Skip to main content

Day: 5 February 2017

Album: Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound

Released 27th Jan via Carpark Records/Wichita

8/10

After a three year wait for new material, Cloud Nothings have released their fourth studio album: Life Without Sound represents a slight change in production, with a rather pensive feel surrounding the record.

Fans of Cloud Nothings will be glad to know that the album’s title doesn’t suggest a complete toning-down of the fast and ferocious indie-rock style that the US band have channelled through their first three studio albums. However, album-opener ‘Up To The Surface’ begins with a somewhat despondent piano solo and suggests a different approach from the group to their songwriting compared to earlier releases.

Earlier and more angst-themed records from Cloud Nothings, Attack on Memory and Here and Nowhere Else for example, were propelled through the vocals of Dylan Baldi and the fast-paced drums of Jayson Gercycz. Life Without Sound, on the other hand, shows songs progression to develop more slowly, which songs such as ‘Up To The Surface’ and ‘Strange Year’ both show, culminating into a heightened climax. This new direction provides some of the best moments of the album, highlighting the group from Cleveland are able to break new ground.

Despite this, the group seems keen to retain an element of their earlier work in this effort. Mid-album tracks ‘Internal World’, ‘Darkened Rings’ and ‘Modern Act’ are reminiscent of the sounds of 2012’s Attack On Memory, and should please those who have followed the group since their debut EP release in 2010.

Baldi himself has called this latest record a reflection of the band’s approach to new age music. Together with producer John Congleton, Cloud Nothings have managed to successfully broaden their musical range despite the difficulties over moving past the heavier sounds, from which the alt-rock group found their success.

Perhaps this will be seen in later years as a transitional album from Cloud Nothings. The promising seeds of development and change are evident, no more so than in ‘Enter Entirely’, a song which grows from a quiet introduction to a thumping and emotional chorus. A lack of pacey guitar hooks shows the direction with which Cloud Nothings are heading with their new sound.

While Life Without Sound may not become an instant fan-favourite amongst other releases, it ranks as a strong effort. The emotional touch of Baldi’s lyrics and heaviness of new guitarist Chris Brown’s guitar imply the group are making their next distinctive statement through new, more thought-out compositions.

Manchester City 2-1 Swansea City

If this game was a song…

The Green Green Grass of Home – Tom Jones

With a Welsh team coming to town I’ve been excited to use a Tom Jones reference all week. I once saw Tom Jones in a Costa in Salford. Swansea fans however, will be looking forward to going back to the green green grass of home, after just missing out on their comeback.

The relegation battling Welsh team came to the Etihad and were outclassed in the first half – City taking 66 per cent possession and bombarding them with shots and incredible pace from Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling. Sterling was also booked for a clear penalty when brought down by Fabianski, and Jesus had a call for a penalty when Mawson dragged him down. Paul Clement afterwards said being only 1-0 down at half time was a “bonus to us”.

The Swans came out fighting in the second half though. Within minutes Willy Caballero was called into action to brilliantly save a free-kick from Gylfi Sigurðsson. On the 80th minute Sigurðsson capitalised on Swansea pressure and scored from a long-range drilled shot. Swansea won many ‘second balls’ and demonstrated the fight they will need in the relegation battle.

Formation Formation Formation

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

No, this isn’t the new property development show on Channel Four (although I personally would love a Kirstie Allsopp sports show), this is me telling you all about Guardiola’s fantastic world of formation.

The fluidity that Pep Guardiola has instilled into this City team means that everybody plays everywhere. Kolarov and Stones started at centre-back, but would occasionally sprint away into the final third, whilst Yaya Touré dropped back into centre back.

Feranandinho was playing right-back when out of possession – but dropped into a more midfield role when attacking. As for the front five, they were interchangeable throughout: Kevin de Bruyne, Sané and Sterling especially. It was all very difficult to defend against.

Man of the Match – Gabriel Jesus

With three goals in three games – not to mention his two assists – the 19-year-old wonder kid that is Gabriel Jesus could be giving Sergio Agüero a run for his money.

Jesus’ defensive work-rate is perhaps what sets him apart from many other strikers, and means that he suits Guardiola’s fluid style of play. He was quickly retrieving the ball to start attacks again – especially in the first half – and his flair and skill is only outdone by his surprisingly impressive strength. He provided a throwback to the days of Robinho at one point, as he stopped on the edge of the box to show us all a few step-overs before crossing the ball.

His first goal came from a bit of David Silva magic. Whilst the referee was tying his shoelaces, Silva collected a pack of blu-tac from the stands and blu-tac’d the ball to his foot. He then led a merry dance on the left wing, upset Martin Olsson, and cut into the box to cross. Sterling made slight contact, for Jesus to smash the ball into the back of the net.

Goal number two came on the 93rd minute from a bit of Silva magic again. Silva sent a fabulous cross into the box, and Jesus headed the ball down. Fabianski spilled – despite having a good game – and Jesus tapped in for the winner.

Special mentions to: Leroy Sané for his ending of Kyle Naughton’s career, and Alecksander Kolarov for a strong display at centre-back again with some pinging balls. Whatever pinging balls means.

Quote of the Presser

Pep Guardiola: “Sergio [Agüero] remains one of the most important players in our squad… what we have to do in the [rest of the season], he will be so so important.”

University of Manchester’s Women’s Cricket Club on the rise

Women’s cricket is a sport that is currently on the rise, with England’s Women recently winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka and qualifying for the World Cup. There is plenty of cricket to watch, but why not give it a go yourself? Here at the University Cricket Club we always welcome new members of all abilities so it really doesn’t matter if you’re a county level spin bowler or you’ve never picked up a cricket bat in your life! We are a small club with around 15 members attending weekly sessions. Our club has a wide membership base with some people having club or county experience and some total beginners, with many of our players going on to play for local women’s teams after graduation. The most important thing is that everyone enjoys themselves!

Cricket is not just a summer sport and we compete in both indoor and outdoor BUCS competitions, and we have already completed the indoor tournaments for this academic year, celebrating a win against Leicester at Old Trafford in November. Our focus is more on club development than BUCS points so we also play short indoor games every weekend in the ICL and IPL leagues at the Armitage. These are much more relaxed games where we play against other students (and sometimes staff) to put into practice what we have learnt in training. This includes playing against the Sporticipate team on Sunday afternoons. If you haven’t heard about Sporticipate it is a great way to get involved with free sports at university and as the name suggests, it’s all about getting people participating in sports, especially if it’s something you’ve never played before.

We train once a week on Tuesdays 6pm-8pm at the Armitage in Fallowfield and the sessions usually involve some skills based exercises followed by a game or two. We have two great coaches on hand who come down every week to help us develop our cricketing skills and are always willing to help you achieve whatever it is you want to get out of the club. All equipment and protective kit is provided, the only thing you need is something comfortable to wear and yourself, we will provide the rest! We will be continuing indoor training until around Easter time when we move outdoors for the summer season — so no training outside in the snow! When this happens there will be another round of BUCS matches, outside this time, and all of our members are encouraged to give BUCS ago as it is a great way to get match experience.

Because we are a small club, we all get along really well and enjoy going to AU socials as well as our own events organised by our two social secs. This means that when it comes to training, everyone is very supportive and the relaxed atmosphere makes it much easier for beginners to learn new skills. We are intending to go on tour this year too, location to be confirmed, but we usually go away for a long weekend in the summer to another university city and try and squeeze a cricket match in amongst all the trips and socials we do. This is a brilliant way to round off a great year of cricket and meet club members from another university whilst having really good fun.

We are always looking to grow the club so if you think this might be for you, come along to one of our training sessions on Tuesday evenings or come along to the Sporticipate events on Sundays and give it a go! Alternatively you can find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, or get in touch with our Club Captain Emily at [email protected].

Valentine’s Day for singles

It’s that time of year again – the 14th of February has rolled around and you find yourself once again with no sweetheart to cuddle with, no cute dinner to take a picture of, apply a filter to, and post on Instagram, and no risque snaps to send. There’s no denying that Valentine’s Day could be a complete bummer, but it’s 2017, and having no significant other to play out pretentious romantic movie scenes with is no problem. Especially when you have these 4 things to look forward to…

Watch chick flicks with no remorse: For as long as I can remember, the only time it’s ever been completely socially acceptable for you to sit down with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and a Netflix lineup of soppy romance movies is after a bad break up. Frankly, I resent that! You’re meant to aw and laugh at these movies, not watch them for consolation when someone insignificant has made you feel unworthy. Hopefully, spending this Valentine’s being single won’t mean feeling lonely or heartbroken. Here’s hoping that this year you can watch 10 Things I Hate About You without comparing your lacklustre ex to the amazing Heath Ledger. Just enjoy your choice of romcoms and allow them to give you all the feels.

Show yourself some love: I get it, Valentine’s is all about romantic love, but there are many types of love. I propose that, this February, you show yourself some love. Pop into Zara or New Look and get a cute outfit for yourself, get fragrant bath bombs from Lush, and take a long soak with your favourite Spotify playlist. Or, just spoil yourself and get the pedicure you’ve desperately wanted since last year. When you show yourself love, you open the door to more love coming your way. Instead of obsessing over being single this V day, you get to love yourself and that for sure will attract people to you.

#NoEffort: Yes, the Facebook posts are cute, and sure, eating by candlelight is an amazing way to dine, but Valentine’s Day is honestly a whole lot of effort for just one night! Think about it – there’s the dieting for the two weeks prior to the 14th to look cute in your dinner dress, the saving up to buy an adorable gift plus the time it takes you to brainstorm, the ridiculously expensive dinner that honestly neither of you can afford. Being single this Valentine’s means that you can just be free of all of that, and focus on doing things you genuinely enjoy. You get to eat with no guilt and still have money at the end of the month which you can put towards travelling in the summer, or buying festival passes.

Cheap chocolate and flowers: This one is pretty simple. Valentine’s Day is an awesome opportunity to get beautiful flowers to brighten up your flat or room. The weather may still be gloomy, but at least you’ll have some aspect of spring to look forward to. As for the chocolates, think of this as an incredible sweet tooth investment. Go on, treat yourself! You deserve it.

How to handle a breakup at university

Let’s face it – there is no right way to handle a breakup. Everyone who’s been through it has tried a different route and, hopefully, everyone reaches the same end point; happiness without them. That’s not to say the road there isn’t long and winding, with many a bump and the occasional pothole. We all wish there was a useful 10-step guide readily available that we could find after a quick Google search of ‘how to get over someone,’ but life doesn’t work like that. Unfortunately, I’ve found out the hard way — for me — there is no quick fix or ultimate solution.

Nothing riles me more than those who believe there is a ‘right’ way to handle a breakup. Classics include not talking to your ex at all, as well as the mass deletion of all photos, texts, and their number, pretending that you haven’t actually broken up at all, thinking going on loads of dates as soon as possible is the answer, and wallowing with food and TV for days crying over your life because you think it won’t ever be as good again. Regardless, none of them are ‘right’. It’s all completely subjective. It’s ludicrous to think that one person’s experience that worked a dream for them will be your saving grace, because you’re not them, and their relationship wasn’t yours.

To suggest cutting them off entirely is not always the correct thing to do. You have to do what feels natural to you; if you feel like you’ll move on better and more quickly without any trace of them in your life, then go ahead and erase every trace of them from your phone, social media, etc. You’ll know what makes you happy in the moment, and seeing as you’ll find peace eventually, any hour of escape from the heartache you’re enduring is surely worthwhile.

My second piece of advice is to find those who understand, listen, and support you and your way of doing things. Those who criticise you have chosen the wrong time, and they’re useless in these circumstances. When you’re facing something so personal, no one understands. The world understands heartache, yes, but not yours personally. So don’t try and tell someone they can do better, or that he or she is not worth it. Just listen – that’s all they really need.

Lastly, and I know it’s a cliche to say this, but have patience. Breakups are weird. Turning up to a party and seeing your old best friend and ex-love-of-your-life pretending like they don’t know you is like bumping into your mum in town and pretending you’ve just met. It’s alien. Whilst you may be totally comfortable, your ex may still be a bit emotional or upset and incapable of being fine with you yet. So let them. Their issue is with themselves, not you. More than that, emotions will change drastically after a breakup for many days, weeks, or months to come. Whilst you may start out in denial, thinking “they have every right to dump me, they didn’t do anything wrong!”, it usually won’t take long for feelings to dwindle and reality to show itself. Love is blind, and nothing truer has ever been said. So accept the change in emotion wherever it flows, and this is where those understanding, accepting friends will prove themselves.

If anything, trust me when I say that you will get there. Take your time, be yourself, and work it out as you go along. There’s no rush, and no pressure. You will get there.

Feature: T2 and Danny Boyle Q&A

Looking at any advertisement board, it is almost impossible to miss a T2 Trainspotting poster. Like the posters, the film’s director Danny Boyle has continually promoted his new work across the likes of The Graham Norton Show and Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review Show. The former provides great viewing as it showcases Boyle’s ability to go toe-to-toe with Norton himself, one the best chat show hosts on the market. Inevitably, as a patron of HOME,  Boyle required a more intimate discussion with Manchester.

Arriving at 6:30pm, I sat quietly on the second floor equipped with a lethal combination: a pint and a book. At the same time, Danny Boyle and HOME’s Artistic Director Jason Wood conducted a live Q&A via Facebook in Cinema 1 to soften the blow to all those who were unable to purchase a ticket for this premier event. Selling like hot barm-cakes on a Saturday morning, tickets sold out in early January. For those fortunate enough to have a golden ticket, HOME had prepared three screenings of T2 in Cinema 1, 2, and 3- with Boyle’s post-film discussion taking place in Theatre 1.

Taking my place in Cinema 3 at roughly 7:35pm, the film promptly started. Startled at this swiftness, its opening music distorted my surroundings. Thankfully, the projectionist had been a wee bit trigger happy and prematurely pressed the start button. As the lights signalled my return to normality, I returned to my state of anticipation…

Walking out of the cinema overjoyed at the film ‘’not being shite’’, as Boyle later suggested, I rushed to the toilets. My consumption of that beer had been a novice error and for half the screening I had contemplated relieving my bladder of its discomfort. The sobriety and poignancy of T2 pinned me to my seat. Fortunately, HOME’s toilets were up to HSE’s standards, unlike those that Renton encounters in Trainspotting. I had not missed the start of the Q&A and to my relief I was greeted with Blondie’s ‘Atomic’ on Theatre 1’s sound system. As the music cut out, it was time for the pièce de résistance of the evening.

Walking out onto the stage’s spotlight, Boyle looked delighted at audience’s thunderous applause. As Jason Wood calmly took his seat an early announcement was made: ‘’Any jokes or questions that you see that were on the Graham Norton Show are purely incidental’’. After this, Wood asked the big question on everyone’s lips, ‘’How much trepidation was there on your part?’’. Describing that a script had previously been created by John Hodge — the man who adapted Irvine Welsh’s Porno which is set ten years after Trainspotting — Boyle suggested that the script fell through due to the original ”passing into the consciousness of people” and wanting to do the characters justice. It was not until 18 months ago at a workshop in Edinburgh that Hodge ended up writing “something much more personal”. It was after the completion of this script that Boyle sent the work out to McGregor et al. “I knew it was about something and when it is about something it’s everything’’. Logically, the script takes place 20 years after the events of the first film “so when Renton stands there and says I’m 46 and fucked that’s John who’s 54 and fucked. That’s where it came out from’’. The “logistics of getting all these people together’’ was moderately simple, as a result of Hodge’s powerful script and the original’s “power in attracting them back’’. Due to Jonny Lee Miller’s contractual obligations on Elementary and Robert Carlyle’s commitments to Once Upon a Time, the crew were only able to shoot in the Scottish summer months. “It was fine because it is about something — the script — you just know you are gonna do it’’ Boyle declared.

Naturally, Boyle expected his cast to ‘‘tip-toe back into it’’. To his surprise, Miller and Carlyle were ‘‘blazing straight away’. ‘‘I knew then, and the crew knew, that we needed to raise our game as they are now much more experienced actors than they were the first time’’. The 60-year-old constantly referenced the ‘’blazing attitude’’ of his actors and the whole team. This attitude can be felt from the first scene to the last and clearly benefits the actors emotive performances.

Interweaving the past into the present, the film’s editing was essential in creating T2’s poignant melancholy. To him ‘‘the really creative bit in this was the editing’’. Editor Jon Harris and Boyle treated the original like ‘‘an artefact’’ and wanted to open a direct conversation between the two films. ‘‘It was really fascinating as I had never done anything like that before’’. Alongside the iconic shots of the previous film, the music of the past also helps to echo and distort the present. Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ and ‘Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life (The Prodigy Remix)’ rarely get going at full throttle, yet, when they do, they intensify Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography. A clever technique from a visionary director and his crew, these sounds suggest that the past can never truly be experienced again by Renton, Spud and all the rest. Similarly, in scenes such as the one featuring Renton’s mother’s shadow the ghosts of the past are felt more literally. Boyle alluded towards the imprint of the past upon the present and its Proustian loops. “[Renton] has to live with that and try and find some atonement’’. ‘‘It does look at change in a very physical sense’’, Wood later observed, and these fragmented songs and shadowy visuals represent humanities’ worrisome mortality.

Revisiting the locations of Trainspotting ‘‘was a smart way of referencing’’ in Wood’s eyes. Boyle revealed that one minute of the original had been embedded in editing. This duration felt ‘‘weird’’ to the director as the ‘‘muscle memory’’ of the previous film is now embedded into audience’s minds. Even I was shocked at this fact. Still, these moments take on a whole different meaning with the decay of time.

Broadly speaking, a sequel can be burdened by the silhouette of the original that deprives the follow-up of individuality. “T2 is much more set in the present and that enables you to make some really smart observations. The reason I like this film — as I told you in the wings — is because it is its own film’’. Wood’s astute examination is a near perfect reflection on T2. Although the editing, music and other cinematic components pay respect to Trainspotting, the nostalgia of the original does not affect any of T2 but adds a deeper layer of nuance.

As the dialogue between Wood and Boyle transitioned to the audience, one member in particular referenced the director’s visual style in using multiple formats for shooting. “There is a real mixed bag there, there’s CCTV footage, mobile phone, film, digital go-pros. And you mix them all up, even in scenes where you might not think you would’’. Replying: “I think that is a modern audience that will take that, I think nobody is interested in the absolute purity of the visual expression anymore’’. Instead of capturing the “aesthetic” of these images, Boyle suggests that he shoots scenes to capture their tangible energy. At this point, the audience and I recognised that we were in the presence of a director who is still able to push the boundaries of film. After further intelligent audience questions it was inevitable for Boyle to receive a deafening ovation. Walking out into the cold Manchester evening, what was absolute, unlike the weather, was that I had witnessed a director who embraced the spirit of celluloid.

Wood explained that on HOME’s opening weekend Boyle solidified the philosophy of this great place: “Culture is our life blood, it runs through all of us and we should all celebrate it and have access to it.’’ After their busiest ever day with sell-out screenings after sell-out screenings, I personally could not think of a better way to conclude them than with a director who understands not only cinema, but wider culture and life.

Eurowatch: Ligue 1

Teams to watch: Nice and Monaco

Players to watch: Anyone who plays for Monaco

 

Ligue 1 has not been your standard European league over the past few years.

A glance at the ultra-impressive modern stadia situated throughout the league — thanks to the country hosting the Euro 2016 finals last summer — would suggest that the league is the place to be when it comes to the millions being splashed around in modern football.

Marseille’s Velodrome and Lyon’s Parc Olympique Lyonnais are just two of the many huge arenas that wouldn’t look out of place hosting a Champions League Final.

Yet this is not the case. In recent years the league has been plagued by the financial discrepancy between the capital’s Paris Saint-Germain and the rest. A mixture of their millions and a lack of TV money for the rest has led to the French top flight ceasing to be a competitive contest for a number of seasons.

In 2011, the Qatari Sports Investment group purchased the club and ploughed in their millions and millions.

This discrepancy is clear when seeing the Deloitte Football Money League, who reported that PSG have the sixth highest revenue in world football. Lyon were the only other French represented in the top 30, placed at 24th.

Lucrative marquee signings such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edison Cavani, and Lucas Mora, to name a few, have led to Ligue 1 often looking like a display of men against boys.

Every season since 2012/13 PSG have won the league, with each season seeing a margin of over seven points between them and second place. This culminated in a whopping 31 points between themselves and Lyon once the 38-game season had concluded. The title was wrapped up by March 13th, following a 9-0 demolition against Troyes.

But PSG’s dominance is not apparent this season.

After 22 games they find themselves in 3rd place, three points behind joint leaders Nice and Monaco. Manager Unai Emery finds himself under increasing pressure in every week that goes by.

It would be easy to criticise a PSG side who clearly have not reached the heights of previous years, but the brilliance of Nice and Monaco has also played its part.

Monaco have become Europe’s entertainers this season. With the principality club scoring more goals than any other team in the continents top five leagues so far with 65 —an average of just under three goals a game.

And they are achieving this with some of the most exciting young players around — Benjamin Mendy, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, and Tiemoue Bakayoko are all under 24 and are generating interest from many of Europe’s top clubs due to their consistently excellent displays.

Tie this in with the goals of a revitalised Radamel Falcao and the steal of centre Kamil Glik and it’s not hard to see why Monaco are enjoying such a good season both domestically and in European competition.

Nice are Ligue 1’s surprise package this season. Last winning the top flight in 1959, there hasn’t been any real suggestion since that the club were capable of the dizzying heights they are currently enjoying.

They did finish 4th last time out, but were closer to the relegation places points-wise than they were to PSG.

But with a new manager following Claude Puel’s move to Southampton, Nice have been in the top three virtually all season.

Their success has been built from the back; with only 15 goals against them they currently have the tightest defence in the league.

They know where the net is as well, scoring 38 goals, 10 of which have been scored by Mario Balotelli.

But it is the wing back Riccardo Pereira, on loan from Porto, who has been the standout.

Pereira possesses all the attributes that a modern day wing back needs. Defending, attacking, and clocking some of the fastest speeds of any footballer in Europe, he has the capabilities to be playing for the top clubs throughout the continent.

WhoScored currently have him as the joint highest-rated player in the league, along with Alexandre Lacazette and Maxime Gonalons.

It remains to be seen whether Nice and Monaco can keep their form up and hold off PSG for the rest of the season. Even if they are unable to, the fact that Ligue 1 is finally a competitive competition again is a victory story in itself.

Review: Tariff and Dale

I have a strong opinion on Northern Quarter bars and eateries, I think that some of them try to do both things but don’t quite manage to do either well enough. I could reel off a list of times I’ve been disappointed with texture-less tacos and flavourless burgers in an underwhelming environment. So, when I had a foodie friend recommend Tariff and Dale to me, I was interested to see whether, finally, somewhere had got it right.

On arrival, the bar looked much like all the others, shabby, lots of exposed brick, and, semi-comfy looking seats. We were ushered downstairs by a trendy waitress and were met with a fairly empty restaurant, possibly due to their January food deals just having expired. However, we didn’t let this put us off as we slid onto the leather benches and made ourselves comfortable.

We settled in easily and the two of us spread ourselves across a table that could have been filled by four. The drinks were priced similarly to the rest of the Northern Quarter, so we had neither a shock nor a surprise when we ordered a glass of Spanish sauvignon and a pint of ‘Outstanding 4’ lager. When they arrived, we took large deserved gulps like we had been undertaking dry January, which by the way, we certainly had not.

Tariff and Dale’s food menu is something that needs a fair amount of time to be fully explored. Its offerings range from classic English dishes under the heading ‘Antipasti’, a sprinkling of Asian options, and, of course, Italian pizza. Despite my guest and I both being appalling at making decisions, we managed to decide on two starters and two mains, oh, and, some artisan bread.

The bread came accompanied with a harsh but pleasant balsamic vinegar and a luxuriously thick olive oil, we dipped and tore to our hearts’ content. Simultaneously, our two starters were brought out and the strange menu options looked even more so when paired together in front of us. On one side of the table we had a rustic lamb and rosemary sausage roll, and on the other, a Thai squid salad. I started by taking a piece of lightly battered squid in my fingers and biting into it, feeling nervous that it may be chewy and inedible. However, in contrast, I was met with the purest perfection. I had never tasted squid cooked so well, even on the shores of Italy and Spain, and I immediately knew I needed to compliment the chef. Underneath the generous portion of beautiful squid, lay rice noodles mixed with strips of carrot and chilli, and large leaves of fresh coriander.

After being so blown away by the hit Thai starter, I wasn’t sure I wanted to move on but the flaky pastry of the sausage roll was rather tempting. The strong deep flavour of the lamb meat was classically paired with rosemary — in my mind a winning combination — and the pastry that encased this marriage was excellently golden and buttery. We reluctantly shared the slices and fought over the spicy burnt onion ketchup that was spread on the plate.

Once we had finished our starters, we wondered how we were going to attack the large pizzas that we knew were on their way. But, we felt relaxed, un-rushed, and comfortable in our seats and eagerly shazammed songs, such as ‘Up & Down’ by Urbs & Cutex, from the playlist that felt like it had been made personally for us. The music was not too loud though, like some of restaurants and bars that offensively blast out songs that nobody really wants to hear.

Our pizzas arrived, and the look of them made our stomachs feel empty and ready to be filled again. The sourdough crusts looked hearty and the amount of gooey cheese and colourful toppings were plentiful. Our pancetta and brie choice was so indulgent we quickly felt our bellies bulging again, but due to sheer love for the combination, we powered on for as long as possible. Our second pizza was topped with mushrooms, truffle oil, and, our added extra of sun blushed tomatoes. The result was, again, outstanding. The mushrooms gave us the earthy flavour we had ordered this pizza for, but the bursting pockets of tomato gave a freshness that took our mouthfuls to a whole new level. We struggled to finish, despite being completely in love with this new pizza heaven we had found, but it just meant we could take some home in cardboard boxes to fight over the next day.

Lay off the referees and introduce technology

Criticism of referees in the Premier League has reached new heights, with hard-core fans becoming increasingly less forgiving of controversial decisions. Earlier this year, experienced top-flight referee Mike Dean was demoted to the Championship. He came under scrutiny after making a series of controversial decisions throughout the Christmas period and then into January.

West Ham hosted Manchester United in January, and Mr Dean was criticised heavily for sending off Hammers midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, which was later rescinded. Later in the match, United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an offside goal which stood, leading to a United victory.

But how much of this was really the referee’s fault? It’s not as if he or the other officials have a videographic memory allowing them to rewind and play what’s just happened. This is just the example from one game, but it happens frequently.

Referees dictate the key decisions in a football match. As a consequence of this, if they make an incorrect decision, thousands of fans in the stadium and millions of fans across the world see red and proceed to hurling abuse at them.

Of course the crowd are allowed a good shout, that’s to be expected — especially after paying absurd amounts for a ticket. Although, fans for the most part underestimate exactly how hard it is to referee a football match, especially at the highest level.

A referee has to make a decision as quickly as possible with only the aid of a linesman or fourth official, while Alan Shearer and Robbie Savage can review a controversial decision on Match of the Day and still fail to make their mind up weather it’s a ‘penalty’ or a ‘handball’.

The get out of jail free card for pundits is the phrase “we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one”. This is wrong, there should only be a yes or no answer. This is where technology comes into play. If unsure, the officials should be given the opportunity to consult the footage on the screen.

It seems as though there’s a constant expectation from referees to always get it right, that’s why the Football Association should seriously consider bringing in some technology. If goal line technology has been a success, then there’s no reason why the same process can’t be adopted for decisions in general play, such as a high tackle being a yellow or a red card.

Top-flight Aviva Premiership Rugby matches use technology to review disputable tries which will affect the balance of the match — and referees will watch the replay over and over until the correct decision is made. Why can’t this be the same for football?

After recently speaking to a number of fans about this issue, their main line of argument is that this change can’t happen because they “like moaning about referees”. However, one fan, who’s had a season ticket at Old Trafford for seven years, said that “at the end of the day, lazy decisions can cost teams vital points, technology would be great thing”.

It seems strange for a fan to hurl abuse at a referee and expect them to make the correct decision, even when they don’t know if it is or not themselves. Fans should vote whether they want technology, and if the majority don’t vote in favour, they’ll have to accept the consequences of occasional bad decisions.

When watching a match on the telly and there’s an arguable shout for a penalty, which the referee is unsure of, Sky and BT sport commentators, as well as the viewers, have the chance to examine the shout. This just shows how easy it would be for the officials to see the footage and come to a decision. The right decision is there for everyone to see, but the person who actually makes these decisions does not have access to it, which is not logical.

Even though there’s an increasing need for such action, this process should be implemented gradually, allowing the more hostile fans and referees themselves to ease into this change.

Rather than humiliating referees by demoting them to a lower league, the FA should either bring in some technology or come out and defend the decisions made by them. One positive is that managers are fined for harsh criticism of referees, but at the same time there would not be criticism if there was technology, absolutely none whatsoever.

One day more technology will be introduced to the Premier League, and maybe other lower leagues — it’s only a matter of time. The introduction of goal-line technology has worked well since its introduction to the English game, so there is no reason why more cannot be introduced soon. There is certainly a need for it. Until this happens, fans and pundits should ease off refs and instead try and present the issue to the FA — this will be the best way of matches achieving fair results.

Trump needs to know the wrongs of torture

Trump’s first week as President has been a storm of policies and soundbites for journalists to get their teeth stuck into and citizens of the world to campaign against. Although many of us were optimistic that he wouldn’t live up to his campaign promises, he has done so. It’s hard to choose which of his beliefs are most inhumane, but his recent expression of support for torture is certainly a contender. In his first television interview since becoming president, when asked about torture, Trump said that: “We have to fight fire with fire.” Although he goes on to say that he will listen to the advice from defence secretary, James Mattis, and CIA director, Mike Pompeo, he proceeds to assure the interviewer that torture “absolutely works.”

Given his position, when the President of America is expressing such strong support for the method, it appears that the issue requires explanation. Torture comes in many forms, can go many ways, and all are absolutely wrong due to their inhumane treatment of people. Take the ideal situation: one guilty terrorist has planted a bomb on a plane. If we torture him, he will reveal its whereabouts and hundreds of lives will be saved. In this hypothetical scenario, torture is guaranteed to achieve the goal it sets out to achieve: the prevention of innocent deaths. The terrorist will give up the information we want under a certain amount of force, and innocent lives will be saved.

Supporters of torture see this situation as justified, and possibly deserved, because the victim of torture is guilty and those in danger are innocent, and the lives of many innocent people are seen as worth more than the well-being of a guilty terrorist. Despite the act remaining wrong, it is understandable and possibly excusable. Nevertheless, it remains wrong due to how it makes people a means to achieve a certain end, not human beings. However, in these circumstances alone, it may be excusable since there are many innocent lives at stake and the infliction of harm upon the guilty is necessary to save them.

But the situation, in reality, is a long way off this ideal one. With a higher amount of variables, the chances of success are far from likely. So, with the reasons for support as tenuous as they appear in our ideal situation, we cannot defend torture when placed in the unpredictable realm of reality. To start with, the individual captured may not be guilty and would therefore be as deserving of as much torture as any normal citizen: none. Despite the fact that only seven of Guantanamo Bay’s 779 inmates have been convicted, a large majority have been tortured. It seems that torture is not reserved for the guilty.

According to Amnesty International, Shaker Aamer was held for 13 years, while being tortured under the watch of MI5 agents, and then released to his family without conviction. By his own account, he was captured while working for a Saudi Charity. Though of course, it’s his word against the US’; the amount of detainees that have gone without conviction suggests a severe lack of evidence to support the guilt of the majority of prisoners.

But even if the terrorist were to be found guilty of some form of terrorism, if they hold no valuable information, there is no longer any excuse for torture. Since even those with the knowledge would profess their ignorance when encountered with torture initially, the torturers have no idea who to believe. So they press on, assuming that with the right amount of force, the guilty will crack.

High profile agents, such as Ali Soufan, a former CIA operative, has said: “Most of the time, they will lie, make up anything to stop you hurting them.” This leads to two more major issues with the method. If the tortured will often lie anyway, the false information they give may be detrimental to the goal of preventing terrorism and result in indescribable harm regardless. If the only excuse for torture is to prevent the deaths of innocents, this method is inexcusable since this is in no way helpful to achieving this goal. It is simply sadistic.

Although there are many more variables to look into, I will conclude with the unlikelihood of success of using torture. Even if the information required has been obtained, we would still need a team to actually prevent the attack. The amount of things that could possibly go wrong in this situation are countless, leading to the likely situation of a failed rescue. Once more, this leads to the only excusable end of torture being thwarted.

It’s unlikely that Trump has put as much consideration into his support for torture as I have into attacking it. That’s not to say it took much. Although the unlikelihood of success and the torturing of innocents would deter most from a commitment to the method, based on the clear lack of compassion behind his policies so far, we could be forgiven for doubting Trump would be persuaded.

Review: A Monster Calls

Our minds have the ability to create things of incredible beauty, encompassing a wide range of emotions. Unfortunately that ability is used far too often as an escape, to hide away from the real world. Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls is an emotionally stirring film about an all too familiar situation, one where cancer takes away our loved ones without a second thought.

What sets this film apart from others, in the crowded coming-of-age genre, is the extensive but not exhaustive use of fantastical elements and art. This is made obvious from the offset with a visually stunning opening credits sequence, reminiscent of Game of Thrones except including a breathtaking watercolour finish. The three tales told by The Monster during the film were similarly given the watercolour treatment and once again these segments seemed familiar, this time bearing close resemblance to ‘The Three Brothers’ story from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Placed equally through the film, the use of these distractions permit the story to not be too grounded in its dark themes and instead allow Conor, and by extension the audience, to escape into another world.

Collaborating once more with cinematographer Oscar Faura (The Impossible, The Imitation Game), director J.A.Bayona masterfully captures both the emotions of the characters and the massive scale of The Monster. In some of the most evocative scenes, the camera stays still. Keeping all aspects of the shot stationary besides the actors emphasises every word said and every change in facial expression. Consequently the feelings conveyed grow, and the bond created between characters appears stronger.

Throughout the film, Fernando Velazquez’s score often feels like another cast member. An ever-present entity whose role is to change sentiment to sound. There are two very distinct aspects to the score, separated by the two predominant moods, sadness and anger. For the sad scenes Velazquez opts for solo piano, and the result is wonderful in its simplicity yet powerful nonetheless. Contrastingly, in the scenes where protagonist Conor’s anger is plainly visible, a rousing orchestra is used. At the climax of the film, as both emotions come together, so do the score elements complementing the on-screen action perfectly. The score is never underwhelming, nor is it ever overwhelming, it is precisely what it must be in that moment.

In a film where the small background details give major clues to the plot, it surprises me that one of the major characters, Toby Kebbell as Conor’s dad, seemed underdeveloped at best and unnecessary at worst. Although Kebbell’s acting was convincing and at times moving, his character’s storyline did not have as much purpose as others and seemed out of place. Perhaps additional scenes involving him were removed to reduce the run-time. The only other issues I found were incredibly minor. For example the 16mm film of King Kong threaded in the projector was colour, yet what we, and they saw was black and white. In addition towards the end of the film in the hospital empty coffee cups were used in place of full ones which, incredibly insignificant it may be, temporarily detracted from my immersion.

What makes A Monsters Calls such an impressive film is its capacity to be approachable regardless of age, situation or gender. At some point we all must learn to grieve, it’s an inescapable truth of life and one which Bayona illustrates candidly. The finale of the film is similarly inescapable, we know how the story must end, but it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking when it does.

Whatever drives you, run with us: The University of Manchester’s Purple Wave

In 2016, the University of Manchester raised over £75,000 for charity through the Great Manchester 10K. Over 1,100 staff and students took part in the run and the university beat the record for the biggest non-charity team entry into the race. This year we are aiming to top this and get 3,000 students and staff involved. The Great Run team have promised the university our very own start time and ‘Purple Wave’ if we reach this target — with all runners receiving a purple t-shirt for the run.

The money that was raised last year was split between the British Red Cross, Marie Curie and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, alongside other charities chosen by individual runners. Alumni will also be able to sign up and run with the university.

Jenny Coldham from the Sport Manchester office said “within the University of Manchester Sport Office we are very excited about the opportunity to raise money for worthwhile causes and to create a buzz within the university community. Yet again we will be running in the university purple and will be joined by our mascot ‘BarnaBee’ the bee.”

AU clubs and sport societies are welcome to join the wave as a team. The team with the most runners based on club membership will be given free tickets to the AU ball. However, even if you have never run before, this is still something to get involved with: people from all over the university will be together striving to raise money for our important charities.

If you are a University of Manchester staff member or student you can purchase your ticket for a heavily reduced price of £20 for students and £25 for staff (down from £38).

One of the charities that proceeds will go towards this year is the Equity and Merit Scholarship scheme within the university. Find out more about how to join the purple wave on our website: http://www.sport.manchester.ac.uk/fitness/manc10K/

Review: Bundobust

The Manchester branch of Bundobust finally opened their doors at the end of 2016, proof that the year could produce some positives.

Bundobust first opened in Leeds, a collaboration between two award-winning establishments: the restaurant Prashad, a finalist in Gordan Ramsay’s Great British Restaurant series, and The Sparrow, named by The Guardian as one of the UK’s top Craft Beer Bars.

They have quite a legacy to follow, but seem to be doing so effortlessly.

Finding this new Indian street food and craft beer bar off Piccadilly gardens was a bit of a task, with scaffolding surrounding the entrance and stairs down to its basement home — but it was well worth the few minutes it took to realise we were standing in front of it.

Once able to make my way down the stairs, I was greeted with a mess hall-styled restaurant, its décor dominated by exposed brick, bright signs, and a wonderful skylight offering a view of the rain-speckled typically Manchester scene of old brick buildings with broken windows.

Photo: Jenny Sterne

At three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon the place was bustling, the energy of the upbeat music and our lively dining partners creating a contagiously enjoyable atmosphere.

After deciding to sit at one of the long shared dining tables — if you are looking for an intimate meal then perhaps look elsewhere — we began to look through the extensive and entirely vegetarian menu.

If you are an ardent meat eater I would advise against letting this aspect put you off, especially due to the very student-friendly prices on offer.

While we waited for our food we ordered a beer snack of popcorn and mini poppadums drizzled with green chilli and garlic oil, just one example of how Bundobust can transform simple dishes — it is not often popcorn gets a mention in a food review.

One of the standout things about this restaurant is the focus they place on their drink as well as food. The house Indian witbier ‘Bombay Dazzler’ was the perfect accompaniment to our food. Brewed with coriander, ginger and cardamom, it was a highlight of the meal.

Our five small dishes of Indian street food were presented to us in disposable paper bowls, and we quickly got stuck in.

The dishes included punjabi kadhi, a warm yoghurt soup with bhaji dumplings; paneer and mushroom tikka served with a red pepper ketchup and spinach chutney; and one of the specials, pav bhaji, a deconstructed bhaji with brioche buns, all equally delicious and original, unlike any other Indian food I had ever eaten before.

A cold Bundo Chaat, a mixture of samosa pastry, chickpeas, chutney, turmeric noodles and yoghurt, complemented the spicier dishes perfectly, a nice alternative to simply ordering your average yoghurt dip.

But I have to admit, despite the wonderful reprieve this dish gave to my delicate taste-buds, the best dish of the meal has to be the okra fries, described confusingly (perhaps just for me) on the menu as ‘fried lady’s fingers’ — tip: they do not mean the cake part of tiramisu.

Coated in chickpea batter and seasoned with black pepper and mango powder, this wonderfully flavoursome side-dish was the perfect alternative to your average side of fries, yet another example of how Bundobust manage to turn a modest dish into something you can print on a T-shirt — yes, they actually print okra fries T-shirts.

When a restaurant is able to sell T-shirts with one of their dishes printed on, you know they are probably doing something right.

Bundobust Manchester
61 Piccadilly
Manchester
M1 2AQ

Randy going to Wrestlemania… outta nowhere

All WWE were telling its fans for the months leading up to the Royal Rumble was to ‘Remember the Rumble’. After a chaotic, controversial but, on the whole, good event on Sunday, there is no danger of forgetting it.

On the Pre-show, as always, there wasn’t much to talk about in regards to surprise. The only thing was the unexpected move to put the WWE RAW tag team titles on The Club, so shortly after Cesaro and Sheamus ended the record run of The New Day only last month. With only five matches on the main show, and four hours to fill, this should have been on the main show to give Gallows and Anderson their true moment.

Charlotte v Bayley – a match that was, for me, underwhelming. It was obvious that daughter of Ric Flair; Charlotte was not going to lose considering she has now won her singles matches on pay-per-view shows the last 16 times straight. This run may come to an end in a couple of month at Wrestlemania, but was never going to happen here. As well as the lack of surprise of the result, the match was average, with both women having had better bouts in the past. A few botches made the match made it feel less special. One positive was the devastating finisher used to win the match; the ‘Natural Selection’ on the apron looked like it really hurt. Overall – DOWN.

Kevin Owens v Roman Reigns – it was a pleasant surprise to see KO retain his Universal title against the Big Dog. The match lasted an impressively long time but never got boring. Furthermore, considering how many times these two have fought in the last few months, it is testament to both wrestlers that we were entertained at all. A few nice chair spots, 3 broken tables, a surprise interference from Braun Strowman and everything Chris Jericho did from the shark cage above the ring was brilliant. The spot that topped all others thought was a frog splash from the top rope from KO putting Reigns through a table outside of the ring, simply outstanding. Overall – UP.

Neville v Rich Swann – the Geordie Neville is arguably the best heel on the roster at the moment, possibly with the exception of The Miz. He has brought live to an otherwise dead Cruiserweight division and winning the title here was fully deserved. Take nothing away from Rich Swann, he can more than hold his own in the squared circle, but the emotion and understanding of the character simply isn’t there because the cruiserweights aren’t being given enough TV time on Raw to tell their story, hence people aren’t invested. A good match here however and a lot longer than one could have hoped for. I just hope they get some big names into this division and Neville holds on to the purple belt for a good while. Overall – UP.

John Cena v AJ Styles – MATCH OF THE NIGHT. From bell to bell this was simply outstanding. Both men are extremely talented and when you couple the star power of Cena with the ability of Styles it is a match made in heaven. Can’t pick a fault in this, I was glued to the TV screen from start to finish. The result is questionable but as long as Styles gets a decent Wrestlemania match then I’m happy that Cena equalled the record of 16 World title reigns. Watch this match if you get the chance. Special mention to the kick out of Styles after the Super AA from the top rope, really had me fooled. Overall – MASSIVE UP.

Royal Rumble match – Winner Randy Orton. This is where all the controversy is coming from. Overall it was a pretty good rumble, and I would say it was a lot better than previous ones. Braun Strowman looked strong; Orton himself looked great, as did Chris Jericho, The Miz and Sami Zayn. However, with so much build up, this was a let-down. Undertaker came in to the match for barely 5 minutes, Goldberg the same and despite Lesnar looking strong to begin with, he was eliminated far too easily. Moreover, where were the special returns? Where was Samoa Joe (who has since debuted)? Where was Balor, Angle, Nakamura or anybody that would be considered shocking? Only Tye Dillenger from NXT was a welcome surprise. The Rumble has to have that element of shock and it simply didn’t. And finally, ROAN REIGNS AT NUMBER 30! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? Of all the people WWE could have chosen to be that coveted number 30 spot and they chose the world’s least popular man. In regards to the winner. I would rather they gave it to Bray Wyatt or another upcoming star, but if this gives us Bray in the main event of Wrestlemaina, I would be happy with that. Overall – DOWN

Manchester poets come an incredible third place in national Uni Slam contest

As some of you may know from the team’s relentless posting on every social media website, on the 29th and 30th of January, the University of Manchester entered a student team (Roma Havers, Damani Dennisur, Alle Bloom, Liv Barnes and myself) into a national poetry championship called Uni-Slam.

It was held in DeMontfort University and after taking several photos of graffitied walls to put on our Instagram, we went in to register. After a few workshops and an underwhelming lunch from Spar, it was time for our preliminaries. After four performances each from UCL, Leicester, Dublin, and Manchester, it was announced that both the latter teams were through.

We spoke to Dublin, and naturally they wanted to go for a pint, on a Sunday, in Leicester. We eventually found a small, quiet pub full of regulars who just wanted a quiet night out, and screamed over their small talk. Obviously, we were asked to leave. Alle, only had to smell the cider and hear an Irish accent and she was inebriated, which was fun as we had another hour of preliminaries to watch.

The other team from Manchester named Salford Speaks were performing against Goldsmiths, Sheffield, and Loughborough. Despite Salford not making it through, it was clear to see that they made an impression on both the audience and the judges.

The semi-finals were at the Curve Theatre. We had a few drinks the night before, so our rehearsals were nicely accompanied by the sound of Damani dry heaving. For this half of the Semi-Finals, we were up against Exeter, Leeds, Glasgow, and Sheffield. Before our performances, I could not help but feel sick with nerves. None of our performances were similar to the groups that went before.

However, when Damani stepped on stage, he performed it completely differently anything we have ever witnessed him do. I don’t know if it was the threat of blowing chunks all over the judges or whether something was put in his drink, but Damani completely brought something new to his performance which was well needed.

Roma and Alle followed with a poem about being sisters separated due to university, which again gave a nice contrast. Liv Barnes (as seen on the BBC) performed a new poem about having walls up in a relationship, but with a twist: the character puts up walls to hide the fact that they are not a good person, at all. To finish our round, Roma performed ‘You Smell Different’ — a plea for a friend to be honest about the suffocation and abuse they suffer from in their home life.

A standout performance in the whole competition came from Sheffield — a deeply ironic piece about the best piece of poetry ever created, reminiscent of Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’. It brought out my witch laugh, which isn’t a good thing, but a compliment regardless. We finished in first place in the Semi-Finals, with Exeter coming in second.

The other Semi-Finals saw two teams get through. Birmingham, who combined comedic poetry with interesting messages, and added performance elements such as beginning with their backs facing to the audience. And Goldsmiths, a group of five incredibly accomplished poets, did what they do best, performing incredibly high quality poetry to the audience.

The finals were at seven, and by then I had been thoroughly drained by the colander of poetry. In the final, we had Damani’s ‘Mr Pissed at Politics’ which our team has been reciting for the past few days, Roma’s ‘Blood in the Water’, a hard-hitting middle finger to distant family members, and Liv’s ‘Pubs’, in which we re-arranged the microphones to look like a bar that she stood behind. (It does not count as a prop! We were given five mic stands, nobody told us what we could and could not do with them!)

We finished off with ‘Art is Dead’ a piece featuring the whole team. It was intended to be three minutes and we finished at around the four-minute mark. We each embodied a character, I was the person who banned art, Roma was a covert rebel, Alle was a political protester, Damani was an art addict and Liv police enforcement. At the end of the day, whether we went over time or not does not matter. We had come to Uni-Slam with the message that slam poetry is a space for variety and exploration of the form. We did not come to Uni-Slam as winners, and I’ve never been in a competition, so the fact that we did not win does not mean a pig’s ear to me.

We showed everyone how Madchester does it, and we did what we wanted to do. The rules of Uni-Slam state that the time limit is three minutes with a ten second grace period, and looking back, I would not have cut anyone’s part of the group poem to fit inside that criteria. It is difficult to mark the subjectivity of poetry, so it is best to do what the fuck you want and hope people enjoy it.

The end scores were:
Spirit of the Slam – Dublin
4th – Exeter
3rd – Manchester
2nd – Birmingham
1st – Goldsmiths

Goldsmiths were incredible, and worthy winners. They featured poets Laurie Ogden (whose final poem we’re still shaken from), Tommy Sisson (award-winning international wordsmith), Sara Hirsch (2014 Hammer & Tongue finalist) and Jack Emsden, who has no Facebook page for his poetry so I can’t steal his bio from there. However, I can say that he has a cracking poem about a TV show regarding Pigeons — both unique and entertaining.

This team will be performing at Hammer & Tongue in the finals. They certainly are ones to watch.
If you’re feeling gutted that you missed such a great weekend of poetry, fear not! The teams from Manchester and Salford are running a night at 256 Bar, Fallowfield, at 7pm on the 17th of February in order to showcase all the pieces performed in the slam.