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Day: 16 September 2011

Five favourite watering holes

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Hula Tiki

Head to almost any bar in the Northern Quarter if you want a damn good cocktail, but do try to catch the last moments of summer at Hula Tiki, the Hawaiian themed bar. With hula hoops (not the crisps), a wealth of rum, cocktails set on fire and lamps made of puffer fish, what more could you want? It’s worth forking out the dollar to see what Manchester has to offer.

Font (Fallowfield and Oxford Road)

If you ever owe your mates a round, go to Font, with over 20 cocktails from as little as £2. Sip on a Sailor Jerry Mojito or a cream-topped Mudslide, a Tiger Beer (2 for 1!) or an admirable array of other lagers and bitters. The food deserves a nod of the head, the sofas are comfy. I’ve even heard that you can even play Pro-Evo for free in the Oxford Road branch.

Kyoto Lounge

To experience the geeky brilliance of a gaming bar, head to Kyoto Lounge. Their extensive range of games includes COD, Street Fighter, Gran Turismo, Fifa, Guitar Hero – you name it. Your inner child will never complain again, especially seeing as there’s a create-your-own milkshake bar too.

Ram and Shackle

With its rugged charm and dingy wall decor, Ram and Shackle is a personal favourite. It’s tucked away at the southern end of Fallowfield, with cheap drinks, lots of rooms to explore and places to hide. They host live bands, a weekly open mic and play many a good tune. Treat yourself to an Irish coffee in the winter.

Trof (Northern Quarter, Deaf Institute on Oxford Road, Fallowfield)

Trof serves some of the best food in town, particularly their scrumptious Sunday lunch. The vibe is always charming and it helps that they do a fine cocktail and have bounteous supplies of baked goods. Deaf’s genre-spanning club nights are a hit with the kids.

 

The saga begins

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Opinion.

Welcome to university on rails. A simple story of how clichéd your experience will be, three years full to the brim with stereotypical student escapades of self-experimentation and free-thinking.

The First Year

A goodbye will mark the beginning of your entrapment in higher education. Mum will sobbingly close your new bedroom’s door as Dad puts on the stern grimace that says “don’t fuck this up, you aren’t living with us once you graduate”. Left alone for the first time in your life, you will do what any intelligently designed being would – get pissed on cheap booze and blitheringly try to invite people to your flat for a party.

Lectures will start and you will be confronted with the choice of either choosing to study for the degree that a year ago you thought “looked sort of interesting” or to sod that and enjoy the seemingly non-stop party lifestyle filled with wonders such as “the ring of fire”.

You will probably meet some amazing people, or at least people who profess how amazing they are. The tales of their life experiences will be enviable, although probably mostly fabricated. To look intelligent you will say you’ve heard of books by authors with vowel-less names, desperately maintaining your lies by reading the synopsis on wikipedia. When having a ‘cotch sesh’ with your new friends, your music collection will come under scrutiny, to which you will be betray any individuality you may have and inform the critics that “yeah, I never listen to that shit any more”.

There is even a chance that you may meet someone who, through some possible distortion of reality, finds you attractive. It will be just like those drearily rose-tinted films based in universities: you’ll be slightly cautious and naive, but then they’ll open your mind to experimentation and reveal you to yourself. Or, you’ll occasionally spot each other at the kebab shop and then go back and shag.

Then the whole of your year as a fresher will be gone quicker than you can make a pot noodle. What awaits you next is the dark middle chapter.

Second Year

“I’m going to get involved in everything”, is the general tone of second year. You are now familiar with how this university thing works and are prepared to explore as much as what’s on offer as possible. Of course, you will do none of this.

The first thing to hamper your idyllic reinvention is your new house. This is most likely the first property you’ve ever selected for renting and perhaps you hadn’t got the eye for detail yet. The initial deal clencher that was the basement now turns out to be a dark, damp mess filled with what appears to be the remnants of some form of cult activities; and the rest of the house stinks like soggy flannels and dog biscuits.

Nevertheless, you endeavour to throw a party! It’s going to be like skins and american pie got together a spewed out a bastard child of narcotics, beer kegs and people dancing in their underwear. However, what you most likely to end up with instead is a room full of DJs and a hallway of people queuing for the loo.

Third Year

If there was ever a time where you were going to have to work, this would be it. You have now decided that you’ve had enough of trying to relive the freshers year magic. Your liver is now a black lump of compost and you will find yourself sweaty, tired and entirely non-functional the morning after just two pints at the pub.

You can barely look at a fresher without pondering your own wasted existed. You are over the hill and your time here is almost up. All those things you said you would do at university are distant memories and you just want to get your degree and get out of here. Maybe you’ll finally get to go on that journey around the world, see chant with some monks and spend a season teaching to kids with chicken pox to ski.

Most likely though will be you turning up back home (to your parents delight) and spend a few fruitless years trying to find a dream job before realising your real place in society and settling for a beige office and a life of admin.

***

The Queen of Hearts has finally abdicated and been replaced by an inspired collection of numbers. ‘256’ is the new dive hole for Fallowfield residents and is sure to succeed just by being closer to Owens Park than vodka revs.

They appeared to have been doing lots of renovation work over the summer, but have remarkably been able to recreate it almost exactly how it was before. Of course the old furniture has gone and been replaced with brand new, gleaming white tables and chairs – ready to for a finishing coat of sticky vodbull.

I was fortunate enough to see the first ever puke to grace the newly opened venue. Pink and porridgey, the spew was splayed along the men’s room urinal. The two chirpy members of staff who had to clean it up put on a brave face, knowing that this was just the beginning of the end.

Got an account? Use it, say NatWest

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in News.

Customers who have student accounts with NatWest must now deposit £750 every six months or face charges on their overdrafts.

They will also have to make at least three purchases on card to prove that their student account is their main one.

NatWest initially told customers they would have to deposit at least £750 every three months, but relaxed the rule after complaints from customers.

Some students said they would not be able to make a deposit over the summer break because the last loan repayment of the academic year is in April.

The consumer support company Which? said it had put pressure on NatWest after a student complained on their forum.

The changes take effect from the 5th of October.

Developing new drugs is only half the battle

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Opinion.

We used the climb up Breithorn as an opportunity to raise awareness for a campaign by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for ‘Access to Essential Medicine’. Apart from providing medical aid to war-torn countries and earthquake victims, the NGO gives pharmaceutical companies a hard time for overpricing drugs in the developing world.

The key problem is that drug patents sold by universities in the UK to pharmaceutical companies last for at least 20 years. This blocks market competition and allows companies to charge extortionate prices. When Bristol Myers Squibb bought the patent for the HIV drug Zerit from Yale University, they charged $15,000 per patient per year.

But after Médecins Sans Frontières ran a campaign against their unfair pricing, they brought the cost down to just $350 per year. This saved thousands of lives.

Scientific research and clinical practice is only half the battle in medicine; we also need to address the huge economic barriers to good health. The Manchester branch of Universities Allied for Essential Medicine (UAEM) says that a staggering one third of the world’s population “lacks regular access to [vital] medicines. As a result, it is estimated that ten million people die every year from preventable or otherwise treatable diseases.”

The Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh have already thrown out the patent system and allowed the drugs they develop to be produced by any company anywhere in the world. This encourages market competition and means that prices drop to levels that people in developing countries can afford. This is an essential move forward that Manchester University needs to be a part of.

Khalil Secker is a second year medical student.

Preview: Manchester Literature Festival 10th – 23rd October

Written by Stephen Jones on . Posted in Books.

Famous for its eclectic and numerous institutions, the presence of some of the most renowned authors in Britain and, um, loads of people talking about books and stuff over tea, Manchester Literature Festival literally appeals to all ages and there is plenty that will interest students.

For any of you who have just arrived at the university and are doing a Creative Writing degree, I’m afraid our own crème de la crème Martin Amis has fled to other pastures. But don’t reach for the noose just yet, no sir – widely celebrated Irish author Colm Tóibín has taken his place at the university and is dispensing his wisdom at the opening of the festival on 10th October.

Something I’m not going to miss is ‘Crime in a Cold limate’ on 17th October. Scandinavian authors have all come together for a night to discuss the incredibly gripping crime novels that have exploded out of their country in recent years. Anyone who’s partial to a bit of Stieg Larsson or Henning Mankell, or who likes The Killing or the TV adaptation of Wallander (original Swedish version obviously – sod off Kenneth Brannagh) can’t let this little number slip through their fingers.

And remember Anthony Horowitz? He did all those cool Alex Rider books with the gadgets and the flying. Now he’s written a new Sherlock Holmes story that he’s going to talk about on 3rd November – a week or so after the festival ends as a kind of one-off. That might be worth some nostalgia value, and if you didn’t like the whole Robert Downey Jr./ Jude Law thing you can take a punt at this.

There’s so much more than what I’ve just mentioned. I haven’t scraped the surface. I didn’t really even manage to get to the surface. Just have a look on the website. And did I say how cheap all this is? With student discount a lot of the events cost just £3. We’ll be covering this as it happens too, so if anyone wants to go completely free and write a short review of any of the events then look down the page to the ‘Get Involved’ section!

Review: Canal Street Gothic. 2 stars.

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Books.

With a delightfully flamboyant and glamorous reputation, Canal Street is the beating heart of Manchester’s gay scene. The rich and often complex history of Canal Street has been transformed into a collection of ten stories to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Manchester’s Gay Village.  ‘Canal Street Gothic’ attempts to juxtapose the bright lights and bustling atmosphere we recognise today with a dark, illicit vision of the past.

I was hoping for a realistic portrayal of a street with so much history and instead was left feeling disappointed. Although amusing at times, in particular ‘Dr Nizami’s Pizzas’ which was set in the student epicentre of Fallowfield, I struggled to engage with most of the stories. They all too often featured two dimensional characters in downright bizarre situations – nudist pancake day, anyone? Instead of the grit and realism that was promised, David Thame presents a collection of stories that verge on being just a little bit unbelievable and dull at times. The potential for a great story to be told is still there, and at times we do see glimpses of it in Thame’s work; ‘Regulars’, the book’s opener is a promising start, featuring real, believable characters. It is just unfortunate that ‘Canal Street Gothic’ runs out of steam before it really gets going.

 

 

A day in the life of… Dean Moriarty

Written by Bill Knowles on . Posted in Books.

Bill Knowles decides to kick off our frankly moronic new running feature, attempting to live out a single day as a literary character. He chose Dean Moriarty, from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.

I make sure to wake up late. Because that’s what Dean Moriarty would do. I don’t shave, and go find a roadside cafe to get a coffee and some apple pie. I roll a cigarette and contemplate the day ahead. 24 hours as the semi-fictional contemporary of Kerouac and Ginsburg. Soon I will step onto the pavement and, for a second, consider the open road ahead. Then head south. All the way to Withington.

I have no second wife to leave, so instead I just don’t tell my housemate where I’m going. I arrive, unexpected, on a friend’s doorstep, wondering whether he has whiskey and amphetamines, tales from the Great Midwest or beat poetry to recite. He doesn’t, but does have an Xbox 360 and cigarettes. Jazz cigarettes. So I stay and play FIFA. Because, I decide, Dean would want to.

Later that evening, I tell my friend that we need to find women and music. I suggest Mexico City and ask him if he has a Cadillac. He does not, so we are forced to compromise. We get the 142 into town.

We go looking for a smoky jazz bar, and arrive at Matt & Phreds in the Northern Quarter. The music is wild. I sit at a table and start drumming along to the beat until people eventually shush me. I go to the bar and ask how much a Manhattan is. The bartender tells me it is seven pounds. I quickly decide that, actually, Dean would probably prefer to go to The Deaf Institute tonight, so we leave and go there instead. I buy three drinks for myself. This, I decide, is somewhere I will truly get into character.

The next day I wake up early, because I’ve left my curtains open and way too much light is streaming in to the room. My head hurts. I stumble downstairs to get some orange juice and paracetemol. Then I begin to try and remember, as I turn the TV to E4, my day as Dean Moriarty.

Book Club

Written by Stephen Jones on . Posted in Books.

This week, Steve Jones talks to Georgia Haire, a 3rd year History student who is preparing for winter by immersing herself in the doom and gloom of Jean Rhys.

What are you reading, who’s it by and what’s it about?

‘Quartet’ by Jean Rhys. Marya is living in 1920s Paris with her reckless husband. When he is imprisoned she’s left broke and alone. She’s taken in by her recent acquaintances, the Heidlers, who slowly overwhelm her with their own desires. The novel is based on Rhys’ relationship with Ford Maddox Ford, his wife Stella Bowen and Jean Lenglet, Rhys’ first husband.

Is it un-putdownable or un-pickupable?

Un-putdownable.

You must always judge a book by its cover. Does it have a
pretty cover?

Penguin Modern Classics always do.

Do you identify with any of the characters, and if so why?

You can definitely sympathise with Marya and her position, even though she is very self-pitying at points.

What’s the writing style? Is it, for instance, dialogue heavy or is it mostly excruciatingly lengthy Lord of the Rings style description?

I think you could say it fits in with Modernist style literature. The novel is satirical and full of emotional descriptions of Marya’s surroundings and the people she encounters.

Can you predict the end?

I don’t think it’s going to be a happy one. The fatalistic tones in the novel are less than promising.

Do you think other students will like this, or will they cry and gnash their teeth as they read, shaking the book and screaming abuse?

I think it’s very likely it would be enjoyed and not yelled at.

A Good Friday

Written by Food and Drink on . Posted in News.

It is cheaper and healthier to cook your own fish, not to mention that you’ll be free from the lingering fishy smell, which you won’t be able to get rid of until someone buys a can of Febreze.

Now I hear what you might be thinking and I’m ready for your onslaught: why then does everyone say that fish is good for you? Isn’t fish known as brain food? Doesn’t it contain omega 3 fatty acids that keep the heart healthy and help fight disease?

These are all true; nutritionists recommend that we do eat fish regularly, as with everything else, in moderation. The problem lies in the way that fish and chips shops prepare the fish, resulting in approximately 1,300 calories and a whopping 75 grams of fat in an average large portion of cod and chips. The amount of oil that the fish and chips are deep-fried in is responsible for this high calorie and fat content, which is then exacerbated by the fact that the portions are normally huge. Furthermore, if you say ‘yes please!’ to the ‘salt and vinegar?’ offered on top, all of a sudden your Friday night takeaway choice doesn’t look that appealing.

Sadly, the alternatives that fish and chips shops offer – battered sausage, meat pies – aren’t the epitome of healthy eating either. So why not try it yourself? Pick up one of the lesser loved fish varieties and make yourself a guilt-free fish dinner.