost in, or, if you prefer, just provide accompaniment to your social evening depending on how close you seat yourself to the action. You’re likely to see a few familiar faces up there, with some of the more musically-inclined UoK students often jamming out – a thing anyone with the passion for music is invited to do. Of course, these musicians are only human, and will take breaks throughout the act, allowing you to
head on over to the well-stocked bar to get the next round in. Open every night from 7 till late, Orange Street Music Club offers you a unique smorgasbord of musical talent, and you can find out what plays on what days via their
website (www.orangestreetmusic.com) They offer private evenings, and can also get you on stage if you’re an aspiring singer/ musician, so get in touch with them! Being local, it can be much easier to just go there and see what
all the well earned fuss is about and have a chat with someone – the place is located snugly between Marlowe Theatre and Canterbury Cathedral, on the same road as Bramley’s and the Seven Stars pub, at 15 Orange Street.
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InQuirer on
18 Enter tainment The delicious debut of the “Dobster” that-girl-who-plays-Dobby. She is in fact an actress, singer, guitarist, accordionist, composer, writer and at still just 31, an increasingly acclaimed stand-up comic. Refining such abilities may have sadly left her little time for dating via the World of Warcraft (the medium Dobby is likely to indulge in), but so as not to detract from her inherent oddness she is quick to remind interviewers she did grow up playing in graveyards (see her selfdeveloped art of ‘echo singing’). Raised in Derbyshire, Isy eventually attended Drama School yet soon decided to steer towards a music career performing in a progressive-rock group. Her inability to take herself or her musical subject matter as seriously as her peers, preferring topics such as a love affair with a fry-up to break ups and suicide, meant she realised comedy was the route for her. Whilst concentrating on
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Dobby, ‘the Dobster’... it’s difficult to disassociate her from this inimitable character. Yet the star of the cult TV hit Peep Show is commanding just that as she sheds her shell of office-geek to warm us with an evening of weird and twisted musical comedy on a Canterbury winter’s night this month. Isy Suttie, as she’s still known in most three-dimensional circles, can be seen performing alongside fellow comics Joey Page and Shazia Mirza at The Orange Street Music Club on the 9th December at 8.30 pm. Isy has achieved widespread recognition in her role as the unfortunate target of Mark Corrigann’s mission to find ‘the one’ in the last two series of Peep Show. However, playing a character she confesses to be very much like herself seems to be a poor representation of this woman’s multifaceted talent. Her past endeavours and own refreshing brand of comedy show she’s more than just
Wednesday 9th Dec
music she won The Telegraph’s Young Jazz Competition and composed music for the Arcola Theatre in London. More recently, her self-effacing comic charm has lead her to be nominated for best Newcomer awards at the 2005 Chortle Awards for standup and the 2008 British Comedy awards for her portrayal of Dobby. To her further credit she’s been hailed as the next Victoria Wood. This is an acclaim we are to be assured has firmer grounds than their both having a similarly sunny, Northern disposition. Expect to see her full repertoire in this tour as she narrates abstract, fantastical tales and adopts personas as obscure as ‘Amy Winehouse if she were trapped in a well’ all through the medium of song. At just £6, such an economically-friendly opportunity to catch TV’s ‘geek pin-up’ as she tackles the mundane, ludicrous and even the somewhat tragic with her unique brand of comedy is surely not one to be missed. Tickets are available from Orange Street Music Club
Isy Suttie onstage
Top events of the fortnight... Wednesday 2nd
Saturday 5th
Saturday 12th
Emily Yates
Kerry Stanley
Comment 7
The Kreme of Kent Anna Maysey Kent has a large collection of excellent bands and artists, and one of the many showcases for student talent comes in the form of the Gulbenkian Theatre and Cinema’s Kentish Kreme event. From the likes of Mick Jagger and Joss Stone come four bands and three acoustic sets carefully selected to take the stage; Luke Jackson, Kayley Weller, Belleville, Jo Hook, Syd Arthur, Motion Picture Soundtrack and Electric River. Event organiser, Dudley Ross of Chrome Note Music Production says “Kentish Kreme is a great opportunity to see some local talent, which will hopefully one day become a huge international force in the music industry. To hear some of the acts, please visit: www. my s p ac e .c om/c h r ome note .” To give you just an idea of the talent that will be playing at Kentish Kreme, take this into consideration: Luke Jackson is fifteen. As in, at least three years younger than most of us. He’s been making a name for himself and has gigs lined up all over England and has opened for some great Roots artists such as Martyn Joseph, Rachel Harrington, Cathryn Craig and Brian Willougby.
Friday 4th Dec Female fronted Belleville take influences from Beth Orton to Sigur Ros to Coldplay and all points in between. The band has made appearances at the Canterbury Festival Fringe and Lounge on the Farm and were also finalists in Kent TV’s recent SoundClash 2009 Competition, no mean feat. Electric River, another band also appearing, is currently in discussion with Sony Columbia and their future is looking very bright. “This Kent Based Quartet dish up three punk infused gems in the spirit of Rancid and The Clash…We reckon it won’t take long for this lot to get a deal.” say Rock Sound Magazine. Tickets are £10 from the Gulbenkian and it all takes place on December 4th at 7.45pm.
Belleville
for more, visit: www.inquirelive.co.uk Tuesday 15th
TA Carol Service
RAG Snow Ball
Traffic Light Party
Festive Frolic
The bi-annual carol service by the Cathedral choir with a collection for the Army Benevolent Fund.
The annual Winter Ball will be held both in the Venue and in a marquee outside with a band and DJ, drinks deals and formal dress.
The ultimate mingling party with Flirt! at the Venue; a perfect opportunity to meet new people or just have a laugh with your friends
‘The Ultimate Christmas party’ at the Venue; all the usual good music and drinks, with a hint of Christmas cheer…
Tickets from Cathedral
Tickets £15, from Extras
£4 Entry
Ticketed, £5
Friday 18th The Inbetweeners School Disco The last party of the term with an appearance from Jay, cheesy pop and uniform. £4 Entry
THE ESSAY: London is not England, it’s London
L
ondon is not England, it’s London. My Zimbabwean novelist friend Brian Chikwava dubbed it Harare North. Gautam Malkani, an author originally from Pakistan, called it Londonstani. The oddity of meeting actual English people in this city makes it a country of its own. There are all sorts of different people doing different things. Maybe there are some English people around somewhere, but their social capital certainly isn’t very high. Since medieval times immigrants have comprised up to 10% of London’s population, but until World War II these foreigners were overwhelmingly European. In the last half-century, however, Britain has opened its doors to refugees and workers from Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. Today, nearly half of Britain’s “ethnic minorities” live in London and they represent a quarter of the city’s population. In London the city is visibly connected internationally by the legacy of Empire, but these days England is too small of a state to overwhelm people’s agendas. The short is that the city looks outward and provides opportunities in security and politics
Tinashe Mushakavanhu discusses the oddities of London. Is
London just another cosmopolitan European capital or an an entire country of its own, or both? Read on and find out. that no other city in the world can. London has been called a ‘world in one city’ and that’s not just empty rhetoric. Immigrants are the city’s life blood and continue to flow in and contribute their energy and cultures to the capital’s already spicy melting pot. In neighborhoods like Brick Lane, made famous by the writer Monica Ali’s award-winning novel of the same name, immigrants are challenging traditional notions of what it means to be British. Bangladeshi men pray at local mosques. Women in saris buy halal meat. New wave Indian restaurants, fashion boutiques and dance venues cater to the urban chic. London nevertheless feels quintessentially English – boxy black cabs, the red double deckers or those grand symbols of Britain – the mother of all parliaments at Westminster, the silhouette of Tower Bridge above the muddy Thames or the already world-famous Lon-
don Eye, barely a decade old. The unknown isn’t only the spin; in a way it is the wheel itself, especially here in London, where I walk through those streets that shelter all those houses that house all those shops and pubs and cafés. What next? You ask. Where to go from there? St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. James’s Palace, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace? But none of this is the real London. The city is not just a collection of sights or a museum of history and architecture. London is a pub. Official figures from London First Centre estimate there to be over 5,000 pubs, and 12,000 restaurants in the city. It is to be found in between the pubs spread across the cityscape. Coach & Horses. King’s Head & Eight Bells. The Moon & Six Pence. Some souls have spent half their lives here. Some souls still live here. Ta-
bles turning, lifelines crossing. The bricks of those old houses, made of stone, made of stories. Sit and have a pint to listen, sit and be moved by the hands of time, sit and reach out for Michael Jackson’s Neverland. I have learnt that travelling isn’t so much about the places most of the time, as a place is always defined by its people and it is the people you always remember. Different people, for different reasons, at different times, in different moments. There is no way to list them or to arrange them in a tour. The travel guides make us believe London is like a loose woman easy to caress and possess. They concentrate on her beautiful spots for commercial gain. Big Ben. Madame Tussauds. Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace. Houses of Commons. All these places. Just names on a map. They aren’t alive. They haven’t the answers.
The answers? Well, maybe London can’t be put in words anyway. Maybe it rather be found in between the lines of a poem. In the reflections of an Impressionist painting. In the rhythm of an Underground train interrupted by the auto-pilot voice that always tell you to mind the gap. London is those moments you can’t really capture, those moods you can’t really hold on to, those memories that only make sense to you and to no one else. It is exactly those memories, those personal pieces of your past that form a path into a different kind of present. One that is not so much about the next corner or the last corner. One that is not so much about the answers and the questions. One that is more about the sound of thoughts. About the colour of feelings that drift through the corridors of your life like clouds. About the lost moments. Their shadows obscure the view. They hide the door that leads into the room you search for. The one that leads outside and inside. The one that is opening to a place you don’t know the direction of. The one that has no name, and thus is so hard to come across. London is the city in your heart.
One big issue
Enter tainment 17
• One billion people in the
What is it that you Crave? Georgina Evenden
• 1.8 million of these deaths
One great success story
are children under 10 years old.
• Without fresh, clean water
• One Water has donated over £3 million.
children cannot go to school to get an education. Instead they spend their days walking for us to five hours to collect often dirty drinking water.
• Funded 400 PlayPump water systems. • Directly improved the lives of over 600,000 in a sustainable manner.
One fantastic solution • Simply buying One water makes a difference; all our profits fund sustainable roundabout powered PlayPumps water systems.
• As children play on the roundabout fresh, clean water is pumped up for use by the community.
• Giving children back the time to go For more information about One water, please email sales@global-ethics.com Helping to bring clean, free water to children in Africa. Join the One Campaign www.onedifference.org
to school.
Thurs 26th-Sat 28th every day. The 90’s ‘In-Yer-Face’ movement, a term describing some of Kane’s earlier plays was exactly what it says on the tin. In this production the ‘shocking’ aspects are weak and unsuccessful; the nudity is not fully nude, the violence is not disturbing and the sexuality is little more than kissing. What’s more, for Kane, Crave was a conscious step away from the usual brutality of her other plays; the brutality is in the words. Kane’s choice of four characters, thrown out of context and ambiguously named C, M, B and A, were aptly presented in T:24’s production with ageless and timeless characters, complimented by the simplistic staging. However, the concept of one voice (Kane’s own) coming through these four physical embodiments in order to illustrate a powerful sense of the fragmented self was lost through the choice to pay intricate attention to the
Hands On Yoga Introduction Day@ Sivanda Yoga Centre, Putney Bridge
little narrative Kane hints at. The idea of bringing ‘humour’ does not communicate, nor seem fitting to a play which is meant to evoke a deep and unnerving sense of loss; loss of hope, loss of control and perhaps most importantly a loss of self. The references to death are hypnotic in the rich poetry of the language, however, some of the more tender speeches, particularly the love speech written for character A, are lost in insensitive emo-
Laura Ewing T:24, UoK’s acclaimed drama society, are set to present their new and original play “Snapshots of Young Love” at the start of December. The play is written and directed by creative writing student Hannah Lloyd, and is a piece aimed to depict six unusual love stories of a colourful group of different characters. As the first play she has written (having written mainly poetry beforehand), it is set to be impressive and captivating, but also a personal triumph for Hannah,
Thurs 3rd-Sat 5th “I’ve just always wanted to a write a play for T:24, a play for and by students and one day I sat down and did. There’s a lot of me in the characters, though, and similarly the actors have been really great at putting themselves in the characters and tailoring them to fit so for everyone it’s quite a personal play.” It will run from Thursday 3rd December until Saturday 5th December in Woolf Seminar Room 6, commencing at 7.45pm each night. Tickets are £4 or
£3.50 for T:24 members (if you have a valid membership card). Cast member Hannah Fox and her fellow actors have had a fulfilling experience throughout rehearsals and hope that the passion and poignancy will continue throughout the performances. “I think that the cast don’t get bored of it, and that’s the sign of a good play! I think everyone should take time out of their busy student schedule to come and watch it.” She explains that despite many gruelling rehearsals parts of the play are still moving and silence the people watching, in particular one monologue by a leading character that needs to be seen!
• Advertising on storage tank panels provides revenue for regular maintenance.
• All sites are tested prior to installation to ensure water quality and availability.
• A simple idea that is changing the lives
tion. At times the acting forgives this, at others the emotion seems unjustified. Furthermore, it is unclear as to what the role of the spectator is and the relevance of it as sometimes we are addressed and others ignored. The company achieve a sense of loss of hope through the notion of abusive love, however fail to communicate to the audience as an ensemble, thereby destroying the concept of self-fragmentation, the main objective of Kane.
The course of young love ne’er did run smooth
Hannah Lloyd
H ow you can help?
Four characters and an audience share a dim intimate closed space; an adequate arrangement for the raw and painful writing of Sarah Kane. Sex, violence and highly strung emotions are amongst the force of this play with temperamental but often inspiring moments of post-modern drama. The company achieved the demanding actor requirements, only letting their energy slip momentarily and the director chose interesting dramatic techniques to accomplish the all important rhythm of the writing. However, one has to question the choice of play in relevance to the format it is presented. Seeking to ‘shock, stimulate and most importantly bring humour to a truly dark experience’ somewhat distils the nature of the poetic language, and the personal elements of the text. In a culture such as our own, it becomes difficult to shock an audience who regularly view shocking stimuli
London’s Calling
Hannah Lloyd
world don t have access to clean water and each year two million die as a result.
of hundreds of thousands of people. Snapshots of a Young Love
Lloyd adds her opinion that the themes of the play should appeal to UoK students, “It’s all about identity, finding and defining yourself something which is prevalent when you start university. It’s also created by and set amongst students so the world is instantly recognisable” Some excerpts from the play sum up each character’s story. “I want caviar and quails eggs and excitement.” “I want to see the world and be a part of something.” “I want to come without having to bookend it with the words “I love you”.” “I want to sleep with someone I don’t particularly like.” “Well tough, we’re having tuna pasta.” Each character has a enthralling story to tell the audience. Rose is frustrated, Emma’s a home-wrecker, Jed’s new at the bar, Si and Kate are just friends, Evie is in pieces and Amelie doesn’t know who she is. Follow each story as the cluster of young people tries to find its way, and become enchanted with each with the help of a talented cast. From the honest to the uplifting this new work is not to be missed.
Try your hand (and legs, neck and shoulders) at Yoga with this free day of talks and classes in yoga postures and philosophy from the Sivananda Yoga Centre. Free admission.
Exhibition Launch!@HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast presents an exciting exhibition on the development and evolution of shipbuilding, from the Age of Sail to modern warships and cruise liners. Tickets £8.60 with Student ID
Film The BFI Film Quiz@BFI Imax Cafe Test your knowledge of film trivia from Bergman to Batman with this monthly quiz at the British Film Institute. Free popcorn! Entry £1 per player
Theatre Scouts in Bondage@ Kings Head Theatre, Islington Comedy in which a group of boy scouts on a flight to a jamboree in India crash land in the mountains of Afghanistan Tickets £12.50
Outdoors Ice Rinks in London Why not treat yourself and friends to a day of sliding on the ice at various locations around Central London (Canary Wharf, Hampstead Court Palace, and Somerset House amongst others)? Prices from £8 Gwen Wordingham
For more information on up an coming events check out the website at: www.inquirelive.co.uk
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS? The battle has begun. As Christmas is looming the game is on for who can produce the biggest moneymaker of the festive holidays. Forget mistletoe and wine, forget fires burning and stockings being hung. Christmas is never really here until the Coca-Cola advert is played and The Jackson Five’s rendition of ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ is being blasted in every department store from Lands End to John O’ Groats in five minute intervals. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a cynic and I love Christmas like Santa loves his sleigh, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s all a bit too much. What happened to the days when the prospect of Home Alone and turkey sandwiches was enough to keep things merry? New versions of old classics have everyone queuing around the cinema as though Jim Carey’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a completely original concept.
Deviant Art
Miranda Athanasiou
(Ghosts? On Christmas Eve, one can only imagine where they got such an idea). And yet perhaps, instead of looking at this as the commercial feast that Christmas may have transformed into, we should be proud that there is a means by which, we can flare children’s interests in old classics. If Charles Dickens work has survived long enough to be produced in 3D animation then
surely that’s reason enough to crack out the mince pies and celebrate. There was once a time (before X-Factor ruled the world) where the Christmas number one was a big deal and artists fought it out for the coveted top spot. But since Simon Cowell has hijacked that festive joy I suggest we return to the things that never fail: the classics, if you will. If you think the days
of sitting around an open fire playing ‘charades’ is dead then I must inform you, you are very much mistaken. Putting aside for a moment, the Eastender’s Christmas day special and the latest song released in honour of the holiday season, surely we can remember the true joys of Christmas? Wearing paper party hats, eating huge quantities of food and losing at Trivial Pursuit despite
having previously attempted to memorise all the answers. I am with the belief that Christmas is all about decorating the tree and spending hours wrapping presents perfectly, despite the fact your handy work will shortly end up crumpled on the floor alongside empty boxes and envelopes. Though (since Christmas seems like a good time for honesty) I must admit I am little partial to the commercialised festivities, and will likely spend much of December like every other lover of a good snow filled, Christmas fuelled movie: watching Love Actually for the twentieth time. If the commercial aspect of Christmas can seamlessly run along side all the traditions and help with the hype of Christmas then that would be much better. After all, these festivities only comes along once a year, and who knows, perhaps in fifty years Merry Madagascar will be the new holiday classic!
VIRAL MARKETING: a step too far? Laura Cullum
With the recent release of ‘2012’, the question has been asked whether viral marketing has gone too far. For many people, viral marketing is an unknown and therefore unnoticed advertising technique in which fictional events appear real and this is used most prominently, and more and more frequently, in the film industry. The most common way of using viral marketing for fi lms is through teaser trailers or posters which do not reveal the name of the film but hint what it will be about. This was used for the film ‘Cloverfield’ which released trailers and posters with the date of the film’s release but not the title. The effect of this is that people look out for the advertisements in order to eventually learn the title of the film. It seems the most successful attempts to a market a fi lm is to blur the lines between fiction and reality. The trouble comes when this is taken too far and ‘2012’ is a good example. Not only did the production company use
teaser trailers but they also used internet websites which appear to show a real threat to the welfare of the world. A website called the Institute for Human Continuity (IHC) was set up by Sony Pictures in conjunction with the film. This website has details on how to vote for a leader, post-2012, it offers survival kits and invites people to sign up to a lottery to be saved. These offers, along with statistics such as one stating there is a 94% chance of global destruction in 2012, are enough to send shivers down spines and start people worrying. And that is exactly what happened. NASA received thousands of queries from the worried public asking why nothing was being done to prevent the destruction of the world. A large number of these came from teenagers who said they would rather commit suicide than witness the end of Earth. NASA dealt with this by setting up their own website to deal with the influx of queries by answering questions and condemning the film producers for their handling of advertisements.
IQ AMERICA Find out why you should take your year abroad in the USA
ESCAPE AND EVADE ‘Three for a Fiver’ document their 50 hour experience
‘2012’ is not the only fi lm to have handled viral marketing badly and inappropriately. The popular comedy ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ used unbranded posters across the USA which said things like “You suck Sarah Marshall” and “My mother always hated you Sarah Marshall”, which is seemingly funny and harmless, unless your name happens to be Sarah Marshall. On the other hand, viral marketing can be very well used and therefore very
effective. For example, for the film, ‘Paranormal Activity’, producers used word of mouth and the internet to advertise the film that was made for only $15,000. The film was released on a limited scale to begin with and audiences were asked to “Tweet their screams”, in other words, they were asked to review the fi lm on social networking sites such as Twitter. All of the reviews were good, meaning lots of positive advertising for the fi lm for free, leading to the film being
released on a wider scale. This proves that viral marketing can work but when it is used to play on people’s fears and emotions we must ask the question; is this really the way to encourage people to see a film? Surely making people think the world could actually end in 2012 would put people off seeing a film about a disastrous event that is only two years away? Perhaps film makers should tone it down a bit and let fans speak for themselves.
BRITISH CULTURE Will it be affected by the up-coming election?
Escape and Evade...
IQ Review
(or, ‘How four boys and a charitable cause triumphed over bureaucracy, red tape and jobsworths... to some extent’) For the uninitiated, Escape and Evade is a charity event organised by Raise and Give at Kent Union involving teams of 3 or 4 attempting to travel as far away from Canterbury as possible, and back again, in 50 hours without spending any money on transport. In short, it is the ultimate “blagging” challenge in the name of Children In Need. Our team, christened Three For A Fiver (despite the fact that there were four of us), consisted of Charlie “Fluffy-Muffin” Hall, Jos “Ainsley” de Laat, Dan “Shnugglewumpkins” Reah and Ben “Wazzy-woowoo” Warnock. With our sights set firmly on Alaska, and with 300 man-points apiece resting on us getting abroad, we embarked upon our journey...
Thanks to the efforts made by various train companies, we eventually made it to London and then onwards to Gatwick. Unfortunately, it was apparently inconceivable that the UK’s second-biggest airport would run any flights before 6am, so it looked like we were going to be spending the night on a departure lounge floor. After two hours of the worst sleep we had ever had, or technically not had, we got up and discovered that none of the airlines could offer us anything anyway. Ambitions knocked, but still vaguely intact, we headed back into London and rethought our plans. Having decided that getting abroad might be a tad on the impossible side, we made our way to King’s Cross and chose a train destined for Edinburgh.
After this umpteenth setback, we decided that we needed a plan. And so we went to BHS for lowquality coffee and a wash. Having comprehensively adopted the tramp lifestyle, we realised that this plan wasn’t going to get us very far and so instead headed for the coach station. There, we discovered that in reality not everyone who works for public transport is a [insert vile expletive here]. The National Express coach driver couldn’t have been more obliging, and happily gave us all a lift back to the city which was rapidly becoming our second home, London. Having developed a grudging affection for fast food as part and parcel of this whole experience, we settled down to a mouth-watering KFC lunch. We departed feeling marginally fuller and considerably ill, and headed back to our old friend, the coach station. More than eager to spend several more hours of our lives in cramped conditions, we leapt at the opportunity of a five-hour coach journey to that most delectable of Northern cities, Leeds. Upon arrival, we were fortunate enough to have somewhere to stay in the form of an old friend’s student flat, which was a vast improvement on the limited accommodative capacity of Gatwick’s floor. After a positively regal dinner of Pot Noodles and pizza, we hit the hay but were kept awake by the rumbling snores of a certain Mr S. Wumpkins (a.k.a. Dan Reah). Rising at the crack of dawn (8:30am), we wrote a thank you message in fridge magnets to our gracious host and headed off through the bitter morning cold back towards Leeds Coach Station.
Our first port of call was Canterbury West, which turned out to be a resounding disaster. The station guards politely but firmly told us there was no way they could even let us on to the platform. Determined not to let this first minor incident become a major setback, we set off for Canterbury East where we were slightly more successful, in that we made it at least one stop along the line. The conductor arrived to the carriage where we were standing (so as to considerately not take seats from paying customers) and told us, that charity was absolutely no substitute for a valid ticket, and that we’d have to get off at the next stop. With an hour to wait on Selling station we did the only thing we could. We went to the pub.
After a nutritious and delicious Burger King breakfast we hopped aboard and hoped for the best. As had become characteristic for our team, our hopes were swiftly dashed by another miserable jobsworth conductor who, failing to identify our nationallyrecognised charity as legitimate, kicked us off at Peterborough and took our details for fining purposes. Overwhelmed by this show of immense generosity, and with the knowledge that our efforts had resulted in all charity events being blanket-banned from the whole East Coast train-line, we showed our gratitude in the form of a torrent of exotic names for various body parts muttered courageously under our breath.
this together with their Covers CD offer a great addition to those that like the more subtle ebb and flow of dance floor music with a grateful nod to the artists that preceded and no doubt inspired them. Sam Hall
MUSIC
8/10
WALE
NATURAL SELF
‘Attention Deficit’
‘My Heart Beats Like a Drum’
Wale fancies himself as the next great hope of the new generation but then every rapper promises to change the status quo. His album aims to cement himself a place as part of the new generation of emcees, but with an all-star, up and coming musical cast such as Chrisette Michelle, heavyweight producers like 9thWonder, and veterans like Bun B, expectations are high. Fortunately Wale doesn’t disappoint showing off his versatility on every inch of the CD. There are dark moments with “Contemplate” and the Cudi inspired “90210” which both hit hard and fun feel good moments
‘My Heart Beats Like a Drum’ is the latest album from Nathaniel Pearn, known by the stage name Natural Self. You’ll be hard pressed to find an adequate soundbite for this producers’ unique style. The subtle use of synths suggest elctronica, while the elegant jazz hooks suggest a retrospective angle upon a very soulful, yet contemporary, album. Harmonies resound upon instinctive and bold rhythms giving a unique texture; eloquent use of vocals doesn’t so much tell a story but add a mature backdrop to a very forward thinking artist and album.
The album is embedded with subtleties that while being complex and forever rewarding, offers rhythm and grooves that are addictive and alluring. This is another great addition to Tru Thoughts ever more established reputation for producing avantgarde soul and jazz. The label, now celebrating 10 years, have also bought out an anniversary double CD, fl aunting it’s unique yet somehow diverse and crosscollaborative array of artists and
with tracks such as “Beautiful Bliss”. There’s the nakedly emotional storytelling of “Shades” and “Diary” which contrasts with the cocky Wale evident in “Mirrors”, “TV in the radio” (even though K’naan overshadowed him on this track) and “Triumph”. In this varied album, there are also the playful girl crazed tracks that show off his distinct flow like the typically Neptunes ‘Let it Loose’ and “Pretty Girls” (with an out of place guest appearance by Gucci Mane) The raw skills and energy present in his mix tapes are missing and the album is a bit more generic but hip-hop does continue to take a creative downturn, and ‘Attention: Deficit’ is attempting to save it. It’s clear Wale has a purpose and he’s made a promise not to “stop until I get my respect.” Lailah Nesbitt-Ahmed
7.5/10
Good lord, naked people on MTV Nik Williams
Five hours later, we found ourselves back in the familiar surroundings of London Victoria, and after a commemoratively cheeky pint, we took our chances aboard the trains once more and began the final leg of our journey, back to Canterbury. We then discovered that some train guards do see the value of charity, and we were welcomed to travel back free of charge. With the end in sight, we assumed that the Unibus couldn’t possibly refuse us the ten-minute journey up to campus. Wrong again. So, we bravely strode up the heights of Eliot footpath and arrived at the Student Activities Centre cold, weary, but feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from our shoulders (our rucksacks). Now, though Leeds may seem like something of an underachievement, we later found out that we had come a respectable third place. However, what really matters is that we raised a decent amount of money for a fantastic cause, and we would definitely recommend Escape & Evade to anyone and everyone as a brilliant way to make a difference while having a laugh and gaining some great memories. Charlie Hall and Jos de Laat
Ok, there won’t be, do not change the channel and wait open mouthed in hope, it wont happen, there will be reruns of ‘The Simple Life’ or a chart of ‘songs with beetroot influences’ or something. But in the indie scene across the globe, notably in America and Iceland there is a growing trend to make music videos that won’t be allowed to be shown on MTV, let alone Youtube. I can see you now, slavering, pleading with me to tell you where to find this heady mix of music and flesh and the answer is, as always nowadays, very simple: the internet. Yes, music videos by artists such as Sigur Ros, The Flaming Lips, up-and-coming San Francisco band, Girls and most recently, Yeasayer have employed the naked form to illustrate their songs. In the world of scandals and the attached pixellated image of some heiress crawling out of a car, widelegged and the ever present weight of pornography, it is interesting how these bands have utilised this form to display music that wont grace any Radio 1 top ten or T4, but has garnered a large and emphatic following in the alternative music scene. It is difficult to say what the desired result will be. Do the bands want their videos to comment on the social status of nudity, a way
Sigur Ros employed Ryan McGinley to produce their album artwork
of throwing off the shackles of an overtly materialistic art form and society; is it a throw back to the nudity rife, pantless decade that was the sixties; is it a comment on the beauty of the naked body (our time’s Titian, perhaps); or is it simply a comment on the fact that all the actors on the day of shooting had their underpants eaten by coyotes? I cannot tell you the answer as it probably shifts depending on which band you talk to, but there are hints. For example the artwork for Sigur Ros’s album “með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust” was produced by NY artist, Ryan McGinley. Naked bodies frequent heavily in his catalogue of work and he has gained
a large following for his work that expresses the human form in situations or backdrops that conflict or corroborate the human form. This is evidently an artistic decision and for the other artists I have mentioned it is probably much the same. At the end of the day it illustrates a conscious decision by the band and the video director. Yeasayer’s video for ‘Ambling Alp’ is a surreal trip involving, mirror faced boxers, bodies rising out of yellow goo and yes, you can see the next words before I type them can’t you, naked men and females. Yeasayer’s music has always been heavily influenced by tribal rhythms and drum lines, echoing the more
naturalistic, perhaps, hedonistic, tendencies of the human condition and in this light it only seems natural that the human body is shown, full in flesh, void of clothes. In fact, why haven’t all of their videos displayed naked people? (Well perhaps it is only me that asks that.) The band Girls are riding a wave of rave critical reviews and are on the cusp of travelling to the UK for the first time in their next tour. Their choice concerning nudity is a very conscious one. The song ‘Lust For Life’ has been released with numerous different videos, each with a growing presence of nudity and sexualised references. Their use of the naked body is one that is sexualised, with a focus on the body as an instrument of desire instead of being purely aesthetical and this distances itself from any of the other bands I have commented on. What ever decision or motive each band suggests, it is a fresh approach to a medium that, for too long, has been hedged into a corner by artists flashing jewellery, fast cars, greasy dancers, million dollar mansions or perhaps just a live performance. These videos stick in the mind of the watcher, the same way a flasher at an uneventful football match may grab the headline instead of the game, and in that way it seems that it is a trend that could grow.
BREED 77 ‘Insects’ Some albums sound like someone’s turned round to the band and said “make another album”, and the musician has merely obliged because they’ve been instructed to do so and as a result felt nothing about the actual music they were making. However, “Insects” does not portray such ambivalence. It’s 100% pure passion and creativity from these masterminds of music. A great selection of songs from beginning to end, listeners will instantly be delighted right from the excitement and anticipation of the single, “Wake Up”, right through to the dulcet tones of their previous cover hit, “Zombie”, at the album’s finale. You can expect this unwavering ability to appeal in anything from this Gibraltarian band. All credit due to them too, as “fl amenco metal” can’t be the easiest genre to produce to such a level of talent and success. Their fifth album is probably their best work yet, and listeners will appreciate a blending of both English and Spanish influences throughout the EP, undeniably crafting an altogether new and even more appealing sound that fans will continue to rave about. This will be buzzing off the shelves at impressive rates that even a queen bee would marvel at. Sally Gower
9/10
Editor’s Playlist • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Yeasayer ‘Ambling Alp’ Beach House ‘Norway’ Grizzly Bear ‘Ready, Able’ Woods ‘The Dark’ Sigur Ros ‘Untitled # 1 (Vaka)’ Menomena ‘Rotten Hell’ Real Estate ‘Younger than Yesterday’ Local Natives ‘Camera Talk’ No Age ‘Losing Feeling’ Cryptacize ‘Galvanize’ Jessica Lea Mayfield ‘The One I Love Best’ Kurt Vile ‘Freeway’ The National ‘Secret Meeting’ Wye Oak ‘Warning’ Beirut ‘Elephant Gun’ St. Vincent ‘Marrow’ Stars ‘ Take Me To The Riot’
Britain’s cultural future in the balance:
NEWS IN How the up-coming election will affect British culture (Y-FRONT) BRIEFS It would be laughable to
The word on the street is Oreo
Andrew Hadley-Brown
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• • • • The election will affect both galleries, such as the Tate Modern, pictured above
classical arts. In 12 years of government, Labour has tried to expand the exposure of the young and grass roots of society to culture, sport, and other experiences that they may not otherwise make time for. Labour has made it compulsory for the young to have two hours sports and exercise in their weekly curriculum. In the next government, Labour plans to increase that to five hours a week for all those under 16. In tandem, Labour launched the ‘Find Your Talent scheme’, designed to offer school pupils five hours a week of access to music, artistic and cultural activities. A keynote of Labour’s plans for the next parliament is to maintain funding for the new UK Film Centre and the expansion of both the Tate Modern and the British Museum. Other than that it seems we can expect more of the same in a fourth term from Labour. Should we see a Conservative administration in Downing Street next May, the key focus of arts policy will be restructuring spending by the National Lottery. The Conservatives plan to resurrect the independence of the lottery with the aim of returning the £50-100m a year that Labour has siphoned into social projects that the Conservatives feel should come under the remit of the DMCS. The National Lottery money would not be organised by a centralised system, instead
it will be allocated to the arts councils around Britain that then make grants to individual projects. The Tories have made special mention of increased funding for the refurbishment of historic buildings around Britain that have seen their funding cut under Labour. There are also murmurings that they will change the tax system to encourage philanthropic practices towards the arts. The Conservatives seem committed to ensuring spending on the arts does not decrease under the next government, realising the arts contribution to the economy, but other than that rather vague pledge, there is little promise of more for the arts. The Liberal Democrats are positioned somewhere between these two feuding parties and as a result their policies are neither hard hitting nor distinct. Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems are pledging to reinstate the National Lottery’s independence in a hope that the funding for arts, through this body, will be distributed according to need and not according to the government’s decisions in London. As in many of their policies, their vision for culture and the arts is hinged on moving away from any other party. An example of this is how they oppose Labour’s plan to reduce the licensing fee as the Lib Dems believe that the fee is required to guarantee an independent
broadcasting service, wholly separate from governmental interference. As well as this, they remain sceptical about the government’s choice to focus cultural funding on the 2012 Olympics as it cuts spending to the arts, but at the same time they believe the Olympics will focus the country’s vision concerning sport, fitness and overall health. Both art and sport are funded by the DCMS so it will be interesting to see how they plan to balance this agenda. Saying that, they are displaying some policies that are sure to get the public behind them, such as their pledge to allow sports fans to review the coverage of sporting events on terrestrial TV to optimise the coverage and to ensure that the culture and sport industry is accountable to the public voice. In a parliament where most sectors will face cuts, it is the departments not responsible for front line services that will be the first to get the chop. After the booming noughties, the arts will face a tough next few years. As the nation is waiting for next May (at the latest) to come around it will always be interesting to see how heavily the cultural question will weigh on their decision when it comes to the ballot. It is always a worry that in the face of an economic slowdown, falling house prices and an unpopular war in Afghanistan that the policies surrounding culture, media, art and sport may be forgotten.
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Brian Eno is set to curate the Brighton festival with his work ‘77 Million Paintings’. Famed fi lm director, Roman Polanski is set to be moved to house arrest in a Swiss chalet. Stephen King is set to write a sequel to ‘The Shining’, focusing on a 40 year old Danny Torrance. ‘Wickerman’ Actor, Edward Woodward, died on November 16th. Carl Barat is set to make his stage debut, starring in ‘Fool for Love’. Canadian group, Arcade Fire, are set to release their third album in 2010. James Murphy, of LCD Soundsystem fame, is set to soundtrack the new Noah Baumbach fi lm, ‘Greenberg’. There is speculation that horror maestro, Wes Craven is returning to direct ‘Scream 4’. Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska are in talks to star in the new adaptation of ‘Jane Eyre’. Aging nineties band, Chumbawamba are set to write a christmas panto, called ‘Riot, Rebellion and Bloody Insurrection’ that is targeted at adults. Strikes at the Pompidou centre in Paris are set to continue as the employees are angry over the government’s policy to cut jobs in all public cultural bodies. Paul McCartney nearly quit the Beatles in the early sixties, due to crippling nerves. Iconic venue, The Halfmoon in Putney may be due to close after fifty years promoting bands such as U2 and The Rolling Stones. Brian Ferry has employed members of Radiohead and Red Hot Chilli Peppers to contribute to his forthcoming album. There is an all-female shortlist for BBC National Short Story prize. Among the nominees contending to win the £15,000 prize is Lionel Shriver. The 2,500 year old theatre under the Acropolis in Greece is set to be restored. That is all for now, Nik Williams
Oreos may only sound familiar to you as a bi-layered chocolatey biscuit, but it is also a name that you cannot avoid if you visit Canterbury. This is because the word “Oreo” is emblazoned on walls where ever you go. It is the pseudonym of one of the more prolific graffiti offenders in Canterbury; written on the subway walls and shopping malls of this quiet city. After arranging an interview with this elusive character, Oreo invites me round for a little chat. He is wearing the ‘non descript hoodie’ and sars mask that we had agreed would conceal his identity, and waving a bread knife around with increasing enthusiasm, he describes a Chinese meal he had eaten recently. He leaves and returns with a pizza, minus the knife. Don’t worry we’re going to keep this as discrete as possible. Yeah, well I know where you live. So Oreo, my first question would be, why “Oreo”? Ok, why did I pick Oreo? An affinity for the biscuit. My humblest apologies for not providing a better explanation for the word, I just enjoy them with milk. And why Canterbury? A shining bastion of degredation, decay and general antisocial behaviour. You can get away with murder. Murder? Yes. I always thought Canterbury had very low crime rates. Why do you think it is so lawless? Canterbury is a City the size of a town that wants to be a village. I think this mentality
Alan Bolwell
suggest that the arts haven’t had a bumper decade since Labour took power in 1997. Arts funding from the public purse has increased by 73% as The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has fought with The Department for International Development to top the list of governmental budget increases. As a (very) general rule, public money makes up one third of funding for arts projects, with philanthropy and private investment equally sharing the remainder. After receiving very little funding from the Tories in the pre-1997-Thatcherite era, the years since have seen funding at historically high levels. This funding of the subsidised arts industry stimulates the wider creative industries in the UK, a sector which brings in half a million jobs and an estimated £20bn in value to the economy. Realising the value of the arts in attracting tourists, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson stated his belief that “at a time of recession it is more important than ever to invest in the arts.... new talent and those creative individuals whose innovation will ensure London remains dynamic and successful.” Even though some sectors of the economy may be starting to see the ‘green shoots’ of recovery, sponsorship budgets and corporate philanthropy for the arts are likely to suffer until the economy has grown strong again. To make matters worse, public funding of the arts is sure to be under intense pressure as the next government is forced to reign in spending; arts spending is seen as ‘non-essential’ in the face of ‘front line’ services such as healthcare and education. A big factor in how the picture pans out will be the party in power. So what can we expect from the next government? Labour’s biggest achievement in the arts has been to expand free access to museums and galleries nationwide in a move that has seen visitor numbers soar. But generally Labour’s approach to DCMS spending hasn’t been to focus on the
stuff afterwards; no flowers sent to the ho. And if you’re an art student getting your paint bought for you by your parents then I will hunt you down. And stencils, I hate stencils.
Alan Bolwell
An example of Oreo’s work
is transposed into the police force. Canterbury is meant to have a large police force, but you rarely see police on the beat. Even when there’s something chavtastic going on in town you never see more than one police car. There are also parts of Canterbury completely bereft of police. I can only assume because they are poor areas that the police don’t give a sh*t about. Think about it, when was the last time you saw police in Hales Place? So people are free to cavort without fear of recrimination, destroying things at will with little heed paid to covert sensibilities. I guess, but why does this give you the right to go around destroying other peoples property? As someone with extreme capitalist sensibilities myself, I’m fairly respectful when it comes to other people’s property. I’d much rather graff on a police station than someone’s house. I hope to be a property owner myself one day, so obviously I wouldn’t want anyone graffing on my home. You have to lead by example, what was it Sartre said? Something about asking yourself what the world would be like if everybody acted as you are acting? Yeah, Kant’s categorical imperative and all that. You can’t universalize that
though man. Yeah, so I’m saying that’s why I don’t graff on people’s houses. Yes you do. Well I suppose if you imagine that there are no predetermined system of morals that you have to live your life by, then I have no right to do it, but I don’t have a right not to do it. Like dealing drugs, it’s not up to a person to regulate themselves to what society imposes on them, it’s up to society to regulate the person, and it’s obviously not doing a good job. So you’ve got an awareness of what morality is, but no morals? Fair enough. What exactly is it you do? Would you call yourself a graffiti artist? For a start morals are overrated, they’re like Ferrero Roche. Everyone talks about having them but nobody really does. And no, I’m not a graffiti artist. I’m a militant, vandal goon. People who write graffiti and describe themselves as graffiti ‘artists’ are usually ageing, bloated, unemployed has-beens who still wear Carharrt and listen to archaic hip-hop and once in a blue moon bowl down to a legal wall and are shit. 40 year old people still graffing, thats bad. I’m getting on, to be fair. Graffiti is like visiting a brothel, you get what you pay for, but there’s not going to be any lovey dovey
Any particular favourite tags? I just like doing big, imposing, legible stuff that forces you to take heed of it. There was one in the tunnel near London Road, it was massive, full colour, So as a militant, vandal goon, aww just amazing man. I loved what is it you do exactly? it! Looked a lot better than the I catch street furniture council’s paint. and official buildings in the headlights of my justice. I write a word – my name – on And finally, a message for as many vertical surfaces as the kids? possible. I do so because the Start graffing, get up and stay actual physical act involved up. Buy my big hard back book in doing so, and the rush entitled My Dystopia and you accrue from doing it, is Other Buscuits, with a forward very pleasurable; in addition, by Micheal Palin. such saturation entails you achieving a degree of notoriety. Everyone wants to be known, I left quickly after or indeed remembered, for exchanging pleasantries, something – to rise above the surprised with how well confines of their anonymous, the interview went and mundane existence. I meet how eloquent this ‘militant, people who don’t even write vandal goon’ turned out to graffiti themselves and don’t be. I didn’t want to make know me, yet seemingly know this easy for Oreo, but his Oreo very well. They say pathological lack of personal something fawning along the responsibility meant that lines of ”Oh my God, you’re he was always just going to Oreo aren’t you? I’ve seen you have fun with this. If you’ve everywhere...”, and this leads been affected by graffiti in on to questions about what I Canterbury, or would like to was doing in a certain area, comment on any of the issues or how I got an individual tag covered in this interview in a certain place. I don’t buy please email newspaper. into the territorial theory feat u res@i nqu i remed i a. behind graffiti’s appeal, but to co.uk. Until then, how be known and recognised for would I summate Oreo in anything, and to be noticed for a few words? Entertaining, a specific thing, is really quite informative, controversial. exhilarating. Gold.
Despite some perceiving graffiti as art, it is still illegal and Oreo’s anonymity must be maintained
University of Buffalo
Is the grass g any greener on o the other side of the t pond? Three UoK students share their experiences of studying abroad d in the United States
Raven Moon
ehigh University
There are many reasons that lead to students choosing to study abroad for a year. Personally, I had two clear ones; firstly, I do English and American Literature and felt that a year spent in America would help me develop the American side of my course, which after two years at university, seemed to be a little bit lacking. Secondly, I saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, a one-off chance to live in a foreign country for a year with an added bonus of a support system, just in case things took a turn for the worst. I ended up at the University of Buffalo (UB) which is in the city of Buffalo, New York State. It’s roughly seven hours drive from New York City and only a few hours from Toronto, Canada. This upstate location meant the weather was very cold for most of the year, but I love snow and learnt to wear about four layers under my coat whenever I ventured outside in the winter months. UB is a State university which means the cost of living is quite low compared to other universities in America. Accommodation, food, entertainment and travel do not cost the same as other places in America - something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration when planning a year abroad. The expense attached to living in different places really does require consideration because each location can really vary substantially in price. Also, while you do not have to pay tuition fees to your American university, you will have to pay for accommodation, health insurance, flights and meal plans. With this in mind, doing adequate research about various locations is absolutely invaluable. It is also worth taking into consideration that on certain visas you can get a job on campus while you’re abroad, which is something I choose to do so I had a little extra spending money. There are many things that lead me to recommend spending a year at UB. To begin with the campus is huge, and the number of facilities at your disposal is incredible. There are in fact two campuses, a north and a south one. I lived on the north campus and all the facilities I will write about are located there. UB, like many American universities, has its own American football stadium and basketball court, and the games are free for students to watch. The sports centre is free for students to use as well, and there is a pool and well equipped gym. There are a number of very well stocked libraries, and as a definite added bonus, for a couple of my modules I didn’t even have to buy books because the ones I needed were always available in the library. In addition, UB’s north campus has a Starbucks, a Burger King, a Subway and a Tim Horton’s (as well as various other food outlets) which means coffee and the classic American fast food are never far from reach. Another place I visited a lot was the Health and Wellness centre where you can get free cups of tea whenever you like, and you can even book massage appointments. All in all my year abroad was a fantastic experience; I met many wonderful people and even took up rugby. If you do go out to America everyone will love your accent and make you say things like ‘Harry Potter’ because they think British people say things in a funny way. Obviously, there The huge football stadium in which the college team plays were times when I was homesick, but these times were far outweighed by the fun I had and the independence I gained. Once you settle in, get a routine and form a network of friends, those little bouts of homesickness are very easy to overcome, so if you get a chance, study abroad! Raven Moon
Nicola Houlihan
My year abroad at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I spent Christmas in California on the beach, New Years Eve in New York, Spring break in Canada at Niagara Falls and my last weeks in America in Florida. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that I was there at all, doing such incredible things. I decided on Lehigh for a number of reasons; not only is it one of the top Universities in America, but also the location of it on the East Coast made places such as Boston, Washington DC., Philadelphia and New York extremely accessible. I had the opportunity to travel at relatively cheap prices to a number of destinations in America, and this really enhanced my experience. Nicola and a friend enjoy the huge amounts of snow in Pennsylvania Lehigh is a really small, intimate campus, and there are always a events and functions going on with mounds of free food, clothes and people to meet. The Americans I met werre all so amazing; they welcomed me into their homes and their lives without question. I not only had the opportuniity to meet Americans, but also a range of International students. I now have cheap holiday destinations to China, India, Japan, Belgium and Germany, which I definitely made use of this summer. The American spirit is so irresistible. I found them to be so enthusiastic and passionate, and it was extremely infectious. Their school spirit is so overwhelming, and genuinely so easy to get caught up in. You feel like you are really a part of something. I’m not usually one for sport, but when Lehigh played their rivals Lafayette, it was WAR! The parties, bonfires and events surrounding it were truly astounding, and it felt so good to be proud of your university and the other students that went there. I have to say, frat parties are genuinely hilarious. Don’t believe what you see on the TV; prepare yourself for dirty basements and cheap beer. But saying that, the alcohol is free, and that’s never a bad thing. I feel that the extra year, especially in a foreign country, has given me the independence and confidence in myself that I didn’t previously have. I would definitely advise anyone who can go abroad to do so; it really is an amazing, life changing experience, and one that I wouldn’t take back for the world. Nicola Houlihan One of the college football games American universities are famouss for
Raven Moon
www.umass.edu
Frances Carabine
When I chose to study at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) I never realised just how much of an impact on my life it would have. On a practical level the experience has enabled me to enhance my educational experience tenfold; my English degree now stands out considerably more to employers than the average applicant’s. On top of this, I am more confident, independent and have built friendships (as well as cheaper holidays) for life. I have friends in Boston, New York, Texas, Hawaii, Japan, Germany and Canada. Aside from these benefits, UMass itself is a fantastic university. The campus is HUGE and this is not an exaggeration. As a consequence there is so much to explore and activities galore. I chose UMass because I wanted to be close to Canada, Boston and New York. The fact UMass’ 26 floor library that the books I studied in my second year were from the East coast made that region seem to me the most exciting place to explore. As I mentioned before, the campus is indeed massive, but this just meant I met a wide range of people very quickly, and there was always someone around to help me get to where I needed to be. Despite common stereotypes, Americans are lovely people, and are willing to do all they can to help you with whatever you need. They may ask you to say the odd word in return; try saying aluminium, Adidas and Harry Potter, and they’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand. There is, of course, a fun side to studying in America and that is trying to live out scenes from American teen dramas which proved endlessly enjoyable. One of the main things I, and the other international students, found thoroughly amusing and exciting was “The Red Cup”. Come on, you’ve all seen them in the movies at crazy house parties, and yes, it is quite exciting to have one. I did get laughed at by Americans for being slightly over-enthusiastic, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of it in the slightest, and I dare you not to feel a pang of excitement when you get one. Another experience I would regard as fulfilling the cliché of American college life is seeing one of the many sporting events held in UMass’ own arenas. You cannot say you have been to UMass until you experienced a hockey game, which even someone like me, who usually lacks any interest in sports at all, became thoroughly caught up in. As a consequence, I never missed a home game. As ice hockey is UMass’ main college sport, there was the opportunity for me to regularly go ice skating; alongside which I also tried fencing for the first time, dabbled in a bit of karate and looked at sororities for a laugh. Trying to sum up my experiences in as few a words, as I have, has proved exceedingly difficult. I do not feel like I can convey to you how much you will cherish the memories you will have on a year out. The people I met and the places I travelled to made my experience extremely memorable. If you haven’t thought about a year abroad studying then I would urge you to give it a try, or at least look into it. You are not wasting your time, and it is not as expensive a gap year as someone once said to me dismissively. You will be studying towards your degree whilst breaking up the monotony of academia by living in a foreign country at a fraction An ice hockey game is a must-see at UMass of the cost it would be if you did it independently. The University of Massachusetts really looks after its international students, and I intend to go back to visit the place and people as soon as I am able. Choose to take that extra year; it will be the best year of your university life and a treasured memory. Frances Carabine
Nicola Houlihan
University of Massachusetts, Amherst