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Day: 3 November 2016

An Ozzy’s view of Manchester

Having met the Ozzy Ryan whilst on a semester abroad in Zürich, and having learnt that he was quite the football fan, I concluded it would be criminal if I did not have him over to Manchester to see his team play.

Either way, I was intrigued to observe my friend and get his outsider’s view of Manchester. Firstly, he had not expected it to be such a student town. He didn’t like that and he didn’t know why, but he didn’t like it.

The Northern Quarter, or rather “the hipster part with all those shops we went to”, was his favourite part. As a man who wears Carhaart, is incredibly active on social media, and loves photographing the weird and wonderful, he fit in much better than I did, wearing my dad’s hand-me-down pink and black striped GANT long-sleeved top, as well as jeans with holes in them.

Anyway, perhaps the most surprising revelation was how he thought the Curry Mile to be “overhyped” — although the Ozzy was right in the sense that I had made it sound like a city centre of sorts. Living round the corner from the Curry Mile, I was relatively embarrassed to introduce my friend to the city by looking down it. “Where does that lead?”, he asked me. “Mordor — sorry — university”, I replied. He looked terrified. “Don’t worry, it’s safer down where we live”, I told him.

When we walked down Oxford Road the next day, it felt like I was on an open day. We got photos of the Ali G (“Who’s Ali G?” the Ozzy asked) as well as an obligatory selfie in front of Whitworth Hall. Later on, I found myself sneaking through the Town Hall, up and down staircases, searching for a good photo.

Could you compare Manchester to Sydney, his university city? Surprisingly enough, the comparison was entertained: “Sydney is completely different, as it’s not a student town like Manchester is.” The fact that he described Manchester as “a town” sums up his feelings, and the difference between the two cities.

“Make coppin’ a feel a habit of a lifetime”

‘CoppaFeel!’ is a breast cancer awareness charity on a mission to get you to check your boobs regularly.  They campaign to increase cases of early detection, as this means better treatment options and higher survival rates. It exists to challenge the perception that Breast Cancer is an older persons disease, as their founder, Kris Hallenga, discovered the hard way.

Photo: CoppaFeel!

At age 23 Kris was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which is what it’s called when cancerous cells spread around your body. In Kris’ case the cancer had found a home in her spine, meaning that it was — and is — incurable.

The campaign explains that “as a carefree twenty-something, a bombshell like cancer was not something she’d bargained for, in fact breast cancer was firmly not on Kris’ radar. Or most young people’s. So she decided to do something about it. Three months later she founded CoppaFeel!”

Since 2009 ‘CoppaFeel!’ Have been taking their message out to schools, universities and festivals across the country.

In Manchester, there is a dedicated Uni Boob Team (UBT) who are on a mission to get students coppin’ a feel and getting to know what their ‘normal’ feels like.

They stress that “getting to know your boobs is fundamental in identifying the early symptoms of breast cancer”.

Photo: CoppaFeel!

To help remind you the Coppafeel team will send you a free monthly text which tells you when it is is time to check your boobs. All you need to do is text “UBTMCR” to 70 500 to start receiving your free monthly boob texts*.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so the Manchester UBT were busy raising funds and awareness for ‘CoppaFeel!’. The UBT want to get students in Manchester thinking and talking about their boobs. To kick off campaigning for last month students across the University donated clothes for our CarBoob Sale at Koh Tao. If you missed it then they still have a whole host of other events for you to get involved in throughout the rest of the year.

The campaign stress that while “breast cancer may be a serious subject” their “approach to raising awareness is not.”

You can keep up to date with all the events that the UBT are running throughout the year on their Facebook page or get in touch via [email protected]

*Text the above code to 70500 to receive a free* monthly SMS reminder to check your boobs.

*Standard network rates apply for the sign up text. Everything we send you is free after that. Promise. By providing your number your agree to us texting you once a month reminding you to check your boobs. Receiving our texts is free. You can stop the service at any time by texting STOP to 70500 (Standard network rates apply) or by emailing us on [email protected] with your name and mobile telephone number. Full terms

Photo: CoppaFeel!

Top 5: Halloween dance tracks

Halloween is over and although it may be time to pack away your ketchup-stained t-shirts and white contact lenses, that doesn’t mean you have to start listening to Christmas music straight away. If, like me, you still feel like getting your spook on, then you may be interested in these ghoulish tunes .

1. ‘Ghost’  – Mystery Skulls (Fred Falke remix)

The original track by Mystery Skulls is a solid addition to any playlist, but this remix gives the cheery tune a darker tone with minor chords and an 80s-style backing.

2. ‘After Life’ – Tchami feat. Stacy Barthe

This ethereal future house number asks the question “Where do I go in the afterlife?”. I don’t know the answer but if they have music there, I hope the basslines are as bouncy as this one.

3. ‘The Other Side’ – Pendulum

Drum and bass fans will be familiar with this classic from Pendulum. ‘The Other Side’ doesn’t go as hard as Pendulum’s later stuff so works well as a playlist filler if you don’t mind having horrifying flashbacks to whatever you looked like in 2008.

4. ‘Stranger Things’ – Main Theme (C418 Remix)

‘Stranger Things’ became the knockout hit of the summer, paying homage to 80s horror fiction and sci-fi like never before. If you’re looking for a more relaxed vibe, this is the track for you.

5. ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’ (Remix) – The Living Tombstone

Even though it was released three years ago, ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’ lives on through meme-fuelled infamy. If this isn’t on your Halloween playlist then really, what are you doing?