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Month: December 2019

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019 preview

Written by tomreynolds on . Posted in Sport.

On 15 December, 10,000 people will gather in the sparkling new P&J Arena in Aberdeen to witness the Sport’s Personality of the Year awards 2019. It will be hosted by household names Gary Lineker and Gabby Logan and feature performances from musical big shots Lewis Capaldi and Emeli Sande.

Athletics stars Dina Asher-Smith and Katrina Johnson-Thompson, cricketer Ben Stokes, Formula one driver Lewis Hamilton, Wales rugby player Alun Wyn-Jones, and footballer Raheem Sterling are all in contention for the main award. 

Sprinter Asher-Smith set British records and won a gold and two silver medals at the World Athletics Championships this year. Her 2019 performance has solidified Asher-Smith’s reputation as one of Britain’s great sprinters by the young age of 23.

Meanwhile, Katrina Johnson-Thompson gave the sixth-best ever performance in the heptathlon, smashing the British record at the same championships. She has had an incredible few years, having doubted herself and questioning leaving athletics after an underwhelming performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Johnson-Thompson’s return to the top has required a great deal of resilience.

Lewis Hamilton has had a fantastic 2019, having won three world championship titles in a row. This year’s title was his sixth overall, putting him just one behind all-time record holder Michael Schumacher. This year he won his sixth grand slam, and he currently holds the record for the most career points in the world championship.

2019 was an exceptional year for the Wales Rugby team. It began with a grand slam victory in the Six Nations, saw the team rise to number one in the world rankings, and included a heroic world cup campaign which ended with an excruciating 16-19 defeat to South Africa in the semi-finals. The captain Alun Wyn Jones put the most tackles in the world cup (79) and became Wales’ most capped player ever.

Raheem Sterling has had a great 2019 in terms of goals and assists and the domestic treble he helped Manchester City win, but also by winning awards such as the PFA Young Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association Player of the Year. However, his role of the pitch as a leading spokesperson on issues such as racism and the media in football have transformed him into a true role model. 

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has excelled in 2019. He played an instrumental role in the sides’ World Cup Victory. This included a man of the match performance in a nail-biting final against New Zealand, Stokes hit two sixes in the final over and batted in the Super Over with Jos Butler to help guide England towards victory. This was not enough for Stokes in one summer though as he was heralded for his performance in the drawn Ashes series. His performance at Headingley in the third test was remarkable, with his 135 runs being described as one of the greatest innings ever by an English batsman.

All of these outstanding achievements by the six British athletes will make it hard to pick a winner, but Stokes has been made the bookies favourite to win the main award. 

It is hard to know exactly what the nomination panel are looking for, though, when they decide who should be the six athletes up for the award. Is the award purely based on sporting achievement, or is there an element of the individual’s personality involved?

If it is a question of achievement in sport, it might be fair to have included boxer Tyson Fury in the shortlist in 2018. Indeed, after his fight against Deontay Wilder, he has been ranked by the Ring as the best active heavyweight boxer in the world and is in contention to win another fighter of the year award.

However, if the award is based on personality it would seem fair to exclude the heavyweight from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year competition, as he has a history of spewing homophobic, anti-semitic and sexist comments. 

So it seems that personality does in-fact play a role in the decisions of the nomination panel. It is therefore strange that they decided to put Ben Stokes forward for the award. Last year the cricketer was charged with bringing the game into disrepute after he was involved in a brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol. Stokes punched two men in the early hours of the morning on the 25th of September 2018, knocking one of them out. 

If Stokes were to win, would it not be unfair to the other athletes who have used their time off the pitch or track in a better way, such as Sterling who has taken on racists, or Hamilton who has promoted environmentalism (albeit ironically coming from a racing driver). 

It will be interesting to see who wins this year’s Sports Personality of the Year, and ultimately it is up to the public who decides who takes home the award.

It is not the only award given on the evening, though, as other awards such as the Unsung Hero Award are up for grabs. Previous winners have included Kirsty Ewen, who promoted the improvement of mental health through swimming, Marcellus Baz who offered free boxing lessons to hundreds of children in Nottingham, and Val Hanover who worked for 30 years organising Special Olympics for thousands of people with learning difficulties in Shropshire. 

Nominations have now closed for the Unsung Hero award; hopefully we will hear another uplifting story of someone going above and beyond in their community and receiving the recognition they deserve.

Photo: Jess Foster

Live Review: YONAKA at Academy 2

Written by Jess Foster on . Posted in Music.

The first time I experienced YONAKA live was at Leeds Festival in 2017, during a 12pm slot at the Festival Republic stage where they played to around 15 people.

At that gig, lead singer Theresa Jarvis strutted around the stage, just as she does now, and I knew from that moment that they were destined for great things. Two years later, YONAKA fulfilled my prediction and performed an explosive set for a packed-out Academy 2.

Photo: Jess Foster
Photo: Jess Foster

Opening the night was Rusalka, followed by Zuzu who played a great set of her indie rock hits. Donned in an incredibly sparkly attire, Zuzu and her loveable Scouse accent entertained the stage with her most popular tracks, such as ‘Get Off’ and ‘All Good’. The compatibility of Zuzu as a support slot for YONAKA can be questioned, as the music of the latter is incredibly heavy and Zuzu provides a more feel-good, summery vibe. However, every band of the night was female-fronted, which truly matched the empowering nature of YONAKA’s music.

The beginning riff of ‘Punch Bag’ began as Theresa Jarvis bounded onto the stage with her electric blue hair in pigtails. She spent a lot of the performance talking to and inspiring her audience, showing appreciation to everyone who had supported them and bought a ticket. Following on with ‘Awake’, formerly known as ‘Ignorance’, this was the only track from their earlier music that made it onto the set list. Understandably, it was a tour to promote the debut album, Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, but one cannot help but reminisce about the tracks from their Heavy EP. I do feel like YONAKA’s newer music is more in the pop genre, supported by the chant-like choruses of ‘Rockstar’. Either way, they are fantastic, but I do miss the heavier sounds and rap-like vocals of their older tracks.

Jarvis was truly in awe of her audience during ‘Lose Our Heads’, putting out the mic to the front row and listening to their lyrics being sang back to them. The undeniable connection and friendship between the band members was evident and heightened the visual experience as Jarvis and her band mates screamed into each other’s faces. This atmosphere continued into ‘Creature’, as she explained that “it is about the messy side of love… I can be a bitch but I can also be the best person in the world”. Another highlight was an acoustic version of the beautiful ‘Guilty (For Your Love)’, where it was simply Jarvis’ stunning vocal accompanied by guitarist George Edwards.

Photo: Jess Foster
Photo: Jess Foster

During the performance of the title track of their record, Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, the band spoke openly about mental health and the meaning behind the track. The audience were encouraged “to speak out if you are struggling”, because “you are so much more powerful than you think”. I’m sure this touched many people in the crowd, and I love the personal spin that YONAKA put on their performances. The explosive, energetic atmosphere returned when the band finished with ‘Fired Up’, ‘Teach Me to Fight’, and the ever-powerful ‘F.W.T.B’. The final track was dedicated to everyone in the audience, and in a rather daring move, Edwards waded across the crowd to the sound desk with guitar in tow and asked for the biggest mosh-pit they had ever seen.

YONAKA’s visual performance is unmatched, and their music becomes even more empowering when you witness the energetic dancing, audience interaction and the overall bad-ass nature of their shows. It seems that they were always meant to be on a big stage.

8/10.

photo:Nathan Dumlao @Unsplash

It’s time to spill the tea on coffee

Written by canselhashim on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Did you know that coffee is the second most traded commodity on Earth after oil? Yes, this is right. The estimated global consumption of caffeine per day is 300 tones, making it the second most popular beverage in the world after tea.

We’ve spilled the tea on Britain’s tea addiction, but what about our reliance coffee?

Considering its well-known psychoactive effects on the brain, it is no surprise that coffee is also the most consumed drink among students, particularly during exam periods. With January exams around the corner, this article is dedicated to this caffeinated beverage that so many rely on.

Adenosine is an endogenous substance, one that originates in our bodies, which slows down the brain activity by binding to the adenosine receptors found on neurons. This molecule is responsible for the tiredness we feel due to lack of sleep or energy.

Caffeine, on the other hand, is a substance that is structurally similar to adenosine but with opposite effects on the brain, it induces complete alertness and improves our focus. Upon entering the body, caffeine molecules rapidly rush to the brain, compete with adenosine molecules and bind to these receptors resulting in decreased levels of adenosine. This biological process explains the rise of energy after drinking a cup of black coffee.

Additionally, caffeine is known to increase the levels of dopamine, also known as the ‘reward’ hormone. As a result, drinking a cup of coffee is enough to increase heart rate and blood pressure, as well as boosting your mood. However, these energising actions of coffee come with a cost. The more you drink, the more adenosine receptors your brain cells produce, so over time your body will need more coffee to get the same effect of alertness and response. The addictive effect of caffeine is actually more scientifically accurate to call a caffeine dependence.

But how much coffee is enough to produce these addictive effects and is it possible to overdose on caffeine?

First of all, it is hard to determine the exact dose of caffeine that will produce physical dependence in individuals as everyone has a different genetic predisposition to it. However, a bit of maths can help us decide how much coffee we need and want.

We know that one shot of espresso contains 212 mg of caffeine and that the half-life of caffeine is 5-6 hours. This means that the effects caused by a shot of espresso take between 10 to 12 hours to diminish completely. However, due to the significant decrease in effects after 5-6 hours of drinking coffee, many of us would enjoy a second cup of during the day. So, it could be suggested that 2 to 3 cups of coffee gives us the optimal amount of caffeine to keep us wide awake throughout the day, although it shouldn’t be necessary to rely on this to do so. Anything more than this amount is likely to cause a physical dependence along with temporary insomnia and dehydration. To our relief, it is practically impossible to overdose on coffee as the lethal dose of caffeine is 150 mg/kg, which means that a 70 kg adult would need to consume 10,500 mg of caffeine at once to overdose. That’s 25 Americanos or 50 Lattes!

Experts say that drinking coffee first thing in the morning may not be the best time. This is due to the fact that caffeine interferes with the stress hormones in the blood which is naturally high in the mornings. The combination of cortisol and caffeine may cause more tiredness throughout the day, so instead dietitians have suggested that the best time to drink a coffee is 2 to 3 hours after waking up. Additionally, studies have shown that having a cup of coffee before sleeping for a short period of time significantly enhances the effect of the caffeine and is sometimes referred to as a ‘coffee nap’.

The key to healthy coffee and caffeine consumption is know understand and know how your body responds to it, especially during intense periods of stress, such as exams, when you might be inclined to rely on the drink too much.

Crazy Pedro’s Christmas Pizza: Is it a step too far?

Written by Elena Meritxell Bradley on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Recently I received an email hyping up the release of Crazy Pedro’s new Christmas Pizza.

I haven’t tried this yet, but feel like this information needs to be disseminated to all you foodies out there who want to try the most bizarre pizza to ever grace Manchester: the ‘Pie Hard’.

Named after a ‘Christmas Film’ of much contention (Is it a Christmas film?), the ‘Pie Hard’ combines many of our favourite Christmas flavours. Together. On one pizza.

Now you’re probably thinking: stuffing? Turkey? Pigs in blankets? The usual? You’d be very wrong.

Pie Hard. Photo: Crazy Pedros.

Think mince pies. Think brandy cream and custard. This pizza could literally stop the beating heart of the pizza purists out there. I can imagine Italian Nonnas being sent to an early grave with this one…

The ‘Pie-Hard’ is “a festive pizza like no other made with custard, mozzarella cheese, mince pie, whiskey cream and cranberry sauce”.  According to Crazy Pedro’s: “One taste of Pie Hard and you’ll be skipping down the street shouting yippee-ki-yay at the top of your lungs”.

Merry Christmas.

Photo: Bruce @ Commons

Live Review: Mahalia at the Albert Hall

Written by issykhayal on . Posted in Music.

Following the release of her debut album Love and Compromise, the up-coming artist Mahalia gifted us with a tour of her exhibiting her wonderful talents.

On the 21st of November, she performed at Albert Hall, Manchester to a crowd of mainly female fans who were there for an evening of empowerment and to sing their hearts out. She kicked the concert off with coming on ten minutes earlier than expected; opening with, expectedly, her first song on the album ‘Hide Out’. This was followed by ‘Do Not Disturb’, one of Mahalia’s extremely popular singles released prior to her album with almost twelve million listens on Spotify, making the audience very excited for the set ahead of them.

“For those of you have seen me live before, you know I’m a talker.” I couldn’t have phrased it better myself. She told us about how she had tonsillitis, however made it clear she didn’t believe cancelling the show was an option for her. As someone who has seen her before, the tonsillitis did by no means affect her voice. She carried an incredibly soulful and passionate performance despite her illness.

Before almost every song, Mahalia provided an anecdote of her inspiration behind writing it; there were no boundaries or secrets between her and the audience. She even mentioned at one point that she was annoyed her stage wasn’t close enough to the front of the audience. This added an incredibly wholesome and personal vibe to the evening and at one point an audience member was ill and she took her backstage, stopping mid-way through a song.

One thing I noticed was how the majority of her anecdotes were about how boys had mistreated her. She was telling us ways to stand up against men which was greatly received by all the women in the crowd. Although the majority of her listeners are female, there was still a significant amount of male audience members which she potentially could have addressed a bit more. It did feel like a slight attack on them, instead.

Mahalia played all of her hits, including ‘Sober’ and ‘17’ and through the encore performed her most well known and loved song ‘I Wish I Missed My Ex’ which was the perfect way to end her concert. Her vocals were outstanding and smooth, she was confident and sounded just like she does in her audios.

Ending on a positive note, which is how I felt after leaving Albert Hall, Mahalia is a sensational performer and really knows how to connect with the audience. She is a great role model and is doing very well for herself at the tender age of 21.

8/10

Opinion: Amazon Prime is the future of football

Written by Iwan Hopkins on . Posted in Sport.

Admittedly, that is quite a bold statement to make after only three days of streaming. However, after seeing Amazon’s rival to Sky Sports and BT Sport, I think it is now impossible to deny that the future of the beautiful game is online.

Though it seemed ambitious at first, they have successfully shown every mid-week game without so much as a hiccup. Wednesday night’s lineup was the heaviest, with Amazon Prime subscribers being treated to a choice of six live games, including some real crackers.

Though the choice of games was outstanding, it is only really possible to watch one at a time. Well, Amazon thought of this too. Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur and the Merseyside derby were both key fixtures, bound to attract a lot of viewers.

Jeff Bezos’ company got around this dilemma by opting to show the games in a staggered state. While the United fixture kicked off at 7:30 pm, the Scouse sides did not take to the field until 8:15 pm. This allowed viewers to view their preferred match, as well as half of the other big game.

Another new feature in Amazon’s streaming service was the introduction of ‘Stadium FX’, allowing users to immerse themselves in the crowd by disabling the commentators’ opinions. This would be a God-send for BT Sport’s games, where we are often ‘blessed’ with the presence of Robbie Savage.

Amazon have also utilised Spidercams throughout their coverage. Though we have been shown these before in rugby and cricket, the technology has rarely made its way to football. They give a bird’s eye view of all the action which, in my opinion, is a very nice new addition.

However, their most impressive feature is Amazon Prime’s very own ‘X-Ray’. Though this has been used through their online streaming service for television series and films, it brings something truly new to sport. It allows viewers to follow live stats and line-ups, and even view key highlights while the game is going on.

Following Bezos’ success in broadcasting the ten mid-week Premier League games, I think it is difficult to argue with the views of Simon Jordan. Live on talkSPORT, he urged the English FA to make the Premier League into the ‘Netflix of football,’ by introducing their own streaming service.

He suggests a fee of “£9 a month” to access all games across the top tier of English football. While this may seem a financial absurdity for the Premier League given that current subscription can cost “£75 or £80 a month,” it would certainly see a plummet in the number of illegal streams if the game was more accessible.

Though this brings up a dilemma which has been present in England for a long time. How can streaming services such as Amazon or a hypothetical Premier League alternative, who intend to offer all matches, survive with the current 3 pm blanket ban?

Answer: they can’t.

So seemingly, the obvious answer is to remove the ban. However, this is in place for a reason, and without it, many teams would struggle to attract supporters to their ground on a Saturday afternoon.

Should the many fans who cannot travel to watch their team suffer, while the lucky few thrive? It is certainly a debate to be had.

Whitney Live at Albert Hall; Photo: Cameron Taylor

Live Review: Whitney at the Albert Hall

Written by Cameron Taylor on . Posted in Music.

Whitney might just be the most endearing band touring right now. The Chicago band’s music is delicate without being flimsy; the sort of music you’d be able to confidently put on in front of your partner’s parents as you meet them for the first time and are desperately trying to impress them. The band is also perhaps one of the most underrated in the scene currently — maybe it’s their mellow demeanor that is keeping them under the radar.

Nonetheless, with the release of their sophomore album, Forever Turned Around, this past August  (one of this year’s best album’s if you’ve not heard it yet) the band strengthened an already impressive catalogue of music, and given this, I was excited to see what sort of a live show they could bring to the Albert Hall. I had fears about the level of energy they would be able to create, but those fears subsided very quickly.

Whitney is driven by the songwriting prowess of drummer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kacakek, with Ehrlich taking on vocal responsibilities. It’s a testament to the amount of skill Ehrlich possesses as a musician to be able to both drum and sing at the same time, and I was stunned at the quality of his voice live — it actually sounded better than it does on the studio albums.

Although the band are famous for their soft-pop ballad style, they reached a good level of energy at Albert Hall, putting to rest my fears they may have been too tame. They were impressively tight, with keys and brass complementing Kacakek’s guitar nicely, and breathing new life into the songs that the crowd had grown to love so much from the albums.

Whitney’s greatest strength is definitely their instrumentals — even without vocals their music would be a delight to listen to. This is to take nothing away from Ehrlich’s phenomenal singing though, and more importantly, the tender lyricism that stirs inside the listener. Ehrlich also brought humour to the stage as he quipped during the transition between ‘Light Upon the Lake’ and ‘Follow’: “That one was a song about anxiety. This next one’s about death.” To present such deeply introspective songs in such an outward manner is always challenging, with many bands avoiding them altogether, but Whitney managed to weave them into the set whilst preserving the same upbeat atmosphere which had come before.

Overall the band created a lot more energy than I expected, with the crowd swaying to the groove of Ehrlich’s playing throughout the whole set. There wasn’t a massive amount of banter, although the band did receive an uproar from the crowd as they mentioned that this was the gig they had looked forward to the most across their 3 months of touring.

They played all their best loved tracks, waiting until the encore to include ‘No Woman’, and playing covers of Alan Toussaint’s ‘Silent Nights’ and NRBQ’s ‘Magnet’. It wasn’t a particularly long gig, but on account of the band only having 2 albums worth of material they covered everything well enough, and although there isn’t a lot of variety within their music, at no point did the gig drag along.

The event was just about the most precious and wholesome gig I’ve ever been to, especially against the clichéd and commercialised backdrop of the modern music industry. Whitney might not be doing anything groundbreaking, nor do they dress up or act out, but they’re undoubtedly a breath of fresh air and one of the most special bands around.

 

8/10Whitney Live at Albert Hall; Photo: Cameron TaylorWhitney Live at Albert Hall; Photo: Cameron Taylor Julien Ehrlich of Whitney; Photo: Cameron Taylor Mark Kakacek of Whitney; Photo: Cameron Taylor

Live Review: Radical Face at Gorilla

Written by Jade Yong on . Posted in Music.

Multi-talented musician Ben Cooper swept us into his otherworldly realms with a cacophony of string instrumentals. Accompanied by cellist boyfriend Josh Lee, a local drummer, and an electric-guitarist friend, Cooper himself tinkered on his acoustic as he sung his stories in Gorilla.

Naturally, a live performance meant compromising on a display of Cooper’s musical versatility, but this was compensated for by the heartening synchrony between his own playing and that of the supporting ensemble. Each player was highly attentive to each other’s moves, much like how children in a school play look to each other for line cues. But rather than being off-putting or seeming amateur, this onstage brotherhood infused Radical Face’s performance with a touching humility – Ben Cooper self-deprecatingly joked: “we’re not a real band”.

The light displays were massively underwhelming; some fluorescent strobe lighting swept across the stage occasionally, but there was nothing really emblematic of Radical Face as an act to be appreciated, other than Cooper’s beanie. For concert-goers who were less familiar with them, the quartet could easily have been dismissed as a group of men simply there to set up stage equipment – until they began playing.

This lacklustre marketing might be a good thing: Ben Cooper, up on the stage with his depressive humour and authenticity, reminded us that even the most talented and accomplished artists can be relatable. Cooper’s youthful voice and endearing connection to his work made it difficult to avert our eyes from the stage anyway, and I personally loved his groundedness. He displayed a self-awareness of his own supposed mundanity, citing a French Vogue article that described him as having the “voice of an angel, body of an ogre”. His complete transparency and all-accepting attitude towards even such a shallow remark was quite badass.

The band’s sound itself served as a transcendental soundtrack behind the folkloric tales of Cooper’s fantasy world. The slightly echo-ey acoustics of the Gorilla basement actually enhanced the band’s more organic sound elements, the minor distortions adding to the sense of magic realism imbued in Radical Face’s lyrics. There were some songs I hadn’t come across, but hearing them for the first time live was a delightful introduction.

The writer-singer-poet warned us at the very beginning that the set-list was somewhat out of his control – perhaps a clever disclaimer as I was in fact surprised by the lack of features from his most recent album, Therapy. Only a single track – ‘Hard of Hearing’ – was performed. I can only imagine the disappointment of avid Radical Face listeners at the exclusion of these more synth-filled numbers, which would have coloured the gig with more variety; not to mention, it would have shown Cooper’s impressive musical range and his willingness to experiment and evolve as an artist. Given the Floridian native’s praise-worthy focus on the narrative links between his twisted, Southern Gothic generational tales, the lack of any apparent logic behind the ordering of the set-list was quite unfortunate.

I enjoyed Cooper giving us brief overviews of what his songs are about. Songs like ‘The Mute’ sound deceptively cheerful, especially with the upbeat strumming and string-plucking, while the track ‘Ghost Towns’ can sound almost balladic with the romantic and woeful line of the chorus: “I still miss you”. Really, ‘The Mute’ depicts the experience of a child who remains perpetually misunderstood by his parents, while ‘Ghost Towns’ is about a murderer who misses the town he has fled. For ingenious songwriting like Cooper’s, explanations of meaning are important.

I enjoyed the gig, but amongst the self-deprecating jokes and the trivial treatment of his performance, it seemed at times like Cooper and Lee were unbothered – perhaps embarrassed – to make the gig the spectacle which Radical Face could certainly be. Hopefully in the near future, Manchester will see another opportunity for Cooper to show off his talents, this time unashamedly.

7/10.

Photo: Laura Davies @ The Macunion

Seeing out the decade in Manchester nightlife with Sacha Lord

Written by Nicole Wootton-Cane on . Posted in Features.

Arguably no individual has had more influence over Manchester’s nightlife over the last ten years than Sacha Lord. A Greater Manchester local, Lord is best known for founding two of Manchester’s most celebrated musical events – The Warehouse Project, and Parklife Festival.

In 2018, he began working with the city’s first ‘Metro Mayor’, Andy Burnham, in the role of ‘Night Time Economy Advisor’ – a position he is not paid for, but sees him play a key role in driving decisions around the city’s nightlife. With the decade coming to a close, Lord joined me to remember the triumphs and the troubles that have characterised Manchester’s after-hours scene over the last ten years.

Lord began the decade by founding Parklife, which he quickly pointed out to me has grown to become the largest metropolitan festival in the UK – “I’m just putting it out there,” he laughed. The festival is clearly a point of pride for him, and rightly so – it has grown from 20,000 people in Platt Fields Park in 2010, to 80,000 people across the city in Heaton Park last summer. 

There have been challenges, though. Lord brought up the events of the 22nd of May 2017, when a bomb exploded at Manchester Arena, killing 22 people: “I think what happened put this city, not on alert, but it certainly bonded us, and it brought a lot more questions regarding safety”.

With Parklife taking place just two weeks after the attack, Lord and his team introduced a level of safety planning at the festival that he called a “game-changer”: “I can’t even tell you what went into the planning there… And actually, it has been kept in place ever since that.” 

Events such as the arena attack show that safety at festival-like gatherings like Parklife and The Warehouse Project is a moving game, and one that Lord called “challenging” to stay on top of.

Drug culture, particularly at large-scale events like the ones Lord runs, can be difficult to stay on top of, but Lord says he is not afraid of talking about it. “It’s really interesting actually, we know on a Paradise night what kind of drugs people will be taking, versus on a grime night, we know what type of drugs are going to be taken. So we know, just from pure experience what’s coming up and what you’ll be dealing with. 

“We’re lucky that we’ve got welfare [staff] who fully understand it, we’ve got paramedics who fully understand it. But yeah, it’s a moving game, constantly. It is challenging, but as I’ve said tonight, I’m not scared to talk about it, I think we need to talk about it, to educate people, and I think when we don’t talk about it, that’s when we come into problems.”

So how has nightlife in the city changed over the last decade? Other than the huge expansion of both Parklife and The Warehouse Project, Lord was keen to highlight the growth that smaller venues in the city are experiencing. “I think we’re starting to see grassroots venues starting to thrive again, look at the Wigan Old courts…White Hotel in Salford, Hidden, Cotton in the Northern Quarter”. 

“I think we’re very lucky that we’ve got music in our DNA here, there’s definitely some great bands that have come out of the city in the last ten years. I think the music scene is strong at the moment. There are lots of small nights that are starting up, especially on the techno side, which is really good to see.”

Going into the new decade, is Lord as optimistic about the state of the city’s after-hours prospects? “The Manchester music scene is fIying again, it really is. I think It’s a good time for Manchester, I think we should be happy.”

And that, from a man who knows the city’s nightlife like the back of his hand, is a pretty good sign of things to come. 

Olive Tree Photo: Reece Ritchie @ The Mancunion

Live review: Oliver Tree at Manchester Academy 2

Written by Reece Ritchie on . Posted in Music.

Sunday the 24th of November saw the genre-bending Oliver Tree headline a sold-out show at Manchester Academy 2, as part of his Goodbye, Farewell Tour.

This is reportedly Oliver’s last tour of UK and Europe, as he claims to be retiring after its completion. However, long term fans of Oliver Tree may question the legitimacy of this claim. He has been known to joke about his career and injuries for a long time, especially about those occurring on his Razer scooter.

The long-time collaborator with producer Whethan is well known for finding viral success on Vine, as well as through the creation of memes featuring his music. He brings some sense of humor to his live performances too, always performing in his iconic purple and pink ski jacket and massively flared jeans.

Oliver’s support act, Nvdes, hyped the crowd into a fervour ready for the headliner with his own personal brand of laptop punk. Using consistent and continuous crowd engagement, the DJ vocalist hybrid orchestrated mosh pits. It made the crowd surfing and jumping in such unison, it seemed as if the sea had flowed into Academy 2, as waves of hands rolled across the dance floor.

Fresh off of the American segment of the Goodbye, Farewell tour Oliver brought out tracks both from his original Alien Boy EP and his new collection of songs featuring ‘Introspective’ and ‘All Bets Are Off’. It was clear that fans enjoyed this varied selection that featured tracks with heavy rock influences to those with a more synthesized hip hop feel.

Within the first five minutes of the set, Oliver Tree had ridden onto the stage on his iconic scooter. He undressed himself out of his jeans and ski jacket combo, and snatched a bowl cut wig off of his head to reveal a very real bowl cut underneath. This deadpan delivery of humour continued throughout the entire set, much to the benefit of his fans.

The standout tracks of the set have to have been ‘All That’, ‘When I’m Down’ and ‘Enemy’. Blending synths, rock style drums, hip hop hooks and heavily altered vocals, this is a collection of tunes that display just how varied and unique Oliver Tree is.

Oliver finished his set strongly by thanking his fans and leaving the stage, as the crowd chanted for an encore. The front man’s drummer and guitarist/keyboard player reentered the stage in the overly large red jackets Tree wore in his music video for hit song ‘Hurt’, and proceeded to engage in a theatrical brawl on stage. All of this came to light as an effort to buy Oliver time to change into his yellow and grey suit from the same shoot.

For his encore, Oliver reentered to traditional wedding music in a move that baffled most of the crowd. He then performed a song dedicated to his girlfriend, Melanie Martinez, after which the band departed for the final time to the bass solo from the popular TV show Seinfeld.

The crowd’s fun wasn’t finished here however, as fans erupted into a final mosh pit to Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’ before vacating the venue.

Overall, Oliver Tree performed excellently. However the let down was varying his crowd interaction and his decision to charge exorbitant prices for merchandise, for example £30 for a poster. The prices were potentially linked to the “Hype-Beast” culture of much of his fan base.

7/10.

Live Review: FKA Twigs at Brixton Academy

Written by Jade Yong on . Posted in Music.

Smoke machines, metal scaffolding and extravagant Renaissance-evocative outfit changes – FKA Twigs has blurred the lines between concert and performance art in her latest show at the O2 Academy in Brixton. Her unique iconography prompts the question: do modern musicians need more than just sound to distinguish themselves?

Twigs blessed us with a synchrony of dance and vocals while performing her masterpieces and her eruptive entrance redeemed the late start just as audience members began to moan. The atmospheric intro of ‘mary magdalene’ and its divine vocals, reverberating amidst a blackened stage, made for an iconic opening.

Stunning choreography between the artist and her backup dancers, including electrifying moments of solo sword-dancing and pole-dancing, created an experience that felt almost sacred. I love it when artists address the crowd, so it was especially touching when a soft-spoken Twigs asked: “who’s had their heart broken?”.  A heart-rending delivery of ‘mirrored heart’ followed, ending in a teary-eyed Twigs herself choking on the last lines.

Twigs has been touring restlessly across the States to promote the short studio album MAGDALENE, so the magnetic energy and emotion sustained in her London performance deserves utmost admiration. Twigs showed that she remains connected and dedicated to her work at all times, and fans who attended can bask in the knowledge that our love for her is infinitely reciprocated.

Impressively, every song from MAGDALENE was featured amongst other well-chosen favourites from previous albums. Unfortunately, the iconic ‘Glass & Patron’ was excluded; in fact nothing from her album M3LL155X saw the stage. I think at least one track deserved a feature as all of her early albums were proportionately represented that night, but I was far from disappointed with the otherwise flawless setlist. It’s hard to imagine that anyone was left displeased by the overall concert, even if some long-time followers might have anticipated the appearance of those older classics.

Björk-esque instrumentals and vocal resonances with Kate Bush are clear in MAGDALENE, but Twigs has earned her position as an icon of experimental music. Her avant-garde expressionism and spectacular ability to manipulate her body through unconventional dance forms seem to be what has established her prominence in the industry.

In an age of identity politics, her marketed image – including her conscious, female watermark  – seems integral to her actual music. I can’t really listen to ‘Cellophane’ without a mental picture of the elastic Twigs twisted around a pole kicking a robotic angel as seen in the music video. Nor can ‘holy terrain’ be extricated from images of a dynamic girl-trio dancing to the cacophony of beats in the pre-chorus. This really begs the question: is an artist’s self-presentation or their musical signature more important?

To me, they can’t be separated in the case of FKA Twigs.  Her instrumentals and ingenious lyricism, which seem deceptively simple at times, speak volumes for the music itself. But her concert showed how the emotion in her songs is enhanced through the empowering performance mediums with which she works, and she fused these aspects immaculately at the O2.

9/10.

Musicians on tour: the unsustainable impact on our environment

Written by Kitty Racionzer on . Posted in Science & Tech.

A 2010 report published by the London-based charity, Julie’s Bicycle, found a total of approximately 85,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from bands touring in the UK, as well as UK acts touring overseas. Consequently, musicians and climate change researchers are beginning to work together to improve the industry’s environmental impact. Moreover, Glastonbury’s recent commitment to going single-use plastic free in 2019 has widened conversation surrounding the environmental impact within the music industry.

The Bristol-based band, Massive Attack, have recently partnered with the University of Manchester’s Tyndall centre to examine key impact areas of a touring band on the environment.

Climate scientists will obtain and analyse data from the band’s tour schedule. This will provide the music industry with guidance on how to reduce the negative impact on our environment in the current climate emergency.

Massive Attack, in a recent statement to The University of Manchester, said: “We’ve been concerned and preoccupied with the carbon footprint of our schedules and the wider impact of our sector overall.”

This collaboration will create a framework based on data that includes the band’s travel and production on tour, audience, transportation, and venue impact. In doing so, the data will help to identify key areas where carbon dioxide emissions are generated.

Dr Chris Jones, a research fellow at the Tyndall centre said: “We will be working with Massive Attack to look at sources of carbon emissions from a band’s touring schedule.”

He continued, “Every industry has varying degrees of carbon impact to address and we need partnerships like this one to look at reducing carbon emissions across the board.”

As reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there has been a recent surge in concern around the climate emergency within the music industry.

The number of musicians bringing attention to the environment is increasing. For example, Billie Eilish recently promoted the ban on plastic at her concerts. She explained this as an attempt to “be as green as possible”.

Strikingly, lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, told BBC News that “[they’re] not touring this album” due to band-travel making up over 40% of a tour’s carbon footprint. Therefore, the band are taking their time over the next few years to work on a more sustainable strategy that can be beneficial but also reduces their impact on the environment.

Chris Martin continued to tell BBC News that they dream of a solar-powered show with no single-use plastic. To encourage environmental awareness, Coldplay performed a one-off concert in London in the Natural History Museum, from which all proceeds were donated to an environmental charity.

GMCA commit to making Manchester a world leading city for STEM

Written by Megan Oyinka on . Posted in News.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and The Science and Industry Museum have made a new agreement to help bridge the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills gap and in turn, make Manchester a world-leading city for STEM excellence. 

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Dame Mary Archer, Chair of the Science Museum Group, signed a new agreement at the celebrating STEM event on November 28th at the science and industry museum.

The agreement is centered around a plan for STEM engagement by the GMCA and the museum that states they will work together to support the Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy (GMLIS) in order to address the cities shortfall in STEM workers.

The GMLIS gives several policies that will take priority to help guide industrial development and aim to tackle long-term challenges related to STEM, including mobilising social value to drive the right STEM engagement from employers, raising the profile of STEM, and making Greater Manchester residents aware of the opportunity.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “We are committed to making Greater Manchester a world-leading city for STEM to help give our residents the best life chances possible.

“This agreement will help us increase the STEM talent pipeline in Greater and create a diverse, highly-skilled and agile workforce. This, in turn, will increase life chances for what is our greatest asset – the people of Greater Manchester.

“As well as running The Science Museum Group Academy in Manchester which offers inspirational, research-informed science engagement training and resources for teachers, museum and STEM communication and learning professionals, the Science Museum Group is also proud to hold the contract for TransPennine STEM Ambassador hub, covering Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.

“In Manchester, we have more than 1,200 STEM Ambassador volunteers, across Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths giving up their time to inspire and engage young people with STEM subjects and careers. Manchester has a large digital, construction and health infrastructure so recruiting young people with these skills is vital to the future of our economy and growth as a city.  We look forward to delivering STEM skills collaboratively and in a truly engaging way with the GMCA over the coming years.”

Greater Manchester named a top global region in tackling climate change

Written by Megan Oyinka on . Posted in News.

The Greater Manchester city-region has been ranked as one of the top regions for action on climate change by international charity Carbon Disclosure Project, an organisation that measures environmental impact. 

Named on CDP’s 2018 ‘A-list’ of states, cities, and regions that have been increasing transparency and taking steps to combat climate change. Over 8,400 companies and 920 cities, states and regions contributed their data to the survey, with just 43 cities worldwide scoring the highest rating.

The research shows how Greater Manchester has made progress towards some of the most ambitious yet realistic goals that the region has set in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. 

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is also part of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, a group consisting of international authorities committed to reducing carbon emissions. 

This announcement was released in the same week as the 25th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid. The conference has been organised with the purpose of assessing the progress in dealing with climate change. 

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham commented: “We’ve been very clear in setting out our ambitions for decarbonising our economy here in Greater Manchester, and this latest analysis shows that our city-region is one of those leading the way globally in recognising and tackling the climate emergency.

“Social and industrial innovation is part of our heritage as a place, and this holds true in how we’re addressing the significant challenges posed by climate change with our plans for clean public transport infrastructure, energy-efficient buildings, renewable sources of energy, and sustainable business practices.”

Harriet Simmonds a third-year chemistry student passionate about climate change told The Mancunion: “I think it’s fantastic, I really value being a student in a city that is taking such a leading stance on climate change, it feels like they are setting an example for others at a time when it is really important to.”

UK’s highest mountains scaled to raise £25k for Manchester charities

Written by Aya-Zoe Atallah on . Posted in News.

A team of councillors from Manchester City Council have climbed three of the highest peaks in England, Scotland, and Wales in an effort to raise money for two Manchester-based charities. A check of £25,939.88 was presented to the charities, Big Change Manchester and We Love MCR Charity, on Wednesday 27th of November.

Naming themselves the MCC Cliffhangers, the team tackled the Three Peaks Challenge back in July of this year. The challenge consists of scaling the Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in the space of 24 hours. The majority of the group managed to complete the task within 24-25 hours, leaving with their fair share of sore and blistered feet.

The total amount raised will be shared amongst both charities. Big Change Manchester supports those living on the streets by helping them pay for various necessities, and We Love MCR Charity helps the Mancunian community thrive and grow.

Leader of the Cliffhanger group said: “To see the amount of money that has been raised is testament to the incredible spirit of generosity of the people of Manchester. We take care of our own here and I’m so proud to have been just one part of this incredible challenge.”

Speaking on the benefits of the amount raised on Big Change Manchester, board member Stephanie Moore said: “Big Change is the Manchester charity here to support Manchester people. Whether it is helping someone get together a deposit for a flat, to an outfit to wear for an interview, a huge difference is being made thanks to the public’s generosity. This generous donation will go a long way to helping us pull people out of homelessness, and into a better life.”

We Love MCR Charity Development Manager Ged Carter expressed the rewarding feeling he experienced through climbing the mountains. He said: “I am beyond proud to have been part of the group which took on this incredibly tough challenge. The money raised for We Love MCR Charity will go a huge way to supporting the young people of Manchester to achieve the potential we all know they have. I’d like to thank everyone who took part in this challenge and especially give thanks to the people who made a donation. You really have made a huge difference.”

 

UoM confirms students won’t face any additional penalties for supporting strike

Written by Kate Jackson on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester has confirmed that students will not face any additional punishment for supporting the recent strikes by members of the University and College Union (UCU).

This means that students who supported the strikes by not crossing the picket line and avoiding their scheduled classes will only face the same consequences they would have done for any normal absence they had.

A spokesman for the University said: “We respect the right of UCU members to take industrial action. Picket lines are a legitimate form of protest but students are entitled to cross them and come onto campus. If lectures, or other scheduled sessions are running as normal, then students should attend these. During the strike, we will not be taking any additional action against students who do not attend, beyond what would normally happen in other cases of non-attendance.”

The University of Manchester also encouraged international students to attend classes where possible but reiterated that their visas would not be impacted by the strike.

“As long as Tier 4 students continue, wherever possible, to attend all contact and engagement points, their visa status will be unaffected by the industrial action. If the industrial action leads to some of their engagement points being cancelled, their School will put alternative engagement points in place.”

This confirmation follows the pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool calling the support for strikes in the form of not crossing the picket line to attend classes “unlawful”, in an email sent out to students.

The email also warned, similarly to the response from other universities, that international students would be putting their visas in jeopardy should they not attend teaching sessions.

In response to this email, students at the University of Liverpool blocked access to the offices of senior managers at the University and barricaded doors of the Foundation Building, putting up banners and posters to demonstrate the student support for the strikes.

Ché Spencer Pote, a third-year History and Sociology student at the University of Liverpool, who was involved in blocking the entrance to the building, said the group were motivated by the “hostile environment that’s coming from the management of the university”.

“It became clear very quickly that the university wasn’t willing to talk about [the strikes] or listen to any other kind of views, and they were stopping our right to picket which they have no right to do.”

UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, said that Liverpool’s response was similar to other responses by other universities who were seeking to disrupt the strikes: “Tactics employed by universities to threaten, confuse or intimidate staff and students are a silly sideshow by universities desperate to avoid actually engaging with the issues at the heart of the disputes. We warned earlier in the week that these types of tactics failed last year, only hardening strikers’ resolve and angering students,” she said.

In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for the University of Liverpool said: “We undertake regular monitoring of all undergraduate student attendance. This is not only to ensure we fulfil our duties on international student visas to UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) but is also vital as attendance is an important indicator of student wellbeing.

“We respect our students’ rights to support the industrial action, should they wish to do so. However it is important that they have the necessary information to do so lawfully.”

The relationship between students and university officials at Liverpool University, is not the only one that has been negatively impacted by the industrial action recently. The University of Birmingham and Sheffield Hallam University have also received backlash from students for their approach to the UCU strikes.

Tim Jones, vice-president at the University of Birmingham, told staff in an email that the university was on “private land” so picketing counted as an act of trespass. Students and legal experts brought forward a petition in response to the claim, asking for legal justification for the statement or have the vice-president retract the statement.

At Sheffield Hallam University students have accused the University of using them as spies, after asking students to fill out a web form about which lectures weren’t taking place.

Review: Ice Village

Written by Jay Darcy on . Posted in Arts.

The Ice Village is both one of Manchester’s hottest and coldest attractions at Christmas time. Billed as “a frozen realm full of mythical beasts and royal regalia,” it has returned to Manchester for a second ‘fantastical’ year. New this year is a fun ice slide in the ice cavern and the Ice Tiki Bar (for which you have to buy a separate ticket).

Photo: Gary Brown.

In 2018, the ice village took visitors on a journey to Santa’s frozen toy factory. This year, the hand-carved sculptors are part of “a distant realm of ice and snow, inhabited by legendary ice beasts, including a unicorn, a griffin and a massive dragon bathed in fire-red light. These mythical creatures guard the entrance to a frozen castle, its battlements and turrets all built from solid blocks of ice.” Game of Thrones meets Frozen?

Photo: Gary Brown.

Before entering the Ice Village, we were given bright blue ponchos to keep us comfortable and warm. They didn’t really help, and the buttons were constantly popping open, but they were a nice novelty. They’ll either make you feel like Christine Daaé From The Phantom of the Opera or Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notredame. Whilst I prefer to think of myself as the former, I probably looked more like the latter, but it was all fun!

We encountered a frozen Prince and Princess, had a chance to take a regal #iceselfie, ride a Royal Carriage, and even slide down an ice slide! Tip: use the poncho they give you as a mat to lie upon, and you will glide down effortlessly.

Photo: Gary Brown.

Included in the ticket price of the Ice Tiki Bar, billed as ‘a frozen slice of the South Pacific’, is one of three cocktails or a mocktail. Although I might have preferred a hot chocolate in temperatures of -10°C, the cocktails were yummy. Even the glasses they come in are made of ice! The bar features Easter Island ‘Moai’ ice statues, allowing for some good photo ops. It has a real ‘Polynesian Christmas party’ ambience. A tropical and chilled ice paradise – it’s literally Manchester’s coolest bar.

Photo: Gary Brown.

The Ice Cavern deserves most of your awe, though. The hand-crafted ice sculptures are absolutely incredible. The amount of detail that goes into each one is mind-blowing. They must have taken an insane amount of time, energy and focus to create. Walking through the cavern, passing (and posing with) mythical beasts was enchanting, even more so when we reached the Royal Palace. Ana and I had a full-on photoshoot before we made a couple of trips down the ice slide. (Ana needed two attempts to get it right, but I’ve realised that whilst I suck at many things, I am an actual pro at sliding).

Photo: Gary Brown.

The Ice Village is open daily from 11am to 9pm– except Christmas Day – from 8th November 2019 until 5th January 2020. This semester is coming to an end very shortly, so if you only have the time (and energy) to do a few things before you go back home, I strongly recommend making a trip to Ice Village!

GMCA agree official day of commemoration for Srebrenica victims

Written by Sam Honey on . Posted in News.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) have passed a motion that commits to a day of commemoration for those that lost their lives in the Srebrenica genocide of 1995.

The genocide, that was carried out by Bosnian Serb forces, saw over 8,000 individuals killed and a further 20,000 displaced, as the troops attempted to annex the territory. The genocide which was also driven by religious motivations, with the vast majority of those killed being Muslim men and boys.

In a shocking violation of international law, the atrocities took place in an area that had been declared a ‘safe zone’ by the United Nations in 1993.

While the executions were predominantly focused on male members of the local communities, women were also subject to other forms of abusive treatment, including rape and other forms of sexual violence. The International Criminal Court has subsequently ruled that the incident, “the worst case of bloodshed on European soil since the Second World War, constiuted a genocide.”

General Ratko Mladić, the ringleader of the responsible troops, was sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2017.

With the 25th anniversary occurring next summer, GMCA have now passed a motion to officially recognise July 11th as a day of remembrance, following on from a 2009 European Parliament resolution calling for all nations to commemorate the incident annually.

The commemoration will involve a civic ceremony at Manchester Cathedral, and a programme of education across Greater Manchester schools, to raise awareness of hatred and intolerance.

Mayor Andy Burnham seconded the need to raise awareness and prevent future atrocities.

“By passing this motion, leaders across Greater Manchester have resolved to commemorate the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, and reaffirmed our commitment to never let hatred and intolerance go unchallenged in our communities.

“We want to recognise all those who’ve worked tirelessly in pursuit of justice for the victims and their surviving relatives, including the International Commission of Missing People and the Mothers of Srebrenica, and their heroic efforts to keep the legacies of their family members alive.

“All of us have a constant duty to remember and reflect not only on these events but also what led to them, and to do everything within our power to prevent this kind of hatred from ever taking root in our societies again.”

 

£40,000 made available to students affected by the Bolton cube fire

Written by jamesshepherd on . Posted in News.

Residents who lost their belongings in the blaze can now apply for compensation from a pot of £40,000. Over 200 residents were evacuated during the fire which blazed at a privately-owned student accommodation block last month in Bolton.   

While the affected students have been placed in temporary accommodation in Bolton and also given £500 each by the University, many lost their belongings in the blaze and have been unable to return to their rooms to recover them due to the severity of the fire.  Others have also had to pay for food and hotels at their own expense.

The money comes from donations made by members of the public to a Just Giving page set up by the Greater Manchester Disaster Relief Fund (GMDRF).  While the public has raised over £17,000, the GMDRF will be making an additional £23,000 available to those forced to leave their homes by the fire. 

In the description of the Just Giving page, the GMDRF said: “These students are home and international students and had to leave immediately in what they were stood in, they have left with no personal possessions and there is no prospect of returning to this accommodation given the severity of the fire.”

In a document published shortly after the fire, the GMDRF added: “ At this point, it is unknown if any of the 223 students affected will be able to recover any of their belongings and many are certain to have lost the entire contents of their rooms. Everything from clothing, toiletries and study materials is likely to be needed”.

Payments will only cover immediate and short term needs caused by the fire and will vary according to the extent to which the applicant was affected by the blaze.

Commenting on the number of donations made to the fund, Bolton Council’s chief executive Tony Oakman said: “Bolton has really come together, and we’ve seen the best of our town following the fire.

“The fire has really severely impacted the lives of some of our residents. This fund will go a little bit of the way to helping those most affected.”

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bolton Professor George Holmes added: “Everyone at the university was humbled by the amazing and generous response from the community, both in Bolton and across the country.

“Individuals and organisations have contributed to the official fund and now it is up to students and those living nearby to apply. Thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to donate.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Is it Art?: Lorraine Kelly

Written by Chess Bradley on . Posted in Arts.

For the January issue of Attitude, Lorraine Kelly has appeared on the front of the magazine in a drag alter-ego Morning Gloria. 

If you don’t know who Lorraine is, you’re probably doing a STEM degree where you can’t waste away your mornings watching daytime TV. For the rest of us, Lorraine is a perky Glaswegian who brightens up the morning with a selection of segments aimed at the middle-aged woman. Delightful.

What’s interesting is that this isn’t the only alter-ego that Lorraine has come out with this year. Lorraine has also an appeal against HMRC for £1.2m (!!!!) by claiming that she is a “theatrical artist” and that the woman we see on tv is a performance of a “friendly, chatty and fun personality”.

Now I know what you’re thinking, that’s balls- she’s just avoiding a massive tax bill. Which I would have agreed with if I hadn’t seen Lorraine call out an unsuspecting Jennifer Arcuri.

So here’s how it went down. Lorraine Kelly (the person), like the rest of us, is sick of Jennifer Arcuri not really saying anything. She then perks up by saying “anyway”- a sign that Lorraine (the person) has transformed in Lorraine (the performer). Unsurprisingly, Pierres stirs a bit by getting an unsuspecting Jennifer to react to Lorraine. Lorraine (the performer, but slipping into Lorraine, the person) asks “What’s the point of you coming on and then not saying anything?”. Jennifer, shocked by a Scottish accent and being called out, responds with a quickly souring face and a bewildering “I’m sorry?”. Lorraine then fully switches to Lorraine (the person) and clarifies her question in a TOTALLY new accent. After knocking Arcuri down a few pegs, Lorraine returns to daytime TV personality Lorraine by, once again, saying the transformative “anyway”. And, if that’s not a demonstration to HMRC that she’s a performance artist, I don’t know what is.

Verdict: I can’t justify saying a tax avoidance scheme is art (pay your tax Lorraine), so it’s a no. But I am impressed with the multitudes that lie behind the nation’s daytime TV sweetheart. All I have to say is: will the real Lorraine Kelly please stand up?