issue 182
DESCRIPTION
2 November 2009TRANSCRIPT
thewaterfrontYOUR UNIVERSITY, YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOUR VOICE, YOUR PAPER
02 NOVEMBER 2009 - Issue 182www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
EST - 1995 FORTNIGHTLY AND FREE
OUTRAGE AS LECTURERS FACE REDUNDANCIES
Student caught up with Welsh Defence League protesters FULL STORY PAGE 3
TWELVE MEMBERS of teaching staff are potentially facing redundancy after a University cost-cutting exercise.
A vote was taken on Monday 26th October by the University council resulting in the setting up of a “redundancy committee” which will begin the process.
The positions in jeopardy are all within the School of Environment and Society and include professors and lecturers, the longest serving having been at the university for 32 years.
If carried out, the job cuts would become the first compulsory redundancies in the University’s history.
The University last set up a “redundancy committee” in 2006 which did not result in any compulsory redundancies.
However union officials have described the University’s citing of this as misleading.
“They’re trying to make it look less serious by saying they’ve done this before, however in correspondence with us they have stated that in their opinion compulsory redundancies are virtually unavoidable. However we think they are very much avoidable.”
The University and College Union (UCU) held an emergency meeting on Wednesday 28th October to discuss the possibility of taking industrial action, and is ruling nothing out in terms of a response.
In a press release dated 22nd October the UCU called on the University Council to reject the senior management’s plans, describing its process as “deeply flawed”.
The union also warned that should the redundancies go ahead it will, “mark the end of mutual confidence and trust between the university management and staff.”
In the press release, Chris Whyley, UCU President at Swansea said: “If the council passes these plans the
redundancies will mark a fateful step by the university, which will break the mutual trust and confidence that has existed between management and staff.
“In the past we have always managed these matters by negotiation, but now management does not seem to want to budge an inch. All staff at Swansea should be worried, as their jobs will be at risk and they will not know from one day to the next whether their ‘permanent’ contracts are truly permanent. Our most pressing concern is that this will merely be the thin end of the wedge.
“Management should be worried too, since it will also mean that attracting the best staff to work at Swansea University will inevitably be more difficult.”
“We are asking management and the University Council to pull back from the brink and re-open genuine negotiations with UCU so that compulsory redundancies can be avoided.”
Following the emergency meeting on 28th October Chris Whyley spoke to The Waterfront about where the union will go from here.
“We are not ruling out strike action at the moment. We held a very well attended meeting in which members overwhelmingly said we should ballot them as a whole on the possibility.”
“We have yet to consider whether we are going to do that, we’re telling the University we have the mandate to ballot our members and we’re hoping they will stand back.”
“The management have been sent a letter from our lawyers telling them that in their opinion we have very strong grounds for taking out an injunction preventing them from doing this.”
“Ideally we want the University to dissolve the redundancy committee and talk to us to find other solutions.
continued page 2
Editorial02 NEWS WATERFRONT 181 - 02/11/09
EDITORJAMES SNAITH
SUB EDITORS LIZ COOLEY
PETE GOLDING
NEWS EDITOR LAURA BURNIP
DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR COLLETTE BIRD
NEWS TEAM JACK HORTON
ANGHARAD JONES BECCI GOULD TOM HAINES
MATTHEW EDWARDS JACK HEYES
LAURA ANTRAMJOANNA DZINKS
ELERI JONES
SPORT EDITORS THORE HAUGSTAD
RHYS [email protected]
DEPUTY SPORT EDITOR TIM HARRIS
SPORTS TEAMCRAIG LAWTON
MATTHEW JACOB BRADLEY MORGAN
SIWAN LILLICRAP - AU President
CULTURE EDITOR TOM MAYA
CULTURE WRITERS PAUL SEACOMBECAITLIN GWYNN
RHODRI DIAZ NATHAN SHAW GEMMA DARIES
CHARLOTTE ELLIS SARAH HILL
ROSALYN THOMAS ZAHID A. RAJA
SOPHIE BAMBER
EMMA MESNEYLUKE SAMUEL-CURTIS
BECCA COOPER
MUSIC EDITOR JAMES TAYLOR
MUSIC WRITERSBEN WILKINSON
BELLA WHATELYBRYONY HICKS
CHARLIE TEASDALESAM LOVELESS
MATTHEW EDWARDSSIMMO SIMMONS - Mixtape
FILM EDITOR VICKY DOHERTY-BONE
FILM REVIEWERSNICK RUGGIERI
VICTORIA BOLDYCHEVA LIANA THOMAS OLIVER RYDER ANDREW PRICE
STEVEN BALDOCKJON TAYLOR
TRAVEL EDITORNIKKI LITTLEHALES
FEATURES KELSEY RICHARDS
PETE GOLDING
CHIEF REPORTERLUKE JAMES
PHOTOGRAPHYJOHN CURRY
MARC HOLMESJAMES SNAITH
ADVICE SAMANTHA LOUISE WILLIAMS
CAREERS JAN BINNIE-GORDON
CARTOON ARTISTMARTIN MAXELL
Inside this weeks edition
Sports Editor Thore Haugstad nets an exculsive interview with Swans student and striker Guillem Bauza - Page 38
Newton enjoyed his interview with the Waterfront so much last month, he just couldn’t resist seeing Tom and Pete again - Page 12
What’s the Mumbles Mile you ask? Find out! Page 10 and 31
One of the assembly members Bethan Jenkins has offered to be a go-between and we’re very happy for her to do that however there has been no reaction from the university about that offer.”
“The University want to reduce the deficit in that particular school but the fact is that these redundancies will only save them a small portion of the actual deficit so their sums don’t add up.”
Whyley also stressed that this could be the beginning of cuts across all departments.
“The vice-chancellor was talking a couple of years ago about needing 60 job cuts.
“We’re afraid that if he gets away with this and makes these 12 people compulsorily redundant he could find it very easy to make job cuts like this in any school that he chooses.”
On how the redundancies could affect students, Whyley said it was, “very bad news indeed.”
“The people who are left are going to be doing the work and teaching of the people who are being sacked.”
“Students are going to be taught by overworked lecturers who are teaching in many cases subjects they may have not taught for many years if at all.”
The student body is represented on the University Council by Student Union President Luke Young and Athletics Union President Siwan Lillicrap.
When asked about the vote, Luke Young said that he voted against the decision to set up the redundancy committee.
“Although I appreciate that it is getting tougher in higher education financially, the Union should take these things case by case and look at the effect on current students.”
“We need to know what would happen to the courses taught by these lecturers and what support would be in place for students.”
Ross Griffiths is studying environmental dynamics and climate change Msc and said that this was the first he’d heard of the issue.
“It’s ridiculous to make 12
redundancies; I don’t feel like we have enough staff anyway.”
“I pay £3,500 to study here, I can’t see how they can make people redundant when there’s that much money going into the school.”
“Staff are overworked enough as it is, you already have to wait 2-3 weeks to get essays back.”
“I don’t know how this will affect me but I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Bernard Panes, another student on the course, commented on its growing popularity.
“My understanding is that there were six people doing this course last year and 16 this year so that to me indicates increased interest in this course.”
“We come to university instead of just reading in libraries so we can have knowledgeable people who can answer our questions and help us.”
In a statement released by the University on 29th October the University tried to justify its decision, saying, “this has been a difficult decision but the University remains committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies whenever possible, and is actively exploring redeployment and voluntary severance options with affected staff.”
“The University is determined to ensure that the teaching and learning experience of students is not disrupted and wants to take this opportunity to assure current students that they will be able to complete their studies”
It also promised to keep the Students’ Union and prospective students informed “as and when developments occur “.
Furthermore it assured students that, “the University is in a sound financial position and intends to remain so.”
“As an ambitious University with many areas of demonstrable research excellence the University is committed to maintaining the outstanding student experience for which it is renowned.”
The Redundancy Committee will report its findings to the Council in December.
Hey everyone,How’s student life going? Hope you’re
still all having a good time? I was loving that extra hour in bed! With Halloween and Pinkathon just behind us, Bonfire and AU night this week and with Beer Race just around the corner we have some brilliant events coming up. Congratulations to RAG who have begun this year’s charitable efforts by raising just over £167 with a special poker event in Woodies last week – I am gutted to say our reporter did not win the prize (full story page 7) and contributed £2000 to a total sum of £50,617.32p at the London RAG Raid on the 23rd.
News my end, I am ashamed but happy to say that I experienced my first ever Sin City
(Sin Savers) experience two Thursdays back and loved every minute of it; what an awesome night! I found myself dancing on stage, half naked to trance music at 2.30am with a mad Irish man. All I can say is go check it out if you have not done so already, you won’t be disappointed!
Speaking of parties I have heard of some brilliant ones that have been going on around campus, in the village and around town. The Waterfront team and I would just like to know one thing? Where was our invite? Seriously though, start sending us your photos of your student experience including house, flat and floor parties. If enough of you get involved with this I am sure we can sort out a prize for the best photo before Christmas break. Keep them legal though please people, you get disqualified if the Police are involved and photos that involve obscene or sexy nudity we won’t print but will keep in the office for our wall of shame. You have been warned! Address is at the bottom.
Oh that reminds me, I almost forgot, shout out to Will Matthews from Xtreme Radio, who rather disturbingly was made to stand naked (behind a box) in the Waterfront/Xtreme office last week for two hours after losing a bet within the radio station. Random!
Another massive thank you to everyone who worked their socks off to contribute to this issue, this newspaper really wouldn’t happen without the time and effort you guys put in. And for those that keep asking, yes you can still get involved and yes there are still plenty of opportunities to write for us, so get in touch.Right I’m off partying, see you in a fortnight.All the best
James Snaith - [email protected]
www.waterfront.co.uk News 03
Student terrorised on facist march
A SWANSEA student has told The Waterfront about their three and a half hour ordeal caught up in a fascist march. Police penned the student, who wants to remain anonymous, in with members of the Welsh Defence League and far right activists who gave Sieg Heil salutes and burnt an anti Swastika flag.The student was taking videos and pictures of the WDL for a course project when they were caught up in the WDL ranks in a highly publicised event last month.
“I was with them (the WDL) for about three and a half hours and I was in the march down town with them all the way down High Street to the train station,” said the student.
“I spoke to quite a few people, I
stuck out like a sore thumb and I had a few coming up to me and being quite aggressive, saying what are you doing here, we don’t trust you, you’re part of the papers.
“I was petrified to start with; a few of them were quite nutty.
“I was at the top (of Castle Square) taking photos when they started the march and when they started I jumped on it because I needed the pictures and recordings and for my project and I found that I was up there so quickly I was amongst them.”
The student showed me some of the video they took whilst they were detained by police near Castle Square.
One of the videos showed close
up how the WDL protestor tore down the anti Swastika flag and set it alight, the student said by this stage they were comfortable enough to mingle with the group and openly take pictures.“I was petrified to start with; but after an hour wasn’t bothered”, they said.“One of them in so many words told me to f*ck off and was quite intimidating.
“But once I started telling them about why I was there it sort of ticked over in their mind that it might be a good thing and one guy said he would actually quite like to see my work.”
The student was marched to Swansea train station with the rest of the WDL where the Police retained them with the group and took everyone’s photograph
for records, including the students. “When the police got us to the
station they made a circle around us that only led into the station and they would only disperse you in two’s every five minutes,” said the student. “You had to walk through the station to have your photo taken and then be dispersed.
“They took my photo but I’m not worried, I don’t have a record and to be honest they’ll just see me smiling.
“They didn’t take my details, they didn’t take anyone’s details which is quite fair and they (the Police) were extremely neutral which I found amazing as there were a number of black officers.
By Luke JamesChief Correspondant
Students run half marathonBy Jack HortonNews Reporter
ON SUNDAY 18th October, a group of 37 Swansea University students out of a total 11,000 runners were up on their way to Fulton house to make their way to Cardiff for the annual half marathon.
The 13 mile run was endured in aid of SOS Africa, a charity set up by Matt Crowcombe, a PhD student of Swansea University and is supported by Swansea Uni’s RAG society. The race, which kicked off at 9am, was the largest half marathon in Wales. The race held host to a diverse mix of professional and amateur runners, all with the common goal of raising money to empower the underprivileged children
of South Africa through education. Highlights of the race were broadcast on S4C the following day, with the charity’s more imaginative runners were interviewed in their rubix cube and Tetris piece costumes.
SOS Africa is a charity that aims to fund and provide education and health care for the children of South Africa, who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to school. So far the runners of Swansea University have raised a massive £6,000, which will fund the education and care of the children sent to school in January 2010. Many spectators of the race stated that the buzz of the run was an experience to remember and Emma
Venables, a Swansea Student who took part said “The atmosphere on the day was fantastic which along with all hard work put in enabled us to complete the course and at the same time raise a lot of money for worthwhile causes.” The charity benefits hugely from events such as this, and it hopes to continue to have a large student base to help raise money so they can continue to send impoverished children to school.
If anyone wishes to do a sponsored event for SOS Africa from half marathon running to jumping out of a plane please contact Matt Crowcombe ([email protected])
Swansea students plaguedfor SOS Africa by robberies By Becci Gould
News ReporterSTUDENT HOUSES in Brynmill
and Uplands have been the target of opportunitist robberies.
In September alone there were 83 reported burglaries in the Swansea area, however Police maintain that this a fall from last year’s reports.
Swansea University student, Simon Gardner, has warned fellow students to learn from his mistake “Lock your doors all the time, there’s scum out there, especially when you live in a student area because people prey on students. It’s a lesson I learnt the hard way,” he said.
Gardner, (Physics, 2nd year), had his laptop stolen from his bedroom recently whilst he was in the lounge with his housemates.
“The police turned up within ten minutes of being notified to take details of the crime and a forensic officer took finger prints.
“I’m pretty gutted because all my university work was on there and I had to buy a new laptop costing me £400.”
Tom Granger, also a 2nd year (who lives in Brynmill) also had his room
burgled recently, losing his iPod, laptop and a bag.
“The bag had all my lecture notes and assignments, which has meant my coursework progress has been hindered,” he said.
South Wales Police were keen to reassure students that they are working hard to crack down on burglars who target student areas.
Operation Rock, which combated burglaries in Swansea, ran from July to September and Detective Ron Devine, who headed the operation, was pleased with the results.
A University and Safer Swansea scheme has been launched to make students aware of how easily they could be victims of burglary.
The initiative will be placing information leaflets, cut into the shape of hands, on valuable items that are at accessible through open windows and doors.
Police on campus are located in Cefn Bryn, and can be contacted on 01792 295882.
Vox PopsWhat’s your opinion?
Do you think that Nick Griffin’s appearance on
Question Time helped the view of the BNP?
Chris MelvinEngineering - Year 3
“The BNP will appear to get more influence but in reality it’s just people being annoyed with the main three parties as they really didn’t come across well on the topics discussed”
Charlotte BrittonHistory - Year 3
“I don’t think it helped the view of the BNP at all, of course there are people who watched it and agreed with his views, but it’s obvious that the vast majority can’t stand him or his party”
Charlotte HollandInternational Business - Year 2
“Personally I don’t believe in the BNP and what it stands for, however I do agree with some of their policies and that they are still a legitimate party and at the end of the day there are policies within all parties which people disagree with”
WATERFRONT 182 - 02/11/0904 NEWS
SWANSEA MEN’S 3rd football team has been disciplined after an incident in Cardiff on Wednesday 14th October.
Official sources have told us that while driving back through Cardiff city centre to Swansea a group of freshers in the team were made to undress on the bus.
They were then forced onto the street and locked out of the vehicle, leaving them stood naked outside Cardiff police station.
The team lost the game 1-0 but it was actions after the game which have caused controversy.
The incident came to light after a complaint was made by the coach company about the conduct of the team.
The Athletic Union held a disciplinary meeting with the team Captain.
As a result the team’s privileges of AU organised transport has been taken away from them for the remainder of the season and the Captain has been banned from playing for the team for a month.
Siwan Lillicrap, AU President, commented on the incident and its consequences.
“It’s a shame it has come to this. Teams should have a good time but know their limits”.
An unnamed postgraduate student said of events, “while I can see the funny side of what happened, there is a serious side to it as these players are representatives of our university and things like this will give us a bad reputation in the community”.
This is not the only recent occurrence involving a university sports team in Wales.
On the same day there was an incident at Solus nightclub in Cardiff involving Cardiff university’s rugby team and Cardiff medic’s rugby team which left one student suffering a broken nose, bruised cheekbone and two black eyes.
The result of this has been that all members of Cardiff’s rugby teams have been banned from the nightclub for two weeks.
Olly Birrell, Cardiff’s AU President, said “Clubs are constantly reminded of appropriate conduct and the importance of representing the University at all times as a team, on and off the pitch, and that when there are lapses they are dealt with strictly and accordingly.”
By Tom Haines Reporter
SWANSEA students have been experiencing widespread problems with Virgin Media, The Waterfront has learned.
Virgin’s launch campaign in 2007, branded “V-day”, saw the company join the likes of Sky by launching Virgin Media, offering not only TV but broadband, landline and mobile connection.
As the first quadruple play media company in the UK, it promised to become a fierce contender, introducing fibre optic cables to reach the whole nation. But as the teething problems continue nearly 3 years since its launch, it seems that Virgin Media may have bitten off more than they can chew.
After various complaints from unsatisfied customers, The Waterfront decided to ask students their thoughts on the largest broadband provider in Swansea.
Of those asked, 75 percent of off-campus students use Virgin Media, with most using their broadband services. 55 percent with Virgin Media have experienced problems, ranging from slow connection and signal failure to late installation and charging issues.
Due to communication failures, Tom Beeston complained that he had been “messed around by them a lot” and has been unimpressed with their service in general.
“The salesmen in the shop and those doing door-to-door contradicted each other and said not to trust each other.”
One student in particular has had a very stressful start to her year: Lucy Hilton, a second year student living in Brynmill, expected a simple, swift installation of her Virgin Media landline, but ended up having a very different experience. She first realised something was wrong when the Virgin Media technician came into the lounge and swore loudly.
“He had drilled through a pipe and there was water leaking all over the carpet.
“He completed the job and left saying that someone would give me a ring about the plumber but that one should be here within an hour.”
“I also had a phone call saying someone would be at my house within an hour.”
However despite various phone calls the end of the day came and went with no plumber and the leak was not fixed until the following afternoon.
Virgin’s mistake cost them not only
the price of a plumber but new carpets for Lucy’s house and a new ceiling for the estate agents below.
“The experience was not what I wanted to be doing on my first few days back at Uni.”
“When Virgin said they would have a plumber out within the hour they should have made sure the plumber was here.”
“I had to wait around in my house for a day and a half for a plumber who never turned up.”
Lucy summed up a commonly held opinion when she said, “Overall I would say that I’m sure Virgin are good when it all goes right, but when it goes wrong they’re utterly awful”
We contacted Virgin Media to see what they had to say about the high percentage of problems experienced.
In reference to the poor signal and connection commented on by various students, Virgin explained, “We’d need customer details to investigate what has happened with each case and understand why there have been problems.”
Their response to students having been charged twice in the first month was that customers always get charged for two months in their first bill because they bill in advance.
“This is normal and is explained to customers when they sign up.”
Last but not least we asked whether Virgin Media have some kind of reimbursement scheme for those students who have had to make numerous or lengthy calls.
“All customers with a Virgin Media landline can call customer services for free.”
“For calls on other networks, we don’t reimburse customers’ call costs as standard but would look at each on a case by case basis.”
However feedback was not all negative.
While a large proportion have reported problems, which some felt were to an unacceptable degree, others have been very pleased with the service provided.
Some students felt that Virgin Media dealt with their problems well and quickly.
“When our phone line didn’t work they sent someone to fix it in the time they said they would and were very helpful on the phone” said Naomi Selvage, a second year student.
If you’re experiencing problems with Virgin Media, their customer service number is 0845 454 1111 or dial 150 from a Virgin landline.
By Liz Cooley Sub-editor
STUDENTS FRUSTRATION OVER BROADBAND BLUNDERS
A NATIONWIDE Royal Mail strike has led to fears that further industrial action could seriously affect university life.
The first strike took place on Thursday 22nd October and lasted 24 hours strike.
It was the first national strike in the past two years and came after several previous unsuccessful protests.
Further industrial action is planned for the coming weeks, with another strike planned for October 29th.
The Communication Workers’ Union has organized the stoppages over a range of issues including pay health and safety.
However the main conflict is over privatisation plans which could transform the service and lead to job cuts.
Royal Mail revealed that the strikes delayed about 30 million letters, 40 per cent of a typical day’s post.
While Royal Mail took on an extra 30,000 temporary staff to prevent problems the strike still potentially affected those who rely on everyday post.
The University however has said it did not encounter problems as a result of the strike.
While the mail room did not receive any deliveries on Thursday most university correspondence is done via email.
Post was delivered as usual to the Student Village, the Money Advice and Support office and the university bookshop.
Most students were not affected with the only complaints from those who had bought items online which took longer than usual to arrive.
Students still awaiting loans were also unaffected as letters can be sent electronically and the status of the applications can also be viewed online.
If any students are experiencing problems as a result of the strikes please contact The Waterfront.
By Joanna Dzinks Reporter
Postal strikes threaten to cause disruption
Naked antics land men’s football team in hot water
A POSTGRADUATE student from the School of Business and Economics at Swansea University has been awarded £15,000 over three years, by the UK Government Actuary’s Department for her doctoral research.
Ms Elena Veprauskaite, 25, has recently completed her MSc degree in Economics and Business Finance.
The Government Actuary sponsorship will fund Ms Veprauskaite’s PhD research to examine the linkage between reserving, reinsurance and earnings management in the UK non-life insurance industry, and will meet project-specific costs including the cost of data gathering, conference attendance and hardware/software expenses.
The research will be supervised by Professor Mike Adams and Professor Steve Cooke in the School of Business and Economics.
During her doctorate, Ms Veprauskaite will also be funded by the Government Actuary’s Department to attend work placements at their offices in London and to attend relevant training courses.
Ms Veprauskaite’s principal
supervisor Professor Mike Adams said, “Elena’s research has potentially important public policymaking implications, particularly in terms of solvency regulation and corporate taxation. Swansea University’s School of Business and Economics is delighted that the Government Actuary’s Department have agreed to support Elena’s PhD and I am sure that the relationship will be mutually beneficial.”
Ms Veprauskaite said: “I am excited to be starting my PhD at Swansea University. I am very grateful to the Government Actuary’s Department for their generous support and I’m appreciative of the great help and guidance that I continue to receive from Professor Adams.”
Mr Harvey Duckers, Chief Actuary, Insurance at the Government Actuary’s Department, said “We look forward to working with Elena. Her research will be a valuable addition to the thinking on solvency regulation and taxation of insurance companies, in the UK and overseas.”
For further information about the School of Business and Economics, please visit: http://www.swan.ac.uk/business/
By Laura Burnip News Editor
Swansea student receives national award of £15,000
Post boxes stay empty
WWW.WATERFRONT.CO.UK NEWS 05
By Laura Burnip News EditorSTUDENT charity organization RAG has expressed concerns that its flagship fundraising event could be under threat.
The annual Beer Race, set to take place on November 16th is facing competition from a nationwide branded event planned for 8 days before.
However organisers are confident that the quality of their event will ensure sucess for the race which sees teams of students in fancy dress in a bar crawl against the clock, winning prizes for the fastest time and best costumes.
In previous years the other event has taken place several weeks prior to the charity pub crawl.
While the two events have been traditionally very popular, the shorter recovery time as well as lack of funds
could mean students choose not to attend both.
Cheryl Jones, spokesman for RAG, hopes that RAG’s takings won’t be affected.
“We don’t want to sound bitter or petty but we know that people might not go to both events.
“The Beer Race is the only SU-backed bar crawl and it is excellent value for money, but most importantly all the profits go to charity rather than promoters’ pockets.”
Beer race is the longest running event of its kind in Swansea University history, having started in Mumbles over 20 years ago.
The event is always popular with students and is so well organised and run that it has managed to maintain a good report with the Swansea community. Locals have been known to come out
just to see the array of costumes created by the students pursuing the best dressed prize.
“It’s the one event that really binds the students with the public as it’s a local effort to make money for charity”
Tickets are £12 which includes entry to 9 different venues including Oceana, and 9 free drinks.
This year’s Beer Race is being sponsored by newly opened fancy dress shop Bedazzled on Bryn-y-mor road.
Students will receive a 10% discount and the shop is keen to help with any unusual costumes, saying that they will try and order in items for anyone who comes to them in advance.
There are nine venues taking part in this race which starts at Play.
The route continues through the bars of Wind Street including Lava Lounge, Idols, Pitcher and Piano, Ice
bar, Walkabout, Yates’, Bar Quater, finishing up in Oceana.
1st prize is hire of Oceana’s exclusive V Room for a night. This will be given out to the teams with the shortest race time and best fancy dress.
Anyone who does not fancy taking part in the race can still be involved as the event is looking for stewards to help guide students to the “finish line.”
All stewards receive a free t-shirt, a free drink, VIP access on the night and an invitation to the exclusive stewards’ after party.
The Beer Race is on 16th November 2009 and tickets go on sale on Monday 2nd November from the Ents Box office in Fulton House.
More information is available on the event’s Facebook group or by emailing [email protected].
RAG concerns over Beer Race competition
Music Room Closure HampersPractice and angers Students
Matthew EdwardsReporter
THE RECENT closure of the practice music rooms in Taliesin Annexe at their original times has impacted on the Musician Society’s practising time.
An e-mail was sent to all students two weeks ago stating that the original times of access for students – 09:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 13:00 on Wednesdays – were to be altered, following ‘complaints from both staff and students’. One resident said “I live in Horton on campus and normally I can hear some piano playing and some other instruments and it can be disturbing when you’re trying to work.”
The new times are 18:00 to 20:00 on weekdays. The Music society president, Nic Faill, told The Waterfront that this is not enough.
“If you live in the village, you wouldn’t go to uni at 7pm to play piano”, she said. Another music room user mentioned that “two hours in the
evening is not enough for the amount of people who come in here playing piano”.
The issue was raised that lectures in Taliesin were introduced only recently, and Nic believes that this is an example of societies being put to one side.
“No thought is given to societies. We have to pay for upkeep for instruments such as pianos, but we cannot use them.”
She said that the society was informed of the closure beforehand, but that the decision seemed to have already been made between the Students’ Union and the university.
Raechel Mattey, the Societies and Services officer in the Students’ Union, acknowledges this, but has said that there is no clear outcome yet, though weekends may be a future possibility.
“We are still working with the university to extend hours at these times.”
The Estates department were unavailable to comment.
Remember! Not ForgottenBy Liz CooleySub Editor
ON WEDNESDAY the 11th of October at 11 o’clock Swansea University will be observing the silence which commemorates Armistice Day and remembers all those who have been affected by or given their lives to war.
The 2 minute silence will this year be marked by a gathering on Fulton
lawn “The Senate of Swansea University formally welcomes all staff and students to join together for the two minutes silence.” It has also been indicated by the Vice Chancellor that lectures may also start approx. 5 minutes later than usual to allow students who would otherwise be unable to attend to do so if they wish (tbc).
Luke Young, Student Union President, has been involved with organising the event and is keen for students to support the cause.
The Poppy is a widely recognised symbol of remembrance for many, and students and lecturers alike will be seen bearing this pin in the coming weeks.
“The 2009 Poppy Appeal is emphasising the need to help the Afghan generation of the Armed Forces and their families – today and for the rest of their lives.”
It is now possible to wear a digital poppy via email and face book and there are plenty of other ways to support the British Legion by visiting their website http://www.britishlegion.org.uk.
Lauren Muncey and Sarah Campion, both in their third year, were among the students who have been involved in the selling of poppies in town “it was clear that the older generation appreciated younger people being involved and we were encouraged by the generosity of some people’s donations.”
Red poppies are being sold at the front of Fulton House and should also be available in all the shops on campus. Students who want to join in wearing a white poppy can buy them online at http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html.
Cardiff University – Gair Rhydd
Cardiff Students Union has banned all its University rugby teams from attending the Solus club, based at the main Union building after what has been described as “a string of serious incidents.” A confrontation last month between Cardiff University RFC (CURFC) and Cardiff Medics RFC resulted in one player suffering a broken nose, a badly bruised cheekbone and two black eyes. Medic’s Captain Sion Crabtree stressed “the incidents were down to individuals and not due to a vendetta between the clubs.”
Bristol University – Epigram
The BBC has apologised to students living in Goldney Hall after claims they were misrepresented in a TV news item about heavy drinking. The footage, filmed at the Student Union during a pub crawl, gave the impression that everyone in the film was intoxicated. Viewers saw students from Bristol University ‘Strawpedo-ing’ a bottle of alcohol whilst reporting the rise of binge drinking, happy hours and alcohol deals.
Cambridge University – Varsity
A survey has revealed that ten percent of Cambridge students has admitted taking medication such as Modafinil, Ritalin and Adderall without prescription. One third of the 1,000 respondents admitted that, given the opportunity, they would take concentration-enhancing medication.
Exeter University – Expose
A second club in Exeter last week dropped out of hosting the popular student event Carnage after fears that over 1500 students would descend on the location over the two day event encouraging drinking and ant-social behavior. Exeter is still only in its first year of holding the nationwide event.
The London School of Economics – The Beaver
London School of Economics Students’ Union officials have barred The Beaver Newspaper from publishing a story that probed the Union’s management of student entertainments. The decision was taken at pre-publication meeting where the material was considered improper for publication as it would have allegedly violated an agreement that was signed between the Union and an external promoter. An LSE media law specialist has queried the actions taken by the Students’ Union.
UK uni round up
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk News 07
Safety Week Postponement “has not affected Union’s Key Campaigns”By Laura Antram Reporter
SwanSea UniverSity’S annual safety week has been postponed.
every year, the Student Union and various organisations come together to highlight the importance of student safety, both within the University and Hendrefoilan Student village, through a series of events. Student President Luke young stated that: “these events are meant to be highly visible and are an opportunity for students to see the effects that fire and burglary can have and reinforce the message that students are not immune.”
Luke explained “we have had to cancel it due to circumstances out of our control. we’ve also had some timing issues. the event is usually held in February, but we decided to move it so that it coincided with other campaigns we were undertaking”
the Safer Swansea Partnership plays a major role in Safety week, according to their website, it “...is a group of statutory and voluntary organisations, business and individuals all committed to working together to build a city that is safer and where people feel safer”
the City and County of Swansea, South wales Police and Mid and west wales Fire and rescue Service are key, compulsory members of the Partnership. among the large number of voluntary groups are neighbourhood watch, victim Support and Swansea Bay racial equality Council.
women’s Officer, raegan Healy, commented that “although safety risks are low at Swansea University, it is still important to remind students how important it is to be aware of the safety issues they may come across. Personal safety is an essential area of safety, as students do not just want to be safe, they also want to feel safe and i think that the perception of personal safety is just as important.”
young reiterated that the postponement of Safety week “has not affected the union key campaigns such as the Sssh! Campaign, Community Clean Up, Kerb it wednesdays, Park after Dark and later in the term, Sexual Health and Guidance week.”
information on the academic wall Planner given out during Freshers week details most of what would have been covered during Safety week and there are still copies available for students who would like one.
Chips in for Charity!
By Jack Heyes Reporter
tHe SwanSea raise and Give (raG) society was seen in the Student village bar ‘woody’s’ recently, once again raising money for charity. Having devised many effective events to promote and raise for charity in the past, raG teamed up with local poker business Primero to turn its attention to the gambling spirit present in Swansea’s students with a poker tournament (Primero has in the past hosted many events around Brynmill in various bar venues such as the rhyddings and the Cricketers, as well as appearing in woody’s every tuesday).
with only a meagre buy-in price
of £3, contestants stood to win prizes donated by local businesses, such as free meals in a number of Swansea restaurants, a laserzone session with friends, and even a bogus last prize consisting of a pot noodle! a raffle was also held to further accumulate charity money, as well as a swear jar on each table (which altogether contributed £45 to the final sum raised for charity). the tournament’s first prize went to Guy ross, who was awarded with ski lessons for five and a ticket to Primero’s national finals where in the past winners have won holidays to places such as Spain.
in all, with the entry fee, raffle and swear jar, raG managed to raise £167.44 for the twenty-one charities it donates to. Cheryl Jones of raG told the waterfront that raG was very
pleased with the event, adding “i think its fantatsic because the event was a trial for raG. Most of the money was taken from donations to swear jars. everyone got into the spirit of supporting the event and its something we will definitly be looking to run again.”
raG has provided a lot of money for its twenty-one charities in the past, and with the success of this latest event will continue to do so in the future with events such as a beer race planned for mid-november (a large-scale bar crawl up wind street, including 9 bars and up to 2,000 students involved), and an extraordinary skydiving event towards the end of the academic year, which if fully booked out will raise up to £40,000 for charity.
Have a Problem? Free Legal AdviceBy Eleri Jones Reporter
we aLL have problems from time to time. Most can be solved through a quick chat or some positive action on our part; however others are more serious than this and might involve legal consequences. what can you do if you think your landlord is infringing on your privacy for example? Can you do anything if you feel you’ve taken on a loan without being informed about unfair interest rates? Have you bought something online and found they refuse to accept returns? Perhaps you have sought legal advice previously but found the idea of entering a solicitor’s office an intimidating or unpleasant one.
the Free Legal advice Clinic (part of national Law works) is a service run by current students of the Legal Practice Course for the students of Swansea University, and we understand through experience that students face problems in
the transition through their degree years. as a result we have decided to provide a free legal advice service covering a multitude of legal areas such as (but not limited to) landlord and tenant law, immigration and small claims.
we aim to provide a professional standard of service and by extension all matters will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. all advice sessions will also be supervised by a currently practicing solicitor to both make sure we are giving correct advice, and to add some expert opinion into the process.
if you feel you have a problem which may require legal advice to correct please contact us ([email protected]) for a mutually convenient appointment, or come along to one of our drop-in sessions on tuesdays from 12-1pm in reception of the Law School.
we look forward to seeing you soon!
Howzat for a Burger?By Collette Bird Deputy Editor
a SwanSea pub claims to have created the biggest burger in wales.
the Cricketers pub on King edward road, Brynmill, now host a colossal burger so big that the owners promise a free shot to those who can finish it.
Many students are familiar with the Challenge of ‘the Beast’ provided by Uplands Diner. those lucky few who have finished it will have their picture up on the diner’s wall proudly displaying their triumph. the Cricketers pub now
offers a new challenge to be taken on.the burger itself is priced at £5.99,
stands at a foot tall and boasts 2000 calories, the complete recommended daily allowance for women, providing a huge challenge to even the most carnivorous of opponents.
will Harris, joint owner of the pub told the waterfront “i got the idea after seeing a similar burger in england. i’m confident that it’s the biggest in wales. nobody has managed to finish it yet and i doubt they ever will but i’m hoping somebody will prove me wrong”
third year engineering student richard Davies was defeated by the
meaty monster: “it was massive! i managed to eat about half of it, but after a while i began to feel sick and just couldn’t handle anymore. it was really tasty though and i wish anyone trying it out good luck because it’s a serious challenge!”
will and Gareth King took over management of the pub six months ago, a brave move in the current economic climate. will states “it was hard, but the student market helps us a lot, and we’ve got a lot of the locals back now too.”
the burger is just one offer at the pub, along with a credit crunch lunch menu at £1.49.
Glow in the Park!By Collette Bird Deputy Editor
witH tHe nights getting darker a lot earlier and the recent news of another student experiencing crime in Singleton Park, the Student Union sabbatical officers have been proactive in spreading safety awareness in the park this week, with a series of campaigns in the hope that students feel more secure within the city.
welfare officer Lance Horsey stationed himself in Singleton Park on Monday evening fully armed with glow sticks in a bid promote the “Park after Dark” campaign and to make the walk home a little less scary.
when asked about the campaign, Lance stated “with the clocks going back an hour, students can forget how dark it
is going to be when they leave lectures. the campaign was a complete success with both students and local residents made aware of how quickly the nights are drawing in and the importance of personal safety. i’d like to thank the Sabbs and Christian Union who were awesome for providing free tea and toast!”
at present, the Student Union still hold firm on their overarching safety message – if you don’t feel safe walking through the park, avoid it and find another route to the university.
For now, the Student Union are still working with the Council to sort out a number of issues in the park and they are pleased to announce that work on the drainage system is due to start in the coming months. this will hopefully ease the flooding and will be the start of their mission to improve the park.
Sabbatical officers are also heading their Sshh! (Silent students, Happy homes) campaign. volunteers will be giving out lollypops every Friday after tooters urging students to be quiet on their journeys home, hoping it will help create better relations with their neighbours.
Community officer Simon Darvill, who helps, co-ordinate the campaign says “the campaign was hugely successful last year. we even had a letter from a local man printed in the evening Post thanking us for our consideration on a night when it was snowing. we’ve started it again this year hoping it will be as successful. it’s really important for community relations and its ongoing throughout the term, so anybody who wants to get involved, get in touch by dropping a line at
08 Opinion WATERFRONT 182 - 02/11/09
waterfront OPINIONWelsh Defence League March
Written By Jack HortonPhotography by John Curry
We’re black, white, Asian, Jewish and we’re gay...
In the 2008 European elections, two BNP party representatives, Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons gained seats in the European Parliament earning £78,000 per year to preach race hate. Connected organisations, the Welsh and English Defence Leagues take to the streets in a style reminiscent of Mussolini’s Squadristi, terrorising and attacking opponents.
Well, on Saturday the 17th of October the fascist Welsh Defence League brought their protests to the streets of Swansea. The Welsh Defence League’s anti-Muslim march was opposed by a vast array of groups from across the country including representatives from the Socialist Workers Party, Unite Against Fascism, the Socialist Party, NAPO, the Labour Party and of course many Swansea citizens.
The Welsh Defence League is a casual branch of the infamous British Nationalist Party, who strive to achieve a white Britain. Holocaust denier Nick Griffin, the BNP party leader, stated recently in a speech “I’d rather die today with my pride intact, fighting for what I believe in, than live the rest of my life as a sniffling pathetic slave to a multicultural society,”. The BNP try to legitimise their politics by wearing suits to appear to be politicians, but when its the weekend, they join up with their colleagues and party supporters at the Welsh or English Defence Leagues, put on balaclavas to terrorise minority groups, as they did a couple of weeks ago In Luton.
At about 2 o clock in Castle Square the opposition to the Welsh Defence League had assembled and the atmosphere was on fire, drums were pounding and chants echoed “Nazi scum, off our streets!” Some people danced, some people played drums, some just stood and enjoyed the atmosphere, glad to be part of the eclectic group of people with a common cause. A group of the WDL had gathered outside a pub at the top of Wind Street, skin heads bathing in the sun of the fresh Swansea day, cardboard signs folded at their sides, dogs held on leads. protesters repel the crowd of Welsh Defence League supporters
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk Opinion 09The WDL made the plunge, converging the two groups, but ended up making
their stand against the window of Pizza Express. Across the road, the police had formed a line in front of the anti-fascists insisting they moved back to Castle Square. The Welsh Defence League were clearly out for a fight, I saw one man rather savagely bashing his tattooed fists together while grinning at the opposing crowd, others had signs scrawled with things like ‘Cymry Taliban Hunters’. Someone in one of the flats above Pizza Express had hung a flag with a Swastika with a red circle round it and a line through it and one of the WDL climbed on the shop’s window and tore down the flag. He threw it down to the WDL mob and one of them burnt it.
I find it hard to believe the audacity of these people for using the term “patriotism isn’t racism” on their signs, while burning an anti Nazi flag. I can’t honestly say I’m the most patriotic person, but I can’t understand the WDL’s logic regarding the millions of British men who died in the Second World War fighting fascist Nazis. Surely many of their own parents or grandparents died at the hands of the Nazi’s in WWII. The failure to connect the fascism that they support with the fascism responsible for killing their relatives really does demonstrate the narrow mindedness of these people. It seems nonsensical, disrespectful and in bad taste to claim to be a patriot while burning an anti-Nazi flag.
Witnessing the racial hate of the WDL first hand really made me realise that fascism isn’t retired to the history books yet, it is still very much alive and kicking in our society. Today they are targeting Muslims, but there is no knowing who they will target next. It is great if you oppose the BNP and the Welsh Defence League, but the time has come where that isn’t enough. In opposing them in conversation but not in activism we are in effect giving them power. The anger and distrust that many people feel for politicians is real, and in many cases I’m sure it’s not far off the mark. But the rise of the far right wing is a broader issue than that. Politics will go in and out of fashion, but while we can, it is so necessary that we, the students and residents of Swansea do everything we can to prevent the BNP from gaining more power; be it through going out and voting at our next opportunity, by taking to the streets to oppose the Welsh Defence League, or by joining an organisation such as Unite Against Fascism. VISIT - www.uaf.org or [email protected]
waterfront OPINION Written By Luke James
WHITE Vs RED - The Battle of the Poppy“I renounce war and will never support or sanction another.”
I support white poppies and will be wearing one, alongside a red poppy, this Remembrance Day.But before you pick up the pitch forks and chase me out of the village let me explain why.
First things first though, I am not anti soldiers. My father was in the RAF, along with other members of my family and a number of my friends have joined the military in recent years.I am not the beret wearing, eco farm dwelling hippy with a goatee beard type you might associate with pacifism and white poppies.
And I am wearing a red poppy as a write this because I want to show respect and I want to support the good work the British Legion and veterans groups do for British soldiers.
But I do support white poppies because I believe it is alone in remembering all the victims of war, living and dead, including refugees and combatants on all sides whilst rejecting war.
The words “I renounce war and will never support or sanction another” are taken from a speech made by Harry Fosdick’s ‘Unknown Soldier’ sermon given in New York, 1933.
Fosdick had been a US Army chaplain who had supported America’s intervention in World War One, and in his speech apologised to the men who had lost their lives.He said: “If I blame anybody it is men like myself who ought to have known better. We went out to the army and explained to these valiant men what a resplendent future they were preparing for their children by their heroic sacrifices.”
“I renounce war because of what it does to our own men” and “what it compels us to do to our enemies”. ‘I renounce war for its consequences, for the lies it lives on and propagates, for the undying hatred it arouses, for the dictatorships it puts in the place of democracy, for the starvation that strikes after it.’
“I renounce war and will never support or sanction another” was made the original pledge of the Peace Pledge Union, set up in 1934, who took over the distribution of white poppies from Women’s Co-Operative Guild.
In my lifetime, just nine years ago in 1995 UN forces stood by and allowed Serb forces to force eight thousand Bosnian men and boys from a UN ‘safe zone’ to be massacred, where does that leave the idea of a just war and violence being used to legitimately protect people being attacked.
I struggle with the concept of how the UN allowed their troops, who were stationed to protect the safe zone, to stand by and allow this. War could be a never ending story for this planet, where people find one reason or another to attack each other we could set a president and reject violence as a solution to conflict.
They say it’s important to learn from your mistakes; and that is why I wear a white poppy to send the message no more war, enough is enough.
10 Features Waterfront 182 - 02/11/09
The Death of TheONCE UPON A TIME, there was a name synonymous with Swansea, with people com-ing from miles around to the renowned pub-crawl of the Mumbles Mile. In its heyday in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, the mile incorporated more than twenty pubs. However, these days the number has dwindled to less than half of that. The rise of the Mumbles Mile had its roots in the Temperance Movement in the late 19th century, which lead to public houses in Wales being shut on Sundays; however, a loophole in the law meant travellers who had journeyed more than three miles could have an alcoholic drink. Thousands of people made the five-mile journey from Swansea, and exercise their right to drink in the many pubs.
The mile enjoyed its halcyon days after the Second World War. One man I was chat-ting to in a pub a few years ago told me of the heady days decades ago, when him and his friends would take two coaches full of people down from the valleys. Each group would start at opposite ends of the mile and proceed to meet in the middle, before rolling on to the nightclub at the pier. However, the closure of the nightclub and many pubs has lead to what many people are branding the death of the Mumbles Mile. So what has happened to this piece of local history and tradition? Waterfront went to find out.
We head down on the bus on a typical Saturday evening, and begin in the William Hancock, which is bustling, yet not packed, and overall pleasant. The purpose of our visit is purely selfish – to take advantage of the large TV screen and Sky Sports. There is a friendly atmosphere, and two pints are bought for a very reasonable £4.20. After the rugby, we head to the pier to begin our crawl proper. Or so we thought.
Next to the amusements arcade and RNLI shop is a quaint little drinking hole called The Salty Bar. During the time we are in here, we are surrounded by no more than a handful of people; it is early evening yet, however barman Simon, who has been in the village for ten years, gives us an insight to the days of the old mile:
“Compared to what it was when I knew it 10 years ago, it’s pretty much dead. There is no mumbles mile any more, there’s prob-ably only about 5 or 6 bars really serving on a Saturday compared to about fifteen bars four or five years ago.”
We notice this as our journey continues. The Old George is now ‘SALT @ The George,’ a food orientated pub. The Mermaid (once a haunt of local born poet and legend Dylan Thomas), Patricks, and the Pilot are now purely food-orientated venues. Each one appears to be doing a roaring trade.
The Village Inn (now a brasserie) is full of people dining also. Once known as ‘Vincents,’ it was “the place” according to local residents, hairdresser Becky who has lived in the Mumbles all her life, and council worker Faye, a resident for around ten years, both in their late twenties. They also allude to the atmosphere of the mile, saying they “would never have dreamt” of going to the city centre to drink before the closures of pubs and decline in the number of people travelling to Mumbles. Becky says she never even went to the city centre to drink before the age of nineteen.
“I was going out in Mumbles at the age of fourteen which is very young but my parents knew Mumbles people. It was a good com-munity. You could walk into a pub on your own and not worry about if you’re going to be safe, you always knew somebody.” Becky has two children herself, but thinks it’s not as safe for youngsters these days. She tells us that before there was little or no trouble, and that “students provided a lot of the fun, the whole point of it;” however, a few years ago, a barman was glassed in one of the pubs, and subsequently died, reflecting a change in the atmosphere.
“Because so many places have closed down it’s not the same.” The atmosphere has changed too. “You’d do the mumbles mile thinking ‘wicked’, but now there’s six pubs, if that. Many of the good places have closed down and it’s really sad.”
Pub Crawl
Among the casualties are The Antelope and the (once) Famous Bear. Is this due to rise of city centre booze artery Wind Street? Simon thinks so. “A lot of it comes into that, those bars they can hold out, they can stay open every day and do offers. The village itself as a nightclub area or a big pub area has gone; it’s not there any more, it just can’t compete. You used to be able to come down and have such a laugh in every pub. The old mile’s legend. It was just so busy, every pub would be wedged, there would be atmosphere in every pub. Compared to now you have to go to town for it, it’s the only thing.”
The girls agree with this. Faye tells us “it’s died over the past seven years, and Wind Street kicking off hasn’t helped.” I ask if they think Wind Street is better. “No, I don’t think it’s better at all. I think if you’re out with your mates with the right kind of people then Mumbles as a town is better,” says Becky. “Mumbles all the way. I personally prefer Mumbles to town. I’ve grown up here.” Faye adds: “I used to prefer Mumbles to town. But when I was younger it used to be a lot busier and Wind Street didn’t exist.”
However, fellow student Tomos tells me “to be perfectly honest, if I was up for having a heavy night I would probably go to Wind Street. “It’s much more aggressive is the only thing, obviously the violence, there’s a lot of trouble down Wind Street whereas from the time I’ve spent up in Mumbles I’ve never had any problems at all.”
Is it the lack of a nightclub that puts people off travelling to the Mumbles these days? Tomos doesn’t think so: “I think if there was a nightclub down here people would probably have more of an issue getting home than they do now. I think if we were coming out of a nightclub here at two or three in the morning, and there were the kind of numbers you saw down Wind Street, I think you’d be waiting a long time for a taxi.”
Pub owners sell up as trade dries up
FRONTPacked with music,film, food, McGowan and McIntre It’s your essential culture guide
We Kid you not! inteRVieWs With AlistAiR MCGoWAn And MiChAel MCintyRe - pAGe 15
12 FRONT-CULTURE WATERFRONT 182-02/11/09
Art & Design: Interview with Chris Griffin at Attic Gallery
Until the 14th of November the Attic Gallery, located in the Maritime Quarter of Swansea, plays host to illustrious artist, Chris Griffin. The art itself is mainly comprised of landscapes and
houses in South Wales. The pictures are made up of reds and yellows, giving the art a warmer feel than that of most contemporary art representing the South Wales landscape. Griffin’s art is also unique in that the paintings appear to be very textured. I asked Griffin about his painting technique, “I did most of them in acrylic, and I give them texture by painting the colours on, and then scraping or sanding it down, and then doing that again. Each layer of the paint is slightly richer, and more colourful – it’s difficult to describe! It’s
something you wouldn’t get if you just put one colour down”. Despite focusing on painting, Griffin also used to dabble in collage, another art form that gives a unique texture to a picture. However, he returned to painting due to it being his favourite and most inspirational medium – “I was always attracted to the act of painting, and the process of delivering the image. If you see the show, you can see the work that goes into the making of the image, and it’s the fascination with paint that fascinates me more than anything else”.
Griffin was brought up in South Wales and is still based locally in Cardiff, so it’s no coincidence that local landscapes make up a large amount of his work. As well as having an extensive knowledge of the valleys, Griffin finds the features of the landscape interesting aesthetically, such as the angles and the shapes of a mostly steep landscape, making it a more interesting subject for his painting. Griffin exhibits regularly and in 2011 he’s hosting a 1 person show in the gallery that he works at. At this gallery Griffin works as part of an art co-
operative called Oriel Canfas, who host exhibitions and are home to many of the leading names in contemporary visual art. So far, Griffin’s exhibition at the Attic Gallery has had a very positive response, with plenty of sales. I asked him if there was a particular exhibition that stood out for him, “I did a retrospective back in 2002, where I was able to display work I did 20 years earlier. It was rewarding to see everything together, and it’s not often that we get the chance to do that.” Caitlin Gwynn
Music: Newton Faulkner’s gig and a talk with him after the show
For those of you who were unable to get tickets for the Newton Faulkner concert, this will either be somewhat of a consolation prize or possibly that extra jab that pushes you over the edge for not being able to go to the gig. For those lucky few who attended, this will be a nice recap of what was an
amazing night! The night started with the lovely Lisa Mitchell.Those of you that don’t recognise the name you may recognise one of her songs, Neopolitian Dreams, which featured in an advert for Surf. Many people realising this began whispering to each other “this is from that washing powder advert” (sadly I
was one of them!). By the end of her set I was embarrassed that I only knew her through an advert, as her songs and presence on stage were amazing. It was clear to see why Newton Faulkner had picked her for his support act and I myself would recommend anyone to check her out (even if its just for the “Surf” song!) Now on to the main gig itself! Considering Newton Faulkner is a well established artist now, with two albums, tours around Europe and the UK and performing at major festivals like Glastonbury, he could not be more down to earth! The gig felt like we were at an intimate venue rather than in the large Brangwyn Hall. When I asked Newton Faulkner how this gig compared to others so far, he replied “It was definitely up there! To be honest this tour has probably been the best tour I ever set in terms of the production, and having two albums to pick songs from
you definitely have more control over the dynamics, more than I have ever before. I think it’s been really interesting.”So to give you a few of the highlights of the gig, Newton Faulkner did an amazing cover of ‘No Diggty’ by Blackstreet, a new song he was working on that made him realised it could have been a song for Kermit the Frog (which led him to perform the song in the voice of Kermit!) But the most impressive thing about the concert was the way he used foot pedals to trigger certain things such as the sound and video of him playing a blow keyboard, or triggering himself singing backing vocals. I asked him how he came up with this idea of using pedals and multimedia and he said “I was just trying to think how to trigger things without it being under-hand or sneaky, I really wanted to be honest, so I figured the best way was to show that I was triggering something and trying to
make it really obvious.”This technique evokes a 21st century equivalent of a one-man band but instead of moving a leg or arm to play an instrument, he would simply press a certain pedal with his foot. I asked Newton what is it like being on stage by yourself, he said “I’m really used to it and have gotten really in to it especially since I’ve been doing it for a while now!”What better way is there to sum up this concert than with the words of Newton Faulkner himself, “It was really fun! An amazing place to play! It was wicked!”So let’s just hope that he visits Swansea again soon so those who missed out can go and see why they really shouldn’t have missed out the first time round.
Tom Maya
Music: Interview with Westcott and Rodway on at the Taliesin
Award winning piano and guitar combo, Adam Westcott and Will Rodway bring their distinctive blend of flamenco tinged jazz to Taliesin this November. Will Rodway told Waterfront about the duo’s background and origins; “Adam comes from Devon and I am a Londoner. We met at Exeter University where we both graduated in music”. Will spoke about the eclectic mix of musical influences that went into the Westcott & Rodway sound “Our main musical inspirations are flamenco, both classical and modern, with Paco Pena and
Paco de Lucia the biggest influences. I am a big fan of jazz pianist Keith Jarrett and his incredible keyboard technique, but also like catchy pop songs, like the stuff Shakira does. I hear a lot of stuff I like on the ‘Pop Justice’ web site. Muse and Radiohead are inspiring because they make intelligent pop music and are able to reach a broad audience”. Will was trained as a classical pianist so who did he most admire amongst the classical pantheon of composers “I love Debussy’s harmonic techniques and the modernist approach of Bartok especially the atmospheric music featured on the soundtrack to Jack Nicholson’s film
‘The Shining’ “. I asked Will what kind of gig we could look forward to at the Taliesin “Its going to be a virtuoso extravaganza with an informal atmosphere. The music is approachable and melodic staying true to the standard pop song formula of three and a half minute long compositions.”Have any of the Duo’s recent performances prepared them for their much anticipated appearance at Taliesin “Adam and I recently played in front of a packed house at the Royal Albert Hall on the same bill as Kenny G. It was a thrill to perform in front of 5000 people at the Albert Hall, but we are
just as happy to play in more intimate venues where the audience is closer to the music. We’re looking forward to performing in Swansea; the Taliesin gig will be our Welsh debut so we hope that lots of students turn up”. Westcott and Rodway’s debut album ‘All in good time’ is now available from online stores and music retail venues. Westcott & Rodway at Taliesin Saturday 14th November. Advance booking offer £3 for all full time Swansea University Students Limited availability. £5 standby tickets Paul Seacombe
Books: Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama
Controversy has never failed to follow President Barack Obama. Allegations of terrorist allegiances dogged his presi-dential campaign and most recently he was heavily criticised for being unwor-thy of the Nobel Peace Prize. While his accomplishments in peace can be
doubted, no one could bring in to ques-tion his literary success. “Dreams From My Father: A Story Of Inheritance And Race” was published in 1995 and later re-released in 2004, when Presidential terms were but a twinkle in Barack’s eyes. The book follows Obama’s journey from birth until his acceptance to Harvard Law School, taking in a trip to Kenya in the process. In many ways, this is Obama’s attempt to discover himself. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and American mother, it is easy to see why Obama may have suffered from a conflicted sense of identity. The
book also serves as an exploration of race issues in the United States, includ-ing Obama’s own personal experiences of racism, a foreshadowing of events that would almost derail his Presidential campaign.Obama is the perfect narrator. His prose flows naturally and his writing is exceptionally sophisticated for a first-time writer. Imagine sitting at the knee of your favourite uncle as he tells you stories of his youth and you have the right idea.The narrative is heartbreaking, with Obama recounting the divorce of his
parents, the tragic death of his father to a drink-driving accident and his poign-ant visit to relatives in Kenya. He has an incredibly affinity with the reader and he never slips into sentimentality, instead always treating every emotional moment with sincerity and tact. It would be wrong, however, to assume that this book is all doom and gloom. As a political memoir, it is incred-ibly uplifting and serves to remind us that even those born in the humblest circumstances can rise to success.If there is a negative one could find with Dreams From My Father, it’s that
Obama often uses it as a platform to moralise on issues. While this is no bad thing in certain places, it often takes the reader out of the book and away from the more poignant and organic mo-ments of reflection that arise.President Barack Obama is 10 months into his term and he has never been more scrutinised and under the spotlight. If you can spare a moment between mountains of reading for your myriad courses, delve into this superb memoir and gain an insight into the most powerful man in the world. Rhodri Diaz
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk FRONT - CULTURE 13
Film: Previews of upcoming films at the Taliesin
Katyn 15 16th November
Andrzej Wajda is perhaps best known in Britain for his 1950s war trilogy featuring A Generation, Kanal and Ashes & Diamonds. However, the 83 year old Pole has been making films since the beginning of that decade and upon approaching 60 years within the upper echelons of European cinema, Wajda has produced arguably one of his
`most personal and controversial films yet. The Oscar nominated* Katyn is constructed from numerous memoirs and diaries, and focuses on the events following the Stalin-ordered massacre of around 22,000 Polish prisoners of war (POW) at the hands of the Soviets, at Katyn forest in the spring of 1940. The POWs contained 8,000 of the Polish military officer corps (including Wajda’s father Jakub), with the remaining 14,000 belonging to the intelligentsia or being classed as professional citizens, such
as lawyers and landowners. The film is seen mainly through the eyes of the women who are left searching and longing for their husbands, fathers and brothers following the sandwiched invasion of Poland in 1939; the Nazis from the West, and the Soviets from the East. Three years after the massacre, the advancing Germans discover the mass graves and attempt to use it as a wedge to drive between the Soviets and its Western Allies – this leads to Soviet denial for the crime and a placing of the blame on the Nazis, a denial that was
still held until Gorbachev finally admitted Russian culpability in 1990. However, within the film, this contradiction of blame leads to both uncertainty and terrible suffering for the women left behind and shows the true harrowing nature of war-time life, especially when it is accompanied by the realisation that what you are being told by the authorities is not necessarily the truth.*Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film (2008). Nathan Shaw
Creation(TBC)18th November
Directed by Jon Amiel from a screenplay by John Colee, starring Paul Bettany ( the DaVinci Code , Wimbledon, A Beautiful Mind) as Charles Darwin , Emma Darwin is played by his actual real life wife Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond , A Beautiful Mind). The Film is based upon the book called “Annie’s Box” by Randal Keynes, the book is about his great great grandfather Charles Darwin’s life.
The film follows Charles Darwin’s epic journey in writing his book. Struggling to come to terms with the death of his daughter, he’s a world renowned scientist but a true family man, he fights between his wife’s deeply religious beliefs and writing about a world where God has no significance in the actual creation. The book itself could ruin Darwin as he lives in a world where religion is above all else; he could be killed for his ideas. He has to decide between faith, love and truth. What does he do? What does he decide? You seriously have to watch the film and find out the answers for yourself as it is simply amazing.This film is truly spectacular a must see, the acting is brilliant – the main characters obviously seem extremely credible as husband and wife as they are in real life! The love they show on screen makes the story, the settings are extremely romantic also, but beyond this it’s absolutely incredible to know how Charles Darwin, one of the leading scientists of all time would have struggled in making the decision as to whether to publish his book or not.
Gemma Davies and Charlotte Ellis
A Bit of Tom Jones159th November
Peter Watkins’ debut feature film, A Bit of Tom Jones, is the latest in home-grown filmmaking. Shot entirely on location in Tredegar in just four weeks, the film centres around Henry (Jonathan
Owen), who whilst drinking in a bar, is approached by a mysterious woman who offers to sell him the severed appendage of Welsh musical legend, Tom Jones. Certain he can make a fortune; Henry purchases the item and then convinces his best friend, Teddy, to help him to enter the world of body part trading and attempt to sell it to an obsessive fan. What follows is a series of bizarre events, which includes the boys having a fight with a gorilla, being kidnapped by adult babies and getting caught up in the “slowest police chase in cinema history.”Despite its minimal budget, A Bit of Tom Jones boasts an array of Welsh acting talent, such as Torchwood’s Eve Myles and Margaret John, who is perhaps most well-known for her role as ‘Nana Boosh’ in The Mighty Boosh and most recently, as the rebellious pensioner,
Doris, in BBC Three’s award-winning comedy, Gavin and Stacey, a character that clearly inspires her role in A Bit of Tom Jones.
The film has been likened to Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz by some critics, however, its style of humour is slightly darker and frequently draws from the distinctive humour of the Welsh Valleys, which arguably positions the film closer to Kevin Allen’s 1997 film, Twin Town.Described by the film’s director as “a lowbrow comedy for lowbrow people,” A Bit of Tom Jones can undoubtedly be viewed as somewhat puerile and frequently implausible. However, the film’s strength comes from the fact that it does not take itself too seriously and never attempts to shy away from the fact that is a film that has been created purely to act as a form of “shameless” escapist entertainment for cinema audiences. Sarah HillAway We Go1517th November
Away We Go is a light hearted comedy
directed by Sam Mendes and written by husband and wife duo, Dave Eggers and Vedela Vida. The movie is a sweet, heart warming film about a couple who find themselves accepting the challenges of parenthood and a new life of responsibility. The plot is based around a young un-married couple in their mid 30’s, Verona De Tassant (Maya Rudolph) and Burt Farlander (John Krasinski). The pregnancy forces both Verona and Burt to question their lives and achievements as they still struggle to meet the demands of daily life and provide a home for themselves. In their sixth month of pregnancy they discover that Burt’s mother and father decide to fulfil their lifelong dreams and move to Antwerp, Belgium for two years. Without Burt’s parents around they realise they do not have a reason to stay in the area. Prompted by the news of Burt’s parents, they decide to travel across America to find a place to call home and somewhere to raise their family. Throughout the movie they visit the families of old
colleagues, friends and relatives taking them to Phoenix, Miami, Madison and Montreal. Along the way they encounter unusual parenting techniques, dysfunctional relationships and the innocent love of the children they visit, preparing them for the new life ahead. Away We Go explores and makes light of the dynamics of human relationships and the transition from one stage of life to another. The film is relatable to anyone who has embarked on a new stage in their life or is currently questioning what path to take. The story subtly pokes fun at these milestones and creates a humorous and entertaining movie that can be enjoyed by all. Rosalyn Thomas
Event: Black History Month
Black History Month takes place across the UK every October and has been going for over 30 years. Black History Month is a time when we bring together and summate the achievements of the
black community and show people the cultural impact that our communities have had. Most of all, it is a celebration of traditions and history that has, in some way, had an effect on all of us.
I can already hear some readers asking, why? Why do we need a month like this? Well, let’s look at what happened in Swansea earlier this October. The Welsh Defence League, a subsidiary to the British National Party planned a march in Swansea, part of a greater campaign of marches against racial equality and religious freedom across the UK. It isn’t the fact that this ‘march’ was planned during Black His-tory Month, nor their interesting grasp of what a peaceful demonstrations is that made me an even strong proponent of Black History Month. It is the fact
that such a group exists, with a genuine core motive to devalue and reverse the cultural significance that Black and eth-nic minority communities have brought to Britain.
It’s very easy to look around at the bad; rising unemployment, the media with its repeated top stories concerning Moneygeddon (the recession) and of course then, you could follow the far right line of argument that is immigra-tion - the scapegoat- that, according to them, caused all of this. However, before you do, I’d ask the readers of this article to consider the fact that most probably, the ancestors of ‘those immigrants’ have contributed in many ways to the Britain we see now. Most prominently, they fought alongside British forces:
In World War Two, there were over 400 airmen from the Caribbean who flew as part of the RAF, about 70 receiving commissions, 103 decora-tions for distinguished service and over a hundred gave their lives fighting for Britain. I’m sure many will be quick to point out that relatively, this is pretty much small fish. However, when you begin to consider the other ethnic mi-norities who also fought alongside our soldiers, the numbers do start to add up.
As the lyric in Bob Marley’s ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ states : “If you know your history then you would know where you coming from” – when we speak of history, we don’t just talk about what happened years ago, events detached from today, we talk about actions that continue to shape our lives in
the present and future. Black History Month in Britain is truly British. Black History month understands the need to learn from the past as well as keeping a close eye on the future. This is why our events during Black history month are not only examples of the past, but also, are celebrations of contemporary Black culture as we see it today. Those who attended ‘The Swansea Black History Month Concert’ will be able to vouch for the contrasting mix and its effec-tiveness in displaying the evolution of Black History Month into British Black History Month.
Zahid A. RajaSwansea University Black Students Officer
14 FRONT-CULTURE WATERFRONT 182-02/11/09
Food & Drink: Review of GiGi’s on St Helens Road
An extra hour in bed? An extra hour to finish the book you were meant to read for tomorrow’s lecture? Or maybe just an extra hour to sit in front of that beloved shiny screen and do some high quality social networking! Well, last Sunday we spent that extra hour utterly bemused and bewildered as to why half of Swansea’s restaurants were not yet open at ten to six in the evening. After
a good half an hour’s meandering along St Helen’s road we were met very kindly by the owner of GiGi’s who not only welcomed us into his own not-yet-open restaurant but also offered us the reality that was: the time. It was not, as we had thought, half past six, but in fact, just gone half past five. A glass of house wine later, a comfy seat by the bar, a quick under-the-table clock change on the mobile phone and the terrifying ordeal of living in a world an hour ahead had just about been forgotten. Gianluigi Romano was extremely welcoming of our overly early custom and took great pleasure in giving us a tour of the entire restaurant including a personal exhibition of his own artwork, in particular a striking image of Venice on the back wall. The restaurant can be likened to David Tennant’s tardis; from the outside GiGi’s appears deceptively small but after having had our Italian tour we were enlightened not only by the restaurant’s size but also the amount of cosy alcoves and separate dining areas for larger groups, not that the tardis was
distinct in its abundance of dining areas but for the size comparison it’s certainly similar! We were sat at a table for two and much to our famished delight were greeted with a basket of fresh bread and a ramekin of black olives and chilli. Apparently we had not embarrassed ourselves enough that evening and whilst professing our student maxim that free food is good food, managed to polish off the entire basket of bread and all the olives in no less than ten minutes. Our main order consisted of ‘Paillard of Chicken’ – a char grilled chicken breast on a bed of rocket salad with extra virgin olive oil and a portion of buttered new potatoes and ‘Abbaccio con Salse di Marsala con Albicocche’, a shin of lamb braised with apricot and marsala wine accompanied by buttered noodles. With regard to presentation, each portion had the utmost attention to detail with fresh chives and parsley delicately garnishing the plate and the lamb’s apricot not only complimented the flavour flawlessly but looked fantastic against the darker
colours of the lamb and wine gravy. I can’t help but wonder if we had been sat in our particular seats strategically or not as the cabinet to our right encapsulated a cornucopia of desserts including handmade profiteroles, tiramisu, apple strudel and fresh strawberries that we did not need to second guess! An order of profiteroles later and we were sticking forks in ourselves because we were well and truly done; GiGi’s provides the authenticity one would expect of an Italian-run Italian restaurant with local music and authentic artwork. The variety in dining space caters for both those looking for an intimate experience and those requiring a party; the service was both welcoming and swift and all the while maintained that Italian reputation for friendly conversation. Perhaps to an extent lost in the jungle of restaurants and shops on St Helen’s road, GiGi’s makes for a welcome respite from the array of instant pastas and takeaway pizzas which can constitute quite a large proportion of the student diet. Main course prices range from around
£8 to £15 whilst you can get a lighter ‘Antipasti’ bite for a lot less. So whether you’ve utilized the extra hour of last weekend or not, we highly recommend taking some time out to relax in the Italian retreat of GiGi’s, Swansea’s own little piece of the Mediterranean!
Sophie Bamber & Emma Mesney
Food & Drink: Review of The Bay View on Oystermouth RdWinter is slowly approaching with the day becoming shorter and those bitter cold evenings resulting in wrapping up warm. One place which is full of warmth is The Bay View Hotel, situated on the corner of Oystermouth Road.The pub doesn’t look very big on the outside, but surprisingly it is a reasonable size inside, consisting of a bar, lounge and dining area. I went on a Sunday evening with a friend for the £8.95 all you can eat Thai buffet, which was a slight change to the average £15 take-away pizza.Once inside, your attention is attracted by the traditional pub values, such as the old wooden furnishings in the bar area and dim lighting. This contrasts with the mixed modern furnishings in the dining
section. It’s quite unique that Thai food is served in such a tradtional looking pub.On arrival you’re greeted by friendly staff, who ask you to take a seat whilst they pour the drinks. I was quite inquisitive at first, wondering where the buffet was situated, but the bar man explained it was a mini buffet brought to you on the table!The delicious starters contained spring rolls, honey and soy chicken wings, prawn toast and prawn crackers, which were all fresh and served piping hot.There are four main courses included in the buffet which have been carefull selected from the weekday menu. These courses include Pad Khing, Moo Pad Prik Khing, Med Mamaung Himmaparn,
and Kaeng Lao served with steamed rice and noodles!My favourite dishes were the tasteful Pad Khing which is stir fried chicken with ginger complimented by mushrooms and peppers. The Kaeng Lao, is a mild, sweet tasting yellow curry with chicken, potato, green beans and coconut milk. I felt this was quite light and definitely a choice for those who don’t like spicycurry. All the dishes were cooked to perfection and if you required any more then you just ask a staff member who’ll bring it out immediately. During the week the venue offers a variety of entertainment such as Jazz night and sporting events. Don’t fancy staying in or travelling to town? The Bay View is the perfect
place to relax any day of the week, within walking distance of the University at affordable prices. Luke Samuel-Curtis
Event: Review of The Dylan Thomas Street Party
“I was born in a large Welsh town at the beginning of the Great War – an ugly, lovely town, or so it was and is to me...”It’s Tuesday morning in Uplands, the former home of Swansea’s renowned poet Dylan Thomas, and we’re about to amble right into the heart of the ‘Summer Fete in Autumn’ commemorating the poet’s 95th birthday. The street is decorated with handmade bunting, stalls line Uplands Square and street artists entertain children and adults alike. Not only is it the beginning of
another University week but it’s also the start of school half term and the whole community seems to be getting involved, from the very young to the very old. From the 25th to the 27th of October there are various festivities in and around the Uplands area. We’ve taken time out of a suitably lecture laden timetable to find out a little bit more about the celebration and meet some of the local residents, contemporaries and people who have been inspired by the work of their local celebrity.
Upon moseying into the festivities we immediately came across a sea captain towering high above us on stilts. It was none other than Dylan Thomas’ Captain Cat, the familiar character from the radio play ‘Under Milkwood’. Dressed in perfect accordance and with flawless resemblance to the statue in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter, this local resident did a terrific job of portraying the old blind sea captain and in doing so brought back to life, if only for the day, some of Thomas’ most famous work. In the same way that Dylan Thomas was able to communicate the beauty of new life, nature and biological diversity through his poetry the local people in Uplands today have taken time to pass onto younger generations, the beauty and significance of Thomas’ work. Through various arts and crafts stalls, a giant jigsaw piece treasure hunt and tombola we saw children of all ages enjoying and learning about their Swansea heritage. Captain Cat was making a particular effort to encourage involvement by twisting many a balloon
into various fantastical objects! Indeed this all seemed like great fun for the children and it wasn’t long before we were contemplating a small respite in Uplands Tavern! However, the fun was even extended to the over-eighteens with a create-your-own-cocktail competition which, we think, was championed by one particular little old lady’s concoction of ginger ale, blackcurrant, lemon juice and rum, very tasty, that’s the drink not the old lady!With more festivities in the evening and an attempt at a Guinness World Record on Sunday 25th the Dylan Thomas celebrations were far from limited. ‘The Chattery’ in Uplands is played host to local poet Peter Thabit Jones and the musician Terry Clark whilst ‘Uplands Tavern’ held a Dylan Look Alike Challenge with an abundance of music. Uplands itself is highly popular for student dwelling and as a consequence of this the level of student involvement in the 95th birthday celebrations was quite high. If anything the fete has heightened awareness about Dylan
Thomas and increased the amount of interaction between the student body and the local community. The entire event was described by one of the locals as being an “astounding success” with a “high turnout” of both local people and students getting involved. So whether it was just for the music in the evening, for a free balloon or for a picture next to Captain Cat it’s been a great week for bringing the community together, extending cultural awareness and celebrating the 95th birthday a remarkable, and as we’ve discovered, a much beloved man of Swansea, be it only for the contemporary label of a “pretty, shitty city”, but we all know that’s not true now don’t we?! Sophie Bamber & Emma Mesney
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk FRONT - CULTURE 15
Stage: Interview with Michael McIntyre“
Comedy is a reaction to the financial crisis or the fact that everyone jumps every time someone sneezes. Which reminds me, I must invest in an anti-bacterial gel company!” This is Michael McIntyre on why his ‘Comedy Road Show’ has been such an enormous success and such an unquestionable hit with the British public. Here we have one of Britain’s liveliest, most exuberant and shamelessly hilarious new stars of comedy revealing to us why he thinks
that there is such a “climate for comedy at the moment”. McIntyre visited Swansea for the Comedy Road Show back in April and had the Grand Theatre in a comical uproar after instigating some non-controversial conversation about certain Welsh traditions, in particular the Welsh love of homeland and culture. The comedian points out that whilst we here in Wales have a preference for singing the unofficial national anthem ‘Bread of Heaven’, our New Zealand opponents prefer the more “hostile”, warrior like composure! McIntyre has the theatre in hysterics as he performs his newly learnt and exceptionally mispronounced Welsh words. He evaluates the enunciation of the double ‘D’ sound and the procuring of a bra that also incorporates this double lettering! McIntyre is not afraid to exhibit his affections for the spotlight and after having appeared on well-known shows such as ‘Have I got News for You’ and ‘Mock the Week’ his feelings on his upcoming performance at the O2 Arena are filled with the promise that he’s “going to give more of myself than I ever have before. The comedian assures us that “The vibe in these huge spaces
helps me raise my game. Adrenalin is vital to a performer, and at an arena show I’m going to have more of it than I’ve ever had!” Having had such an outstanding success with the release of his DVD “Michael McIntyre: Live & Laughing” and the BBC 1 hit, “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Road Show” it is no wonder that the comedian is on such a high; “I love performing, even when I’m out and about,” Michael says “I really enjoy it. I’ve always hoped my life would be like this, and now it is! I feel extremely lucky. It’s lovely when people come up to you in the street and say, ‘my husband loves you’. What else would you want? It’s not like I’m infamous. I’m just trying to make people laugh, and when it’s working, there is nothing nicer!”Getting back to his performance in Swansea, McIntyre remarks on the hilarity of the toll booth and enquires as to whether Welsh natives “get in for free?” He points out that his time in Wales had been particularly enhanced by the length of the translation for ‘Services’ on passing through the toll and again generated yet more laughter when asking for, by way of applause “who here actually speaks
Welsh?”, with the non-speaking half of the auditorium generating the more thunderous response! “It’s about finding extra layers in your material and creating more comedy. Jerry Seinfeld said that a good audience helps you experiment and a bad audience helps you edit. A responsive crowd is great – they help you see new things in your comedy. There is always a more expansive way of saying something.” McIntyre is not afraid of large audiences, not that a stand-up comedian should be by any means but the entertaining, vibrant and upbeat Englishman sees his upcoming arena tour as “absolutely incredible.” He adds that he “could freak out at the thought of playing to all those people. But then I think, ‘it’s going to be a real high.’ It’s amazing to consider that on this arena tour, over 350,000 people are coming to see me...Or 17 after they’ve all caught swine flu. ‘Welcome to the 02. I’ve got 349,983 sick notes to get through, so let’s make this quick!’”
McIntyre’s pedestrian jesting allows for a universally accessible escape from recession blues. His mere presence is enough to have an audience in hysterics and his apparent ability to turn any, every
day task into some kind of amusement is beyond loveable. McIntyre has certainly found his way into the heart of the British public by brightening up the dull and dreary financially focused climate and replaced our morning cereal of ‘Credit Crunch’ with that of ‘McIntyre Merriment’! The comedian knows that his profession is a big responsibility; “at first I thought, ‘blimey, this is going to be difficult. You’re asking thousands of people to look at you and you have to be superhuman to achieve that’. But then I started thinking, ‘why not? Let’s really go for it. Let’s run around and fill this enormous space with energy!’ I’m not complacent – I know you have to keep working at it. But I just can’t wait!” McIntyre is performing at the Cardiff International Arena on the 18th November and having proved so popular with his Welsh enthusiasts, on the 21st as well for an extra show. His second DVD release ‘Hello Wembley’ is out this autumn, (Nov 16th, Universal Pictures UK).
Sophie Bamber & Emma Mesney
Stage: Interview with Alistair Mcgowan
Thursday the 5th November sees the renowned impressionist, Alistair McGowan take to Swansea’s Grand Theatre as part of his 2009 tour ‘The One and Many ... Alistair McGowan’. He tells us that one of the reasons for coming back was sparked while performing in Panto “In the middle of the show, I did a solo spot and it went
really well. That made me think, ‘it’s great fun doing the voices and people obviously really love them.’ The brand new one-man show promises more of McGowan’s recognized flair for “performing what [he] observes”. The comedian’s ability to pluck characters out of thin air and suddenly embody all of their well-known attributes is something McGowan is particularly famed for; his legendary impressions of well known celebrities such as Beckham and Sven Goran Eriksson have allowed a wide-ranging audience to be impressed by the master of a million different voices. The 44-year old assures us that this latest tour will not only incorporate the old favourites but also make room for “a very nice clutch of people I haven’t done before.” Having had four years out of the limelight McGowan has had time to generate fresh and up-to-the-minute impressions of the ‘How to Look Good Naked’ star Gok Wan, London’s Boris Johnson and even Bear Grylls. The comedian contemplates what it is that people love about impressions and make his repertoire of popular characters so appealing; “When people watch
comedy, they love to pat themselves on the back and say, ‘that’s exactly what I think!’ It’s the same with impressions. They may have been aware of something about Colin Firth or Gary Lineker, but until I point it out, they have never really analysed it. So when I say, ‘doesn’t Gok Wan sound exactly like Simon Cowell, but camper?’, audiences recognise that and immediately laugh.” McGowan has recently done work for WWF-UK and is a passionate campaigner; earlier this year used his “words” to help prevent a third runway being built at Heathrow with Greenpeace. McGowan expresses his love for language in all aspects of life, “I’ve always been obsessed with words. They have such power – we all carry these incredible weapons in our heads.” Now with the launch of “The One the Many...” we can appreciate why McGowan took time out of the spotlight; “Years ago, I’d see comedians leaving the circuit and then coming back, and I’d think, ‘why?’ But now I completely understand that. There are a lot of new gags I want to tell and a lot of new ideas I want to give vent to. Since
the end of the TV show, I’ve had four years to re-fuel, and now I’m relishing the prospect of coming back with all this fresh material.” McGowan’s tour is packed with performances around the UK and when asked how he feels about such a bursting calendar, he responds “I’m booked up till January, but I love being busy. I don’t think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew but, by God, my jaws are aching right now!” The wonderful thing about McGowan is his honesty and classically British self-deprecating humour. He remarks upon the sometimes difficult challenge of reaching a variety of humour levels in saying “you can’t try and be like the latest 22-year-old – you just have to do what you think is funny”, and that is exactly why the comedian has such a loyal following. He doesn’t tread on controversial eggshells, skirt around touchy topics or refrain from fact, no, McGowan offers a perfect combination of good-natured observations and impressions in everything down to accent, posture and facial expression. “I’ve never thought that only doing one thing is what life is all about. There is
such a richness in diversity.”Before taking off, Mcgowan muses on the popularity of his impressions; “People really do love impressions. It’s like necromancy – people don’t expect that voice to come out of that face. There you are, talking like yourself when suddenly –bang! – ‘why is Louis Theroux speaking out of your face? That’s not right!’ They adore being taken by surprise like that. It’s the ultimate magic act.” McGowan’s tour is coming to Swansea on the 5th November. It’s title “The One the Many...Alistair McGowan”, comes from Shakespeare’s ‘Richard II’, “Thus play I in one person many parts and none of them contented”, which in itself sums up this sharp-witted comedian. McGowan sums up our interview by telling us that he chose the title “not just because I do lots of different voices, but also because there are many sides to me and to all of us...stand-up is about inviting the audience into your world rather than producing something homogenized. I feel that now I’m realising my own voice.”
Sophie Bamber and Emma Mesney
Stage:
About five months ago, I was sat in my room at home looking at my finished masterpiece, my One Act play, “Perks”, after a month of hard typing, was finally finished. Presenting my work in June to a group of thirty people for scrutiny was terrifying, but I got the desired result. “Perks”, as well as another one act play, “This Small World”, had been
selected to be performed in the next academic year! Fast forward to October 2nd, the cast lists are published and the actors are now getting hold of their scripts. It was only then that it dawned on me that we would be performing on November 12th, 6 weeks time. Panic stations! Rehearsals were scheduled, every Monday and Thursday, and in the beginning I don’t think any of us thought we’d get there. Scripts being forgotten, the inevitable people having to drop out for other commitments, rehearsal days clashing with other things, ah the joys of directing! But now, with two weeks
to go, I’m excited just at the thought of a rehearsal! Watching people who’d never even heard of the play until less than a month ago speaking lines I’d written and getting so well into a character that I’ve created is such an amazing feeling. There’s never a dull moment in rehearsals, between harassing the Tech Crew for props, watching the Pantomime cast being horrified with their dodgy song lyrics and directors not knowing any of their cast’s real names, only character names – there’s always something going on!Taking two completely unknown plays
from words on paper to full plays in the space of six weeks is definitely hectic and stressful – but we wouldn’t have it any other way! I’m sat here, watching a group of people who only met each other a month ago acting like family – and loving every single second of it. How often can someone say that they’ve accomplished one of their dreams – to write and direct a play – by the age of twenty? Shoreline Theatre has given me so much more than I ever expected to gain from a society – I can honestly say that through Shoreline I’ve met some of the best people I could ever hope to
know, and made some truly amazing friends. Being given the opportunity to realise a dream is just a bonus, albeit a fantastic one! We have over 170 members – and there’s always space for more!! If you’re interested in anything even vaguely theatre/technical related, email us on [email protected], and come see “Perks”, a comedy about ‘people overheard’ and “This Small World”, a play concerned with war and truth, in Monkey Bar/Café on Thursday November 12th, at 7.30pm, tickets are £6.50 or £5 for concessions/students. Becca Cooper
16 FRONT - MUSIC WATERFRONT 182 -02/11/09
SCHOOLS OUT FOR BELLA!
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Reporter Bella Whately chats to the youthful band of Flambouyant Bella about touring, leaving school and when their tour arrives in Swansea.
Music Editor James Taylor delves deep into his heart and gives a tearful speech about the musical deaths of 2009.
At the start of the night, I was struggling to see what it really was which made DJ EZ, a renowned DJ and a successful 10 year employee of Kiss 100, such a special occasion. I understood that he had mixed a CD which went on to achieve platinum record sales, and that he had been doing this job for almost all of his life, but despite knowing of these achievements, I was unsure as to what made DJ EZ such a standout DJ, and why he is often referred to as “The UK’s Number One” within the garage scene. However, as soon EZ hit the stage there was already a thick crowd of people all over the dance floor, the atmosphere was electric, and everybody was already having a fantastic time. It was this which helped me to see almost straight away, what I had been missing up until I had seen EZ come onto the stage. I realized that it was EZ’s pure talent and brilliance, along with the fact that everything seemed to flow so naturally, from the mixing of the tracks ensuring that the atmosphere was maintained, to the well organized switch over of dancers. This helped to ensure that EZ’s stage show maintained its well crafted image the whole night. These factors are what contributed towards what it was
which made this night so special. It was seeing this incredible performance which helped me to see that DJ EZ is much more than a DJ, he is a very talented entertainer, the way in which EZ knew exactly what it was which was needed in order to make this night so very memorable. The way in which EZ managed to keep the tracks flowing, meant that the crowd didn’t actually appear to really die down by the time he approached the end of his flawless set. As it came towards the end of EZ’s set I could see that the majority of the crowd really seemed to want more, however all good things must come to an end, and this includes DJ EZ’s set. Unfortunately, DJ EZ was not an ‘EZ’ man to get hold of as I was unable to actually get an interview with the crafty disk jockey which I had hoped for. But despite this minor disappointment I left Oceana in awe of this incredible performer, and with the memory of an amazing night which I doubt that I, or anyone else who was in Oceana’s Ice House that night, will be forgetting any time soon.
EZ COME,EZ GO!Reporter Ben Wilkinson reviews the night about Kiss FM’s local DJ hero - DJ EZ, and how the slippery DJ was able to escape Ben’s Q‘n’A grilling.
Hey Flo how’s it going?Flo: Good thanks, yeah!
Right, if I could get your names and the role of each person please?Flo: Well we have James [McBreen] who plays synths, guitar and vocals, I [Flo Kirten] play guitar and sing, Mitch [Rose] plays bass and Elliot [Rose] plays the drums.
Your band’s name sort of jumped out at me as I’m also a Bella! What’s the story behind the name?Flo: I wasn’t actually in the band when they decided on a name. They wracked their brains to the point of madness until they looked through a newspaper and found the headline ‘Flamboyant Bella’ and it kind of stuck.
So did you guys start off playing locally before touring, or did you get the classic ‘big break’?Flo: Yeah we started off really locally as we couldn’t really travel far, so people don’t really hear about you. Things really started to change when we got our manager on board; we started to tour as soon as we started working with him.
Are you still all in school at the moment?Flo: No we all left a year ago but Mitch (the bassist) has just gone back to college, he actually stopped just after he finished his GCSE’s but now he sort of wants to get some grades under his belt.
So was it difficult to juggle touring and school?Flo: Um, no it was alright. You don’t really get a break, I mean as soon as it gets round to half term you’re off
out on the road, I guess that was fairly difficult with coursework but I wasn’t complaining to be honest.
Got any interesting anecdotes from touring?Flo: I guess in the past we’ve done some naked running around Travel Lodges and things…
You’ve recently been No.4 in MySpace top unsigned bands. How does it feel to have such a large fan base?Flo: Yeah we’ve always had a great response from MySpace, it’s great to use to talk to fans and we use it to book gigs a lot.
I hear you recently packed out Islington Academy, I bet that was a great...Flo: Yeah we played there the first time in the big room, then the second time in
the smaller room with Example and that sold out. We did a tour with him a couple of months ago which was pretty mad.
You were on tour with Kid British when you were supposed to play in Swansea right? What happened there?Flo: Yeah we are still on tour with them now. We’re playing a show in Leicester tonight which we’re headlining.
Have they not dropped out of the tour?Flo: They all came down with the flu while we were in Bournemouth, we did our sound check and they were like; “Sorry guys we’re going to have to pull the show” but the promoter still wanted us to play and it actually ended up being a really good show. All their fans stuck around and really enjoyed our music. They had to pull out of Swansea the day
after too unfortunately...but the show will definitely be rescheduled - we will be playing in Swansea soon.
A lot of your music is about the teenage experience, how do you see your music progressing as you get older?Flo: I think lyrically we’ve gotten a lot more advanced as we’ve got older, we’ve got a wider vocabulary for one *laughs*. We’re still learning all the time which is really exciting because as we learn our music is changing and growing so rapidly. We’ve been writing some new material and everything has been getting punchier. There’s more attitude so yeah, it’s really exciting.
Right, that’s great, thanks for taking the time to talk, hope to catch you’re rescheduled Swansea gig!Flo: Yeah great, thank you. See you!
It seems the year of the Grim Reaper is 2009 with many celebrities’ deaths flooding tabloids over the past 10 months; from such late greats as the sexy Farrah Fawcett to the ditsy Jade Goody. However, I am here to narrow down the ‘A-list’ obituaries to a more musical taste. So let us bow our heads in prayer, and shed a tune-filled tear to the late ‘greats’ that have now left us, as I now begin the eulogy with the first of our singing spirits. I think it would be fitting to begin this ceremonial piece with the most recent pop death - Stephen Gately. To those of you who didn’t know him – Stephen was the second in command of the boy band battle ship that was: Boyzone. Young Gately may not have been everyone’s cup of cheese, but to those of us who grew up with the cliché boy bands of the nineties, Gately was the pinnacle of that era. With his wavy curtained hair, baggy frill-like shirts and 10 year old face; Stephen could have slotted into any of the familiar boy bands of that generation. And even though Stephen was slightly left in the shadow of his Irish associate Ronan Keating, you could still hear Stephen’s choir-boy vocals join Ronan at centre stage on a variety of Boyzone’s tracks. So let us remember young Gately for the classic tunes we secretly enjoyed…but we shall forget his short-lived solo career – as a sign of respect Second we have Adam Michael
Goldstein –also known as DJ AM. He may have some of you tilting your heads like a confused puppy. Well let me fill you in on this timeless DJ from across the pond. DJ AM was a famous American DJ, who worked with many greats such as Madonna, Will Smith and if we dare include them in this list of greats – Papa Roach. He was known as “DJ to the stars” doing private gigs for such celebs as Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller and J-lo; but also to millions of fans worldwide at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. But it wasn’t just the decks Adam was good at scratching; with an array of celebrity women adding extra notches to the disk-jockeys belt. Such names as Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton and Mandy Moore are just a handful of the women Mr. Goldstein ‘acquainted’ himself with over the years. So to those of you still unfamiliar with this man’s talents, I advise you to YouTube him instantly and join such stars as Blink 182’s Travis Barker and Radio 1’s DJ Zane Lowe on the huge fan base that has been obtained by the late Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein. Now in typical cliché fashion, I have saved the best till last…the irreplaceable Michael Jackson. The young boy that never grew up has finally screeched his last “Shamone” and moon-walked his way towards the pearly gates. To stick to the typical eulogy fashion, I shall revert away from the negative tabloid gossip
that has stained poor Jacko’s life – and praise the prolific dancer for making pop what it is today, and showing that grabbing your crotch in public, can be deemed acceptable. Cut to a more serious note, Michael’s songs will go down in history as some of the greatest tracks we will ever know. Because as our parents bombard us with other such lost souls as Elvis Presley and John Lennon, claiming them to be the two gods of music, Michael Jackson is our ticket in – to annoy the hell out of our children in future years. Now we should all give a one gloved salute to the king of pop because to many of his adoring fans; the 25th June 2009 will forever be known as the day that music died. However, these three colossal artists did not satisfy Death’s appetite as we also lost the man that brought us the seasonal jingle of “I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Mr. Jimmy Boyd. He also took away the ‘Mississippi Kid’...Ean Evans, from that famous band ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’... (yeah me neither). So let us pour one for our homies, and remember these performers for their contribution to music. Be it for their unique dancing abilities, unbelievable DJing skills or making Louis Walsh the talent-blind tool that he is today; these memorbale stars will continue to live on on our Ipods for many years to come.
MIXTAPE
REVIEWS Our harsh critical reporters review this weeks upcoming singles and albums.
This week, Ents Box Office employee Simmo Simmons gives us his top 10 tracks at the moment.
WWW.WATERFRONT.CO.UK FRONT - MUSIC 17
Ian Brown - My Way
For those of you holding out for a Stone Roses reunion, you’re going to have a long wait. Ian Brown’s sixth solo album My Way is vibrant, powerful and soulful. Opening track Stellify lumbers along dominantly, rousing football hooligans everywhere but from then on the album seems to calm down and evolve. Also the Kanye West-like, synthy drumbox production shows a shrewd new attitude to the mainstream. The ‘knees-up’ piano from Stellify continues on tracks such as Laugh Now and Brown’s punk heritage echoes here and there on Crowning of the Poor but its muted, like screaming at the police with a pillow strapped to your face. According to his ‘people’, this album is intended to reflect the turbulent nature of the music industry and as hideously cringing as that is, it has to be said that this is a brilliant record and Brown will be occupying stages for years to come, but on his own.
8/10
Charlie Teasdale
Saving Aimee - Fresh Since ‘88 Formed in 2005, but only recently emerging to be recognised and having supported Fightstar on tour this month, Saving Aimee are bound for good things in the music bizz. The Hertfordshire band mix rock and pop to make catchy dance tunes; their single Fresh Since ‘88 is a mix of 80’s pop with 90’s rock mingled to make a song perfect for getting ready for a night out on the town. Since 2007, the band have been on tour in the UK and supported such bands as Enter Shikari, Simple Plan and Kill Hannah. The catchy lyrics and energetic electro-pop sounds make Saving Aimee worth a listen. Perhaps a bit too ‘Poppy’ for some tastes, but its a tune that will put you in a good mood. Whether they’re the band for you or your dirty little secret, Saving Aimee is music you can dance to. The band release their album on 2nd November so keep an eye out!
7/10
Bryony Hicks
Maps – Turning the Mind
There is a very relaxing tone about Maps sophomore effort. It is full of diverse, pulsating sounds which you can sit down and take in. Behind each song is a beat which dictates the multitude of tones this LP offers. Particularly rhythmic is ‘Nothing’, displaying stunning beauty, which is surprising as it’s the darkest song on a surreally happy record. James Chapman capitalizes on this by modulating his disarming voice just slightly throughout to give his work a complete feel. There are flaws: ‘Let Go of the Fear’ is uninspiring and plodding, whilst ‘Love Will Come’ is guilty of repetition at the expense of building on what comes later in the song. ‘Die Happy, Die Smiling’ is perhaps the oddest of the bunch: the individual components of the song show the flaws of the LP, and yet as a single song, it is pleasant and easy to listen to repeatedly. That perhaps sums it up best: easy to listen to on repeat. An inspired work.
8/10
Sam Loveless
Flood of Red – Leaving Everything Behind
I had not listened to Flood of Red before writing this review, and whilst I do not think I have become a hardcore fan overnight, I think there is an appeal about them that some people will love. ‘Leaving Everything Behind’ is the band’s debut album and with it comes less of the screaming that first came with them and instead brings progressive and experimental music to the table. Tracks such as ‘Paper Lungs’ and ‘I Am The Speechless’ show off the band’s energy well with synths that compliment the music well. The album as a whole is, however, an overdose of their style; their tracks individually (especially their single, ‘A Place Before The End’) are a good example of their talent, but to a newcomer, there was not enough variation – I found myself skipping a fair few songs upon first listening.
6/10
Matthew Edwards
Hey Kids. Simmo here. Well, I live in the box office at Swansea-Ents, so I get to see all your lovely faces when you come and buy tickets for our outrageous events. My everyday consists of Smurf World Records, wining and dining Zane Lowe, telling people their futures and sorting out your monday nights at Oceana!! When I’m finished doing all this, I like to unwind with some music, so here’s my Mixtape: The Dykeenies - Sounds Of The City
The newest track from these Scottish boys is ideal for walking back from those 6pm lectures, just as the streetlights come on. The Dykeenies played Sin City in my first year and were incredible; I’ve been an avid fan ever since!
Kids In Glass Houses - Easy Tiger
First time I heard this song, I had just passed my driving test, so memories of buzzing around Cardiff in my S-Reg
Peugeot 106 ‘Percy’ come flooding back. Always puts a smile on my face!
Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love
I think many will be in agreement when I say, I simply like this song for the video...Cheryl is INCREDIBLE!! Song’s not bad either!
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
Love this song from the Sheffield boys! Great song for those lazy sunday mornings laying around the house.
Stereophonics - Local Boy In The Photograph
Being a Welshie, I had to throw some Phonics in here! Local Boy reminds me of Six Nations match days in Cardiff; watching the game in the Millennium Stadium, then heading to Walkabout for the aftermath..Amazing!
Morning Runner - Gone Up In Flames
Not just the theme from The Inbetweeners...but also a wicked song for driving around too with your ‘Car-friend’
Calibre & High Contrast - Mr Majestik
Going through my Drum&Bass phase, I stumbled upon this beauty. Good tune for getting ready to go out for C-Y-N-T in Sin City
2ManyDJ’s - Bonkers
The boys from Soulwax blow your head with their DJ Sets and this remix of Dizzee Rascal’s number one is incredible. The original song is a massive tune from earlier this year and this tears it apart!
Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
Saw these guys at Bestival this year and this song stayed with me the whole time. Really topped the summer off and ‘Skeleton Boy’ brings it all back!
Lou Bega - Mambo No.5
I dont know anyone who doesnt like this old-school-disco classic! Except maybe the Diva’s DJ’s as I constantly ask for this to get played...it never does.
Check out Simmo’s Mixtape on Xtreme Radio’s Website in the near future:
www.xtremeradio.org
24 FIlm Waterfront 182 - 02/11/2009
WaterfrontFilm Halloween Edition
Do the Monster MashLet’s hear it for the greatest beasties of cinema and their most famous adventures, new and old!
Vampires BH
DraculaBased on the novel by Bram Stoker and from director Francis Ford Coppola, this version of Dracula is a classic. The film follows Dracula as he travels to London and begins a reign of terror; draining life from victims and seducing the innocent Mina. Focusing on the romantic aspects in the relationship between Mina and Dracula, Gary Oldman shows himself to be a natural successor to Béla Lugosi’s heart stopping 1931 performance. Dracula is at the core of the vampire myth, the original, the blood-sucker that started it all; Dracula has always been the granddaddy of all vampires .
TwilightTwilight introduced film to a new breed of vampires. Rather than turn to dust in sunlight, they sparkle. Instead of preying on human victims, they eat animals. Yes, vegetarian vampires. Some might say Edward Cullen is the odd one of vampire myth; however, his strength, speed and good looks, combined with mind reading, vegetarianism and sparkling bring a contemporary twist to the classic vampire legend. But beware, Edward comes with fan girls.
Interview With A VampireInterview with a Vampire portrays the
character of Louis telling his life story. However, it’s not Louis the viewers enjoy watching, it’s his bold companion, Lestat. Lestat portrays not so much the ghoulish physical attributes, but the arrogance, enthusiasm and vanity of a vampire. He is the Oscar Wilde of vampires – camp, witty and talented. His character portrays the Renaissance vampire with the mental power of control and seduction.
ZombiesRW
Night of the Living DeadSet in a post Apocalyptic America, overrun with zombies, the film follows a group of survivors who set their personal differences aside and barricade themselves inside an abandoned house as they try to survive the onslaught of the Living Dead without losing their humanity. This very influential horror movie set the standard for the “Zombie Movie” for years to come. Gritty realism, political undertones, and buckets of gore, this is the first of the Living Dead trilogy and one of the best zombie movies ever made; a must see for horror fans.
Dawn of the DeadGeorge a. Romero’s 1978 sequel to Night of the Living Dead is again set in a post Apocalyptic America, where a group of survivors band together and
hole themselves up in an abandoned shopping mall as they plan their escape to a zombie-free safe zone. The survivors arm themselves with everything from guns to chainsaws, which makes for some very entertaining zombie kills. The film’s biting satire, black comedy, and use of gore make for a classic zombie movie.
ZombielandThis hilarious horror comedy is set after human life has been all but eradicated; one survivor Ohio (Jesse Eisenberg), has survived by meticulously following his own set of rules. Hilarity ensues when Ohio meets 3 fellow survivors; together they decide to escape to an abandoned theme park which (in theory) is free from Zombies. The film is full of hilarious one-liners and incorporates inventive ways of killing the Undead. There is also a very funny cameo by Bill Murray; Zombieland is a film that will keep you entertained from beginning to end.
Were-wolvesJT
Dog SoldiersSet in the Scottish highlands, Dog Soldiers focuses around Private Cooper, who is part of an expedition to find the remains of the last army squadron who were in the same area. The group
comes across Captain Ryan, the sole survivor of the missing army squad, who has a mysterious bite mark on him…To cut a long story short, it turns out that there are werewolves about in Scotland (Who’d have thought?) A good film to see if you are into lots of blood and decapitation (weirdo).
An American Werewolf in LondonDespite the title, the film starts off in the Yorkshire Moors, with the two main characters David and Jack becoming lost. Attacked by a wild animal that kills Jack and bites David before it is shot dead. David wakes up in a hospital in London, and is visited by the corpse of Jack, who tells him that unless he kills himself, he will murder other people.The film is an excellent horror-comedy, with Oscar-winning special effects. Although the idea of a reanimated corpse which only David can see may seem strange, it works perfectly with the overall tone of the film.
Serial Killers SB
Silence of the LambsSilence of the Lambs is undoubtedly one of the most iconic thrillers of the 90’s and set the benchmark that all
killer thrillers aspire to reach. The film begins in the pursuit of the notorious serial killer Buffalo Bill, and FBI student Clarice Starling (Foster) is forced to enlist the aid of infamous psychopathic serial killer, the incarcerated ex-psychiatrist known as “Hannibal the Cannibal” Lecter (Hopkins). The film offers perfect pace, building tension slowly throughout even through the simple face-to-face conversational scenes between Lecter and Starling. Both actors are nothing short of outstanding, with Hopkins creating an icon of modern cinema with his portrayal of Lecter.
SawSaw is an inventive and sadistically cruel film from James Wan, offering a slew of of demented twists. The plot begins with Two men (Elwes and Whannel) waking up in a windowless bathroom with their ankles chained, a gun, a dead body and a Dictaphone with a gruesome ultimatum. A Parallel story involves the efforts of two detectives (Glover and Leung) trying to track down the “Jigsaw killer” before his deadly ultimatums come true. Saw is an efficiently made thriller which is deliriously inventive and sadistically cruel. Saw breathes new life into the serial killer genre with an ingenious set-up.
By Bryony Hicks, Rhys Williams, Jon Taylor, and Stephen Baldock, none of whom know about the thing watching them from their wardrobes.....
What About?Ever noticed something about a film that intrigues, confuses or infuriates you? This week, Nick Ruggieri points out some inconsistencies in Mamma Mia!
If you think you could write for Waterfront Film, please email:[email protected]
Before I start, I just want to clarify that I have nothing against ABBA. For the record, their music is amazing! Therefore, you probably won’t be shocked to hear I enjoyed Mama Mia! the film inspired by the magical music of ABBA. This feel-good film was, in my mind, flawless (well, apart from Brosnan, who butchers SOS). I understand a world where everyone’s thoughts and emotions are simply conveyed by ABBA songs may sound flawless and somewhat utopian, but the problem for me in this world of spontaneous song and dance routines is the way time has become very...distorted.
During the opening scenes, much of the dialogue centres on the fact that Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is too young to be married and that her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) was thrown out by her
own mother for being a teenage parent. All sounds innocent enough, right? We stumble into the time distortion quite abruptly when Donna is reunited with three men who could be Sophie’s father., we see how they looked in the past when they first met. It turns out that two of them were hippies and one was a punk; yet they all look no older than 50, busy ten years olds! The opening scenes are shot in modern cities and the audience is given no indication that the movie is set in the past, so it’s safe to assume that they met in the 60’s, some 40+ years ago.
Those cogs started turning yet? In reality, Sophie should be well into her 40s by now,yet here she is, a fresh faced and innocent (yeah, right!) 20 year old bride-to-be. And if more evidence is needed, listen to the
song “Our Last Summer”. One of the lines refers to the “time of the flower power” a blatant reference to the 1960’s.
But why would Donna lie? The revelations in the opening scenes just keep rolling in. We learn that her hotel is falling apart and she’s in serious need of some cash!! Obviously nobody in the movie has the heart to tell the prospective fathers that Donna is clearly a lying whore who’s after twenty years of child support to pump into her ailing business.... although surly these men can count?! Isn’t one of them a city banker?
Peeping Tom
Looked down upon since its release in 1960 as morally degrading, Peep-ing Tom ruined the career of director Michael Powell, but has more than stood the test of time. Genuinely disturbing, even in the light of modern horror films, it is a haunting image of the psychotic mind of Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), as he films his victims before murdering them. It could have been tasteless: instead it doesn’t really show much physical violence; yet it still shocks the nervous system. Mark’s father was a psychiatrist who filmed his child growing up; most significantly he provided stimulus for fear in order to film Mark’s reactions. These experiments left an indelible imprint in the mind of the young man, who feels tormented by the achievements of his father, and compelled to create his own studies of
fear; capturing the moment of death in beautiful women. His tenant, Helen (Anne Massey), becomes attached to Mark through their shared interest in photography, and gradually she is drawn more and more into his inner world. Of the filmed murders, it is only the reaction of Helen that we see, forcing us to become the audience alongside her within the film, imagining the worst possible scenarios. All in all, Peeping Tom is at once a chilling experience and a commentary on why we watch films: despite our disgust, we, as voyeurs, find the guilty pleasure to keep watching.
The Film Society meets every Wednes-day in Kier Hardie 230, from 6.30. Peeping Tom was screened on Wednes-day 28th October.
Hidden GemsGreat films that you should see that you may have never heard of! This week, Film Society President Andrew Price sings the virtues of
Name: Sheri Moon Zombie
Date of Birth: 26 September 1970
Place of birth: San Jose, California, USA
What you’ve seen her in: House in 1000 Corpses, The Devils Rejects, Rob Zombie’s Halloween
Best known for: Sheri Moon Zombie has, with the help of her husband Rob Zombie, recarved the title of Scream Queen and updated it with a grotesque, 21st century twist. Anyone who’s seen her depiction of the psychotic Baby Firefly in House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects is not likely to forget. Moon then showed her versitality and turned in a very touching performance of Micheal Myer’s suffering mother in Halloween. She’s in it for about 20 minutes and is still the most memorable character!
Trivia: She has her own clothing line, Total Skull. The hoodie Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) wears in ‘Halloween’ is from the line.
Vicky Doherty-Bone
Actor Profile - Sheri Moon Zombie
Triangle
Who’s in it: Melissa George, Liam Hensworth, Rachael Carpani
What’s it about: This film follows a group of people who, after being capsized on a yacht, are rescued by a passing ship. Once on board the ship, they quickly realise that they are all alone; except for the masked killer. However, things start to take an even worse turn when Jess (Melissa George), the only survivor of the masked killer, sees her party from the capsized yacht board the ship for a second time, with herself among them! The story continues in this way, with Jess trying to find the cause of this time loop and what she can do to get out of it alive.
What’s it like: This eerie and highly original horror movie is loosely based on the mythological Greek tale of Sisyphus, the man who managed to imprison a god of death and therefore prevent anyone from dying for a short time. As his punishment, he was condemned by the gods to eternally roll a bolder up a hill just to see it roll down again. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the general concept of this Groundhog Day-meets-Serial-killer movie, far too many questions were left unanswered for this film to be considered remotely satisfying. The story, whilst original for its genre, has no logical beginning and therefore, no logical concluding point, which despite Director Christopher Smith’s best effort, renders this film inadequate.
Liana Thomas
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire Assistant
Who’s in it: John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, Salma Hayek.
What’s it about: A young boy named Daren Shan goes to a Freak Show in his small town. There he meets a vampire, Larten Crepsley, who is the owner of a deadly spider. Daren steals the spider, but his best friend Steve is bitten by it. In order to save his life, Daren agrees to become a half-vampire to assist Mr. Crepsley…
What’s it like: OK, I have to admit that I am a crazy vampire lover. I will always have a soft spot for anything vampiric, so I will try to be kind to The Vampire Assistant. John C. Reilly is great, though a little messed up. But everything in this movie is kind of messed up, I think the director meant it this way. There are a few fairly inventive fight scenes, a couple of funny jokes, beautiful costumes and vivid characters. It’s not a masterpiece, and be prepared for some awful phrases like “I love your DNA” and a very “scary” anti-hero, whose eyes change color as to match his T-Shirt. Still, nothing is too annoying which makes pretty nice entertainment. The Vampire Assistant is somewhere on the border between hardcore trash with a twisted sense of humour and a happy family film, when I think he should have aimed for a straight twisted version.
VicToria BoLdcheVa
SAW VI
Who’s in it: Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge
What’s it about: Costas Mandylor, a superb actor who should be put in more films as he’s delightfully evil, returns as Detective Hoffman aka Jigsaw’s new apprentice. Whilst setting up the new “game” for six new targets, he too is being tested, believing that he’s led the police to label the now dead Agent Strahm as the new apprentice but they are getting closer and closer to finding and exposing him.
What’s it like: The new phrase “If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw!” has become a great tradition in modern cinema! The “game” itself focuses on William (Peter Outerbridge), picked out by the original Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) for being a manager of a corrupt health insurance business who do all they can not to pay for their clients medical bills in a shockingly clever satirical dig at the health service in America. What gives him the right to decide who lives or dies? The traps are shockingly gruesome but clever and will have you on the edge of your seat. The final trap will explicitly tell you why the film was banned in Spain!Whilst falling down on some moments of predictability, this film deftly mixes the cleverness and great pacing of IV, the detective element of V and with traps being so brutally simple, the shocking nastiness of III. Third best in the series and enough plot mystery still remains to warrant further sequels. oLiVer ryder
Up
Who’s in it: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer
What’s it about: Elderly widower Karl Frederickson (Plummer) decides to honour his beloved wife’s unfulfilled ambition for adventure by tying an uncountable number of helium balloons to his house and flying away. Crowbar in an overweight boy scout, a giant bird and a few talking dogs, and we have a perfect recipe for mischief.
What’s it like: I always look forward to Pixar’s films; I’m half tempted to think someone at Pixar has made some unholy trade-off to produce such an exemplary set of films. Up predictably carries on with this tradition, providing yet another film made for kids that adults love. By mixing cute animals and kids with subtle humour and the poignant depiction of a widower trying to keep the memory of his love alive, yet again it’s a film that I almost can’t fault. However, some of the more caustic among you may find the kitschiness a little annoying, particularly the little fat kid. But I have to bear in mind that this film is probably by far and away the best this month; any faults present are more prominent because these films have created a new scale of brilliance. There are a few cheesy moments, and some of the characters were textbook for a children’s film, but it was so well done I found I didn’t really mind.
VicToria doherTy-Bone
WWW.WATERFRONT.CO.UK Front - Film 25
new reLeases This week, in honour of Halloween, we have scoured through the scariest new releases, plus one film that should remedy any negative effects of these scream features.
26 FRONT - SOCIETIES Waterfront 182 - 02/11/09
SOCIETIESthewaterfront
SIFE SWANSEAA head for business. A heart for the world
Mission Statement – Working together to make an impact in the local
community and the world.What is SIFE?SIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders; SIFE nurtures the entrepreneurial skills of university students in a way that is both effective in developing their future careers and meaningful to the community.
Participating students form teams on their university campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. An annual series of regional and national competitions provides a forum for teams to present the results of their projects, and to be evaluated by business leaders serving as judges. National champion teams advance to the prestigious SIFE World Cup. In addition to the community aspect of the program, SIFE’s leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities for learning and exchange among the participants as well as the placement of students and alumni with companies in search of emerging talent.
By contributing their talents to projects that improve the lives of people worldwide, SIFE participants are demonstrating that individuals with a knowledge and passion for business can be a powerful force for change.
The projects work with a range of community groups, ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs, low income families, charities, the homeless and many, many more. The teams pass on their knowledge and equip these individuals with the skills and knowledge that they require to help them prosper. Additionally, one vital thing that all SIFE Teams must also consider is the sustainability of their projects as well as of the team as a whole, thus ensuring that future generations of their Team can continue their good work well into the future.
Why Join SIFE?Participation in SIFE provides university students with the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in their communities, while gaining the experience, skills and contacts necessary to build a successful career. SIFE students are talented, hard working, value-driven leaders that blend a competitive spirit and desire to succeed with a sense of integrity and desire to give something back. As a member of a SIFE team, you’ll be joining a worldwide network of more than 34,000 other students who are each making their own contribution toward our shared mission of creating a better world. It’s an experience that will change the lives of those in need and quite possibly your own as well.
Gain Real World ExperienceThe best way to prepare for the real world is by facing real world challenges. That’s exactly the opportunity you’ll have as a SIFE student. This is not a simulation or case study competition. You’ll be challenged to apply what you’re learning in the classroom to develop real programs that achieve real results for real people. SIFE teams teach families how to gain financial security, equip the unemployed with skills to find productive employment, help aspiring entrepreneurs achieve success, and bring economic development back to struggling communities. Along the way you’ll develop the kind of teamwork, leadership and communication skills that can only come from real life experiences.
Start a Great CareerSIFE is supported by some of the best companies in the world, who recognize the value of SIFE experience and compete very aggressively for the opportunity to meet and recruit SIFE students. You’ll have the chance to network with executives and recruiters from these companies at SIFE competitions, career fairs and through other interactive events and activities. You’ll also have access to exclusive career resources and content to help you prepare for the transition from college to the workplace. Every year, thousands of students leverage their SIFE experience and contacts to start careers with SIFE donor companies. Here’s your chance to network with and get to know the leaders of some of the top companies in the world.
Represent Your UniversitySIFE is a team-based activity - you’ll be a member of a team that represents your university within the community and the SIFE network, directly contributing to the positive reputation of your university with each success you have. You’ll also represent your university in competition with other colleges and universities at the national level and if your team is good enough, you’ll have the once in a lifetime chance to compete for a world championship against the best teams in the world. As you and your teammates go about the process of building your team, developing projects, finding funding, overcoming obstacles and adversity and participating in a competition, you’ll develop the kinds of bonds and friendships that can last a lifetime.
Labour StudentsSwansea’s Labour Club executive:
Chair – Simon DarvillSecretary – Rhiannon HedgeTreasurer – Stephen MarshallWomen’s officer – Bethany OystenCampaigns and Membership officer – Steve CushenEx–Officio – SUSU Student President Luke Young & NUS Wales Women’s officer Estelle Hart
Labour Students is one of the biggest political student organisations in the country, with members at universities and colleges around the UK, and Swansea has a very active Labour club. We are an affiliated society to the Labour Party and are the home for all students who share Labour’s values of equality, democracy and social justice.
We are a campaigning organisation, fighting for progressive values. From the crisis in Africa to anti-racism, from sexual health to the minimum wage, Labour Students fights for change. We take our role within the student movement both nationally and in Swansea very seriously and we are proud to be the ones speaking on the floor at National Union of Students conferences as well as in our own Student General meetings here in Swansea.
Swansea Labour students wants to be pushing socialist ideals within Swansea University and so this year we will be concentrating on campaigning for an equal minimum wage for all ages and fight against child poverty in the UK.
We also meet up with our comrades across the country and in a few weeks will be going to Scunthorpe for our annual political weekend where Labour students from across the country can get together, discuss current issues, listen to ministers and other prominent people within the Labour movement as well as socialising and meeting as many like minded people as possible
To get involved find us on Facebook – Swansea Labour Students or email Simon Darvill – [email protected]
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk FRONT - SOCIETIES 27
GETINVOLVED
Societies are at the heart of the Students’ Union providing an integral part to many students’ lives at Swansea. They are all student run and represent all areas of interests in our diverse student body! Check out the list of societies on this page to see if any interest you and for more information go to www.swansea-union.co.uk and click on societies! They are a great way to gain extra skills that employers look for when you finish your degree along with great social calendars and experiences you will never forget!
FRENCH French Society Social - TONIGHT (Monday 2nd
November)
We at the French Society are here to bring you a little bit of French culture and fun! Many of our members don’t study French as part of their degree, but love the culture and all of the wine that comes with it! We meet every Sunday at in the coffee side of JC’s to chat in French/Franglais, no matter what your level, anyone is welcome to pop in and meet some exciting new people from all over the world!
Tonight (Monday 2nd) is our first social! We’re meeting in Varisty on Wind Street at 8:30 pour une nuit de troubles, and the committee will be dressed in BODY PAINT - you’re more than welcome to join us, member or not, and bring un amis!
Most importantly however is the legendary Cheese and Wine evening in Divas! Taking place on the 12th of November at 8:30pm, it’s an opportunity to literally gorge yourself on French cuisine and beverages! Get tickets from the Ents Box office quickly for just £5 because this event sells out FAST and tickets are limited on the door!
We hope to see you all soon! À Bient ôt!
Cheese and Wine Party - 12th November DIVAS
DANCEOur annual charity event to raise money for Children in Need is BACK!
For the last two years SU dance society have taken coach loads to Playzone where you can be taken back to your childhood and play the night away! A fun filled warehouse filled with soft play, slides and all you best mates is a one of a kind event and always a big success!
Tickets cost £15 which includes bus to and from Playzone, entry to Playzone and Entry to Oceana afterwards! You can also bring your own drink-AMAZING!
Buy tickets at dance classes or for more information email: [email protected] Be warned its always a sell out so get them QUICK!
Pyjama party @ PLAYZONE!
The girls show off their dance skills in the play pen
Societies @ Swansea
• Amnesty • American Studies • Ancient Studies • Bar Society • Bright Futures • Bio Science • Business School • Capoeira • Catholic (CathSoc) • Chinese • Chess and Board Gam-
ing • Choral • Christian Union • Comedy Club • Conservation • Dance • Debating • Drama (Shoreline) • Duke of Edinburgh • Engineering • Engineers without
boarders • Film Society • French • Geography • German • Gospel Society• Gym Gym • History • Hitch Swansea • Hong Kong • Italian• Islamic • Japanese (Sakura) • Jordanian Society • Kadampa Buddhist-
Meditation Society• L.G.B.T • Labour Students • Liberal Democrats • Law• Love your Uni • Malaysian (MASU)• Media • Model United Nations
• Musicians• Medical School Muisc-
Team • Pagan • Paramedic Science Soci-
ety • People and Planet • Plaid Cymru• Photographic• Physcoc - Physics Society • Poker • Postgraduate History • Postgraduate and Part-
time student• Politics & International
Relations • Psychology • Pub Sports • RAG • Real Ale • Role Playing • Saudi Students Society • Sci-Fi • S.I.F.E (Students in Free
Enterprise) • S.U.C.S (Computer Soci-
ety) • S.U.M.A (Manga and
Anime) • Scandivavian Soc • S.U.T.A • Socialist Workers
(SWSS) • Socialist Students • Spanish • S.S.W.I.G.S • Taisanese • Tashan - The style of
India• Unicef • United Cultures• Visual Arts • War and Society • Wilderness Medicine • X-treme Radio• Yoga • 52% club (Women’s Soc)
28 FRONT - Travel Waterfront 182 - 02/11/09
Travel - Island Hopping in CroatiaCroatia boasts one of the most dramatic and unspoilt stretches of coastline Europe has to offer. With more than 1000 islands, islets and reefs there is something for everyone to enjoy, from secluded beaches to 24- hour partying, sea-kayaking to celebrity spotting. In the current climate the exchange rate is very favourable as Croatia is outside the euro-zone, so your pennies will go further.
For those who want to make the most of their trip and experience everything Croatia has to offer, Island hopping is a fun holiday with a difference. Each island is unique and can offer a different experience.
1. Vis- This unspoilt island kept a mysterious front until 1989 when the first foreigners were allowed to visit. The hippy-chic atmosphere attracts a diverse crowd from yachties to backpackers. Some of the best seafood restaurants around can be found in Vis town harbour. The locals of Vis Island are what make it truly special, share some home-made Prošek and let them tell you about the history of this magical island.
2. Hvar- By far the most fashionable island destination on the Dalmatian coast. For a chance of celebrity spotting head to the palm lined sea-front where you will find the best selection of chic open air bars. If you fancy getting away from all the glamour, head for the hills for some hiking and mountain biking.
3. Brac- This Island is a haven for water sport enthusiasts, from parasailing to wake boarding the fun never ends. Find the best wind surfing schools at Zlatni Rat, situated on the southern coast of the island and home to the most photographed beach in Croatia, known as the Golden Horn.
4. Pag- Paski sir (Pag cheese) is not the only thing that Pag is famous for. Shuttle buses go from Novalja to Zrce beach which is host to the best beach parties in Croatia, being the only place with a 24 hour licence in the country. After spending the day topping up your tan, head straight to the hottest open air clubs: Aquarius, Papaya and Kalypso.
5. Mljet- One of the most enchanting islands filled with dense pine forests and emerald green salt water lakes. The western part of the island is made up of National Park and the eastern side home to charming sandy beaches. Prince Charles has visited the island and was won over with its beauty. As the island is situated 23 miles from main land Dubrovnik it can easily be visited as day trip.
Be sure not to miss out on visiting two of Croatia’s most magical mainland cities and UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage sites.
• Split is where Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace and many of the cultural and historical sites can be found inside the walls. Home to a vibrant and bustling port, Split is the perfect start point for an island hopping adventure.
• The medieval walled city of Dubrovnik, also known as the ‘pearl of the Adriatic’ became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. Walk around the city walls to get the best view of the old town and its surroundings.
The best route is to fly into Split where you can begin your island hopping adventure, working your way down the coast finishing off in Dubrovnik. Flights with companies such as Easy Jet cost around £30 one way to Split airport and Dubrovnik airport. Many of the islands can be reached by Jadrolinija ferries that operate frequent services in the summer months. For a full sailing schedule visit www.jadrolinija.hr. Prices start at around £12.
Accommodation can be very cheap as locals offer rooms or apartments from around £7 a night, you won’t miss the crowd trying to sell their rooms at harbours or train stations on arrival. Many islands do not have hostels so be sure to check before arriving, or at least bring a tent.
FACT FILE - CROATIA
Capital- Zagreb
Poulation- 4.5 million
Currency- Kuna (HRK)
Exchange Rate- £1 = 7.9 HRK
Language- Croatian
Tap Water- Drinkable
Beer- 7 HRK
Pizza- 45 HRK
Waterfront Travel Editor Nikki posing in Dubronvnik
Croatia boasts some of the best coastlines in the world
WRITTEN BY NIKKI LITTLEHALES
www.waterfront.co.uk FRONT - Travel 29
Zinny’s DiarySettling into the American way of life very nicely, all the San Franciscans have made me feel at home.
3rd October 2009- Went to LovEvolution, San Francisco’s free dance music parade and festival. The crowd and atmosphere was amazing! We danced all day until the following sunrise, incredible experience!
15th October- First day working at Abercrombie & Fitch. Initially I was extremely nervous but I really enjoyed myself. Everyone that works there is so nice and it will be awesome working for an American company, with American employees. I think it will really help me to gain the most out of my year abroad.
24th October 2009- Went on a mini road trip down to Santa Cruz for the weekend. I have really enjoyed living the city lifestyle in San Francisco but it was nice to visit a smaller Californian beach/surfer town. The beach board walk was fun to visit and there was a very laid back atmosphere, much like the rest of the town. So many surfers!
Speak soon, Zinny
Make The Most Of Your Time On EarthRough Guides and STA Travel have recently announced the launch of a new travel writing competition for students, giving two budding writers the chance to research and write for the Rough Guides On a Budget series. Students across the UK and Ireland are being invited to write 500 words about a place they know well, whether it’s their hometown, University town, or a favourite place they’ve travelled to. Submissions are via www.roughguides.com/onabudgetwriter The entries will be narrowed down to a shortlist of 50 by a judging panel, including Rough Guides founder and author Martin Dunford, and two winners will be selected. Both winners will be given the ‘money can’t buy’ prize of an all-expenses-paid trip and formal commission to write and update a sec-tion of two student favourite guides - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget and The Rough Guide to Central America on a Budget.
Rough Guides Marketing & PR Director Liz Statham said: “We know students love to travel. Partnering with STA Travel is the perfect opportunity for Rough Guides to offer students the chance to have a go at travel writing for our On a Budget series – they are expert budget travellers after all.”
“This is an amazing competition, giving students the opportunity to get their foot in the door to the world of travel writing and to work for one of the leading travel specialists who have published more than 500 travel guides.” Nikki Littlehales, Rough Guides Student Brand Navigator at Swansea University. To get in touch for competitions, prizes and promotions with Rough Guides contact [email protected].
Rough Guides and STA Travel launch student writing competition in search for two new travel writers
Win Win Win with thewaterfront
Every issue Rough Guides will be offering a lucky reader the chance to win a Rough Guide book of their choice! To enter please email your answers to [email protected].
Q. In which year did Croatia claim independence from the former communist state of Yugoslavia?
Woman in Cusco, Peru
Splash
www.xtremeradio.org1431 AM
30 Culture - Xtreme Splash Waterfront 182 - 02/11/09
Xtreme Radio is back on the air and this time we mean business!
For those of you who have tuned in, you may have noticed a few changes and we feel that this is a vast improvement on last year already. Brett Jenkins, Head of Engineering for the station, believes: “our first week back had been a good training vehicle”; this is not only true for newer members but also for those returning to the airwaves as Xtreme was granted some new equipment to bring us up to an industry standard. Deputy Station Manager, Neil Donoghue had this to say on the station as it begins its forty-first year in student broadcasting: “It’s grand. Xtreme has taken off to a good start with a great standard of broadcasting already. The new equipment has helped majorly with our output (thanks to the SU, Rachael Mattey and our very own Brett Jenkins) and we hope to improve through-out the year.”
Of course, becoming a radio star is not an overnight process, it takes plenty of practice. Station Manager, Ben Shaw recognises this process can be a long but rewarding road, “we don’t expect the shows to be brilliant straight away. We hope to have audio output and programming to a suitable standard by Christmas, at which stage we will start to promote the station.” Xtreme Radio has come on leaps and bounds in the last five years; the first week back on air is a true reflection of this. This
may be a result of each show now having a team to back the presenters up – not only does Xtreme now have more than one presenter per show, but a researcher/scripter to ensure the show is full of suitable content and a producer to maintain the technical aspect of the production and to generally keep the on air content flowing. As well as all this, the station boasts a brand new website, each exec has a team of members dedicated to help the department to which they’ve signed, and the station has also updated some show names.
Not only is Xtreme good for your CV by enhancing the skills that make you more employable and for boosting your confidence, it is a great chance to have fun and meet new people; what the uni-versity experience is all about, right? Now for the part that will really catch your eye: Xtreme hosts many socials for you to meet other members, from regular nights in DiVAS to shooting each other in LaserZone, seeing bands in Sin City to all-inclusive nights off campus. So what are you waiting for? Get involved!
Xtreme still broadcasts 24 hours a day and 7 days a week – that hasn’t changed! You can hear us around campus, online at www.xtremeradio.org and on 1431AM.
The Dugout is Xtreme’s flagship radio sports show broadcast from 1pm -5pm on a Saturday. The show provides you with up-to-date news, line-ups, results and the usual on-air banter. In its fourth year of broadcast the
show covers a wide range of sports, from football, including:The World Cup Qualifiers to The Scottish 3rd Division Xtreme will be providing results and analysis, as well as keeping a close
eye on our local team, the Swans and their close rivalry with, Cardiff City.Rugby Union: Six Nations, Wales, Ospreys, Swansea Whites, and the Guinness Premiership, to name a few, if you don’t love
the egg shaped ball this show is not for you.Rugby League: including news and updates on our local League team, the Celtic Crusaders as they look to put their debut season
in Super League behind them and push on with the second campaign along with all the teams exploits in the Challenge Cup.Cricket: The Ashes, Glamorgan, England, IPL.Not forgetting news and results from within our very own Athletic Union; the show keeps tabs on how our Uni teams and
individuals are faring this season.Not enough, well add anything else from Tennis to Bowls, The Dugout will feature it!Tune in on 1431AM or www.xtremeradio.org and if you are interested in getting involved with the show, contact sport@
xtremeradio.org
THE DUGOUT SPORTS SHOWEvery Saturday 1pm - 5pm
www.waterfront.co.uk Features 31
Mumbles Milechange taking place
By this time we are already at the opposite end of the mile in the White Rose, one of the biggest and most lively establishments, perhaps due to its location on the corner by the roundabout in the town centre. There is a good cross-section of drinkers here; groups of twenty-somethings, and upwards. Two pints cost a very reasonable £4.70, and there is a nice garden area that we sit in.
However, after our experience, Tomos says “I heard that the Mumbles Mile used to be absolutely massive with loads of people on the street but now it’s pretty much dead. It seems to have shifted on to restaurants, just from the time I’ve spent here there always seems to be people eating and there seem to be much quieter clients from what I’ve heard. Nobody comes up here any more. I remember when I first came to uni two and a bit years ago. It was busier and there were people on the street and the few pubs were packed.”
Becky agrees: “It’s definitely a lot quieter, probably because of the recession, and pubs going under,” reminiscing of the days when establishments like The George used to have bouncers, due to the sheer number of people coming from all around. The occasional groups still turn up in minibuses and such, “dressed up to the nines” only to be disappointed by the reality. However, as well as the rise of Wind Street as a designated drinking area and the recession contributing to the decline of the mile, the girls tell us “Mumbles residents don’t like any change. They keep opposing everything that’s proposed.”
Mumbles councillor Joan Peters had previously voiced her concerns about the Mumbles Mile, saying the village had suffered from its reputation as a destination for stag and hen parties. She also said competition from the designation of Wind Street as a drinking zone was a “double edged sword.”
She also said “while I do feel sorry for the landlords of the pubs that have closed, at the same time it’s made life a great deal more pleasant for people living here. If you walk along the front you see many more families and we have some excellent new restaurants.” The rise in dining culture at the expense of the pubs is also partly due to people buying holiday homes in the area.
So what of the future? Well, there are plans afoot for a £39 million regeneration for the pier, including a luxury hotel, which would surely inject some life into the area, and possibly see pubs re-opening. “It would probably be good to see it for the place. The pier would be done up itself and the whole site,” Simon tells us. “It would probably bring more people; it’s probably what the mumbles needs itself because it’s dying of age at the moment. It does need a turnaround so it would be a good idea.”
Well then, pretty damning stuff. However, while the pub-crawl itself might not exist as such any more, perhaps there is a new scene. The sheer number of restaurants, all receiving what appears to be good trade, points at a new Mumbles, with a plethora of eating options. We cannot put our finger on one single factor has triggered the change, as it is a combination of factors. Perhaps it isn’t so much the death of the Mumbles Mile itself, but the death of a pub-crawling tradition, in favour of clubbing; a tradition that is still alive in locations such as the ‘Otley Run’ in North Leeds, but dying out.
Nowadays Mumbles is nowhere near as hedonistic as a jam-packed Saturday night on Wind Street, typified by its village atmosphere alluded to by councillor Peters. However, this serves to show the shifting trends in drinking in the twenty first century – from atmospheric local pubs to idiosyncratic superclubs. As we make our way to leave, the streets are quiet, albeit not deserted. A group of youths hang around outside a local shop, groups of people making their way hither and thither. It is a pleasant location, under the illuminated castle, and it is almost hard to imagine huge crowds of people arriving in busloads these days. Although not as busy as before, Mumbles retains a good selection of pubs and eating establishments, isn’t as pricey as people think, offers a pleasant atmosphere, and is a refreshing alternative to city centre drinking. Let’s hope the area enjoys a rosy future.
The Mumbles File
Written by Pete GoldingPhotographed by James Snaith
The once Famous Bear now lies empty
2009 MUMBLES MILE: Punters choose food over drink on the Mile these days
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk Careers 33
Careers Advice... Ask Jan Written by Careers Advisor Jan Binnie-Gordon
How to master job application forms
Job application forms are only scary when you don’t know how to deal with them so if you follow my advice (maybe keep this for future reference) then you should find them quite easy or at least less of a problem.
Start by asking yourself what does this employer want? Well it’s quite simple when you think about it - they’re looking for graduates who can offer the knowledge, skills and qualities required to do the advertised job. In short, they’re interested in what you can do for them so before you start with your application you’re going to need, information about the company, information about the job, information about the knowledge, skills and qualities required for the role and know how well you match up.
The essentials are to check the closing date, (and don’t even dream of starting the night before) to choose paper or online (if you have a choice), to use black type or ink, follow the instructions, answer every question but don’t waffle, draft your answers first, keep a copy and (very important!) be extra careful if you cut and paste from other application forms – in case you include another employer’s details.
Factual questions like contact details, education, employment and references are pretty straightforward but be accurate, there’s no excuse for sloppiness. If your degree discipline is relevant to the job then do expand on the detail. Degrees with the same title can differ significantly so give a framework of the degree – the structure and content, the set options and the mix of theory and practical. Also, it’s just courtesy to let your referees know that you’ve selected them.
Moving on to the trickier bit, those essay questions, what careers advisers call the ‘Give an example of when..’ questions. Why do they ask these? Well, it’s because for every job, particular skills are needed. Do you have them? The employer is asking you to reflect on your experiences from your work experience, academic work, travel, gap year, interests, involvement in clubs and societies and/or anything else you may have done.
Let’s have a closer look at the usual type of question. Start by looking at the following list. Make notes about how you could demonstrate that you have these skills, what evidence do you have?
• communication• time management• team working• creativity• initiative• organising• planning• adaptability• problem solving
Now see if you can answer the following five questions:1. Give an example of when you set yourself a demanding goal
and overcame any obstacles to achieve it.2. Describe a challenging project, activity or event that you have
planned and taken through to a conclusion. Include your objective, what you did, any changes you made to your plan and state how you measured your success.
3. Give an example of when you developed effective working relationships with people from different backgrounds, or holding different views, which accomplished an important result.
4. What do you foresee as the most significant personal challenges for you in this career?
What will you have to learn/develop to be successful? 5. Which skill which you have developed over the last three years
do you think would help you most in this career? Why?
Let me give you a few helpful hints at this stage. Above all, use the right language, by that I mean use active words to paint positive pictures. Analyse all your experiences – don’t just describe them. Avoid banal, negative and trite statements and also avoid verbose, vague and woolly language – just as your tutors will have read all the academic arguments before so recruiters have read every version of the job application before so try to be interesting. Use phrases
such as, From my experience in [voluntary work, clubs, societies, etc.] Working in a small business during my vacation enabled me to see………My voluntary work with… enabled me to understand the needs of… My positive attitude and leadership resulted in…[success in a voluntary project or a sporting achievement] Acting on a limited budget, [it] was a challenge….
In your examples, try to include precise (not general) detail, describe the expected outcome, your relationships with other people, how you managed difficult situations and people and how you measured your success. Remember this is about you so if you use the word ‘we’ then the recruiter wonders what your part was and how influential (or otherwise) you were. This is not the time to be modest.
If you’ve identified any training needs, ensure that you refer to them as ‘continuing development’. Use examples from different parts of your life to demonstrate a rich variety of experience. In some cases the question specifically asks for examples outside university so make sure that you give these. If in doubt – just answer the question!
A final word, before you submit your application, read it through for typos, read it through again for typos! Check grammar and spelling as ‘spell-cheque’ is not infallible. Read the instructions again, did they ask for a covering letter? If you’re applying online don’t trust that your PC or their website will not freeze or crash in the hours just before the deadline, be ready and submit at least a day or two before and check that you have submitted successfully by looking out for a confirmation message.
One last final word, take your completed form to a careers adviser in the library for a free expert opinion, we’ve met the recruiters and seen thousands of forms so we could be the difference between getting an interview or not!
Next Issue look out for ‘How to Master the Job Interview’
Point of View34 ADVICE WATERFRONT 182 - 02/11/09
With Samantha Louise
The mysterious case of girlfriend lunacyAs a single person I was cool, game for a good laugh and didn’t have a care in the world about what anyone thought about me. That very same day, I saw a guy across the dance floor, made eye contact and the next thing I knew, I was his girlfriend and a monster I barely recognised.
In one swift transition all of my insecurities came flooding back despite having the security of someone who loved me; so why does my mind chose a moment when I’m happy to interfere?
As is the case with a lot of women, having a boyfriend not only gives you something to protect and look after, but also heightens your senses to everything around you. Unfortunately this is what turns your girlfriend into the crazy ‘thing’ you hardly recognise from your first date.
The second you become official she has something to guard; the reason you’re together. This means that everyone is competition and thus she is compared to them. Given that each person has something that they’re uncomfortable with about themselves, this now becomes a point of contrast and everyone but your girlfriend wins in her eyes.
The pressure of being associated with another person puts anxiety on her to be seen as suitable for you by the world; despite what you say she is now a member of ‘team you’ and she doesn’t want to damage that reputation.
This paranoia is as rational to her as it is irrational to you, because the worries of loosing you become a real threat. She’s fighting for survival and all she sees is her flaws, faults and mistakes. This makes her unable to understand why you’re with her.
But as horrible and unreasonable as she may be behaving, her actions are being fuelled by how much she likes you. So is it really that bad? She cares enough about you to worry about you not being around. She probably even knows that her actions are unjustified, but the complexities in her mind won’t allow her to stop it. She’s as crazy as you thought!
But what you men don’t realise is she’s more normal than you think. Even if you’re lucky enough to get a girl that hardly calls you and never asks what’s happening, she’s analysing everything you do in terms of your relationship’s future. And that’s just because most girls need to know what’s going on.
Put yourself in her shoes for a second. She’s overwhelmed to have found a person who makes her so happy that she’s desperate to hold on. She has a sea of other women to compare herself to (which she does every day), and what she’s worrying about is whether or not she can make you happy. This girl has your interests at heart so give her a break and give her reasons to stop worrying i.e. reassurance.
Even so girls, you have to realise that what you’re doing is being seen as ridiculously overwhelming. And despite what you think, guys see things simply. Thus your negative thoughts are going completely amiss to your man. Ask him about the things you’re concerned about and take his answers as final. Enjoy the time you have and accept that you have no need to be paranoid; he’s with you for a reason so show him.
lettersDear Editor
I am deeply disappointed by two poor pieces of journalism by Bradley Morgan in the last issue of The Waterfront.
The party conference review article could have been a good article if it was delivered from an impartial and student focused view.
Bradley Morgan should not hold out for a career in journalism judging by his inability to distinguish whether, in his words, Plaid Cymru is a “serious party or pressure group?”
Plaid Cymru are coalition government partners in the Welsh government and have played a vital role in stopping hospital closures, providing free prescriptions and delivering the acclaimed Proact and React schemes to help ease the effect of the recession.
I would challenge Bradley to find me another “pressure group” that has done this and has four government ministers, three MP’s, 15 assembly members, and a member of the European Parliament who is President of the European Free
Alliance group. I could go on Bradley but I would
instead ask that before you write another article you might want to do some research.
It also doesn’t surprise me to see Bradley, a member of the Liberal Democrats, writing an article so obviously biased towards the Lib Dems on page five.
If the Liberal Democrats want to pull punches on tuition fees perhaps Bradley and his colleagues could explain why until their recent conference they lied to students about their intentions never to back the introduction of top up fees.
No surprise then that Bradley dodged the fact Clegg announced at their conference he planned to make “savage cuts” and axe their pledge not to support top up fees.
I hope in future all The Waterfront reporters are mature enough not to try and score cheap political points when given the chance to write for the voice of Swansea students.
Bethan DownesSecretaryCymdeithas Plaid Cymru Society
Bradley Morgans Response...
I would like to apologise for any offence I may have caused regarding my article on the Political Party Conferences in the last issue.
The article in question was my first attempt at writing for the newspaper, and I understand that in future, I will need to research more thoroughly, but this comes with experience.
My headline asking the question “Plaid Cymru: Serious party or a pressure group” was written purely from a Westminster view, as the party currently has 3 MP’s in London. As a politics student, currently undergoing an internship the National Assembly in Cardiff, I am well aware that Plaid Cymru is part of a Coalition Government in the Assembly.
I also now know that the majority of political articles written for The Waterfront focus more on issues from Cardiff, which I was not aware of until recently, but I will be aware of from now on.
However, the headline in question was actually a direct reference to a headline written in the “Wales on Sunday” newspaper on 13th September 2009, which reads “Serious party or a pressure group... Plaid reveals its hand”. Had I not cut off the rest of the headline, this misunderstanding may not have occurred.
The headline and article in question can be found at http://www.walesonline.
co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/09/13/serious-party-or-a-pressure-group-plaid-reveals-its-hand-91466-24674203/.
Also, regarding my political allegiances, I am a Liberal Democrat supporter, but when writing articles, I do my best to be as balanced and unbiased as possible. Had a supporter of another party written these articles, there may have been complaints from other parties regarding its content.
In conclusion, the issue of the Plaid Cymru article was a simple misunderstanding, and I am very new to the world of journalism, so I think it is very unfair to criticise me so harshly at my first attempt of article writing.
Editors Response...
Dear Reader
Thank you for your letter involving the Opinion article (Political Party Conference Review) printed last issue – 181. I would also like to pass on my apologies to any-one who was offended or angered by this article. Myself, Bradley and a number of other team members have had a look at the section and do share your concern to some degree. The article was not student focused enough for my liking but this is something we can work on in the coming issues.
Your opinions are your own and the letters page of The Waterfront will always be used to pass comment, challenge people and events going on at this University.
However I do not appreciate the fact that you have been so damning against a student who (like everyone that writes for
this paper) has given up their own time to do something for this University. Yes, mistakes will be made from time to time, and the paper has to take responsibility for its writers, but I will defend those writers to the end whilst at the same time ensuring they learn from such mistakes. At times it may have to be the hard way.
At the end of the day newspapers like this are set up to give students the chance to try their hand at something new, this comes with a learning curve. My writers are not going to be the next Polly Toynbee or Ian Traynor at the first attempt. I would like to remind you that this was Bradley’s first attempt at writing with The Waterfront and overall I feel he did a fair job with a difficult task.
We are still looking for Political contributors this year so I would like to invite you to submit something for our opinions or political page in the near future and I will take a look and see if it suitable.
Thank you for your contribution.
Kind regards,James Snaith
If you would like to submit something for a future letters page email: [email protected] Labelling your email LETTERS
36 SPORT WATERFRONT 182 - 02/11/09
Intramural League review - 21/10 - by Deputy Sports Editor Tim Harris
New season finally kicks off
Swansea 6ths 4 – 1 Clinical FinishersTHE UNI 6THS enjoyed more possession than Clinical Finishers in the first half of their bout, but the Clinical defence remained stubborn.
The 6ths did go into the break 1-0 up however, thanks to Moses Thompson, heading home off a corner.
The 6ths then doubled their lead after halftime, with a piece of opportunist finishing from striker Paul Gregson, currently in top scoring form. After about an hour of play Clinical did manage to bite back.
Two former 6ths captains created the goal against their old team, a deep Steve Griffiths cross was finished by Gaz Evans.
Clinical pulling the score back to 2-1 evened the game out. But then
Eliot Hughes was brought on to give the 6ths some extra pace, winning a corner within minutes, which wasn’t cleared properly, and Tom Price managed to nod the ball in.
Hughes then put the match well and truly to sleep, striking a shot from 20 yards, finding the top right corner of the Clinical goal.
New 6ths Captain Jamie Gathercole feels the win brings confidence.
“I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far,” he said.
“We’re only going to improve as partnerships develop all over the pitch.”
“It’s been too long since a University team has taken the Intramural Title, but we fully expect to be up there challenging come the final weeks of the season”.
Team Sloth 8 – 1 Balls DeepGOALS GALORE came for former champions Team Sloth having spelled a successful start to their title reclaiming campaign.
Intramural new boys Balls Deep will have a lot to think about before their second fixture of the season.
However, it was Balls Deep who took the early incentive, winger Alex Martin netting within 4 minutes.
A massive wake-up call for Sloth saw a change of formation and with it an equaliser from Richard Fouracre, before Ryan Foley fired Sloth ahead before halftime.
In the second half, super-sub Marc Harris made an immediate impact after being introduced and, with the support of his midfield, scored twice.
After an impressive first half, and
a commendable effort, Balls Deep fell to pieces later in the game, Ben Russell, Andy Patton, Billy Goodall and Christopher Marsh all grabbed themselves goals, leaving the score-line a resounding 8-1.
Sloth Manager Ceri Parker was ecstatic with the victory.
“It’s a solid start” he said. “We are looking at building a nice
goal difference in the pursuit of league glory.”
Balls Deep Captain Phil Fenna admitted disappointment.
“After a first-half that was fairly close, second-half our stamina let us down.” he said.
“Sloth stepped up a gear and dominated the game.”
TOP SPOT after the first game of the new season was taken by Ajax Trees Down after they saw off new boys Sub-Standard Liege 7-0.
Team Sloth also hit the ground running with a solid 8-1 over Balls Deep, putting them 2nd.
SPR silenced Geog On in the late weekend fixture, placing them 3rd.
And TITS claimed 4th spot in the league with a comfortable 6-1 win over History Boys.
The Uni 6ths, Geography, Hardly Athletic and the Uni 7ths were the other
teams to notch up a win on the opening day of the season, ensuring their place in the top half of the league in this early stage of the year.
Liquor will be the most disappointed team in the bottom half off the table, leading Hardly Athletic 2-0, before losing their grip on the game, and Athletic spinning it round into a 3-2 steal.
After looking strong pre-season, Photosynthesis Grasshoppers will be disappointed with their start, losing 1-0 to Geography.
Sketty Bolognese will take confidence only losing to the 7ths by one goal, with a final score of 3-2.
Clinical, Geog On, History, Balls Deep and Sub-Standard will have to dust off their shoulders and bounce back following a difficult start to the season.
The next couple of fixtures will be crucial in the initial shaping of the table.
Intramural Football is back with a bang!
Team Name PLD W D L SF SA SD PTS 1 Ajax Treesdown 1 1 0 0 7 0 7 32 Team Sloth AFC 1 1 0 0 8 1 7 33 SPR 1 1 0 0 6 1 5 3 4 T.I.T.S 1 1 0 0 6 1 5 35 Swansea University 6th’s 1 1 0 0 4 1 3 3 6 Geography 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 37 Hardly Athletic 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 38 Swansea University 7th’s 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 39 Liquor 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 010 Photosynthesis 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 011 Sketty Bolognese 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 012 Clinical Finishers 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 013 Geog On 1 0 0 1 1 6 -5 014 History Boys 1 0 0 1 1 6 -5 015 Balls Deep 1 0 0 1 1 8 -7 0 16 Sub-Standard Leige 1 0 0 1 0 7 -7 0
KICKED OFF: The intramural season is finally underway. Here an Ajax player coasts past T.I.T.S defender Chris Williams
League Table
Photo: Marc Holmes
Photo: Marc Holmes
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk SPORT 37
OUTCLASSED: The Ospreys have yet to find spectacular form this season
By Bradley MorganSports Reporter
THE OSPREYS have experienced highs and the lows in recent weeks, winning narrowly against Clemont in the Heineken Cup, but then lost to the Cardiff Blues in the Magners League.
The Welsh side started well against the French outfit Clermont with three first half tries. Tommy Bowe went over after ten minutes thanks to a neat chip by Nicky Walker
Captain Ryan Jones scored after a spilled ball infront of the posts, and full-back Barry Davies, replacing the injured Lee Byrne, scored the third giving the Ospreys a 22-3 lead at half time.
But Clermont fought back in the second half with three tries of their own from Benoit Baby, Thomas Domingo and Alexandre Lapandry to put the French side ahead 24-22.
Fly-half Tom Biggar saved the game for the Ospreys with a penalty kick late on, sealing a tense 25-24 victory.
Unfortunately, the match seemed to take its toll on the Ospreys players, as many were missing from the team for the game against the Blues.
Notable absences were Nicky Walker and Mike Phillips, with Ryan Jones, James Hook and Filo Tiatia on the bench, which led to Shane Williams inheriting the captaincy.
Things didn’t start well for the Os-preys, as Blues fly-half Sam Norton-Knight’s lovely second-minute chip caught Tommy Bowe napping, and al-lowed winger Tom James to score in the
corner and give the Blues an early lead.Ben Blair converted a penalty just
minutes before the half-time whistle, making the score 10-0 to Cardiff Blues at the end of the first half.
Things got worse for the Ospreys in the second half with scrum half Gareth Cooper scoring after a Martyn Williams run straight after the restart.
The Ospreys fought back with a Bowe try in the corner, but Norton-Knight’s drop goal near the end sealed the win for the Blues.
The Ospreys managed a late
consolation try from Jerry Collins, making the final score 20-12 to the Blues.
Both sides had some good chances and good passages of play in an otherwise very stop-start game, with many penalties and knock-ons spoiling the flow of the game.
Times may look shaky for the Ospreys with the Autumn Internationals coming soon. Many of their star players will be going to join their national teams in the coming weeks, while other key players are still out injured.
Ospreys stumble and struggle against Cardiff Blues in league
Loeb claims his sixth world title in Wales
By Rhys WilliamsSports Editor
SEBASTIEN Loeb claimed an unprecedented sixth World Rally Championship last Sunday in the forests around Swansea.
Going into the last round a single point behind Mikko Hirvonen, Loeb knew that he had to push hard to beat off Hirvonen and claim the world title.
The pair were inseparable on the first day of the rally, Loeb in first and Hirvonen in second, with less than five seconds covering them.
The second day saw Loeb make a charge and end the day with a thirty second advantage over the Finn. However, on the final day Mikko put the hammer and down and began to rapidly close the gap between himself and Sebastien.
Going into the penultimate stage at
HEARTACHE: Finn Mikko Hirvonen crashed on the penultimate stage
Port Talbot, Hirvonen had closed the gap to 18 seconds. This coupled with the fact that Loeb was suffering turbo problems meant that the crowd was in for a nail-biting finish.
Sadly they were deprived of the grandstand finish when Hirvonen landed heavily after a jump on the Port Talbot stage. Repairing the damage cost him a minute and lost him any chance of winning the title.
Hirvonen still managed to limp home in second place but Loeb took an easy win and his sixth world title, the first man to ever do so.
Loeb said: “It’s been an incredible season. We made a good start then we lost everything and we came here one point behind Mikko.
“Finally we’ve done it and I’m really happy but Mikko has been extremely strong. I know it will be tough next year for sure.”
“I will expect a win but the performance is the most important thing,” he said.
“I am pretty confident in the lads and the squad that we’ve got that if we perform we will beat the teams were put up against.
“They will be technically gifted, they will be fit and organised but they won’t have the understanding of the game that we’ve got.
“A lot of our players are playing at a decent level on Saturdays so there is no reason why we can’t match them techni-cally or tactically.
“They beat us twice last year so we have got scores to settle.”
Despite seeking revenge for last years results, Cropley is expected to use the game to experiment with the side.
“It’s good for the club to give us a bit of exposure but the main thing for us is the training exercise, to go out and get 90 minutes for some of the players who haven’t played as much but also for those players to substantiate their places,” he said.
“It gives us the chance to work on a few things, maybe give some play-ers the chance to come and play for the first team who have been in the second
team.First team captain Gary Bansor says
the team are determined to put on a show for the bumper crowd expected for tonight’s much anticipated game, how-ever, he stressed it would be foolish to underestimate their younger opponents.
“We’re massively looking forward to it; we look forward to every game we play for the university,” said Bansor.
“We’re unbeaten so far and we want to keep that run going.”
“It’s something different to a Wednesday, we’re on a beautiful pitch
and were going to have a lot of people there showing their support so it’s a great opportunity to experience that environment before trying to win varsity again.
“Whatever team Swansea put out, even if it’s their under 10’s they’re going
to be the best footballers in the area and we’ll go in there with a lot of respect.
“In three years time these boys could be playing at the Liberty Stadium and we could be watching so it’s a great opportunity for some of our players to show what they’ve got.”
Uni seek revenge against Academy
GIFTED: Swansea City Football Academy beat the university team twice last year, but coach Brendan Cropley believes his team can get a result this time
Continued from back page
Photo By James Snaith
38 SPORT WATERFRONT 182 - 02/11/09
By Thore HaugstadSports Editor
HAD OFFER: Bauza is eligible to play University football, but turned the offer down
I turned down offer to play for University, says Swansea strikerSWANSEA City striker, Guillem Bauza has revealed he turned down an offer from Swansea University to play for the Men’s football first team.
The Spaniard is currently doing a Medicine Degree at the University, which he combines with his football duties at Swansea City.
And being able to play university football, Bauza has told us that his arrival at the University did not go unnoticed by the football team.
“They asked me to play with them, and I have to say that I can, but I had to turn the offer down,” he told the Waterfront.
“They had a good opportunity to improve the university football, but I have a contract here and I have to focus on Swansea City.”
Having spent his first year in
Swansea learning English, the 25-year-old is now doing each year of his degree over two years, enabling him to combine student life with professional football.
And Bauza has spoken of how he masters life as a student and full-time footballer.
“Football gives you some spare time,” he said.
“After training we are full time workers and we have to look after ourselves twenty four–seven, but it doesn’t make you have to stay at home.
“You have many hours doing almost nothing, so you can spend that time doing something you’d like to do.
“I would like to spend more time on campus, but my first priority is football.
“I have to be there two times a week for the practical lectures which are compulsory, and then I download the rest of the lectures from Blackboard.
“But I like to go to lectures if I’m available because it’s better to attend them so that you know what you are
revising.” Bauza says that Swansea City has
no problems with him being a student, while adding that doing a degree only has a positive effect on him both on and off the field.
“The club is happy with me being a student because it helps your mind and can improve your performance,” he said.
“If I want to skip a class, they can sign a paper and help me concentrate on football. In the same way if I have an exam and come 30 min late to training, they’re fine with that.
“I think to have your life complete you need more than one pillar.
“If you rely fully on football and it goes wrong you will be really down and you won’t know how to make yourself feel better.
“My pillars are football, family and studying. These three support each other, like a triangle.”
BOXING Head Coach, Avoen Perryman says the club is aiming to win gold in every weight they enter boxers for this year.
Swansea had a successful year last season, representing the University for the first time at a BUCS boxing tournament with a solid performance.
Every athlete made it to the semi final stage and were unlucky to miss out on medals.
Last year also saw them defeating Portsmouth University, the number one ranked University in the country, with a stirring performance from Verdun Howells who won his bout despite being badly injured.
With a promising bunch of fresher’s
Boxing aim for gold in every weight
A TOUGH test for the Swansea Cycling team produced some mixed results at the infamously steep Curbar Gap, a 1.25 mile climb on the edge of the Peak District.
The Men’s riders failed to breach the top ten, finishing 11th as a team, despite some impressive individual perform-ances. The Women’s riders managed 5th, only seven seconds off 3rd place.
Holly Lawrence put in one of the performances of the day, finishing in 07:48, missing out on 3rd by a tantalising three seconds.
Triathlon Captain Ross MacDonald commended her impressive display:
Thriathlon team pleased with road cycling performance
“Holly was unsatisfied with her result, but should be really pleased.”
“The conditions were especially bad for the girls with heavy rain, while it cleared up for the boys in the after-noon”.
Tim Butt put forward the fastest ride of the day for the Men’s, with a time of 06:25, earning him 22nd place.
Ross Macdonald was just two sec-onds adrift of Butt, finishing 25th. Adam Atkinson as the third member of the team put in a credible time of 07:18.
Some stiff competition came from the likes of Durham, Loughborough, Birmingham and Southampton.
And although Durham took the title, Macdonald was very pleased with Swansea’s efforts:
“The Men’s team were easily beaten by some of the proper road teams.
“However, considering the majority of the team are Triathletes rather than solely road cyclists, we all left pleased with our performances”.
Other strong efforts came from Kezia Jones for the Women’s, and Gethin Howells, Gareth Petts and Tim Simmons for the Men’s.
“All 15 entrants from the University gave their all, and braved the wet and windy conditions after an early 6am start to travel there on the day,” added Macdonald.
The Cycling Club’s next event is the Cyclo-Cross in the New Year. The Tria-thlon Club will next be competing at the BUCS Duathlon on 22nd November.
By Tim HarrisDeputy Sports Editor
PLEASED: Swansea competed well in the Road Cycling event, despite having a team mainly consisting of TriathletesBy Matthew JacobSports Reporter
in Sion Woodman, Ricky Woodman and David Macrae, the boxing club should have a promising future.
And coach Perryman shares this view, saying that taking gold in every weight they enter in this year is more than achievable with the talent they have at their disposal.
“We have training and discipline for our athletes to such an extent that I expect nothing less from them” he said.
They will get a chance of reflecting that aim against Plymouth University, who Swansea will face on November 10th.
A team of four boxers made up of Sion and Ricky Woodman, Calum Spours and club Captain Rhodri Kilcoyne will make the journey to the South, hoping to repeat last year’s performance and defeat them again.
KO: Verdun Howells sealed the victory against Plymouth University last year
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk 39 SPORT
AU President Siwan
Lillicrap
By Craig LawtonSports Reporter
AS RIVALRIES go, they do not come much bigger than the South Wales derby. Contested between Swansea City and Cardiff City, the sides are divided by less than 50 miles.
In recent times both clubs have been on the brink of administration and have found themselves at the wrong end of the Football League.
Now, looking financially stable and in the Championship, they are able to continue their fierce rivalry where it left off last season.
Swansea took the bragging rights last season. The league matches both ended as draws.
It was 2-2 at the Liberty Stadium, while the last ever derby match at Ninian Park also finished 2-2 as Cardiff salvaged a point with an injury-time penalty from Ross McCormack.
The only change for either side came early in the season when the Swans saw off the Bluebirds 1-0 in the Carling Cup thanks to on loan Spanish midfielder Jordi Gomez.
Having not met in nearly a decade prior to last season, some may have felt the hostility between the two best Welsh clubs in the Football League may have died down, but that is far from the case.
In their three matches last season there were 13 yellow cards and three red cards, two for Cardiff and one for Swansea.
Off the pitch things fared little better, with crowd problems and violence
marring both the league fixtures and culminated in referee Mike Dean being struck above the eye with a coin thrown from the Bob Bank.
Both sides have one match to play before the derby, which commences the weekend of 7 November.
The Swans face Scunthorpe away, following on from a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich and a 1-0 victory away to West Bromwich Albion, which Paulo Sousa has described as his best win so far in charge of Swansea.
This was in turn followed by a 0-0 draw at home to Blackpool, a match where Sousa’s men showed more than enough in front of goal to comfortably come away with all three points.
Instead they were again thwarted
as Blackpool sat back and absorbed the Swansea pressure, denying front man Craig Beattie from adding to his tally of two goals in his two previous matches.
Cardiff will take on Nottingham Forest prior to their visit to the Liberty and will be looking to continue their rich vein of form.
The Swans have scored 17 goals in their last five matches, winning four and drawing one since their 3-1 loss away to Sheffield Wednesday back on 26 September.
As is often bounded around by those experts involved in football, form tends to counts for very little in derby matches.
That has been the case before and Sousa will be hoping that mantra comes
true again as he prepares for his first South Wales derby.
Although Swansea have been playing diverse attacking football of late, it is definitely Cardiff who have the better form, having been scoring goals for fun for the majority of this season.
However Swansea have conceded just ten goals in 14 matches and have built their success so far this season on a solid defence.
All that we can say is that the 154th South Wales derby will definitely live up to its billing as one of the most anticipated games of the season.
And that if Swansea do come away with all three points, Sousa will probably have to make a quick change regarding his best victory in charge of the Swans.
Swans anxious ahead of derby
GRUDGE MATCH: Swansea will hope to keep up their impressive run of form when they play Cardiff
SWANSEA Men’s Rugby Firsts have had a disappointing start to life in the BUCS Premiership, losing their first three games by narrow margins despite producing some encounraging performances.
Only twelve months ago the firsts feared that the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Southern Premiership may be a step too far for them, but their first three results have proved that they can mix it with the top teams in the country.
Their first game, a difficult away fixture to St Mary’s University College, was a tense affair, with Swansea being pipped by a single point, the final score being 11-10.
Swansea also stood a real chance of success in their second match against Bristol Universities Firsts, taking a 15 point lead at one stage, before eventually losing 26-21.
Club Captain Tom Wallis admits that despite being the new boys in the league, they were disappointed not to have won both of their first matches.
“We’re a bit disappointed to be honest, we should have won our first game easily and last week’s match against Bristol, we threw it away.”
“We had a 15 point lead but they were really just stronger than us in the second half.”
Unfortunately they then lost a frustrating match away to Exeter University, with the final score 20-10, leaving Swansea Firsts rooted to the bottom of the table.
Wallis admitted that it’s encouraging
that they have played so well in their new league, but it is no consolation for losing matches that he believes that they should have comfortably won.
“We take heart from the fact that we’re playing so well in a new league, but we should have been putting these teams away.”
Looking forward to the next match,
Wallis feels that there isn’t much that Swansea need to improve in their game, except perhaps keep a cool head.
“We just need to keep our composure. We went ahead against Bristol, but ended up losing a 15 point lead. We didn’t collapse, but we lost a bit of composure and let them back into it.”
By Rhys WilliamsSports Editor
Trying start for Men’s Rugby
TOUGH START: Three losses from three games sees Swansea propping up the BUCS Southern Premiership
Good day sports fans!
We are now into the third week of BUCS fixtures and all is going pretty good with some fantastic results. If results haven’t been going your way, stick with it, work hard and all will come together.
I also want to say a massive well done and congratulations to the Women’s Surf teams for Winning the BUCS tournament down in Newquay, and well done Beth Mason for winning the individual competition. What a fantastic result, keep up the good work.
Next week we have a jam packed week of fixtures so good luck to everyone who is playing/competing and everyone else get supporting your mates, team and university, home fixtures will be played over at the sports village and Fairwood.
I want to say a massive thank you to the athletic union exec for the time and dedication to the athletic union and putting on a fantastic thriller dance in play last night. And I hope you all enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed performing it. Keep your eyes peeled for more exec surprises throughout the year. Watch this space!!!!
That takes me on to how excited I am about next weeks toga party, get making your toga’s and let the fun and games commence. Tickets available from ENTs box office and AU office.
We are also still selling Osprey tickets throughout the year so get up to the AU office or ENTS box office. We have an offer on where when you buy eight tickets you get one free.
I think that’s all for now, so remember train hard but play harder and enjoy.
Big love
02/11/09
WOMEN’S SURFING RETAIN BUCS GOLDBy Thore HaugstadSports Editor
Sportthewaterfront
CHAMPIONS AGAIN: Beth Mason and Hannah Dixon collecting their trophies after winning the BUCS Championship for the second year in a row
Inside this week’s paperBoxing RugbyCycling
Men’s Firsts seek revenge against Swansea Academy
THE WOMEN’S surfing team has retained the gold in the BUCS Surf Championships held in Newquay, Cornwall two weeks ago.
The team consisted of Beth Mason and Hannah Dixon who both made it into the finals, finishing first and fourth respectively to take a comfortable overall win.
Dixon was pleased having defended the title, but admitted they had even higher expectations than a first and fourth place.
“It was a clear victory, because we were the only University to get two girls right through to the finals,” she said.
“We had high expectations. We were hoping for first and second place with Beth obviously winning and me finishing second, but we still kind of knew we would win.
“Even though I came fourth, I’m just happy that we still won because it’s a team thing at the end of the day.
The surfers will now look forward to two more events this year, with the Welsh Championships and Varsity still left on the schedule.
And having already taken home the biggest prize, Dixon is confident about winning the last remaining competitions.
“Hopefully we can win all three” she said.
“If Beth and I can do it, then it should be easy but I look at it as more fun that a competition.
“I don’t see any reason why we should lose when we’ve won the biggest one to start with.”
Despite Swansea being renowned for its watersport facilities, the women’s surfing team only had three surfers travelling to the BUCS Championships.
And while Dixon confirms that there is plenty of interest in surfing at the University, she admits there’s a lack
of top quality surfers coming through.“There are a lot of beginners at the
University, but I don’t know too many girls that are fully committed to it,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of interest in it, but most people try it when they come
to university, where as you need to have done it before to have a chance in the competitions.”
The team will be weakened by Dixon’s own departure next year but with Mason still around for a few years, Dixon is positive about the team’s
future.She added: “Beth will win it every
year.” “She will be around next year, so
hopefully there will be another OK girl to take part as she needs somebody else in it.”
Turn to page 37
By Luke JamesChief Correspondent
WE HAVE a score to settle – that’s the message from Swansea University men’s football coach Brendan Cropley ahead of tonight’s showpiece clash with Swansea City Academy.
The men’s first team are second in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Western Conference
after two wins and a draw in their opening three games, but now they are gunning for the young Swans in this one off encounter at Ashleigh Road.
Swansea City Academy beat the university first team twice last season but green and white’s boss Brendan Cropley is confident his new breed can keep their good run of form going with a win tonight.