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Month: September 2011

Craving and Saving 14/9/11

Written by Roisin Dervish-O'Kane on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Craving

Sohane Coat, £1,230, Isabelle Marant

This irresistible double-breasted, wool-blend coat from Parisian designer du jour Isabelle Marant’s Autumn/Winter collection has quite literally embedded itself into my poor impressionable and impoverished mind. The oversized shape, wearable smoky grey hue and simple, mannish detailing make it the perfectly versatile yet eye-wateringly unaffordable winter cover-up.

 

Saving

Tweed Boyfriend Coat, £85, Topshop

Topshop’s simple tweed number may lack the craftsmanship, perfect cut and certain je ne sais quoi of the Marant creation, but it also lacks one thousand, one hundred and forty five pounds of the price tag. Though not exactly cheap, this is a perennial classic, and its borrowed-from-your-boyfriend look will ensure that your autumn/winter aesthetic looks effortlessly on trend. Besides, a great coat is an investment and don’t forget that with your humble library card, you can save ten percent in store, thus rendering your purchase totally justifiable. Honest.

HMV admit to more trading troubles

Written by Scott McEwan on . Posted in News.

The HMV home entertainment group has announced another series of disappointing trading results. In the Interim management statement, chief executive Simon Fox announced that in the 18 weeks up to the start of September total retail sales have declined 21.8%, a figure which considers the impact of the group’s 29 store closures. The summer results arrive on top of the group’s annual financial results published in June showing total group sales falling by 7.4 per cent and pre-tax profits declining 61 per cent from £74m in 2010 to £28.9m in April 2011. As a result, since September 2010, HMVgroup share prices have fallen by almost 90 per cent.

The company, which has 285 stores in the UK, is just one of the high profile cases of businesses failing to compete in an industry with consumer tastes shifting from physical product to digital consumption. CD sales have declined for six consecutive years while digital albums now account for a fifth of all album sales. Digital singles now account for around 99 per cent of all single sales in the UK, predominantly serviced by online music giant I-tunes. Some record labels, such as Mercury Records, which represents popular artists such as U2 and Arcade Fire, have ceased producing CD singles all together due to lack of profitability.

Similarly, Waterstones, the book store which HMVgroup recently sold for £53m, has been struggling to contend with the rise of digital book sales and electronic gadgetry of tablet computers and Amazon’s Kindle. Waterstone’s like for like sales decreased by 3.8 per cent this year, resulting in a dent to their market share.

HMVgroup plans to extend its diversification into the market for portable technology devices and live performance ticketing to cushion the effects of deteriorating sales in physical music and DVDs. Music and visual retail account for 24 and 44 per cent of sales respectively whilst other products such as ticketing and technology now account for 12 per cent of sales, an increase on an 8 per cent share last year. HMV has also launched the rebranded HMV Ritz in Manchester on Whitworth Street.

Despite continuing poor performances and climbing debts, the group has finalised a two year refinancing deal worth £240m.

Theatre City

Written by Andrew Campbell on . Posted in Theatre.

Manchester can make an honest claim to be the theatre capital of the North of England and as a student you are in a great opportunity to take advantage of this. From fantastic new writing to sell-out musicals, Manchester’s theatre scene is flourishing. Here is a very short guide to what is on offer.

The Royal Exchange is Manchester’s most vibrant theatre. Playing host to a stunning in-the-round glass performance space, producing consistently high-quality comedy and drama and innovative new writing, the Royal Exchange is always worth a visit. The Royal Exchange is also very student-friendly. Make sure to look out for the various student offers that are ongoing.

A short tram ride from St. Peter’s Square will take you to Salford Quays and the fantastic Lowry Arts Centre. Just over ten years old, The Lowry hosts a great mix of original and touring productions. The Lowry has the large Lyric and Quays theatres that have hosted everything from Carmen with Opera North to King Lear with the Donmar Warehouse; they also have a studio space for new writing. Ticket prices at The Lowry do vary greatly depending on what you are going to see, although student discounts are almost always available and tickets for the studio are only five pounds.

Had enough of Beckett and Brecht? Want to see Jason Donovan belt out The Sound of Music? Well, you are in luck. The Palace Theatre and Opera House Manchester are part of the huge Ambassador Theatre Group and host touring productions of blockbuster musicals such as Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, recent West End and Broadway hits such as Sister Act and Legally Blonde, as well as the English National Ballet and Elvis impersonators. Tickets for the big productions can be pricy and it is advisable to book early to get the cheap seats.

Manchester’s Universities are also a great place to experience quality theatre, and you don’t even have to leave Oxford Road. The University of Manchester Drama Society, Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre and the Universities of Manchester Gilbert and Sullivan Society are all active in producing theatre for students and the wider public.

Also for those of you who are reluctant to leave Oxford Road, there is also National Theatre Live. This recent innovation means that instead of having to traipse all the way to London to see the National Theatre’s latest hits, all you have to do is drag yourself to the Cornerhouse Cinema and watch them transmitted live on one of their screens. All for not much more than the price of a cinema ticket.

Further a field but still within an hour’s train journey of Manchester there are a host of well-regarded theatres such as the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, the Sheffield Crucible and, once it has been refitted, the Liverpool Everyman. All worth checking out if you get a chance.

Put simply, Manchester is a great theatre city for students. You can see a range of high-quality theatre, within a short distance and at very reasonable prices.

Blogwatch

Written by Roisin Dervish-O'Kane on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

If you like your instant fashion fix shaken up with the monochromatic, moody and unashamedly avant-garde then doppelganger (http://thedoppelganger.tumblr.com) is well worth exploring. Striking editorials from past and present seasons flow seamlessly into images of stunning haute couture, which is captured in meticulous detail.

However, the irresistible allure of this impressive blog is that The Doppelganger’s obvious infatuation with the world of the aesthetic goes far beyond just clothes, and fashion in its tangible, everyday guise.  This eclectic online gallery frames its architect’s mood and inspiration with artistic finesse, often combining images of classic and contemporary painting, sculpture and design interspersed with photography that reveals a healthy appreciation of the nude female form.

So if you like to live your fashionable life a little on the edge or simply appreciate great photography and great breasts, have a peek and enjoy!

 

 

Defeating the stereotype

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Lifestyle.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me since I was made one of the Lifestyle editors for this year what it exactly is that the Lifestyle section covers. Lifestyle is defined, by my very reliable source Google, as the way in which a group lives but I’ve been trying to think a little beyond the realms of internet definitions.

Lifestyles are, more often than not, labelled by age, location or occupation. The typical British lifestyle – as opposed to Spanish – stereotypically involves longer hours and, unfortunately, not a siesta in sight.

Whereas the lifestyle of a student is often ridiculed as typically involving caffeine fuelled pyjama days in front of Jeremy Kyle, in between vodka fuelled nights out at sticky-floored, dark, dingy and questionable venues.

As far as that might be half true for a small percentage of the student population all you have to do is take a closer look up and down Oxford Road, to see that the lifestyles of our students clearly involve a lot more than Loose Women and Bargain Hunt.

From the societies and groups you’re a part of, the campaigns you’re involved with, your studies, events, nights out and what you generally spend your lives doing; we want to hear about it all. From the exciting and unusual to the interesting and the everyday,  get involved and write for Lifestyle by e mailing [email protected] and coming along to one of our weekly section meetings.

Let’s hear it for the boys

Written by Roisin Dervish-O'Kane on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Judging by the throngs of impeccably dressed young men that stroll nonchalantly around campus, sartorial fascination among Manchester students is hardly limited to the supposed ‘fairer sex’. For this reason, we at The Mancunion solemnly swear to reward you dapper dressers by allocating menswear- be it haute couture or high street style, a fair share of our busy column inches. As for all of you in smelly tracksuit bottoms and your school leavers’ hoodies, here’s hoping you’ll have a browse and learn something. After all, as they say, there is no such thing as a selfless good deed.

What better season to start our weekly celebration of men’s style. Freshly cut fashion meat appeared in the form of Emilo Pucci’s and Jonathan Saunders’ respective debut menswear collections and exciting shows emerged from designers A.Hallucination and C/BRUERBERG, who were both awarded the accolade of Vogue’s ‘ones to watch’. Elsewhere in the fabulously intangible world of the high-end fashion factory, girls dressed as boys marched down the runways of everyone from Stella to Chanel.

The ‘mannish’ trend was impossible to ignore on the Autumn/Winter catwalks, and it seems that for the coming months, we all, irrespective of our gender, shall be drawing inspiration from the wardrobes of classically well turned out gents. So keep your peepers peeled and your purse-strings tightened for our upcoming guide to the biggest menswear trends, this season’s key pieces and where to find them. Just remember to do the gentlemanly thing and learn to share your new timeless tailoring or classic winter knits with your wonderful, stylish girlfriends. Equality for all, we say.

Has the Death Knell Sounded for Print Fashion Journalism?

Written by Claudia Canavan on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

As a member of a society firmly ensnared by the internet’s inescapable grasp- complete with fashion blogs, online magazines and instantly updated news sites- the question of the necessity of print journalism is one which is hardly avoidable. The process of assembly and distribution arguably renders a paper such as this hopelessly old fashioned and unable to hold the attention of a student with a phone that acts as a portal to the online world and all of its ‘wonders’.  In an attempt to quash this simplistic view and defend my career path, I point to the views of British Vogue editor and high priestess of our country’s fashion journalists:  Alexandra Shulman.

In the September issue of her esteemed publication, she accepts that magazine’s are largely no longer the medium through which fashion news is transmitted. The blogsphere means that news travels from the ivory towers of the fashion elite to the fingertips of professional and amateur gossip mongers within hours- offering an instant gratification analogous to a sugar high. But, just like a mini Mars bar, it is a moment of snatched pleasure which leaves no genuine sense of satisfaction and may quickly result in a slump.

For it is undisputable that any other form of media communicates the range and depth of talent that a fashion magazine can deliver.  The visual spectacular of photo shoots- showcasing a hub of creativity from photographer and model alike, is shown best in all of its vivid, non- pixalated  glory when expressed via the pages of a tangible piece of media. Rather than digesting a hastily assembled, often poorly written few paragraphs detailing the work of a designer, one can enjoy a full, balanced story crafted by a talented professional. And whilst we on the fashion pages certainly make no claim to possess the means or the experience to successfully emulate the visual and literary feast that is a monthly glossy, we do hope to provide more than the scramble of words and photos that can often be found jostling for attention in the murky waters of the web.

And so, for reading this, may I extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude. You may now turn your attention back to your chosen smartphone.

 

 

 

Welcome/back to Manchester

Written by Roisin Dervish-O'Kane on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Whether you’re a worldly-wise seasoned scholar, fully-naturalised Mancunian or just nervously embarking upon your own journey of academic rigour and twisted self-discovery, we fashionable types at your favourite university publication are here to help you look your very best –whatever you get up to this year in Manchester.

We want to celebrate this city, with its distinctive style and heritage, as well as the iconic individuals it has inspired, nurtured and produced. From Ian Curtis to Agyness Deyn and Henry Holland, the Gallagher brothers to Emmelline Pankhurst, our beloved fashion capital of the North has a famously rich and diverse history, of which you, our achingly hip and stylish student populace, are now a fundamental aspect. So most importantly, we want to celebrate your own substantial fashion know-how and generally show you off a bit.

We shall be bringing you catwalk inspiration, alongside our more affordable interpretations, and boldly venture past the Arndale centre to find you the most exciting and unexplored treasure troves nestled in and around the city. We shall endeavour to come up with some weird and wonderful methods for end-of-loan, below the breadline wardrobe reinvention, and keep you up to date with all the most exciting local fashionable happenings.

Perhaps most importantly, we shall be showcasing your most impressive ensembles for all those nosy fashion fiends among us to ogle and admire. Please accept our sincerest apologies in advance if you are interrogated about your jacket whilst innocently guzzling in the library cafe or snapped all breathless and sweaty (but looking effortlessly chic) on your way to a lecture, we have the best of intentions. So, Manchester’s brightest young things, future icons and all-round sartorial heroes: here’s to one fashionably frugal and seriously stylish year.

‘No one has touched this since the Young Ones’

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in News.

Student life in Manchester inspired two writers to create the new Channel 4 sitcom Fresh Meat.

It airs this week as new students join universities across the country, and was created by Peep Show writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain.

The pair met at Manchester University, and shared a house throughout their time in the city.

Sam Bain recalled his experiences: “It’s such a great time of life, such a ripe area [for comedy], we were surprised no one had revisited this since the Young Ones.”

The series follows an eclectic mix of six “freshers” sharing a house (and occasionally a bed) as they move to Manchester to study, leaving home for the first time.

“It’s that classic scenario when people who may be very different are trapped together,” said Armstrong, “You get that where people who wouldn’t normally even say hello to each other are forced into close proximity.”

Former Manchester student Jack Whitehall plays JP, a public school boy with “an inflated sense of entitlement”, and Joe Thomas (Simon from the Inbetweeners) plays the insecure Kinglsey.

Whitehall said, “Manchester is such a big university that you get all types of people up there. I lived with a guy at university who was basically JP. He was a friend of mine from Eton who I based some of my portrayal on … hopefully he won’t realise.”

Other characters include socially awkward Howard, Josie, who hails from a small Welsh town and is keen to attempt everything that student life has to offer, Oregon, who hides behind a shield of cool whilst secretly terrified of being boring, and Vod, the coolest housemate, who Oregon longs to resemble.

The show was filmed over two months in Manchester and the cast lived in the same apartment building throughout filming, which allowed them, according to Greg McHugh (Howard), to do a lot of “method acting”.

Zawe Ashton, who plays Vod, believes that the comedy could not have been filmed anywhere but Manchester, and said, “Manchester has the student vibe, such a student atmosphere. It was great for doing research for Vod; I was eavesdropping on conversations all over the place. I couldn’t have asked for a more authentic backdrop.”

The series has eight episodes tracking the personal development of the housemates and the increasingly complicated network of relationships within the house.

Fresh Meat begins Wednesday 21st  September at 10pm.

 

Top 5…

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Film.

Right now, all across the country, thousands of first years are arriving at halls, putting up their Che posters and asking themselves if they’ll ever be able to live in the same flat as the Man U fans across the hall. We can’t (contrary to popular opinion) be drunk all the time, so to break the ice we have to be creative. Movies are a great idea, but you might just have to pick them carefully…

 

   –   Das Boot   –

Some of you will think that the best way to get to know your new housemates is by watching Wolfgang Petersen’s art-house masterpiece about some German guys stuck in a U-Boat. It’s not.

 

   –   Oldboy   –

This is a tricky one. Great film show to friends, true. But then, at this early stage, when nicknames are just being forged, you really don’t want to leave yourself open to ‘psycho hammer boy/girl’ (at least try testing the water first with Battle Royale).

 

   –   Marley and Me   –

Your housemates will hate you. No, wait, everyone will hate you.

 

   –   In fact, anything with Jennifer Aniston   –

Jennifer Aniston movies are like a strain of the fresher’s flu virus. Someone in the flat is going to expose you all to one at some point, but no-one’s ever going to thank them for it.

 

   –   Rosemary’s Baby   –

There’s nothing wrong with watching a horror film. But if you put on Polanski’s terrifying classic, you’ll probably end up disturbing your new housemates so badly that they’ll all just go home again

Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Written by Rachel Longworth on . Posted in Film.

Set in the early days of the Cold War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is about lovers and liars, torture and betrayal in a world where nothing is certain; Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John Le Carre’s classic novel makes for a thrilling two hours of espionage immersion. The opening scene ends with bloodshed in Budapest, and we cross to Istanbul where Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) discovers an informant. The suspects have been narrowed to four and it is up to spy veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) to forgo his retirement and identify the mole within MI6.

The cast is top notch. Oldman squares up to Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kathy Burke and Toby Jones, but this superb array of British actors doesn’t detract at all from the film itself. Oldman triumphs in his role; you can see Smiley’s every experience etched onto his grey wrinkled face and tired eyes. He’s certainly no James Bond, and there is no femme fatale in sight, but he’s the quintessential British gent, and remains solid throughout (even after uncovering secrets about his colleagues and his wife).

Tinker Tailor keeps you guessing to the end. Peering through windows and doors, catching the reflection in Smiley’s glasses, it’s as if you become a spy yourself. You’re amidst the action, always speculating – “it’s definitely pug-like Percy (Jones). No that’s too obvious. It would only be interesting if Firth was the mole. Er, is it Smiley himself?” – You’re always being pushed to keep up with the pace. The drab and dreary setting is simply delightful: smoke filled rooms and labyrinthine corridors within the male dominated circus of MI6. This film’s indulgences are not in the paired-down script but in the lavish detail; from the heavy sideburns and topknots to the (many) cigarettes. If nothing else, it will leave you craving a scotch and a smoke.

An intricate chess game of bluff and betrayal across continents, with fantastic attention to detail, Tinker Tailor is tipped to be The King’s Speech of this year. It’s already smashed the Venice Film Festival, and I spy with my little eye that it will be a huge Oscar winner. Check mate!

Society Spotlight: Re:Vision Drug Policy

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by Sarah McCulloch

Re:Vision Drug Policy Manchester is a student society that is now in its third year – we were previously known as Manchester Students for Sensible Drug Policy, but are now affiliated to the Re:Vision Drug Policy Network. We campaign for effective drug policy based in human rights and scientific evidence, rather than moralism and political expediency.

Re:Vision Manchester activists  believe that the current drug laws are harmful rather than helpful, that drugs should be treated as  a health issue rather than a criminal justice matter, and that the drug war criminalises and penalises innocent people, and their communities. In a time of cuts to public services, it is outrageous that the UK spends £13billion a year on trying to prevent people from using drugs. This has had little effect – since heroin was banned in 1971, use has risen by 1000%. Hysterical media reports result in bad laws hastily enacted: mephedrone was banned in 2010 because of tenuous links to the deaths of two teenagers who had taken mephedrone while drinking heavily. The autopsy subsequently deemed that mephedrone had not been responsible for their deaths, and the price of mephedrone has since doubled and is now being primarily sold by criminal gangs instead of recreational users – resulting in another drug in the hands of organised crime whose impurities compromise the health of its users far more than the actual drug itself.

As young people in whose name the drug war is often waged, and who are most often the targets of unfair, selectively enforced laws which do little to prevent harm from drugs, and in many cases increase it, it is vital that we speak out against this and do what we can to promote effective drug policies free from polical bias. A lot of the effort to bring about meaningful drug laws that are based in evidence rather than media headlines is to change the framework of the debate about drugs and how they should be treated.

To this end, we raise awareness of our cause through protests, stalls, film showings, informative talks, social events and anything else we can think of – this term, we are producing a comedic film about drugs and attitudes to drugs, which will be released in September 2011. Because drug law reform can only be achieved nationally, we also support the national organisation by contributing to national projects, such as research, website development, and making publicity materials.

There are many different faces of drug law reform, and so we focus to a large extent on what our membership for that year wishes to do. Because we have a lot of people interested in music, we have held a stall at the last five Pangaeas, and will be at the one in June as well. We have people from virtually every course, including Physics, Theology, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Maths and History. There is no typical Re:Vision Manchester activist, we are men, women, gay, straight, humanities, eps, and everything in between and beyond. You can smoke weed every day or believe that taking drugs is wrong – the important thing is that you believe that our current drug laws harm, rather than help, people.

There is virtually no group in Manchester that we cannot run a joint event with. We have done stuff with Openmedia, the Film Society, the LGBT Society, the Roscoe Occupation, the Disabled Action Network, Cool Runnings, the Drum and Bass Society, RAG, and Manchester Debating Union. If you don’t believe us, try us. 😛

We meet every Thursday at 6pm in the union foyer and have an ace meeting to plan everything that we get up to. If you would like to get involved but aren’t a Manchester student, or shortly won’t be, no fear! Check out our informative website at revisiondrugs.org and contact us to see what you can do for drug law reform.

Society Spotlight: Music Society

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by Nuria Bonet

The University of Manchester’s Music Society mainly aims to provide its members with a large variety of performing opportunities to suit their standard, commitment and tastes.  A large variety of ensembles gives any musician the chance to perform at high level, be it orchestras, choirs or chamber ensembles: Symphony Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, String Orchestra, Chorus, Ad Solem  Chamber Choir, Operas and Musicals, Big Band, Baroque Orchestra.

The society also organises Friday Lunchtime Concerts in which members showcase their talent every few weeks. The Ad Solem Choir has recorded several cd’s and organise concert tours abroad every year. This summer, the Symphony Orchestra will also tour in Europe with concerts in Mannheim and Prague, getting the chance to show itself abroad. You may have guessed it, the Music Society never stops working hard to bring all kinds of music to students. In fact, several of our members are even attempting to pass their Grade 1 in an instrument they’ve never picked up before for charity!

Being a member allows you to join and audition for ensembles. Furthermore, you will also get free entry to all of our concerts, free access to our basement practice rooms, access to the teacher database (student teachers contacts) and an invitation to all of our social events. All this for £15? Bargain!

The Music Society is also all about social occasions and you will be welcomed by a strong and friendly community. We love a pint after rehearsals and more than one after concerts. Traditional events include the three-legged freshers pub-crawl, the Christmas Party and the Summer Ball, which includes its very own awards ceremony and a video with the highlights of the year. We are even active in the most unthinkable area: sports. Who would want to miss the Music Society Annual Rugby Match (usually only played for half an hour due to fitness issues)?

Any student or staff member can join us and you are guaranteed to meet interesting new people. Non-members can still enjoy the many Music Society concerts. Evening concerts are just £3 for students and Lunchtime Concerts are free! Our concerts bring you high quality music without fuss, overpriced tickets or dress code.

Finally, we organise Estival in the second week of June. It is a university music festival taking place in the Martin Harris Center packed with 3 concerts a day and various side performances. We will also have a bar running all day to ensure that you fully enjoy the experience. Stay tuned on www.estival.co.uk!

If you would like to join us, email [email protected]. If you fancy to come along to one of our concerts, visit www.mumusicsociety.co.uk to see what is on.

 

Society Spotlight: Liberal Youth

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by Sarah Harding

Liberal Youth is primarily a campaigning society and we aim to ensure a fair, free and open society in which no one is enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We are the youth and student movement of the Liberal Democrats and have hundreds of branches across the UK. We run campaigns across the university raising awareness of important issues, whilst also running socials and other events in which anyone can get involved.

Lately, we’ve been very active with our campaign ‘Homophobia is Gay,’ which asks the Government to create a direct anti-homophobic policy for our secondary schools. We’ve given talks in local schools, raised awareness with street stalls all over the country and distributed tens of thousands of badges, pencils and postcards to raise the issue on the national agenda.

I’m proud of our campaign to improve the rights of asylum seekers, which coincides with the Liberal Democrat policy, which ended the detention of children in detention centres. The new campaign works with the coalition of charities Still Human Still Here, including Amnesty International, to lobby the Government to improve the lives of asylum seekers including by allowing them to work if their case has not been heard within six months, and proper age assessment of young asylum seekers to ensure no child is ever detained again.

We campaign on ‘Science not Stigma,’ which seeks to overturn the ban on gay men donating blood, as there is no direct scientific evidence to prove any increased level of threat of contaminated blood exists. In a time when blood stocks are low, and we are importing blood from countries who do accept blood from gay men, we believe it is time for the government to show us their evidence or end this horrific and discriminatory ban.

Within the Union, we are very active campaigning for ‘Yes’ in May, which would introduce the Alternative Vote system of voting rather than the current First Past the Post and encouraging students to engage with politics in any way they wish. We seek to increase voter turnout and participation by holding street stalls, offering training sessions and opportunities to talk to us about any issue at any time.

Liberal Youth campaigned hard against the increase in tuition fees. Overall, we think the new payment structure is a vast improvement, but cannot condone the introduction of a market in fees and high-street level interest rates. What this Government is doing for part-time students- who make up 40% of those at University- is a great thing and should have been done a long time ago, and the increasing of the threshold at which Student loans are paid back will put many people’s mind at ease.

We don’t necessarily believe all cuts are bad cuts – we’d love to see a HUGE cut in Bankers bonuses for instance! But we do believe in ensuring that key services, things like schools, hospitals, emergency services and social care, are not hit too hard as the Country battles the deficit. We believe the £180million we pay per day in debt interest alone is too much.

We hold regular meetings on a Tuesday evening at 7.30pm in varying venues and often have social events after our campaigning activities, including coalition curries trips, local pub quizzes, and pub crawls. We also have action afternoons for Local Election campaigns and would love if anyone wanted to join us – you don’t need to be a card carrying Lib Dem to take part

Liberal Youth have also brought a lot of prominent speakers to the University of Manchester including Charles Kennedy MP, the now Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and, later this semester, Chris Huhne MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. To find out more about any of these events please contact the society chair on [email protected].

Getting involved with Liberal Youth couldn’t be easier, simply joining our Facebook group will let you know about all the latest events and news. Alternatively, contact us on [email protected] to get involved.

 

Society Spotlight: Horse Racing

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by Claire Henderson

The Manchester University Horse Racing Society is a brand new society, set up just last year to bring together Manchester students who enjoy racing and everything that comes with it. The society aims to “provide an inexpensive, social and fun introduction to racing, with opportunities to meet new people, see new places, and gain an interest that could stick with you for life.” With contacts within the Horse Racing Industry and a relationship with Racing For Change, a company aimed at encouraging a wider participation in horseracing, the club organises trips to local racecourses and trainer’s yards, all at a fraction of the cost.

Horse racing often receives bad press deeming it expensive, elitist and exclusive. The Manchester Horse Racing Society hopes to completely dispel these rumours by encouraging everyone to come along and enjoy a fantastic, exciting and fun day out.  You don’t need a tweed cap or feathered hat to come along and feel the rush as your horse crosses the finish line (or falls at the first hurdle).

The most recent trip was to Haydock Park Racecourse on the 19th February to see the Grand National Trail (formerly the Gold Cup). It was quite a sight to see 30-odd tweed-clad student race goers on the steps of the union.  Thanks to good contacts, and a talented society president, we soon piled onto the bus, which had been negotiated into the £10 price for the whole day and were on our way.

After having the mechanics of betting explained to the new girls by some bemused looking punters and more experienced society members, many of us set our hopes on whatever had the most interesting name or the prettiest face. This highly hopeful betting was followed by the necessary screams and squeals as horses ran well, badly, or were just pipped at the post.  While several pints were purchased with winnings, most of us just had to drown our sorrows and hope that the next race would be better. The  free pie and a pint was certainly welcome in the chilly wind, warming us all up before heading back to see how our chosen horses were getting on (losing mostly).

As someone pretty new to racing, it was a really thrilling day with plenty of camaraderie no matter how your horses are doing on the track. It also offered a great opportunity for the fashion-centred among us to see some wonderful and some rather questionable outfits. It should be said that some race goers seemed to have forgotten that it was February and that no matter how pretty your dress is, if it leaves 50% of your skin bare, you will be very very cold.

With the club only in its infancy, we are actively looking to increase membership, and everyone is welcome. The race trips are a great day out whether you are a seasoned punter, or just fancy having a flutter and seeing the fashion – and of course the horses. Other events include exclusive tours of top trainer’s yards where you can see what goes on behind the scenes of preparing a racehorse for the track.  Also in the pipeline are talks from racing experts and some fun society nights out.

Join us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manchester-Uni-Horse-Racing-Society/102221513175665#!/pages/Manchester-Uni-Horse-Racing-Society/102221513175665

More information on horse racing and how you can get involved can be found at http://www.lovetheraces.com/students/

Society Spotlight: Bangladesh students

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by Shankhachur Roy

Bangladesh Students’ Society (BSS) at the University of Manchester is one of the biggest Bangladeshi student bodies in the UK. The society is dedicated to the welfare of Bangladeshi students in order to enhance the cultural spirit. It is active in promoting Bangladeshi cultural heritage in the UK and building cultural bridges by welcoming participation of students of other cultural or national backgrounds.

The Bangladesh Students Society will be observing the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) and Martyr’s Day of Bangladesh on 21st February 2011 at 4pm in UMSU, Oxford road. Similarly to last year, there will be a discussion and a small cultural program, followed by a debate competition. The chief guest of the program will be the HE Assistant High Commissioner of the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK. In addition, Jocelyn Wyburd, Executive Director of the Manchester University Language Centre, will be present among the speakers. The speakers will have a discussion on the history and significance of the day along with this year’s UNESCO theme of IMLD which is ‘The information and communication technologies for the safeguarding and promotion of languages and linguistic diversity.’

The BSS event will start with placing garland in front of Shaheed Minar (a replica of the original memorial in Dhaka) that symbolizes the day. Throughout the day Bangladeshi students will be wearing a badge to commemorate the Martyr’s day. Later in the event, the cultural part will include a stage drama, a recitation of poem and a language oriented competition involving the audience. The debate competition will be on the topic ‘‘Recognizing Indigenous languages and considering use of major indigenous languages along with the mainstream language’’. The event will conclude with light refreshments.

At present, BSS is one of the most vibrant societies. This year society’s activities involved Fresher’s receptions in which the new logo of the society was unveiled, PS3 FIFA 2010 tournament, Eid get together (bring & share food), Celebration of Victory day of Bangladesh in which the new website (http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/bss/) was opened. Upcoming events are Cricket tournament with other societies, annual publication (Trimatra), Photography competition, Day trip & BBQ and end of the year celebration. The society also participated in Barnardo’s food festival for fundraising and will involve in Global week and Manchester RAG week. The dynamism of BSS activities with sincere participation of its members led to the achievement of Silver award from UMSU.

To give a little background to the International Language day and Martyrs’ Day, in the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1999, The International Mother Language Day was announced. It has been observed yearly since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. It originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day or Language Martyrs Day which is a national day of Bangladesh to honour sacrifices to protect Bengali as a national language during the Pakistani regime in 1952. Protesters were killed by police on 21st February, 1952 during a procession against a Pakistan government’s decision of establishing Urdu (a minority language) as national language. Following the incident the movement spread to the entire province and afterwards the government relented and declared Bangla (Bengali) equal status as a national language. This movement is thought to have sown the seed of the movement for the independence that resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

With nearly 230 million total speakers, Bengali is one of the most spoken languages (ranking sixth as per Encarta 2007) in the world. Bengali is the national and official language of Bangladesh. It is also native language of Indian state of West Bengal & Tripura and one of the official languages of the African nation Sierra Leone.

If you’d like to get involved with the Bangladeshi Students’ Society, or would like to find out more about the IMLD event please contact [email protected] or find the event at www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177115912333208.

 

 

 

Society Spotlight: Choir and Orchestra

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

Written by GRAHAM HEAVEN

It’s the start of semester 2 and maybe you’re starting to think “I wish I’d joined a society…” or perhaps you’re starting to miss your choir or orchestra you used to go to when you were at school. Now is the perfect time to join The Universities of Manchester Choir And Orchestra Society, CAOS (yes, pronounced like chaos!).

Starting university in my first year I knew that I would love to be able to play my viola in an orchestra but, without being grade 8 and experienced in auditions, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to find a society suited to me. That was before I stumbled across CAOS at the students fair. Anyone is welcome to join CAOS; we don’t hold auditions and our members include students from MMU as well as the University of Manchester and also non-students. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this means we can’t put on a great show. With our dedicated members, diligent committee and outstanding conductors we always manage to give a fantastic performance. Just before the Christmas holiday we packed out Manchester Cathedral and wowed our audience with our repertoire including Bernsteins’ Chichester Psalms and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas carols finishing with the orchestra playing Holst’s magical Planets suite.

This semester in the choir we’re going to be performing Carl Orffs’ incredible Carmina Burana and our orchestra’s repertoire is going to include the Fellowship of the Ring suite. If you think you’d like to spend an evening a week rehearsing these then CAOS is the society for you. We rehearse every Tuesday in the Burlington Rooms (just to the right of the university library entrance) with choir 6-8pm and orchestra 8.15-10.15pm. So if you’re really hardcore you can join both and come for the full 4 hour rehearsal (my challenge to myself this semester!).

But rehearsals and concerts is only one face of CAOS. If you become a member, expect to receive weekly emails about upcoming society meals, pub crawls, quizzes, and (most exciting of all) the yearly residential. This tradition started last year with our weekend trip to Anglesey which is now officially my favourite university experience to date. A Top Gear style race to Wales, playing ‘werewolf’ in a massive field, a goat named Arthur, getting lost in Holyhead whilst flyering, singing around a beach fire in the dead of night, and, of course, our end of weekend concert are just some of the memories of the trip I will never forget.

This March we’re going to be going to Much Wenlock, Shropshire with our concert at the end of the weekend in Shrewsbury. We’re planning on playing and singing pieces from our Easter concert, allowing less time for rehearsals and more time for relaxing and having fun. In all honesty I cannot recommend this trip enough.

So if think you might want to join a choir or orchestra (or both!) this semester why not come along to one of our Tuesday rehearsals (Burlington rooms, choir 6-8pm, orchestra 8.15-10.15pm) and experience the chaos that is CAOS! Remember all are welcome to join CAOS and we are a non-audition society. Don’t worry if you’ve missed a few weeks, you’ll catch up in no time. For any extra information you can access the CAOS website at www.caos.man.ac.uk, join the CAOS group on Facebook (and ‘attend’ our residential), or email our friendly committee on [email protected].

Society Spotlight: Gardening and Permaculture

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Societies.

We’re all increasingly aware of where our food is from and how it has been grown as it becomes clearer that many aspects of the current food system are unsustainable. Food can travel thousands of miles from plot to plate, causing irreparable damage to our environment. These are facts we certainly can’t ignore, but in our busy lives where we sometimes can’t help but opt for convenience over seeking out local and sustainable food sources, it can seem difficult to do your part to help.

This is where the Gardening and Permaculture Society comes in. Through promoting their values of sustainable living and supporting local food sources, they aim to take practical steps against climate change by growing some of their own food and finding new ways to look after, rather than damage, the environment. It’s also a chance to get back to nature whilst living in the urban sprawl of Manchester, a welcome opportunity for anyone tired of the hustle bustle of city life.

GAPs hold regular work days on their allotment, which is just 15 minutes from Fallowfield, and when I visit them on a chilly Sunday morning they are collecting the last of their spoils of the season including carrots, chard, jerusalem artichokes and cabbage. As we are approaching the end of term they are clearing up the plot, closing it down for winter so that it’s ready to re-plant come the new year. They teach themselves as they go, helping each other out and reaping the rewards. The vegetables they harvest, they either eat together on the allotment or share out to be cooked at home. We all know it can be pricey to keep yourself well fed, and so feeding yourself in this sustainable and cheap way seems sensible and far more rewarding than raiding the aisles in your local supermarket. As well as learning on the job, they also arrange courses where they explain the basics of permaculture, and how to bring its design elements into your own spaces, so there’s plenty of scope to learn new skills.

For those out there who don’t know what the term ‘permaculture’ means (I certainly didn’t) it is a combination of the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture.’ It promotes sustainable land use, creating stable and productive systems which provide for human needs whilst respecting the environment. GAPs often puts on film nights, showing films about the global food system and sustainable living to encourage more people to think hard about the impact their lives have on a wider scale. The nights are a chance to get together to learn more about permaculture, as well as being a good chance to unwind with a pint!

In addition to working on their own allotment, they also get involved in other local community ventures, such as fundraising for ‘Food Not Bombs’ who are a group who share free, hot vegetarians meals with the hungry, combatting the massive scale of national food waste by cooking up donations from local shops and protesting against war, poverty and the destruction of the environment. Further afield, they also arrange weekends away, such as a tree planting weekend in Hebden Bridge with the organisation Treesponsibility who aim to replenish the landscape of Yorkshire and Lancashire, providing natural habitats for wildlife as well as food and livelihoods for locals.

There’s something for everyone, whether you’d like to learn more about living sustainably or you’d like to muck in on the allotment. So if you’re interested in getting involved, or simply finding out more, then find them on Facebook or drop them an email at [email protected]. They welcome anyone of any level of ability, and no experience is necessary.

Uncovered: a Guide to Manchester city centre

Written by Andrew Williams on . Posted in News.

“There’s nothing to do in Manchester,” proclaimed football’s most divisive hero/superbrat/mercenary (delete as appropriate) at the start of the summer. “There are two restaurants and everything is small… you can’t go anywhere.”

Not content with a to-die-for combination of undeniable talent and an astronomical pay packet – to top it all, Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has been thoroughly unimpressed by the astonishing plethora of entertainment on offer in a city that the New York Times recently included in its list of ’41 Places to Go in 2011’.

There is, it seems, only one logical explanation behind the Argentine’s incredulity. Tevez – an obscenely wealthy footballer firmly detached from student reality – has clearly not ventured far enough beyond the comforts of his cosy Cheshire hideaway to experience all that the heart of Manchester has to offer. He might be the fussiest man in the country.

Put simply, students who get the most out of the ‘Manchester experience’ excel where Tevez has fallen short; for all that a packed Students’ Union, a lively campus and a frenetic Fallowfield have to offer, we could compile a veritable dossier on all of the things that you would miss out on by failing to explore one of the world’s great city centres.

Piccadilly Gardens is, perhaps, the epicentre of Manchester; the position from which a truly 21st Century city sprawls to take in the locations of some of the best days and nights out you are likely to find anywhere. A hustling, bustling hive of activity, the square is bordered on one side by a never-ending stream of buses – a hugely convenient way of getting home at the end of a long night on the tiles. At the centre, a set of geyser-like fountains provide the focal point for many a Mancunian child on that rarest of occasions, a balmy summer day.

Turn around, and you find yourself bounded by a row of trendy bars and restaurants, including the lively KRO Bar (one of seven in the city and the perfect location for the adventurous to sample Scandinavian cuisine, washed down with cold Danish beer). Searching for those last few accessories to top of your latest fancy dress effort, or simply hankering after some cheap retail therapy? An enormous Primark stands imposingly at the top of the high street on the opposite side of the square to KRO.

A 60-second walk down Market Street and you’ll find yourself at the entrance to Manchester’s Arndale Centre, the UK’s largest inner-city shopping centre providing a home to over 240 shops. If you don’t fancy an arduous bus journey to the brilliant (but out-of-town) Trafford Centre, the Arndale is markedly less hectic and equally well-disposed to you blowing your student loan in the first week of October.

Down past the bottom of Market Street, and outside the far entrance to the Arndale, lies Exchange Square – home to upmarket department stores Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, as well as the ‘Wheel of Manchester’. The wheel, our not unimpressive answer to the London Eye, stands just thirty seconds away from the Printworks. “A buzzing, state of the art entertainment complex” boasting an ODEON cinema alongside several restaurants and clubs, it is perhaps most notable for housing Tiger Tiger, home to Wednesday’s infamous AU Social.

For those who are less enthused by the bright lights of commercialism and consumerism, the effervescent Northern Quarter emanates from Piccadilly in an altogether different direction. Described as “a centre of alternative and bohemian culture,” this fascinating collection of entwined streets was recently transformed into 1940s New York for the filming of summer blockbuster Captain America.

Like most parts of Manchester city centre, the Northern Quarter contains more bars than you can shake a proverbial stick at – but it is the diversity of distractions on offer here that marks the area out as unique. Highlights include the legendary Band on the Wall, arguably the best live music venue around; the uniquely chilled out atmosphere of Matt and Phreds, a live jazz bar; and, if you fancy a laugh, visit the Frog and Bucket comedy club (Monday’s ‘Beat the Frog’, an open mic competition showcasing some of the best new acts around, is a particular treat).

Meanwhile, Afflecks lives up to its’ self-styled billing as an “emporium of eclecticism”. From fancy dress to soap, candy to tattoos, nowhere in Manchester are you more likely to encounter the weird and wonderful than on a trip to this most unusual of takes on the traditional shopping centre.

On an altogether different note, Deansgate lies a short walk to the west of Piccadilly Gardens. A long, straight road lined with large high streets stores and – yes, you guessed it – even more bars and restaurants, the real attraction of the area is Deansgate Locks, to be found at the very end of the straight mile. Beautifully located right by the water, it is home to the enormous bar/club Revolution (the venue for Monday’s night consistently sold-out Pout), amongst others. Nights out in Deansgate rarely, if ever, disappoint.

Unfortunately, the length of this piece precludes me from even beginning to cover the vast array of entertainment of offer in this vibrant cauldron of a city. It is alleged that there is a bar in Manchester for every single day of the year – though I suspect there might be even more than a meagre 365.

The single most important piece of advice I could give to this years’ cohort of freshers, therefore, is as follows; don’t settle for the same old nights out, week after week after week. As good as they are, there is so much more to see and do beyond going to Pout every Monday and Sankeys every Thursday – and those nights when you do something a little bit different might very well be the making of your time at Manchester.

Best of the Rest

Oxford Road’s Cornerhouse, with its winning combination of independent British filmmaking and blockbuster screenings, is the best place in the city to catch the film of the moment.

Lying inconspicuously at the bottom of a flight of stairs on one side of Oxford Road, converted public toilet The Temple is one of Manchester’s smallest bars and favourite of musicians including Elbow lead singer Guy Garvey. It’s a tight squeeze down there but it’s also a must see!

If you feel like throwing caution to the wind – and spying on some footballers in the process – Manchester 235 Casino is a great way to end any night. Just make sure you don’t take your bank card!

And finally, a seasonal suggestion. Manchester boasts the UK’s best Christmas Market, serving up a diverse collection of stalls and copious amounts of obligatory mulled wine. Make sure you get down to Albert Square (just a stone’s throw from Market Street) from 17 November.