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Day: 23 October 2017

The Manchester Tyrants: who are they?

Gladiatorial-like figures wait patiently in animalistic stances. One could almost smell the hostility in the air. Amid snarls, grunts, and various instructions bellowed down the hallowed Armitage turf, a simple “hut” is called. Anarchy ensues with bodies colliding together; a burgundy leather ball being the ultimate prize.

An onlooker would assume that this sport is effectively organised chaos, to the participants it is more a way of life. American football is quite an obscure sport to the average citizen in the United Kingdom with the gear, rules, and overall cultural dissimilarities. It is easy to understand why many are unaware of its growing presence and popularity within Britain and the world at large.

However, the sport has taken massive leaps in establishing itself, especially at an academic level, with the official University leagues being founded in 2007. The UoM team are the Manchester Tyrants, a Division 2 North West team who strive for nothing short of success.

Led by the imposing Head Coach Peter Birds who admittedly calls it a “strange sport”, he highlights the character building values such as “ethics, togetherness, and bonding”. These values can be traced up even to the most senior team members, like 6-year veteran, PhD student Luke Hart. His commitment being attributed to the discipline and brotherly structure the team provides.

The players demonstrate that the activity is not just one of mindless violence, but needs just as much the brains as the brawn, with the learning of offensive/defensive schemes, formations, and technique which add to the fun of trying something new. In addition, the game is not limited by gender with females eligible to participate.

Though they are valid concerns about the potential injuries associated with the sport, ex-captain Leslie Oppon rationalises it as “part of the game”, which teaches “braveness”.

As the team trains hard in preparation for this season, it is clear to see why so many play. There is a strong sense of unity and honour which is not regularly demonstrated with other University sports.

Shock defeat for United as Huddersfield reign supreme

This tie will be the closest thing to a derby for Huddersfield this season. Yorkshire vs Lancashire, white rose vs the red. Huddersfield are currently without a victory in their last five games and United will enter the game as the favourite to win.

A couple of players are rested after the shakey win against Benfica in midweek. De Gea is once again in goal. Valencia, Smalling, Jones and Young make up the back four.  Herrera and Matic sit in defensive midfield roles with Mata, Lingard and Martial in front. Lukaku is the lone striker.

It is a bit of a crazy start to the game as both teams battle for the upper hand. United taking more of the early possession but Huddersfield closing down very quickly and forcing one touch passing.

When passes to go awry Huddersfield are quick to break and commit a lot of players forward. The lack of clinical passing is stopping them progressing into the final third. They’ll have to address this if they want to create any shots on goal.

Early shot for Lukaku as he receives a long ball in by Matic, the goalkeeper won’t be happy that his entire backline were taken out of the game with one pass. Thankfully he made a good save to stop the Belgian.

Next an off the ball incident between Martial and Smith, with both players squaring up to each other. The referee had his back to the events but the forth official saw it all. Yellow card for both players, on a second viewing Smith seemed to drag Martial.

Another yellow as Lingard gets hacked down, three yellow cards in the last 90 seconds. It is a very heated game and if it continues it won’t surprise me if we see a red card. The fans seemed to be feeding into the volatile atmosphere by jeering a lot of United players.

Lingard the target of fouls once more as he gets pushed over twice, yet the free kick goes the other way. As he fell the ball got stuck between his legs and the referee blew his way for obstruction. Ridiculous.

20 minutes in and United have had 68 percent of the possession without really having any chances. The game is still very heated with slide tackles flying in regularly. Phil Jones goes down with a knock and punches the ground in frustration. The Huddersfield fans boo Jones as he is down injured, a disgusting show. Regardless of who you support booing an injured player is just pathetic. Lindelof comes on to replace.

Mata comes deep, frustrated at not getting much of the ball, but as he gets the ball he is dispossessed. Mooy breaks forward in a three on two opportunity, the first shot is well saved by Mooy scored the rebound. 1-0 Huddersfield. Only the second goal they have scored in over ten hours of football.

A mistake by Lindelof puts Depoitre one on one with De Gea, the player goes round the keeper and passes it into the back of the net to make it 2-0. United need to calm down and not let the loud crowd get the better of them.

Penalty shout as Herrara gets brought down in the penalty box. The replay shows the player, already on a yellow, completely bodychecking him without the ball. How that isn’t a penalty is beyond me and if we lose I know exactly what moment Mourinho will blame for the loss.

A Huddersfield player did exactly what Lingard did early on, holding the ball between his legs. Instead of maintaining standards and giving a foul he gives a drop ball. The only thing worse than the final third play of United this game is the awful referee.

At half time the Huddersfield fans chant at deafeningly loud levels and deservedly so. Their team has been far, far better, outplaying United in all areas of the pitch. In the last five minutes the red devils did pick up the pace but it wasn’t enough to get anything to show for it. They need to be much better in the second half to pull this back. Perhaps the high intensity of the game will tire the terries out quicker and United can capitalise in the latter stages.

The last two changes for United are made as Rashford and Mkhitaryan come on, Mata and Martial come off. If there are any injuries then they will be down to 10 men. Martial was also on a yellow card and if I’m Mourinho I wouldn’t want to risk a red.

The two changes mean that Herrara is playing on the right hand side of a back three. Should this work it would be an incredible tactical decision but United are still struggling to get in behind this Huddersfield back line, resorting to long balls into Rashford that have all been overhit.

Another cynical challenge by a Huddersfield player that, judging by the cards Lee Mason brandished early on, should have been a yellow card. More poor refereeing. Huddersfield now in the 60th minute are already looking tired.

Ashley Young just did exactly the same tackle as the one by Huddersfield before and got a yellow card. I really don’t understand what Mason is doing. Is he rolling a damn die where even numbers are a yellow and odd are not. Ludicrous, simply ludicrous.

All the United attacks in the past ten minutes have all be channelled through the centre, neglecting the abundance of pace on both wings. Even though they are having the lion’s share of possession they haven’t had any clear opportunities to score.

With 20 minutes left I can see no way in which United can come back in this game. Huddersfield have just been too organised, too well-drilled. Should they win it will be a fully earned three points.

First shot on target in the second half for United. Ashley Young finally delivers a decent cross and the flick on by Herrera would have gone into the bottom corner if not for a fantastic save.

Lukaku sprints down the wing to keep in a ball that would have given United a corner. He whips in a beautiful cross right onto the head of Rashford who makes it 2-1. There is ten minutes left to grab an equaliser and there are a lot of tired Huddersfield legs. In the last 10 minutes of the game United have had over 80% of possession, this is the point in the game where they have scored the most goals and they will need another to rescue a point.

Chris Smalling has received orders to stay up front alongside Lukaku, with only Lindelof staying back. This is all or nothing by Mourinho. Three minutes plus injury time. The Huddersfield fans are doing everything they can to cheer on their team, including their chairman who is singing along to chants.

The fourth official holds the board aloft to show four minutes of stoppage time. I think they have done enough now to secure the win, and what a win it would be. Their third substitution comes on to wind down the clock.

Smalling gets the ball with a seeming open net but as he shoots a sliding defender blocks a surefire goal, making sure his side won all three points. The first time that Huddersfield have beaten Manchester united in 65 years.

David Wagner’s side unquestionably deserved the points putting in a fantastic team performance. United just weren’t good enough on the day, their first defeat in the league this season.

Activision’s troubling patent revealed

Activision have been granted a patent for an in-game system that drives microtransactions, it has been revealed.

The legal record, as seen on the USPTO patent database, puts forward the concept of using matchmaking in multiplayer games as a tool for promoting content purchasable in-game by matching “an expert/marquee player with a junior player to encourage the junior player to make game-related purchases of items possessed/used by the marquee player.”

Essentially, this patent pitches a system of matchmaking where less experienced players are put in lobbies with more experienced players in order to show them what they’re missing out on, to put it simply.

The model is based on the assumption that the junior players will struggle as a result, and see the in-game purchases as a quick and easy way to improve without having to grind their way through the game.

Activision have told Glixel that “it was an exploratory patent” and that “it has not been implemented in-game”.

It does, however, bare resemblance to the system EA have implemented in Star Wars: Battlefront II, where players are shown the ‘star-cards’ — perks that you earn/buy — of the player that killed them after dying.

In a similar fashion, Activision’s matchmaking process would involve highlighting the benefits of investing in an online commodity.

The matchmaking system currently remains only a patent, and not something that has been put in practice, but it perhaps provides an insight into the way publishers think and their willingness to continue profiting off microtransactions despite sustained backlash from their fanbases.

IGN buy Humble Bundle

Games media outlet IGN has officially completed the acquisition of the online games retail platform ‘Humble Bundle’.

Humble Bundle is a relatively young company that sells games in bundles and charges based on an honour system. Their customers pay what they want — with a nominal minimum — with some of the proceeds going to charity.

At the time of writing, Humble Bundle has raised over $1.2 million (£900,000) for charity.

IGN and Humble Bundle were both very positive in their respective statements about the acquisition. Humble Bundle wrote on their blog that IGN “really understand our vision, share our passion for games, and believe in our mission to promote awesome digital content while helping charity,” whilst IGN, speaking to Gamustra, said that “the idea is just to feed them with the resources they need to keep doing what they’re doing.”

However, the news has been met with apprehension amongst parts of the gaming community, who have cited the move as potential ground for a significant conflict of interest: IGN will now be simultaneously reviewing and selling games.

IGN have just finished reviewing ‘South Park: The Fractured but Whole’, for example. They are now concurrently profiting off sales of that game on Humble Bundle.

IGN have long since had an uneasy relationship with the rest of games media and the wider gaming community, coming under frequent criticism for overly generous review scores, with rumours that they are in the pocket of major games publishers refusing to go away.

Whilst these claims remain unsubstantiated, the acquisition of Humble Bundle may lead to further doubt over IGN’s credibility and integrity as an unbiased source of games media.

New bus pass not possible until April 2018

An affordable bus pass that can be used by both First and Stagecoach cannot be created until at least April of 2018, it has emerged.

During his campaign to be General Secretary, Tayler said that one of his main priorities during his term of office would be to try and “create a [bus] pass accepted by First and Stagecoach.”

Alex met with Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Head of Strategy and Policy Development, John Wrathmell, last week to discuss transport in and around Manchester, and the Students’ Union recently ran a transport survey to capture students’ thoughts on the issue.

Following the meeting, Tayler said: “it will not be possible to have a new bus pass by the end of the year.”

Explaining why this was the case, Alex said: “My understanding is that although the Bus Services Act was passed earlier this year, new powers are not fully granted to devolved government until April 2018.

“Before then, bus companies are effectively prohibited from collaborating on ticketing as it would breach competition laws that were put in place when bus services were privatised and deregulated.”

At present, a ‘System One’ pass which can be used on both bus services does exist but can only be bought monthly and costs around £600 a year— significantly higher than Stagecoach’s annual ‘Unirider’ bus pass at £235 and Stagecoach’s 7-day ‘Megarider’ ticket which costs £8.00 — meaning that it is not an affordable option for many students.

In light of the recently reported muggings, attacks and sexual assaults that have occurred in and around South Manchester, an affordable bus pass that could be used on both bus services could be hugely valuable to students.

Muggings have been reportedly most likely to take place between 1:30AM and 3:30AM and a pass of this kind would allow students to jump on any bus during a night out, as opposed to waiting around at a bus stop specifically for a ‘Magic Bus’ as lots of students do at present.

The benefit of the pass in this sense was something that Alex identified himself during a press briefing with The Mancunion.

The General Secretary said that ” further meetings are being planned to discuss this and other transport issues further”, adding that he was “optimistic that many positive changes to transport in Manchester are on the horizon.”

Another issue discussed at the meeting was cross-city travel, which has been argued to have become more difficult for students and increasingly requiring the purchase of tickets for multiple operators.

Alex also discussed how “the significant increase in the cost of most single tickets from £1 to £1.50 has proved problematic for most students and there has been no service improvement.”

He also raised the suggestion that “many students that voted for Andy Burnham feel that he is not living up to promises on improving the public transport, with several respondents claiming that transport was a major reason why they would not consider remaining in Manchester.”

Overall, the General Secretary described  the meeting with GMCA as “really positive” and said that he wanted to “thank the local authorities for taking student concerns seriously.”

 

FC United crash out of the FA Cup’s final qualifying round

This weekend saw the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup and fans of United — no not that one, the other one — will be disappointed to see their club knocked out. Had they won against AFC Telford they would have progressed to the first round proper for only the third time in their twelve year history.

The club’s history is quite the interesting one. Founded in 2005, it was born from the strife and frustration of Manchester United fans. While there were several issues causing the dissatisfaction, the Glazer takeover in 2005 was seen as a step too far, and fanzine Red Issue proposed a new club be formed.

The initial name FC United was rejected for being too generic and a vote from supporters decided upon FC United of Manchester. In the twelve short years they’ve been going they have surprisingly managed to reach the second round of the FA Cup, beating Rochdale. Their run ended there though as they came up against now Premier League side Brighton.

Although the scoreline this weekend was 3-1, the game was anything but one-sided. Neither side managed to find the back of the net in a tense first half; both teams desperate to continue their cup run. Just before the hour mark, Marcus Dinanga scored for Telford, but their lead lasted a measly 15-minutes before United managed to claw one back.

The tempo picked up as both teams wanted that glorious last-minute winner, but a rash decision led to a Telford penalty in the 92nd minute. Rob Edwards walked up to the penalty spot with the weight of all 155,000 Telfordians on his shoulders.

He did not falter however and converted the spot kick to make it 2-1. In an attempt to claw the game back, United were left exposed at the back and Telford’s Jordan Lussey secured their victory to make it 3-1. Far more comfortable a scoreline the game warranted.

The disappointment is especially bitter given the manner in which FC United progressed from the third qualifying round. Drawn against Stockport County, they found themselves 3-0 down but showed great strength and resilience to come back and draw the game 3-3, forcing a replay.

Manager Karl Marginson wasn’t content with his team rising from the ashes of defeat like a phoenix just once and wanted to prove his team a force to be reckoned with. After getting two red cards in the first half, every fan in the stadium was expecting a thrashing, Marginson knew though that his team were now in their element.

Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson put in an incredible shift singly handedly keeping them in the game. Against all odds United scored late on from Tom Greaves. It was by no means a good goal, but it was enough to take them to the next round of qualifying.

They may no longer be in the FA Cup but students can still see United play at their ground at Broadhurst Park in the National League North. Sadly they need all the support they can get hanging in 20th position, just inside the relegation zone one point from safety.

Their next game is away at Chorley but on the 28th of October, you can see them play Nuneaton Town in a bottom of the table clash. Tickets are £6 with a valid student card, or £10 without, and while the quality isn’t quite Premier League, it is well worth a visit.

Live: Grizzly Bear at The Albert Hall

Fans of Grizzly Bear have been hungry for a long, long time. It’s been both five years since they released their last album — 2012’s Shields — and played live in Manchester. The four-piece band from New York originally rose up the indie totem pole way back in 2009 with the now classic Veckatimest, of which their folktronica sound filtered into everything from car adverts to episodes of Skins. With the release of Painted Ruins earlier this year, fans have finally gotten something new to get their teeth into.

Grizzly Bear have always clearly been an extremely talented bunch and it’s a joy to see them recreating the magic of their albums live. Each member contributes to their often complex matrix of melodies and harmonies, weaving in and out of complimenting each of their stunning voices until you can’t tell them apart. Throughout the show, the band also hop on and off various instruments, with a wide range of synths, guitars, samplers, percussion, and woodwind instruments contributing to the noise.

Opening with an adequate but beautifully textured ‘Four Cypresses’, they follow it up with ‘Losing All Sense’, the rocky guitars give an extra edge and weight from the live setting. Their set continues to pull from their entire catalogue, but unsurprisingly it mostly services songs off the new album, with the brilliant climatic chorus of ‘Three Rings’ serving as the peak of the entire show.

Despite being the lead single from the album, ‘Morning Sound’ simply chugs along without much edge or passion from the band before slowly fizzling out. The contrast between this and earlier songs like ‘Yet Again’ is somewhat disheartening, as the rich complexity of their previous work just doesn’t seem to be present in most of their new work.

But it doesn’t entirely matter because they’re still playing loads of the old stuff. There’s always going to be songs you’ll be disappointed not to hear, but the sheer density of quality in Grizzly Bear’s oeuvre means that nearly every song manages to captivate the audience. Fans of Veckatimest will be happy with the — unavoidable — inclusion of their hits ‘Two weeks’ and ‘Ready, Able’, as well as ‘Fine For Now’ and the beautifully morbid ‘Foreground’.

Each is performed masterfully, just as you would expect from such a virtuoso band. As they begin to wrap up they turn to their slower songs, ending the main set with ‘While You Wait For The Others’ before returning to play ‘Shift’, an oldie off their 2004 debut Horn of Plenty, and finally closing with ‘Sun in Your Eyes’. With choices from a dynamic career like this, it’s hard to go wrong.

Albert Hall — Friday the 7th of October

7/10

United remain undefeated after a draw at Anfield

The international break is finally over and it is time for club football to begin once more. Liverpool have failed to win in six Premier League games against United and Klopp will be looking to change that. Lose today and United will stretch the gap to ten points in eight games.

With several injuries, the lineup Mourinho has chosen is a predictable one. De Gea starts in goal, Smalling and Jones are at centre back with Valencia and Darmian on either side. Just in front sits Herrara and Matic. Young, Mkhitaryan and Martial form an attack three and Lukaku finishes the 4-2-3-1 formation.

United start the game with the slight upper hand winning an early corner. Liverpool’s main weakness in defence has been set pieces so this might be an area that can be exploited. The corner leads to another then nothing, perhaps next time.

As play settles down Liverpool control the lion’s share of possession at 70 per cent. This won’t bother Mourinho as he prefers the counter-attacking style of play and there are visible gaps in the Liverpool defence. There is a lot of tussling going on and I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a healthy amount of yellow cards.

First proper shot of the game by Wijnaldum. He didn’t get the pace nor the strength I’m sure he wanted and in the end, it is an easy save for De Gea. Soon after Martial blocks a shot by Gomez, Liverpool are beginning to ask the question about asking questions.

The occasion seems to be getting to referee Atkinson a little. United took possession and Ashley Young, not in possession, got jumped on by Emre Can, foul given to Liverpool. Lots of early calls and a loud crowd may be having an effect.

United holding possession in an attempt to stop the flow of momentum for Liverpool as they are seriously knocking on the door now. Martial gets fouled on the edge of the box and United fans will let out a big sigh of relief. The player of the first 25 minutes has to be Salah; every Liverpool attack so far has flowed through him and United really need to get him under control to stop the relentless attacks.

First dangerous shot by United comes in the 30th minute as Mkhitaryan chests it down to Matic. Mignolet had no chance had the shot been on target but it goes just over. Almost a goal for Liverpool after if not for a world class save by David De Gea to stop Matip. Like last year with Coutinho, he produces another piece of brilliance. If the game ends in United’s favour this will be the reason why.

The game really isn’t going well for Lukaku who can barely get a touch of the ball and who just committed an awful foul. Thankfully Atkinson doesn’t want to brandish cards this early in the game but that was definitely a yellow card offence.

United show how little they need to create a clear-cut chance and a bit of fancy footwork from Martial and one-touch passing puts Lukaku through. It doesn’t amount to anything though as it goes straight at Mignolet. Lukaku’s bad day goes on.

As the half-time whistle blows it looks just as most would have predicted. Liverpool dominating the possession and United defending hard. The substitutions, later on, may certainly decide the outcome of the game.

The second half begins much like the first, Liverpool continue to dominate possession but can’t create any goalscoring opportunities. The first foul throw I have ever seen in a professional game comes regrettably from Darmian, at this level you surely must know how to successfully take a throw-in.

Big, big chance as the ball gets lofted in to Emre Can. He can’t get control of it and knocks it over from 3 yards, he really should have done better there. Liverpool utterly dominant at Anfield but they can’t seem to get anything to show for it.

A slick bit of skill by Matic seems to have calmed United down and they’ve begun to get their first extended spell of possession. Lukaku seems detached from any attack though and a warming up Lingard may soon be coming on to replace him. Lingard does come on in the 63rd minute but takes the plays of Mhitaryan instead.

The second United sub comes two minutes later and unsurprisingly it is Rashford for Martial, a change which has happened in almost every game so far this season one way or the other. Smalling receives the first yellow card for a bad tackle. There really should be three or four more but Atkinson does not want to brandish cards unless absolutely necessary. I’m not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing, dangerous play is dangerous play though.

Liverpool getting ready for a double substitution of Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Sturridge for Salah and Coutinho. I think this will end up helping United as they have been by far the two best Liverpool players. Ashely Young finally gets his yellow card after a scrappy game by him for leaving a foot in.

Liverpool’s third best player this game, Firminho, comes off for Solanke. United could win if they push for a goal but they seem content with a draw. The lack of a spark in Klopp’s side after these subs is not motivating the red devils to try anything at all.

The last United sub takes place as Young comes off for Lindelof in the second of three minutes added time. Mourinho looking to waste every moment possible, it works and the game ends not long after 0-0.

Taking a point from Anfield will be far from disappointing from any United fan but the hopelessness in attack will be a major worry. The run of big games in the coming few weeks means that this is an issue that needs addressing quickly.

Review: Cotton Wool

Director Nicholas Connor belongs to the Loachian school of filmmaking, which uses the medium as a way to tackle social issues and provoke discussion. For Cotton Wool, that issue is the families of stroke victims, especially young children, who have no choice but to become full-time carers. This desperately needed to be feature length, exceeding the mere 38 minutes it runs for, but it demonstrates that with the right funding, Connor could rise up to take the place of the ageing Ken Loach.

Rachel — played by Leanne Best —, a single mother living in the North of England, works tirelessly to support her two children. There is little time for introductions however and just a few minutes in she suffers a devastating stroke. The only person by her side is son Sam who is far too young to understand the gravity of what he is seeing and thinks his mum is trying to scare him. Best is sublime in this sequence, painting a horrifically realistic portrait of the real-time effects of a stroke.

The road to recovery is very slow and Rachel finds it difficult to cope initially. Wheelchair-bound and forced to use a tablet to communicate, she is relying on Sam to take care of her. Best continues to excel here, the frustration at her own helplessness is painfully clear. Her daughter Jennifer is resentful in having to take care of her mother, opting to go to a pub with her friends instead.

Sadly the short running time impacts this aspect of the film greatly. Had there been a handful more scenes fuelling the tension between mother and daughter both before and immediately after her stroke, Jennifer’s escape to the pub would have evoked far more emotion. A necessary escape from the stress of being the sudden head of the household rather than the petulance of a selfish young girl.

It is during this time that Rachel has another, smaller, stroke. Thankfully Sam, having been taught by a nurse a few days prior, knew exactly what to do. The awareness of Sam — played by seven-year-old Max Vento — at his young age is astonishing, calmly waiting the five minutes as he was told to before pressing the button for help.

When Jennifer comes home, she discovers that neglecting to care for her mother could have meant losing her entirely. This forces a change in mentality, and she tearfully apologises to her mother. The scenes of Jennifer coming home and of her apologising were fraught with emotion but again suffered in the rush to squeeze an 80-minute story into 40 minutes.

While Best was the standout performance in Cotton Wool, she was not alone in bringing Connor’s thought-provoking vision to life. Having previously worked on his last film Northern Lights, Gemma North and Katie Quinn once more delivered capable performances and Max Vento, at just 6 years old, perfectly encapsulated the innocence of a small child in the face of a traumatising situation.

With his next film, The Wall, already announced, Connor is hardly pausing for air before taking on his next challenge. Following the distinct climb in quality from Northern Lights, it feels only natural that The Wall would see his step up into feature-length filmmaking, a challenge I’m sure he would face with great vigour.

EU: Friend or Foe?

On Friday the 13th of October, the Chancellor Phillip Hammond declared the European Union “the enemy” in an interview with Sky News.

Instantly being criticised online for his term of phrase, the day was an unlucky one for him, I’m sure. This does however beg the question as to how the EU is seen following the Brexit vote last year in June, and whether they are a nasty playmate we are finally getting rid of, or a childhood friend that will be sorely missed.

Looking at the case of Manchester, there was a strong image portrayed of the latter case back in 2016 with 60.4 percent of the city voting to remain in the European Union. This perhaps reflects the many ways in which the city has benefited both directly and indirectly from the EU.

From investing over £10 million in the Tram network to the Sharp project that bore E4’s ‘Fresh Meat’, EU projects bring a predicted £200 million to the local economy.

Both the procrastination gold mine, the Manchester Museum, and the slightly further afield Museum of Science and Industry and the People’s Museum also enjoy significant donations from the EU. Even our very own university has received and continues to receive notable donations from the EU such as the European Regional Development Fund’s donation of £23 million to the National Graphene Institute.

Heating council houses, building some of the city’s most impressive architecture, the EU has spread its aid far and wide across the Northern powerhouse.

Perhaps it was these direct investments that lead the people of Manchester to vote differently to the rest of the Northwest. With nearly 30,000 UK and EU students at the University of Manchester alone, the EU both surrounds this student city and creates the student city — two links that are hard to do away with overnight.

Having benefited at such breath and depth from the EU, Mancunians have a duty to acknowledge that whilst we may be inevitably parting ways with our dear friends, we need to be respectful of a political institution that was truly unique in its scope and achievements. A duty clearly not felt by the Chancellor when he took a somewhat offensive tone when talking about those “on the other side of the negotiating table”.

With any luck, our trusty fleet of lefty Manchester MPs will hold with them their mandate to value the relationship with the EU, and not join in with the deteriorating rhetoric of Cabinet members, calling the Government to account during this life-changing process.

Remember that you can take the Manchester out of the EU, but you can’t take the EU out of the Manchester.

 

Review: Scene Dining

Scene is not your average Indian. The poppadoms upon arrival are the one and only similarity between your bog standard Indian restaurant. From here on in the focus is very much on sharing food — a sort of Indian tapas if you will. While there is a section of the menu devoted to your more standard curry and rice affair, the recommendations all lie on the previous page, the “sharing and street food” collection.

In a fashion similar to Wagamama, dishes will arrive as and when they’re cooked, and for £5-6 per dish from the street food collection one can try a wide range of dishes for a relatively low price. In order to get a real feel for the average quality of dish on offer from Scene, I decided to order one thing from each of the subsections of the street food menu, that is one from the chicken, lamb, fish, vegetarian, and finally the extras sections.

The ajwani king prawns were well cooked and flavoursome, with the flavour of the charcoal they are grilled over coming through well. The chicken 65, described as a streetfood classic in Chennai, was a touch disappointing, amounting to the equivalent of some overcooked and somewhat bland KFC. The lahsen mushrooms were also a little more bland than one would ideally like but still carried some good flavour. The aloo papri chaat was very good, and something that I have never come across before. The bombay aloo was brilliantly spiced and far from the bland affair that they can so often be.

The standout performer has to be the sultan puri roll, however. Described as a dish fit for sultans, this minced meat kofte served in a wrap alongside salad and a brilliant spicy chutney really was outstanding. The meat was soft and delicately spiced and the chutney went with it perfectly; perfectly being a word that I don’t like to throw around lightly!
I did also choose to get one of the curries from the other section of the menu in order to be able to point people in the street food or curry direction.

The Scene handi gosht came highly recommended, but I am afraid that recommendation comes from Scene themselves, and won’t be echoed by myself. It isn’t that it was unpleasant, the sauce was rich and thick and the lamb clearly slow cooked and falling off the bone. If this had been any other normal indian restaurant this curry would come with my seal of approval, the issue is that following on from the fantastic streetfood, the curry didn’t quite live up to the same standards.

Overall, Scene scores highly in the list of Indian restaurants I have tried in Manchester, although the scoring system here is slightly different. The decor is modern and trendy, with a shisha bar taking up the first third of the restaurant. The prices are good for the location and the service was warm and friendly. If you are someone who doesn’t like sharing a curry, and prefer to order your bog standard bhuna and get on with things then this might not be the place for you, but if you enjoy a more convivial dining experience then Scene comes highly recommended.

Review: The Death of Stalin

Armando Iannucci has been on top of political satire for years, casting a boisterous, glinting eye at some of the crudest and most ridiculous aspects of modern government. He now turns his offence to the twentieth century, namely Soviet Russia, yet his casting of deliberately accented British and American actors to occupy the lavish and oppressive USSR keeps reminding us — were they really that different?

Set in the final days of Stalin’s reign, and his subsequent passing, The Death of Stalin features a host of marvellous character actors. They play Stalin’s committee vying with various success, to inherit the Commander-in-Chief’s power. Its main players are Steve Buscemi’s Kruschev, the snivelling, advantageous Secretary, and Simon Russel Beale’s Beria, the Chief of the Secret Police who has more in common with London’s most aggressive bouncer than a Russian police chief.

Introduced in a secret boy’s club in which Stalin’s committee try their hardest to impress with war anecdotes that play like drunken tales and sexual jokes, this committee is hilariously anachronistic.

Though no direct parallels are drawn with modern politicians — at least not overtly — Iannucci’s intent to explore how the tendency for public school boys to go mad with power when given an obscene amount of authority and persuasion over the public is superbly done and consistently funny.

The guffawing and bumbling of Paul Whitehouse, Michael Palin, and Paddy Considine make for quintessentially British humour in a laughably authentic Russian setting. Subtle facial expressions and a naturally conversational back and forth really highlight the comedic strength of the actors cast.

Considine’s role in the film’s cold opening, as Chairman Andreyev overseeing a symphony for which Stalin requires a last minute recording, is particularly dry. It calls to mind the groundwork laid by Monty Python’s Flying Circus, who got away with making fun of Hitler all the way back in 1970. The concept of dragging in the homeless to a re-recording conducted by an old man in a dressing gown and slippers is marvellously Python-esque.

Iannucci is obviously aware of this legacy with the casting of Palin, sweaty and cartoonish as Heimrich Himmler in Python and still endearing here as Vyacheslav Molotov, giving a surprisingly touching, though always witty performance, that will make you seriously consider why he hasn’t featured in a good film for years.

What makes The Death of Stalin the year’s most unique comedy is the anachronistic use of its actors, through an embrace of anachronism rather than a flirtation may have been more in tune with the film’s tone. Intercuts of Soviet cars driving down quite obviously modern motorways are delightfully bizarre but few and far between, and feel disconnected when contrasted with the richly constructed sets that all too earnestly attempt to create the atmosphere of a costume drama.

Perhaps this is why the film’s comedy works so well; everything is competent except its characters. Gorgeous set dressing and vibrant, smoky camerawork, occupied by buffoons posing as fascists works as brilliant absurdism for the most part, but had Iannucci been more willfully ignorant of historical possibilities perhaps some more surreal humour would have poked through when the dialogue begins to fall flat.

Playing with a bigger budget, stripping back Iannucci to his In the Loop days, whose small budget confines US-UK relations during the Iraq war to offices and scruffy boardrooms, may have encouraged some more opportunities to be playful with its setting.

Thankfully all the performances are so contemporarily on the mark — standouts included Jason Isaacs as General Zhukov, providing most of the film’s ridiculous violence, and Paul Whitehouse’s Anastas Mikoyan, whose every line, sadly sparse, is ferreted out with all the working-class annoyance of a tired plumber. It’s difficult to think of a better way to make light of dark subject matter than having sardonic, dry comedians essentially play themselves in traditionally terrifying roles.

On the precipice of being banned in Russia, of course, The Death of Stalin stands triumphant as a testament to the truth that anything can, and should, be satirised. Though its central premise of anachronism doesn’t shake quite enough comedy onto the screen as it perhaps could, its intent is clear and hilarious from the first scene.

Captions of each character and their role could be accused of being spoonfeeding for idiots, but, as one of those idiots, I can happily say that only a passing knowledge of Russian history — and British politics — is required to enjoy this film. The Death of Stalin is charming, rough, and absurd, and absolutely the most deserving comedy of the year so far.

To hear more of Lucas’s thoughts, tune into Take Three on Fuse FM’s Mixcloud

4/5