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Day: 18 November 2015

Will the male supermodel soon don wings?

With the Victoria’s Secret fashion show being a highlight in November’s fashion calender, all that people can talk about is the female Angels who have become world-renowned for strutting their wings on the catwalk. However, with all the talk on the female supermodels, I can’t help but wonder about the male supermodels who are becoming more and more known for their chiselled faces, flawless hair and oiled bodies. Like any female model, the male model has been around for a while—no perfume advert would be complete without a gorgeous hunk holding on to a lingerie clad woman.

Without the male model, most high-end fashion adverts would flop, and with the increase of interest in male fashion, it is no wonder male supermodels are rising to the same height as the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Many male models are now featuring in popular music videos—Sean O’Pry, a model known for his Paco Rabanne perfume adverts, is also famously known for starring alongside Taylor Swift in her ‘Blank Space’ music video—meaning more and more male faces are being recognised, and are going from the catwalk to the big screen.

Let’s face it, male supermodels are becoming the new pop stars. Girls from all around the globe, regardless of their age, are beginning to tear down their One Direction posters in favour of supermodels such as Tyson Beckford and Oliver Cheshire. I mean, who wouldn’t want to wake up and look into the eyes of the hottest face in fashion right now? Male supermodels are taking over the world, and girls’ hearts, too, and it comes to absolutely no surprise to me.

With more actresses and singers dating male models, they have never been at the centre of attention as much as have today. It isn’t just us girls who have got our eyes on them. More and more fashion houses and highstreet brands are using male faces instead of women. At the end of the day, if a woman sees a good looking male model wearing a certain kind of jumper in an advert, then the women is more likely to buy that very same jumper for her other half. Beauty sells, and we’ve known that for a while with female models, and it seems like we’re beginning to see it with the rise of the male supermodel, too.

Craving & Saving: Accessories

With winter’s arrival, it’s easy to fall into the trap of sacrificing style for warmth. But have no fear, accessories are here! We understand the need to stay comfy and cosy in the winter, but you can get a designer look without freezing your toes off.

 

The power of the scarf is highly underestimated and should be exploited more. This simple accessory can be your protector of the wind as well as make you look hella fine.

Craving
Burberry scarf, £395
Photo: Burberry

 

Saving
ASOS scarf, £22
Photo: ASOS

 

With our scarf game on point, we can’t forget about what lies beneath. Jewellery can make or break an outfit, and winter is just another excuse to bling up. Long necklaces add a hint of elegance to any outfit.

Craving
Vivienne Westwood necklace, £60
Photo: Vivienne Westwood Saving
Miss Selfridge necklace, £6.50
Photo: Miss Selfridge

 

With your daytime bling sorted, you can’t very well neglect your jewellery choices for the evening ahead. Fantastic earrings are a great way of making a statement, adding a touch of elegance to your look.

Craving
Stephanie Brown earrings, £140
Photo: Stephanie Brown Saving
New look earrings-, £9.99
Photo: New Look

 

So, we’ve covered all bases when it comes to our top half—but what about our hands? They deserve some TLC after the things we put them through.

Craving
Dent gloves,  £70
Photo: Dent Saving
Marks & Spencer gloves, £18
Photo: Marks & Spencer

 

And to complete the famous five, we of course have the hat. A winter staple that can be mixed and matched to suit your look.

Craving
Harrods hat, £370
Photo: Harrods

 

Saving
Accessorize hat, £22
Photo: Accessorize

So—there are our top five high street steals that you need to accessorise your winter wardrobe this year. Cheap as chips.

Geist – Retro Review

In the video game industry at the moment everyone, both fans and video game companies, are used to Nintendo being the kid-friendly company who likes to do something different from everyone else, with crazy gimmicks in exchange for console power.

However, people often forget that back in the early 2000s, the Nintendo Gamecube was the strongest system of its generation with a lot of major 3rd party titles like Resident Evil 4 and a lot of serious, adult titles like Eternal Darkness, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Killer7 and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, to name a few. One of the most underrated of these titles is an exclusive first-person shooter called Geist which deals with death, nudity, and a lot of religious tones—and this is a game published by Nintendo themselves.

Geist came out about half way through the GameCube’s life cycle and was massive surprise for fans at E3 2002. It was not exactly anything they had ever seen Nintendo do before, but many were excited. Geist is primarily a first-person shooter, however it would not be a Nintendo game with out some kind of twist, and Nintendo definitely had a spooky gameplay mechanic that made it stand out. In most first-person shooters, the player can run around and change weapons by picking up other guns. Not in Geist. Instead, if the games title did not given it away already, you play as a ghost called John Reimi, and you have to possess people in order to survive.

Photo: Nintendo Co. Ltd, n-Space Inc.

The game has both a multiplayer aspect and a single player campaign. Both are fun but the multiplayer starts off rather barren until you unlock stuff for it by finding collectibles in the single player. The single player is where the game really shines by combining first-person action segments with puzzle elements. As a ghost you can possess people in order to slip through areas undetected. If you need to get through a door then just possess someone with the right credentials and walk on through; however, if it was that simple then the game would not be as fun as it is.

As the game explains it, people can only be possessed when they are vulnerable and they get vulnerable when they are scared. So, it is up to you as the player to make them scared and you do this by playing the poltergeist. You can possess objects and make them do all kinds of strange things from moving bins on their own to literally jumping out of a TV to scare its viewers. This is Geist’s greatest element, and I cannot stress enough how much fun and how creative some of these puzzles can be.

Unfortunately, while one of the game’s major aspects is fantastic, its other major gameplay style is… mediocre. The first-person shooter sections of the game are not terrible by any means, but there is nothing about them the particularly stands out. The controls are a bit clunky and you never have to worry about ammo, so it is just a matter of shooting everyone while keeping your host alive. Sometimes these sections throw in elements that make them really interesting, like possessing grenades that are in mid-throw and rolling them back to their original owners, or hiding your host body somewhere so you can possess a Gatling gun on the other side of the room and use that to mow down your unsuspecting enemies.

It is just a shame that these segments are so far and few between. Specifically, I wish the bosses used this a bit more because, except for a very few, they all just rely on shooting and hiding. Compared to more modern first-person shooter games it certainly does not feel anywhere near as polished. Even for games from its time it was a bit clunky, but it certainly was not unplayable.

Geist is a game that went largely unnoticed at the time of its release despite all the initial hype behind it. It is likely that the lack of success in titles like this is what drove Nintendo to move a bit further away from the more realistic style and stick to a more stylised one for future titles. This is a shame really because Geist was an incredibly fun game and one that I hope Nintendo thinks about making a sequel to someday.

With the lack of GameCube games on the Wii U virtual console, the only way you are going to be able to play this game is by owning a disc of it and playing it on the original system (or the Wii). Thankfully the game is not too expensive (I got my copy for about £10) and it is honestly worth it. Geist entertained me more than I expected. It was nothing groundbreaking, but what was new felt really fresh and enjoyable, and I think more people should check it out.

SPORTLIGHT: University of Manchester’s Rowing

This week, The Mancunion Sport will be turning its focus to rowing at university level!

A pre-lecture 7am meet for training at the Sale Boat Club does not feature in the timetable of most students. However, if that sounds like your type of thing, look no further than the Manchester University Boat Club (MUBC).

Second year rower Dominic Rogers describes his experiences as “long and painful, yet exponentially rewarding.” That seems a fair assessment of a lifestyle that features as many as 12 training sessions in a week. As Dom states, however, it is not all pain. There are socials most Wednesdays at the Athletics Union or Fallowfield’s 256, where the team really get to know one another, as well as being able to flaunt their six-packs over the rest of us who gave the 7am meet at Sale a miss. Becoming a member is far from a half-hearted decision, and despite the discomfort, it seems to be a decision that will revolutionise your personal health and social life.

Additionally, you certainly do not need to have come from Eton or have had any experience in a rowing boat to join. Just ask third year Jake Brown who in his first year of rowing went to GB trials. Eton graduates are of course also welcome, with four squads available. There is the Novice Men’s and Novice Women for beginners as well as the Senior Men and Senior Women. There is also the Cox’s team, for those who like the idea of shouting at their friends. The names and contact details of the captains of the squads are on the MUBC website, just message one of them if you are interested in joining.

The last year has been of mixed success for our squads, with a handful of notable performances. They successfully qualified for multiple prestigious races such as the Henley Royal Regatta, Head of the River Race in London, Marlow at Eton and BUCS Regatta. Although qualification was a success, our squads will be hoping for better performances this time around in each of the events. Although, there was one standout performance from Peter Zelinka who won the lightweight men’s single scull at BUC’s Regatta. The most noteworthy result of the year was clearly at the Varsity against Salford in April, where we demolished our local rivals in a 7-0 whitewash.

When discussing the Boat Club, it is also imperative to recognize some of the ex-members who have gone on to represent us on the international stage. Zak Lee-Green, Hugh Gallie and Graeme Thomas are all currently representing GB after proudly sporting the colours of the MUBC in the past. It’s not just ex-rowers who have impressed at a national level. Head Coach Mathew Hackett is an ex Boston Marathon winner, a highly competitive race in Lincolnshire.

Hackett and the Senior Men are currently looking to qualify for Henley, and to improve on last year’s performance. Be sure to visit their website mubc.org.uk to keep up to date with their results. We at The Mancunion certainly wish them the best of luck with all endeavours over the coming season. Also, once again, do not be afraid to message one of the captains if you want to drastically improve both your physical well-being and social life by becoming a member of the MUBC.

Hong Kong and youth politics

With royal carriages, red carpets, and grand banquets, Britain’s welcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping was hospitable to say the least. Chinese students queued for hours in the cold for a chance to meet their beloved leader—others were less thrilled. Or rather, their interest was directed towards The Independent’s 20th October 2015 headline: ‘The hero of the Umbrella Revolution is here to rain on China’s parade’ rather than ‘Manchester looks forward to Xi’s visit’. These divergent news stories perfectly capture the clashing sentiments of Mainland China and Hong Kong regarding the presidential visit.

While many saw the visit as a recognition of China’s growing importance in world politics and the global economy, some took this as an ultimate betrayal by the British government. While mainstream Chinese media placed the impetus on the royal family colour coordinating for President Xi Jinping, young people from Hong Kong mocked the visit. First Lady Peng Liyuan’s uneven makeup and President Xi Jinping’s wish to visit Old Trafford came under fire while the ultimate mockery had occurred following the President’s selfie with Manchester City striker, Sergio Agüero and David Cameron. Hong Kong’s youth are not harbouring feelings of hostility towards the President, but a feeling of abandonment towards Britain. It’s a feeling being cultivated by the visit in which Britain was so clearly kowtowing to China for economic benefits—ignoring the growing tension between the two regions.

Last year Hong Kong made international headlines with its 81-day civil disobedience, the Umbrella Revolution. This student-led movement surprised the world on not only by how organized the young leaders were, but also with how quickly the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) resorted to violence. One such student activist, Joshua Wong, was featured on the cover of TIME magazine and The Independent for leading and initiating the movement. The United Nations and several world leaders urged Beijing to recognize and obey the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984. While protesters hoped the British government would take further actions and support Hong Kong, what resulted was a formal statement with no diplomatic measure.

The people of Hong Kong were disappointed once again when the British government chose not to address the democratic and human rights issues in China during Xi’ Jinping’s visit—especially when the room for public discussion in Hong Kong is shrinking. We are politically hopeful people, but given the actions of Britain this past month, we cannot help but feel like the window to drastically change our situation is closing quickly and unforgivingly.

While foreigners see Hong Kong as a generally autonomous city on par with London and New York, the reality falls short of its reputation of freedom, justice, and rule of law. Freedom of speech in the press has been constricted for a couple of years now, but news that Ming Pao’s former editor-in-chief, Kevin Lau, was attacked in broad daylight was completely unexpected. Though the incident was not the first threat towards Hong Kong journalists, this assault led to the rising trend of media self-censorship. In fact, Hong Kong’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has had its place dropped from #58 in 2012 to #70 in 2015.

Over the course of a year, ominous signs of a private agenda has suggested that the justice system in Hong Kong is being used as a political tool. When cases for the Umbrella Revolution were being presented in court, judges criticized the HKPF for making unsubstantiated testimonies. Furthermore, the Beijing government’s emphasis on the ‘fact’ that all judges should be patriotic and responsible for protecting China’s sovereignty, security, and developmental interests in The White Paper (published in 2014), which drew concerns about Hong Kong judiciary’s independence from across the world. Spectators and Hong Kongers alike worried that this would be the signal of Beijing’s government intervening with the peninsula’s domestic issues and violating the promise of the special administrative region’s ‘high level of autonomy’.

Decisions made by The University of Hong Kong’s board of directors regarding the nomination of an Umbrella Movement affiliated university vice principal further proves the Central government’s—or at least their allies—relentless pressure on the SAR’s academic freedom. After witnessing how the core values of Hong Kong are being jeopardised, one must ask how Hong Kong can fend off competition from neighbours like Singapore, being that the cornerstones on which Hong Kong built its success on is being insidiously corroded.

It is nearly impossible to put a society back on the right track unless its people are willing to get actively involved in political activities, elections, protests, or even simple discussions. Despite what the Umbrella Revolution might suggest about the people’s heavy involvement in politics, the majority of citizens respond to politics with a shrug. In fact, it is the near-obsessive focus on economic development that caused this phenomenon. The social environment in Hong Kong encourages people to work tirelessly for financial benefits. Just as how President Xi Jinping ‘bought’ the luxurious trip to the UK, a similar mentality persists through the government building infrastructures at the expense of social stability.

The people of Hong Kong believe that all it takes to lead a stable life is playing by the rules, yet they fail to realise that they are playing in an unfair game where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Each year, the high achievers in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE, a public exam qualification) will always go for medicine, law, or degrees that will guarantee them a decent job. There is an overwhelming consensus in society that believes these are the talents that will lead Hong Kong to a better future. Yet what Hong Kong’s society truly needs are young people who will devote themselves to politics. Hong Kong needs more than just one Joshua Wong. But this won’t happen if the public still sees studying politics as having one foot in the grave.

Classic Review: The Seventh Seal

Returning from the crusades, a Swedish knight finds his home country ravaged by plague, and enters into a game of chess with Death himself, in order to delay his inevitable fate long enough to at least discover answers about life.

With a plot description like that, it’s easy to see why The Seventh Seal, and so much of Bergman’s work, has been so susceptible to mockery. Everyone from Woody Allen, to Bill and Ted, to French and Saunders, has taken a swing at aping the Swedish auteur’s unmistakable style. Whilst a lot of these parodies appear to stem from places of love, many use hallmarks of Bergman’s work as a shorthand for unnecessarily esoteric arthouse cinema. With all of its heavy-handed symbolism, bleak imagery and big questions, at times, there appears to be little to distinguish The Seventh Seal from these send-ups.

Yet, what comes as a surprise about The Seventh Seal is the abiding sense of optimism that lies at its heart. By no means do Bergman’s interests lie in creating a feel-good film, and certainly, a strong element of despair hangs over the film. A combination of disease and the impotence of faith appears to have driven half of Sweden to the brink of madness by the time Max Von Sydow’s knight and his squire wash up on its shores. Certain scenes, such as the burning of a young woman accused of witchcraft, go beyond the rest of the film’s palpable existential dread and venture into the realm of intense psychological horror—more akin to Polanski or Lynch.

But despite all of this, The Seventh Seal appears to urge audiences to not search for solace in a mute, unresponsive manner, but instead to find comfort in the joys of family and companionship. In one notable scene, the Knight is invited to share in a meal of wild strawberries and fresh milk with a couple of actors and their infant son. The Knight looks out over the beautiful scenery, and explains how he will always treasure this memory. Although Death still lingers out of the frame for a brief moment, the manifest concept remains invisible.

Even in the film’s haunting climax, Death might have emerged victorious, but we have come to understand that Death is not a malicious force, rather an inescapable truth—perhaps the only thing worth putting your faith in. If that all sounds a bit heavy, Bergman is on hand to neatly undercut it with an image of a young family, bathed in sunlight, walking in each other’s arms. For them, Death is something to worry about on another day.

Bergman also finds other ways to balance his intense subject matter, weaving a surprising amount of comedy into the film. Admittedly, the farcical scenes involving a blacksmith and his unfaithful wife add little. But, a strong sense of gallows humour, best exemplified by a man waking into a tree to find Death nonchalantly sawing it down suggest a Fellini-esque appreciation for the absurdity of life, rather than a morbid preoccupation with death.

Cup North: Legal Highs

According to Wikipedia: “Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug, but unlike many other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all parts of the world.”

In this sense, Cup North was exactly the same as the Warehouse Project, but there was no amnesty box and the stimulants were free. The crowd? Just swap bandanas and lollipops for flatcaps and beards, noserings and croptops for glasses and jumpers.

 

VENUE:

VICTORIA WAREHOUSE

 

LINEUP:

J.ATKINSON

SMALL BATCH

DR W

LA MARZOCCO

UNION

NORTH STAR

COLD BREW

VBM

NEIGHBOURHOOD

BUNN

ORIGIN

SANREMO

ANFIM

MAHLKONIG

CLIMPSON

CONTI

+ MORE

 

THE EVENT:

Under the rooms of Manchester’s most underground (in the edgy sense) Hotel, lay the North’s largest two-day coffee party, testing the strengths of both its visitors and the beverages they came to try. Some powered through ’til the end, some stayed only for their favourite artist, some pranged out and got the jitters, but everyone had a good time.

Stalls were dotted around the two low-ceilinged rooms offering constant samples of the good stuff. Imports from Columbia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, to name a few. Blends were in constant supply, and from a range of sources.

 

WHAT WAS ON:

Latte art workshops—Hosted by Union, participants were challenged to design the most creative patterns in the marbled surfaces of their white foamed drinks.

Coffee throwing championships – Four drunk men in suits and sneakers held up blackboards to judge this ‘strictly no rules’ competition. N.b all bags of coffee thrown were water damaged and not safe for human consumption.

Cupping sessions – This was a specialist method of product testing. Using a spoon, you huff the black liquid in one short breath in order to reach as many taste receptors as possible. You then move around the roulette style board of flavours deciding which is your choice cut. Ideally, you spit back out to avoid over consumption. We did this at the DR W stand, where collective favourite was the Ipi Rosa, a bitter blend, and not too strong.

Cinema – Caffeinated, A Film about Coffee, Barista

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

Brew Tea. Photo: Ellie Gibbs

 

Brew tea.

 

Yes, a coffee event. But for those of us less tolerant to caffeine, there was the wonderful Brew Tea Co. Beautifully designed, colourful and reminiscent of traditional English lettering (as in ‘keep calm and…’) but with a modern twist. Best: Lemon & ginger loose leaf; wooden gift set with black vanilla and glass teapot; caffeine free breakfast tea—the motif is a pair of Wallace & Gromit-style slippers.

Buy: HOME, PLY, Home Sweet Home and online.

brewteacompany.co.uk

 

 

 

Neighbourhood Coffee ‘Born Sippin” Photo: Ellie Gibbs

 

Neighbourhood coffee.

 

Oh, I love a good pun. And what’s more fun than sitting thinking of coffee play-on-songs while you wait for your brew? We can’t go on together, with suspicious grinds. Email yours in!

Best: Espresso Yourself. A thick, rich, full-bodied brew ith boozy notes, dark chocolate and a toffee sweetness. (I copied a mixture of what the man said and its description on the website—I think it’s good coffee.)

Buy: neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk

 

Small Batch. Photo: Ellie Gibbs

 

Small batch.

 

The man we met outside recommended the Panama roast as the best he’d tried all day, and he’d been there since 10:30. When I went over they’d turned everything off and this guy gave me a free sample full of beans! I popped two on the way home.

Best: The adorable monochrome KeepCup that they sell to save both the environment and your fresh coffee.

Buy: London, Brighton, Norfolk

neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk

 

 

 

SAFETY:

– Stay hydrated. If you’re feeling jittery, take a break and drink some water.

– Don’t peak too soon, pace yourself.

 

The event ended with a bearded human getting awarded two million points for throwing a box of ‘has bean’ across the rainy courtyard, he then got disqualified for being Welsh. If that doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you’d expect from the end of the night at Victoria Warehouse, then clearly you’re in with the wrong crowd.

 

Cup North
7th/8th November
Victoria Warehouse

cupnorth.co.uk

Matcha Madness

Matcha has come to Manchester! Joanne Lee, the founder of CHA.ology has revolutionised this tea-loving nation by working her magic with tea in the form of baked goods. From her Matcha Tiramisu to her Matcha Cream roll, this upcoming baker is cooking up a storm.

Matcha is the fine ground powder of green tea leaves, and Joanne uses only the finest. Imported from Uji, Japan, to ensure the taste of freshness and stamp a mark of quality on all CHA.logy products, Matcha is a running ingredient throughout CHA.ology’s selection continues to expand in order to bring the taste of Japan to familiar treats and sweets here in Manchester. With CHA meaning tea, CHA.ology experiments with other tea flavours to complement the matcha and help our taste buds experience tea heaven. Joanne has experimented from the heart of her own quirky kitchen to deliver immaculately packed goods and hopes to bring this relaxed vibe to her tea house in the New Year.

Joanne Lee has worked her magic on lots of delicious classics, using tea as the foundation for flavour. These are just a few of many products which are favorited by CHA.ology customers.

 

CHA.ology Matcha White Chocolate Tart

Photo: Cha.Ology

 

The Matcha White Chocolate Tart has quickly become adored by CHA.ology regulars. This elegant tart has matcha and white chocolate ganache alongside a lovingly baked shortcrust pastry. Joanne recommends this delight to be eaten at room temperature to retain the creamy texture of the filling. A great indulgence.

 

 

 

 

 

CHA.ology Jar Desserts – Hojicha Panacotta

Photo: The Mancunion

 

With a selection of desserts to offer, served in endearing jars. The Hojicha Panacotta is one to look for. Hojicha is a roasted tea with very little caffeine, so you don’t have to feel bad if you decide to have it as a midnight treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHA.ology Matcha Pound Cake

Photo: The Mancunion

 

CHA.ology’s delicious sponge pound cake is a great surprise for those who you are share with (or not). With a matcha exterior and a vanilla interior, the pound cake comes in different shapes and sizes. This beauty is available in CHA.ology’s christmas hamper with a star shape to add to the festive fun.

 

With such a variety of baked goods, this is only a sample of what CHA.ology offers. With a tea house soon to open behind Northern Quarter, you’ll be able to grab treats on the go and experience matcha at its best. In the meantime, check out the CHA.ology Facebook page and order Joanne’s delicious treats in time for Christmas. Also, take a look at CHA.ology’s Instagram to get your appetite going and watch Joanne’s exclusive bakery videos.

facebook.com/cha.ology

instagram.com/cafechaology/

Top 5: Books about siblings

I asked my brother for a Top 5 idea and he pitched this one—figures, I guess! I do like it when a book showcases sibling love—often it is more moving and rewarding to read about than romantic love. So, here is my Top 5. They all happen to be kids’ or young adult books but I wouldn’t have chosen them if I didn’t believe that they could be read and enjoyed by all ages.

One by Sarah Crossan
This is a sibling book with a difference: it tells the tale of conjoined twins. Grace and Tippi are joined at the waist and, perhaps surprisingly, are fairly content with their situation, with no real desire to be separated. Then, something unexpected happens that sets in motion a series of events that will have awful and irreversible consequences. As with Crossan’s The Weight of Water, One is told in free verse and is incredible—I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so tragic and powerful. It is almost worth reading just for the last few lines, which pretty much sum up what it is like to have a sibling.

Jo of the Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
I think the fact that the author’s beloved brother died young might have something to do with the wonderful, tight-knit and caring family unit she created in the form of the three orphaned Bettany siblings. Joey, the youngest, is in fragile health—so Madge, at the tender age of twenty-four, starts a school in the Tyrol so Joey can study in the clean Alpine air. Dick, their brother, appears less often but it’s obvious that he adores his sisters. When Madge is entrusted with the care of a friend’s daughter, Robin, Joey immediately adopts her as an unofficial younger sister and her tenderness towards the little girl contrasts with her usually boisterous ways.

Forever Rose by Hilary McKay
The Cassons are one of the most lovable, artsy, chaotic families in children’s literature. Cadmium, Saffron, Indigo and Rose are as colourful and vibrant as their names and are all believable characters. Within the four Indigo and Rose have a particularly strong relationship with some adorable moments. Although all six books are amazing, I picked Forever Rose because the parents are quite distanced, allowing us to see even more clearly, the bond between the kids. It’s especially nice to see Saffy and Rose together as normally, they seem to interact together the least amongst the siblings. And in the end… I won’t spoil it, but it is truly lovely.

Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine
This is one of my favourite books for its pure honesty. There is zero pretence; the souls of all the characters are laid bare. Fifteen-year-old Rowan has to look after her little sister alone while aching from the death of her older brother. What appears to be a chance encounter leads her to make friends with two kooky teens whom she would ordinarily have nothing to do with. They then just… live their lives. There’s no great plot arc or conventional structure; it is just a slice of life, so real and refreshing. The relationship between the three siblings, two alive and one dead, is what propels the story and unites these characters. Everybody should read this book!

The Dream Snatcher by Annie Dalton
Another of my absolute favourite books. The kids, Joe and Flora, aren’t actually siblings yet, but it’s pretty clear their parents are an item, and in the sequel they are indeed stepsiblings. Packaged like a simple fantasy novel, it is actually quite dark and sad. From the moment Joe and Flora board a ship to sail through a field of dreams, the reader is bombarded with eerily stunning imagery. Dalton also pitches some quite profound ideas about dreams—where they come from and their significance. Joe and Flora’s relationship as soon-to-be-siblings is very realistic, with scrapping, teasing and hiding/growing affection. I wholeheartedly recommend this series, however old you are—it will make you think differently about the world.

Quincey, drugs, and excess

One of the fathers of ‘drug literature’, alongside Byron, is Thomas de Quincey. This might surprise some, to find out that the drug culture we know has firmer footing in 18th century coffee houses than Woodstock tents. Born in Manchester, Quincey’s understanding of ‘intoxication’ can be made just as relevant today.

“I stood checked for a moment—awe, not fear, fell upon me—and whist I stood, a solemn wind began to blow, the most mournful that ever ear heard. Mournful! That is saying nothing. It was a wind that had swept the fields of mortality for a hundred centuries.”

Standing in the stark cold and huffing plumes of air we found ourselves stood on a cobbled street gazing up at the lidless night’s sky. Such was the weight one felt stumbling home from Manchester’s yearly Oktoberfest. We paused at half seen features of this landscape, “Everlasting farewells! and again, and yet again reverberated—everlasting farewells!” The “burden of the incommunicable” was shared between us in our collective intoxication. We had lost our bounds, and that was the thing in common, dissolution of selfhood, ‘will to nothingness’.

The sense in which De Quincey ‘enjoyed’ drugs is at once similar and alien to the drug culture we ‘enjoy’ today. Easy parallels are made between his indulgence in “a glass of laudanum negus, warm, and without sugar,” before an opera, and the drug charged atmosphere of a concert. However, there is a distinction to be made between the individual and the communal drug experience than might parallel the Nietzschean idea of the apollonian and the Dionysian. I will permit myself an aside to describe the latter state for you. This is in the true Quinceyan spirit, for “digression… constitutes the very core of the human unconscious.” Thus, in unlocking its secrets, we are obliged to take this route.

“All the rigid, hostile walls… between men are shattered. Now that the gospel of universal harmony is sounded, each individual becomes not only reconciled to his fellow but actually at one with him… Man now expresses himself through song and dance as the member of a higher community; he has forgotten how to walk, how to speak, and is on the brink of taking wing as he dances.”

It is in this very act of digression that we understand De Quincey’s spirit. The superfluous nature of his prose gives it potency and joy. In the ‘excess’ of his prose and imagery we are shown glimpses of sublimity. Just as how love is glimpsed in the excesses of the gift of a rose. “Flowers… that are so pathetic in their beauty,” show more through their lack than their lustre. Such things are accessed precisely through their non-utilitarian aspect. So to ask of Quincey, “what is the point of all this dreaming?” is to miss it.

“Thou hast the keys of Paradise, oh just, subtle, and mighty opium!”, but one must point out that De Quincey doesn’t recommend such experiences for everyone. Such experiences are characterised by the destruction of the ego, the dissipation of it. The suspension of self to orgiastic Bachic rites, that are, “no friend of any man who’s hostile to the gods.”

We recognise a latent danger in these substances. We can explore this through the observation that these states of intoxication inspire art through the firing of our passions; the very word ‘passion’ inferring suffering. Popular musicians again and again pay tribute to the character of the ‘addict’. Perhaps an artist’s struggle with drugs can be read as an attempt to gain this passion; the authenticity of the opium eater. The sage whose insights are more legitimate, as they have suffered an ‘inward passion’ in the Kierkegaardian sense. Artists, like Christ, gain legitimacy for their willingness to suffer for mankind.

Does not this mindset similarly apply today to those we view as oppressed? We attribute to them mystic insight into the flaws of our society and culture. Videos where the virtues of the poor are displayed to us seem a twisted development of the concept of the noble savage. What truths can these people whom have suffered such hardships offer to us? We assume that one who has suffered and who is outside the societal remit has something of value to say to us. The poet who suffers for his art; the socialist who suffers for his cause. It is the suffering that lends them credibility. From here derives the power of the insult, ‘Champagne Socialist’.

The struggle of the pampered to struggle. Is this not why we look down upon rappers who are not ‘from the streets’, sound ‘posh’, or are ‘too white’? They lack authenticity: where is the realism in their art? To enjoy something we must infer some pain in it. This allows a disturbing insight into our relationship with art.

Perhaps, we feel guilty to enjoy something that is not engendered by suffering; someone must suffer for our pleasure.

The irony that Men who have decried ‘bull fighting’ take no greater pleasure than in the observance of self destruction expressed through their favourite ‘troubled artist’. Quincey remarks that, “The pleasures and pains of opium were inextricable from one another.” Therefore, this is another mode of ‘drug culture’, one that is purely spectatorial.

Perhaps we can extend this to say that ‘consumerism’ is a drugged state. We watch the fulfilment of the promise: “That those eat now who never ate before; And those who always ate, now eat the more.” We glorify a consumption that, like Bronte, will be the death of all of us. Thus drug addict embodies an archetype that we can all relate to. “The pleasures and pains of opium”, needless and excessive, symbolise our own ‘sickness unto death’.

“A little poison now and then: that makes for pleasant dreams,” so liveth the ‘last men’ of Nietzsche’s imagining. This is how the modern man views the visions of drug taking. Lacking the passion and inspiration in our own lives, we seek to gain it through the drug experience. The promise of individuation, seeking self-affirmation in the orient; clashing with our personal sensibilities.

We search for the limit experience, where pleasure and pain are synonymous, where language dare not tread. One need only read the ‘story of the eye’, to conceive of the dangers of this world of Bataillean excess. This image of the transgressive addict, who might have experienced something beyond the common remit, has been much damaged by the advent of the ‘permissive society’. Limited experiences harder and harder to find, one can not readily access the infinite satisfaction promised by the exceeding of conceivable bounds.

As more is conceivable, permissible and understandable, potential for such experience diminishes. If genuine freedom lies in the inexpressible, beyond “that line of foam showing just how far speech may advance upon the sands of silence,” then we are at high tide. One almost feels that in a society where everything is permitted, the only limit one can find is to inflict one upon oneself; the sadistic pleasure of the ascetic.