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Month: December 2021

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, you’re damaging our environment!

Written by Anna van der Zwaluw on . Posted in Science & Tech.

Every year, many of us would consider putting up the Christmas tree as a vital step in decorating in preparation for the festive season. However, have you ever thought twice about how your tree may be negatively affecting our environment? It has long been debated which type is actually more sustainable: a real or an artificial tree?

Although it may seem that cutting down a live tree is environmentally harmful, this may not really be the case.

Trees benefit both us, as animals, and the broader environment in several ways. Firstly, by photosynthesising, which produces oxygen for us to breathe and also takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to offset climate change and global warming. This is then stored long-term as biomass of the tree, until the tree is eventually killed by being chopped down, for example for use as a Christmas tree, and then decomposes.

The most popular tree species for Christmas (spruces, firs and pines) are all coniferous, meaning that they produce cones and don’t lose their leaves (or pine needles) in the winter as deciduous trees do. Coniferous trees are particularly effective for carbon capture due to their fast growth.

This all sounds very negative for live tree lovers, however, almost all real Christmas trees are commercially grown in farms, and are grown as any other crop. Particularly some very large trees would probably not be growing if not for the demand on the Christmas tree market, and they provide all the environmental benefits, including carbon capture during this lifetime. For example, the traditionally gifted Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) in Trafalgar Square is usually over 20 metres high and about 50-60 years old.

Furthermore, plantations provide a habitat for animals and other plants, and in some locations, the introduction of more animal, including insect, and plant species is encouraged in order to provide and create a naturally biodiverse habitat. An average 6 ft (about 1.8 metres) Christmas tree (the most popular height) takes about 10 years to grow, during which time it plays a vital role in providing a habitat for other life. Locally sourced trees growing in such locations are the most environmentally friendly.

Most fake trees, however, are produced in China, so are required to be transported incredibly long distances for import into the UK. Also, artificial trees are made of plastic and metal, so use up precious unrenewable resources – oil and minerals – in their production.

Although the UK produces about 5.5 million real trees, it still imports 1.5 million, mostly from Denmark and Belgium. This means that quite a lot of real trees are also imported, but the shorter distance for transportation alone contributes to a still lower environmental impact than fake, manufactured Christmas trees.

What about when we come to dispose of our trees? The fate of trees after Christmas makes a big difference to their environmental effect too.

Nearly 6 million real trees are sent to landfills every year, and this is surprisingly unsustainable. A 6.5 ft (about 2 metre) tree could result in a 16kg CO2 carbon footprint, and also produces methane during decomposition (anaerobic respiration), a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

By comparison, most fake trees are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which is known to be very difficult to recycle, and can create hazardous waste and airborne pollution during manufacture. A 6.5 ft artificial tree has a carbon footprint of about 40 kg of greenhouse gas emissions, more than twice that of a landfilled real tree and more than 10 time a real tree that is burnt.

If you already own a fake tree, it is best to just keep reusing it; it is estimated that at least 10 years of use is enough to counteract its carbon footprint, and this is better for the environment than buying a real, commercially grown tree every year.

If the old fake tree needs spruce-ing up (pun intended), try to source a second hand fake tree – the more reuses, the more sustainable!

The most sustainable option for real tree disposal is by recycling. The tree is usually cut up into chippings first for faster decomposition, and many local authorities even offer a tree collection and recycling service.

Although burning your tree does emit carbon dioxide, there is no net gain for the environment, as the process of combustion simply returns the carbon captured during the tree’s life back into the atmosphere.

But, the best bet in terms of sustainability is a potted tree with roots. This means that the tree is still alive and therefore will continue to grow and can be used for many years, capturing and storing carbon in the meantime.

In recent years, some plant nurseries and garden centres have even rented out potted trees, to be returned at the end of the holiday season and grown and nurtured for hire again the following year.

So, all in all, it is best to keep re-using your old tree if you already own an artificial one or, if you want a real one, make sure to dispose of it correctly, or acquire a live potted tree. Everyone making small changes to live more sustainably can collectively minimise the environmental impact of the holiday season.

Have a happy and sustainable Christmas, whichever tree you choose!

You can check if your local authority offers Christmas tree collection here.

Photo: Dai O'Nysius @Wikicommons

A Southerner’s guide to the North

Written by Erin Botten on . Posted in Lifestyle, Travels.

The North of England is a place Southerners rarely venture into. Growing up, my Dad would gleefully reminisce about his youth up here. Since moving to Manchester three months ago, there are some things I’ve noticed. Here are some things I’ve learnt as a Southerner in the North.

Get a ‘proper’ winter coat

Get. A. Winter. Coat. Just do it. The winter is unforgiving to Southerners here. Back in Bristol, a black hoodie or bomber jacket would do me fine. Here? That’d be a joke. It rains, it snows, and it’s freezing at the best of times. Thankfully, in town there are loads of options for coats. In Primark, H&M, etc, they’re £40-70. If that’s too steep, Sainsbury’s (and other supermarkets) have ones from £35! UNIQLO also have high-quality coats from £50-£160+. My advice? Make sure it’s showerproof and Mum-approved.

There will be culture clashes, but not in the way you’d expect

I’ve seen some dark things up here … and mainly in the kitchen. Baked beans on pasta, marinating chicken in pickle juice, the list goes on. However, the worst offence is the love for mushy peas. Disgusting. But that’s not the only thing! Every “I’m cold” I’ve uttered has quickly been followed by a northern “Oh, I’m quite warm actually!” It could literally be snowing outside and you’ll get the same response. Overall though socially, the North-South divide is definitely a myth.

Moisten up

In case I haven’t made it clear enough, it’s cold here. Like really cold. As a result, your face will suffer. Recently my lips and eyes have started to get chapped, and I couldn’t work out why. Turns out, it’s because of the weather. To save your skin this winter, I recommend getting some heavy-duty lip balm and moisturiser. Upgrade your normal lip balm to one containing shea or cocoa butter, vitamin E, or honey. Burts Bees (£3.99) and Blistex (£2.69) are a shout. For your face, aim for thicker sensitive skin moisturisers. Boots is a great place for advice on this, otherwise check out Cerave. Hand-cream wise, you can’t go wrong with Aveeno or anything with cocoa butter.

Say goodbye to the sun

Whenever I call my brother, I don’t look at him, I look at the sun. There’s just something about Southern sunshine that the North doesn’t have. Up here, you’ll get a few sunny hours of sun a week. Down South, we have annual heatwaves where we’d forget that grey days exist. Even at this time of year, there’d regularly be crisp sunny days. To put it simply, don’t bother with SPF, you won’t be needing it I’m afraid.

Accents & arguments

There’s something I’ve noticed repeatedly about my Northern friends, and it’s their accent. More specifically, their accents when they argue. Whenever a northerner gets passionate about something, their accent will gradually grow stronger, more so if there’s another northerner involved. This accounts for all regions across the North, but particularly Geordies. It’s always funny, and I wouldn’t wish arguments to be any other way.

I can understand why my Dad loved living up here. People are welcoming and friendly. It’s also a lot more hipster than I expected, with the Northern Quarter resembling Notting Hill. Overall though, I’d definitely recommend coming up here. There’s a lot of culture and tonnes to do – just bring a coat.

Student Gift Guide

Written by Erin Botten on . Posted in News, Lifestyle.

Contributors: Libby Elliot, Jonathan Hadfield, Erin Botten

Christmas is around the corner, meaning Secret Santa gifts are fast approaching. This season, The Mancunion’s in-depth scientific research has unveiled what people are really pining for this year. From Activists to Jocks, we’ve got you covered.

Chef

Rarely seen outside of the kitchen, the chef acts as though they’re the next Heston Blumenthal. They live for their next dish, and won’t hesitate to boast about it. Luckily, they’re easy to buy for. First off, we recommend the Comfort MOB Cookbook (£13.74) with really easy wintery and student-friendly recipes. If you want to spice up their utensils, you have two options: a stainless steel ball whisk (£5.99) OR a Microplane (£6). Ball whisks are easier to clean and look proper fancy. Microplanes however are adored by chefs, allowing them to up their parmesan game. The most important thing of all though, is a nice jumbo bottle of Fairy Liquid (£2), to encourage them to actually clean up after using every single utensil in the drawer for their creations.

Drinker

Only waking up for ‘pres’, the drinkers are always either drunk or hungover. Why not feed into their borderline concerning habit this season with light-up shot glasses (£10.99) or a booze belt (£12.99). This will definitely make them look super cool – at least in their eyes. For a late night treat, grab a pack of cigs (£9.50 roughly, although The Mancunion does not condone smoking) and a pot noodle (£1) to keep them warm in between benders. Also, why not treat them to some Aldi Bellucci Amaretto (£6.99). Although, they’ll drink anything to be honest.

Jock

Jocks have somehow made sports and high levels of testosterone their personality trait. They’re well known to be about things that are more than skin-deep… so why not get them some weights (£14.99) to help them boost what’s just beneath their skin, it’s what’s on the inside that counts after all. A book on how to cope with making less money than those they bullied in secondary school would probably be useful too; Teaching Primary PE (£13.67) will help with that. If they love some cardio, they’ll be grateful for a bumper-pack of extra-small condoms this year (£2.95). Lastly, you can’t go wrong with a tennis ball (£1). It’ll be sure to keep them entertained for hours!

Artist

Artists can be hard to please. It’s almost a guarantee that they’ve been receiving ‘art kits’ from relatives for years now, so here are some abstract gift ideas. Firstly, to become a true artist, a beret is a must (£10), alongside a tote bag (FREE at your local freshers fair). This will obviously need to be followed up by a bottle of wine, purely to get their artistic juices flowing (from £3). Why not gift them a bag of pencil stubs (available at all good local primary schools) – they’ll love the challenge! Finally, if you really want to take them back to their roots, Crayola pens (£3) and A3 paper (£3) would be perfect. Though frankly, anything Wes Anderson related is a safe bet.

Bookworm

Fierce objectors to Kindles, bookworms spend most of their time inhaling pages. If you want to leave your mark, I suggest a bookmark with your face on it (£6). Or maybe introduce them to the Good Reads app (free) – they’ll be captivated for days. Bookworms, particularly English students, also seem to fear breaking book spines. Be charitable this season and end their suffering with a book holder (£2.99). Or better still, gift them a Waterstones gift card – they find these utterly orgasmic… Or to help them find that special someone, why not splash our on a Premium Bumble account (£16.99), so they can boast to indie girls who study Art History about how many James Joyce works they’ve read.

Activist

After a long day of eating the rich, activists like to settle down with a good book, while the Antiques Roadshow plays in the background. For this I recommend Women Don’t Owe You Pretty (£14.99). This easy read will coax their ‘saviourship’ mentality, having them believe they can be the next Gloria Steinem in no time. To fight climate change, why not buy them a plant? The bigger, the better we say, that’s the same as saving the rainforest right? Or, how about some superglue (£4.79), to help them stick themselves to the front doors of oil company head offices. You could also help your activist pal say they’re an ally without saying they’re an ally with some cruelty free blue hair dye (£4.95) and Luna’s vinyl stickers (£1-£2), both found inside Afflecks, or, just get them a megaphone (£8.97).

Beauty Guru

Is it makeup or do they just naturally have sparkly pink eyelids? Beauty gurus look damn fine either way, and they know it. Keep these gurus on fleek with The Ordinary’s super popular peeling solution (£6.30), keeping their skin in check. Plant-based sheet masks (£3.70) are also handy. A ring light is a must for them to take those killer shots for their 12 beauty Insta followers. Personally, you can’t go wrong with some lippy. My favourite is MAC’s velvet lipsticks (£15.75) that work well on their own or with gloss. The most practical gift however are bamboo makeup pads (£5.99). Not only are they cheaper in the long run, but they’ll save you from a bathroom bin full of infinite cotton pads when they try to remove those 15 layers of contour. Another benefit is that they are reusable and sustainably grown so they don’t kill the planet – ding dong!

Music Maestro

Either party-loving or smart alecs, maestros live and breathe music. God forbid they go deaf from standing next to the speaker five nights a week. These guys love new bands, and the closest place to find them are at the SU’s academies. Head to the Students’ Union to grab a leaflet and see what’s on. Glow sticks (99p) are a must for these gigs. They can make the biggest of music snobs look more approachable or even datable, though I can’t make promises. However, a music lover’s Kryptonite is a keyboard tie (£2.99) – it makes them feel *special*. Finally, nothing makes a maestro feel more powerful than p**sing straight into an LED loo (£10).

Owen Patterson

Tory Sleaze

Written by Alfie Cumberworth on . Posted in Opinion.

If you’d allow me, I’d like you to cast your minds back to the beginning of November 2021. This was a time before any of us had heard of the new COVID variant and the reintroduction of new measures to stay safe. As students, I’m sure many of us were scratching our heads, frantically working away on our various assignments due. Perhaps at this time of excessive pressure, some of us were too focused on deadlines to take a moment’s notice of the news around us.

As much as I would like to say I was indeed spending hours on end writing and researching, I cannot deny that my eyes would often wonder towards the headlines of the day. They depicted a political crisis spreading across Westminster. A crisis we’ve experienced before in UK history around 30 years ago. One of Tory sleaze.

Perhaps, then, my irresistible hobby to slander the Tories meant it was inevitable that I was preoccupied with story after story of what has been dubbed a new wave of Tory sleaze. However, on this occasion, I would like to invite both the left and the right to document the past few weeks’ continuous saga of sleaze. I believe passionately that it is right for anyone, regardless of where they’d place themselves on the political spectrum, to call out corruption wherever they see it.

Despite the scandal starting in November, I’d like us to begin at the end of April. Back then it became very apparent Johnson had no regard for parliamentary transparency when he found himself front and centre of a scandal over wallpaper of all things. Media circles began to question Johnson’s plans to refurbish 10 Downing Street.

Now, it’s not unusual for a Prime Minister to spruce up No.10 how they see fit. It’s not like we’re not all guilty of adding a pot plant or that Kill Bill poster to our uni rooms. However, it was clear that Boris’s plans to renovate went beyond a new rug when it was brought to our attention that the total refurb was totalling around £60,000. The wallpaper he had personally designed for it costing a horrific £840 per roll. Additionally, it wasn’t quite clear how the PM was actually funding this renovation, with speculation arising that it was paid for out of party funds given by Tory donors.

Whilst technically not breaking ministerial code, even his own standards advisor stated the PM ‘unwisely’ allowed the refurbishment to take place without proper fiscal checks. Although superficially important to the debate, and highlighting to us how out of touch Boris’s lavish lifestyle is compared to those he governs, this paved the way for his complete disregard for established standards checks. And it would come back to haunt him later this year.

As I’m sure you’d agree, if this was the end of his disregard for standards, I wouldn’t view it to be important enough to write about here. No, what really drove me to discuss this with you is what happened on the 3rd November with Owen Patterson (former) MP. Patterson found himself at the heart of a media and public backlash when it was discovered that he was lobbying on behalf of two businesses he was a paid consultant for. This side hustle landing him a lovely little ‘bonus’ of around £100,000 a year on top of his £80,000 MP salary.

An honourable and upstanding Prime Minister would follow parliamentary procedure and allow for the 30-day suspension from Parliament. But as ‘honourable and upstanding’ are words which should never be used in the same sentence as the name Boris Johnson, it won’t surprise you that this is not what happened. Instead, our PM allowed for an amendment to put Patterson’s suspension on ice. During which he and the government tried to change the rules. He tried to let off Patterson by introducing a new cross parliamentary committee to challenge decisions made by the Common’s standards watchdog. Despite the opposition parties clearly stating they intended to boycott such a committee – thus causing the collapse of the government’s horrendously clear scapegoat plan – the motion was passed with just 18 votes.

By 11am the next day, the media had their knives out for the government and public opinion of both Boris and his merry bunch of cronies dropping off the cliff edge. Leader of the Commons, (and the right’s favourite anti-gay, anti-abortion MP) Jacob Rees-Mogg tragically addressed the Commons. He announced the latest of the many U-turns this government has fallen victim to. Rees-Mogg stated that without cross-party support these plans would need to be reworked, and a fresh vote on the fate of Patterson would be scheduled. The sun didn’t even set on this day before Patterson himself resigned with the empty sympathy plea that he was retiring from the ‘cruel world of politics’.

The month of scandals was only just getting started for Johnson though. The next revelation coming just days after when, on the 7th of November The Sunday Times discovered a worrying trend. If Tory donors accepted the temporary role of Party Treasurer, and donated a £3 million, they’d be offered a cosy little place in the House of Lords. In fact, it was identified that this trick had worked for 15 out of the 16 most recent Party Treasurers. The only one bucking the trend being the current person in the role. Not only this, but the 22 largest donors had also been offered a peerage since 2010. These donations topped £54 million.

Now, I think it’s fair to say to Boris, and his cabinet of supposedly academically gifted, Oxbridge-educated politicians, that if you want to pull the wool over our eyes, please don’t do it in such an obvious way. It’s insulting.

I want to conclude our investigation into this latest resurfacing of Tory sleaze with one I personally find the most amusing, this being the hypocrisy of Natalie Elphicke MP. That name probably won’t ring any bells to the majority of readers. However, think back to our very near victory at the 2021 euros and you might remember the claim by this backbencher that England and Manchester United player, Marcus Rashford MBE, should ‘spend more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics’.

I’m not going to go into how this comment came at a time of disgusting racial abuse aimed at Rashford and other black players on the England team. I’ve already discussed how the Tories either turn a blind eye to, or perpetuate, racism in our society in a previous article. Rather, I’d like to point out that it has been discovered that this MP is also guilty of not entirely sticking to her job description, as she has her own second role which lands her an additional £36,000 a year. I’d like to offer a word of advice to Elphicke, if you’re going to criticize a footballer for doing your job better than you could ever dream to, it might be of use to make sure you’re following your own advice as it must be rather embarrassing to be caught out like this.  

There are many, many, more examples I wish I had the time and space to write about covering the sleaze scandals of both this government and past governments. However I feel I’ve made my point. As this sleaze scandal inevitably fades from public view, I urge you to remember this November’s headlines when we next take our turn in the voting booth.

You, the readers and the general public at large, deserve better than this crony government.

nurse mask

“I’m 21, I shouldn’t be feeling like this.”: UoM students speak out about their experiences with Long Covid

Written by Ella Robinson on . Posted in Features.

“I’m 21, I shouldn’t be feeling like this.” Tara is one of three students we spoke to, and one of many at UoM suffering from Long Covid. Early on in the pandemic, young people were told that if they caught Covid, they were likely to be asymptomatic, but now it has become clear that cases among teenagers and young adults are rising quickly, with rates in people aged 17 to 24 now comparable to the 35 to 69 age group.

Rebecca, who graduated from the University of Manchester this summer, thought that she would be unaffected because she was young: “I definitely was the kind of selfish person who was like, ‘Oh I’m young and healthy, I’ll be fine’, and then obviously that didn’t turn out to be true.” She got Long Covid and “couldn’t exercise or go out” and “was basically in bed for the better part of two months”. She even had to quit her job “because I couldn’t complete a shift”.

The symptoms of fatigue and breathlessness are commonly associated with Long Covid, and can be easy identifiers that you aren’t getting better after having the disease. But some symptoms have gone largely unreported, leading Rebecca and Tara to have to search online to find answers in order to feel less alone. 

Rebecca also experienced hair loss from Long Covid. “It was just coming out in clumps, and I lost about half the volume of my hair.” She says that it is “one of the longer term things that I’ve been quite upset about because it affects my self esteem.” 

And whilst memory problems are mentioned on the NHS website as a symptom, suffering with memory loss is quite terrifying for students as young as 21. For Rebecca it affected her short term memory: “especially at the beginning I found I would turn the kettle on like ten times a day, without ever making a cup of tea … I would just turn the kettle on and leave.” 

Tara has also struggled with her memory. “Someone could tell me some news, the next day they’d tell it to me again and I’ll be shocked like it’s new.” This has really affected her university work too, as she forgets about assessment deadlines – “It will just wipe from my brain and then I’ll miss it.” 

Kalifa, now back in third year, after having to take an interruption year due to Long Covid, “physically had no energy to do basic things”. She was sleeping far more than usual: “I’d wake up at 11, and by 1 or 2 I’d be absolutely knackered and need to go to sleep again.” She’d previously been a very active person, going to the gym four or five times a week, but now “was struggling to do one workout in three weeks”. 

She said: “I needed to stop uni because it was making me really sick, worse than I already was. I needed to rest.” As Kalifa could barely perform the basic functions, university work became “physically impossible”. She had pushed through for the majority of semester one, not knowing what was wrong with her. But as it got to the final assessment of the term she had maxed out on extensions, and was given an ultimatum. “They said ‘you either complete these essays or you have to consider taking an interruption’ and my heart just dropped.” 

Tara is still at university, but having to do everything online because “getting on the bus and walking around uni is too much”. Long Covid has had a huge impact on her uni experience – “it obviously affects it when I miss deadlines or when I can’t go into uni, so I haven’t been to any of my seminars. Ever. I don’t know anyone on my course.”

Photo: Tara McCormack @ Tara McCormack

She hasn’t told the university, because “I just figured there’s no point bothering the uni – what are they going to do realistically?”

Kalifa has informed the university, but didn’t feel supported before her return in September despite already being registered with DASS. “I don’t feel like I’ve really been followed up or taken seriously. I’ve not been checked in on and I’m returning next week.”

But university life is a lot more than just the academics they are missing out on. Rebecca caught Covid soon after things reopened and although she wanted to “make the most of it” and have “a normal uni experience”, she has found it difficult to balance what she wants to do with her new reality – “I’m still kind of trying to ease into normality again.”

Tara, similarly, has struggled to have a normal university experience. “I went to Warehouse Project and that was a massive mistake. I was knocked out for nearly a week, I’m still struggling to breathe like a week afterwards.” It’s affecting her mental health too: “I feel like I can’t join in as much. If I’m at the pub with my mates and they’re like ‘let’s go to the club’, I’m like ‘right I’m going home then.’ Just little things I’m always missing out on… It makes me feel a bit lonely sometimes.” 

Kalifa was already shielding at home due to having rheumatoid arthritis and having to be on immunosuppressants, and was “really quite worried what the virus could do to me”. After getting Long Covid, she is “really anxious and quite traumatised that it’s going to happen again.”

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “The health and wellbeing of our students is always of the utmost importance to us. If students have any concerns about their health and the impact it may have on their studies we encourage them to contact their School Support Office as soon as possible. That office will make sure that all necessary academic and support colleagues are informed and involved to provide support for the student.“


The NHS website has more information on Long Covid

Manifesto: On Never Giving Up

Never Giving Up: Bernardine Evaristo is made president of the Royal Society of Literature

Written by Aileen Loftus on . Posted in Books.

Bernardine Evaristo is to be the next president of the Royal Society of Literature, becoming the first writer of colour to hold the position, and only the second woman in the society’s 200 year history. 

Founded in 1820, the Royal Society of Literature describes itself as ‘the UK’s charity for the advancement of literature’. Evaristo will take over from historian Marina Warner as president at the end of this year. 

Evaristo became a household name after winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other. She won at the age of 60 (‘I welcome the fact that people know my age and I’m certainly not ashamed of it’) and was the first black woman to ever win the prize, though it was shared for the first time in the prize’s history. She describes it as ‘a life-changing experience’.

Since Manifesto: On Never Giving Up was published in October 2021, it felt only right to explore Evaristo’s exciting life and career.

‘Struggle, positivity, vision, activism and self-belief have all contributed towards my unstoppability’

The memoir is split into chapters that follow one another in a loosely chronological way, but they are mostly categorised thematically. They are titled with groupings like ‘heritage, childhood, family, origins’ and ‘drama, community, performance, politics’. The structure separates it from a more simple autobiography, which, for me, makes it more engaging. I found it effortlessly readable.

Evaristo writes about growing up as one of eight siblings, with a Nigerian father and an English mother in London, in a community steeped in racism. She writes: ‘You feel hated, even though you have done nothing to deserve it, and so you think there is something wrong with you, rather than something wrong with them’. Despite this, Evaristo always knew she would make a difference.

‘Poetry was my hobby, but the kind you cannot live without, like oxygen’ 

Evaristo spent her teenage years doing youth theatre, and went on to be a founding member of Theatre of Black Women, where she wrote, performed and directed. This background continues to influence her fiction, which draws from multiple styles, genres and forms. 

In Manifesto, Evaristo writes in surprising detail about the process of writing and about all of her works. I found the former interesting but the latter somewhat superfluous if you’ve read the books, and probably a bit uninteresting if you haven’t. It altogether seemed to promote an author-dominated take on works of fiction that I prefer to avoid, though the purpose was perhaps supposed to be more contextual than educational here.  

‘I write because I have an urge to tell stories’

Evaristo has an immensely positive outlook, which she explains in the book and which sets the tone for the memoir itself. Her encouragement to re-apply for things you want (publication, grants, a place at drama school) and to never accept no for an answer is inspiring. It may be something we’ve heard before, but the reality of facing rejection head on and having the bravery to carry on isn’t usually given as much space as the eventual success. 

Manifesto finishes with a few pages titled ‘The Evaristo Manifesto’, which weave together the ideas of the whole book. She writes: ‘Be wild, disobedient & daring with your creativity, take risks instead of following predictable routes.’ 

The announcement of Bernardine Evaristo’s new role as president of The Royal Society of Literature proves what she writes in her manifesto: that you should never give up in order to create positive change.

Jamie XX performs at the WHP

Eat, sleep, RAVE, repeat: Reviewing Jamie xx at WHP

Written by Izzy Langhamer on . Posted in Music.

The Warehouse Project is the place to be in Manchester. Known for its ravey sets and for drawing some of the country’s best DJs, it’s the event of the social season all the way from September up until New Years. Halfway between a club and a festival, the venue is what it says on the tin: a covered warehouse.

The smooth organisation means the queue takes little time, far quicker than trying to get a vodka lemonade at 42s on a Friday night! Make sure to get there before last entry, and make the most of the night. Forget your jumpers or coats though, because once you get inside the crowds, the cold, and rain will seem a distant memory.

Inside, only the thud of the music, shine of the lights and pulse of the crowd seems to matter. After the gig-depleted year students have suffered under covid, there’s an atmosphere of elation and fever, to be dazed by the strobes and caught up in the trance of the music. The crowd ranged from teens to those in their 30s, proving that the WHP holds appeal for everyone. 

No rules at WHP (covid permitting), Photo: Jody Hartley

On Friday 12th November, Jamie xx took to the stage, delivering a dancey and confident set. Popular as a solo artist and as part of the band xx, Jamie xx knows how to put on a good gig. He’s worked with artists such as Drake, Alicia Keys, Radiohead, and Florence and the Machine, co-producing some of the top songs of the last decade. His curated show at WHP featured the likes of Honey Dijion, Axel Bosman, Skee Mask, Gene on Earth and AceMo.

This setlist both complemented his chill rave beats and kept the momentum of the evening going. Chicago-born Honey Dijon in particular spoke to the disco-techno feel of the night, energising the room and the dancefloor. Jamie xx’s hits were well received by fans, who swayed and nodded to every song.

The set-up of WHP means that you can get much closer to big names than at a festival, and really feel the exhilaration of the artist’s as well as the crowd. Atmospherically, the gig was reminiscent of Parklife, capturing that euphoric Summer feeling even in the darkest Manc November. If you’re looking to recapture that spirit act quick: there’s only one month left to get down there!

Tickets on sale here.

Home alone poster

Home Alone vs Home Sweet Home Alone: What went wrong?

Written by The Mancunion on . Posted in Film.

Watching Home Alone as a first-time viewer merely proved its iconic status as one of the most enjoyable Christmas classics. The film stands up even thirty years later as a funny and sweet film that skirts on the line of being ridiculous and a benchmark to all Christmas movies that have followed.

Watching a sadistic, small child attempt to grievously harm a couple of thieves with implausibly ingenious booby traps during Christmas is a fun time for all the family. The fifth sequel, however, loses any charm it may have had from the moment it begins. The fifth sequel to the 1990 Christmas classic, Home Alone, Home Sweet Home Alone, is yet another nostalgia bait remake that asks the important questions of “why was this film made and when will this end?”.

Home Sweet Home Alone loosely follows the same plot as the first. Max (Archie Yates), a young boy, is accidentally left home alone when his mother and extended family leave to an overseas location over the holidays. However, instead of Home Alone’s iconic Joe Pesci-led duo of bumbling burglars, the married couple of Pam (Ellie Kemper) and Jeff (Rob Delaney) are dubiously hell-bent on taking back the valuable doll, supposedly taken by Max at a house viewing.

Home Sweet Home Alone panders to an audience that does not exist. From its cringe-worthy references to its egregious product placements, the film takes a beloved tale and turns it into a boring slog of a film. It is a blatant cash grab that begs the question of what the team behind this were trying to do or say. Whilst there are occasional shining funny moments, this cannot redeem the cesspit of bad writing and a directionless, inane attempt to recreate a classic for the contemporary era.

One of the problems lies in its cast. Archie Yates, succeeding Macauley Culkin’s beloved performance as Kevin in the original, unfortunately falls short. But it’s unfair to blame the twelve-year-old actor for the lack of charisma in his performance when the film does not give him enough time to shine.

Whilst Max may appear to be the protagonist, most of the film’s screentime is given to the off-putting married couple of Pam and Jeff, who bumble around for most of the film with no clear motivations or even personality. Max receives none of the character moments that Kevin boundlessly received.

The adult cast also exists in an arena of awkward, stilted conversations. Instead of deriving laughs, most of the quips just make you feel uncomfortable. Their interactions are reminiscent of an attempt to recreate the slapstick humour of the John Hughes written original, though it lacks any actual humour.

Lacking any humour or originality, Home Sweet Home Alone does not disappoint because, frankly, nobody was coming into this fifth sequel expecting something good. But the obnoxious writing and humour is irritating all the same. Whilst Home Alone admittedly gets ridiculous and over the top, it levels the spectacle with a youthful charisma that has unexpectedly emotional moments, helped with the masterful score by John Williams. The score of Home Sweet Home Alone is obnoxiously played with no substance behind it, and the most emotional moment I had watching the film was the relief when the credits rolled.

The constant barrage of meta-references to the original does not give Home Sweet Home Alone an edgy, self-aware humour, but instead creates an atmosphere of a resigned group of people trying to appear relevant in the shadow of a film that has the longevity of a classic.

Whilst Home Alone is an ultimately light-hearted and charming bundle of ridicule and fun, Home Sweet Home Alone is a husk of a remake that merely follows in the line of middling remakes and sequels that have become a staple of the modern landscape of cinema.

Home Sweet Home Alone: 1/5. Home Alone: 4/5.

House of Gucci

House of Gucci: Fashion flick could go faster

Written by pipcarew on . Posted in Film.

“I don’t consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I am fair”. These words are all you need to know about Patrizia Reggiani, the muse for Ridley’s Scott’s latest, House of Gucci. Fiercely protective of the family business into which she is assimilated through marriage to Maurizio (Adam Driver), Patrizia (Lady Gaga) is a viciously principled character, to her own undoing.

The pair meet while Maurizio is studying law and Patrizia is an assistant at her father’s trucking company. It’s love (or obsession) at first sight. What ensues is a romance of glamorous and catastrophic proportions as Patrizia is ensnared into the fold of one of fashion’s most famous families.

First and foremost, the costumes. Courtesy of designer Janty Yates, the costumes are outstanding; they need to be for a project of this scale, taking into consideration the global notoriety of the Gucci brand. Each period-specific touch is delightful, a fur coat, the emblematic double ‘G’ adorning bags and belts, Jared Leto’s garish Fuschia patterns, the archival dogtooth Gucci sets and sleek athleisure. They don’t fully commit to campness but do display the extravagance that such lifestyles entail. Each look oozes opulence, it’s a strong contender for best costume design.

Who else to fill those hallowed Balenciaga’s other than Lady Gaga? Delivering style, charisma and presence in her sophomore feature film performance she has that elusive star quality that elevates the source material from the realm of mediocrity.

When the couple initially meet, Patrizia is dressed as screen icon Elizabeth Taylor (also infamous for her turbulent marriage to Richard Burton), an apt comparison for Gaga’s onscreen presence and her equal in glamour. Gaga is compulsively watchable, from the lighter earlier scenes where she effortlessly charms Maurizio to the distraught climax where she begs him to stay, it’s impossible to imagine another actor brimming with the same effervescent presence. She towers above the other cast members and even acting heavyweights Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons fade into the (admittedly very picturesque) scenery.

If Gaga’s performance flirts with an Oscar nomination, Jared Leto’s does so in the most obnoxious way possible. His character, cousin Paulo Gucci, blundered into the scene, screeching in a ridiculous Italian accent, robbing every moment of any dramatic integrity. Like Paulo’s designs, Leto’s performance makes the film look tacky, his voice comparable to screeching horns around the Piazza Venezia during rush hour. Whilst his bold dramatic choices are admirable in their extremity, his performance morphs the film into a confusing farce that is alternatively laughable and headache-inducing.

My biggest criticism, besides Leto’s self-aggrandising performance, is that the film can’t quite decide which aspect of the Gucci story to focus on, switching from a Machiavellian family drama to a Big Short-esque depiction of Gucci’s declining economic status during the nineties. With a family this messy, there’s certainly fertile storytelling ground, but the amount of ground Scott covers doesn’t allow the audience time to sit with the characters and understand their motivations. The dramatic climax comes at the very end of the film when we’re exhausted with Leto chewing the scenery for the past half an hour and the script meandering around in financial minutiae, what should be a shocking reveal feels like the final nail in a very uninteresting coffin. The unfocused script favours melodrama over truth, not assisted by the eye-watering run time of two and a half hours.

Ridley Scott has recently criticised millennial audiences for their short attention spans after the box-office flop of The Last Duel, but even his latest effort which has plenty of selling points for millennials (Lady Gaga and True Crime) fails to turn these components into a compelling drama. Despite all its star power, House of Gucci will be lost amongst the echelon of Best Picture baiting films, it’s already going out of style.

3/5.

UoM moves some teaching online for the rest of the week

Written by Shikhar Talwar on . Posted in News.

Breaking News:

Sources have told The Mancunion that all teaching at the University of Manchester is due to be moved online imminently due to the surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.

This surge is said to be due to the new Omicron variant, which preliminary data shows is more transmissible than previous strains of the Covid-19 virus. However, scientists are still uncertain of this new variant’s exact features and how resistant to the vaccine it will be. As a result, many restrictions have been reintroduced nationally over the past week.

For the University of Manchester, this has meant that many students have seen their classes get either cancelled or moved online for the final week of teaching this semester.

The Mancunion has seen an email from a lecturer informing students that all teaching will be moved online for the rest of the week. The email reads as follows: “The Head of School has this evening circulated a message saying that all teaching will be moved online for the remainder of semester one – with immediate effect. This is in light of the developing Covid situation and to allow students to return home early for Christmas and/or to isolate before doing so.”

This email was sent to students on a SALC (School of Arts, Languages, and Culture) module at 10.55pm on Monday 13th December. Its contents also revealed that staff had only just been told about the change in guidance from the University.

Another source told The Mancunion that their lecturer informed them on the night of December 13th that all teaching would be moved online for the remainder of the week. The source elaborated further, revealing that the original communiqué made to the academic came from their Head of School. It is so far unclear whether any teaching will be exempt from this alleged change in guidance.

Furthermore, one member of staff on twitter alleged that the University previously insisted that all teaching for week 12 be held as face-to-face sessions, as had been done throughout the semester.

They stated that they wanted to move teaching online for this final week so they [the students] “can be safe & wfh [work from home].” However, the University then allegedly insisted on continuing in-person teaching as planned, only for them to reverse the decision the next day.

The member of staff then went on to say that “Now 9pm the night before I get [an] email saying no f2f [face-to-face teaching], Ok to wfh [working from home].”

However, another member of University staff has told The Mancunion that they “don’t know what the plan is after Christmas but the last week of teaching is going ahead”. Elaborating, they stated that “work from home is encouraged apart from any student facing activity…so teaching is going ahead face-to-face”.

Some students have also allegedly been asked to take a lateral flow test before attending face-to-face teaching.

Following these developments last night (December 13th), SALC sent an email to all its students at 10.20 AM on Tuesday 14th December confirming that all teaching will be moved online from Wednesday 15th December. The School of Social Sciences (SSOC) sent a similar email.

It is so far unclear whether it is just the Faculty of Humanities that have moved teaching online or if the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, have moved teaching online as well.

A second year student, studying Spanish and Portuguese expressed dismay at the potential for a move to online learning, telling The Mancunion: “What more do you [the University of Manchester] want us to do? We have all put the masks on and socially distanced. So what more can we do?”

All this comes as the number of cases per day in the UK has regularly risen to over 50,000. On December 11th, 2021, the UK saw around 58,000 cases per day, the highest it has been since early January 2021. Furthermore, the country recorded its first death with the Omicron Variant on December 13th.

When contacted for comment, a University of Manchester spokesperson said this:

“The majority of in-person teaching will continue, but there may be some temporary online teaching where local teams feel that this is in the best interests of students to provide them with added flexibility ahead of the Christmas break. We will continue to ensure that all the precautions we have in place will remain.

Our libraries, learning spaces, catering, sports, and student support facilities will all remain open.

Currently, plans for Semester 2 remain unchanged as announced last week, focused on in-person teaching on campus. We are currently reviewing options based on the latest intelligence and we will provide an update as soon as possible.”

This is a developing story. Follow The Mancunion on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to keep up with the story as it develops.

Future Fashion Fair Manchester

Future Fashion Fair: Manchester’s own sustainable fashion event

Written by Hannah Wellock on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

The sustainable fashion movement is in full force in Manchester. This weekend I went to Manchester’s very own Future Fashion Fair (FFF), a fashion fair with all things sustainable. After such success with the first FFF in September, the second fair took place last Saturday. 

The Future Fashion Fair took place at the Yard which is on the edge of the Green Quarter, a short walk from Victoria station. The venue, normally a space used by creatives to host music and art events, was the perfect location for the fair. 

Inside you found small business stalls, a swap shop hosted by Nuw, vintage clothing stalls and a talk room. Whilst outside was the host to several different food vendors throughout the day. 

Photo: Hannah Wellock @ The Mancunion

The main hall housed the small business stalls with the likes of Bukky Bladwin, Snot Rags and Kiht Collective (a sustainable gym wear brand). My personal favourite was RheabFunky, a small one-woman brand that makes faerie/festival wear using every last scrap of fabric in her patchwork designs. With a small bar in the corner, this room turned into the events space for the afterparty in the evening. 

Photo: Hannah Wellock @ The Mancunion

Just off from the main hall was the Vintage Room housing several vintage clothing vendors. This little room was jam-packed with all things vintage ranging from coats and jackets to bags and accessories. However, the room was always full throughout the day making it slightly difficult to have a look around. 

One of my favourite parts was the swap shop hosted by the company Nuw. They are a relatively new company that is looking to reduce the environmental impact of fashion by increasing the hype around clothes swaps. They have given swap shops an online platform and this was their first in-person event. 

Photo: Hannah Wellock @ The Mancunion

The app works by uploading images of items you want to swap, receiving a token for each item. You then wait until someone is interested in your item and then send the item directly to the other user. In the meantime you can get swapping with the tokens you have earned from uploading items. 

The in-person swap shop also worked based on a token system, each item being worth one token. I received 4 tokens for the items I took, I didn’t swap straight away, instead waited until there was a larger selection. I found some good pieces after a bit of a dig through the clothes. You know what they say, one person’s trash is another’s treasure! 

Photo: Hannah Wellock @ The Mancunion

Throughout the day there were several talks about different sustainable fashion related topics. I attended three: the Pros and Cons of Fast Fashion, The Slow Fashion Movement UK and Cloud-based print on demand. 

The Pros and Cons of Fast Fashion talk was hosted by Forage Mill in a more discussion-based style. We discussed the impact on the environment and the social welfare aspect in relation to workers right as the negatives. However, it was very interesting to review the positive aspects of the fast fashion industry. These include the creation of jobs for garment workers and the accessibility to fashion for people with low incomes. For all its flaws, fast fashion does allow everyone to have creative input into the clothes they wear. 

This talk was then followed by the Slow Fashion Movement UK talk, this was a panel event with the team who created the UK branch of the Slow Fashion Movement. This talk heavily featured the idea of community, how fast fashion was working to remove the sense of community as we no longer share anymore. Previously a community was created by passing clothing down and helping one another with repairing items, something the Slow Fashion Movement is trying to resurrect. It was interesting to hear a discussion based on more social aspects rather than the environmental aspects that tend to dominate the media in relation to fast fashion. 

The day then transitioned into an afterparty in the main hall with a free drink and plenty of food to choose from. Overall it was a great day out, there was an incredible sense of community and a perfect sustainable fashion shopping opportunity. I heard through the grapevine a third Future Fashion Fair is in the works for April 2022 so keep an eye out for that and get yourself down! 

FFF written in purple luminous lighting on a background of purple streamers
Photo: Hannah Wellock @ The Mancunion
Clothes dump as a result of fast fashion, depop

Should we drop Depop?

Written by violetcannon on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Depop has fastly become the most popular clothing resale app for the younger generation thanks to it incorporating streetwear and vintage items with the current trends. They, somewhat pretentiously, label themselves as “the fashion marketplace app where the next generation comes to discover unique items”. 

Whilst it’s true that Depop initially started off as a platform for people to buy second-hand clothes for cheaper prices, this intention has been lost along the way. Wholesalers and greedy entrepreneurs have manipulated the app to sell items of clothing for three times their original price. 

It’s easy to see the temptation in such a quick business scheme, considering the capitalistic values that consume and surround us – who wouldn’t want to make £100 just by clicking a few buttons? 

In the past 5 or so years, many Depop sellers have found their ground by visiting their local charity shops, or having a nifty skill on eBay, in order to sell (mostly vintage) items for a large profit. There is so much demand for this in the current trends that sellers have, in some cases, been able to upload and sell 20+ items every day.

Besides the obvious issues of selfish profiteering, these commerces lead to a shortage of clothes in shops that are intended for people who are not as well off and has simultaneously led to the gentrification of charity shops. The profiteers in question are usually much more fortunate and have a lesser need for low-priced streetwear, which to them is just the current trend, rather than a necessity or a lifestyle. 

What’s even more frustrating is seeing Brandy Melville tops that have an RRP of £18 being sold for £60, just because they’re brown and have a lettuce hem. This adds to the illusion that these items are rare and that this is standard for dressing according to the norms. 

A more concerning issue is how Depop allows drop-shipping and a cycle of fast fashion, especially considering the increase of resales of fast fashion e-commerce items from sites like Aliexpress and Shein. 

Drop-shipping is when sellers list items for sale and send them straight to buyers from a cheaper website, without even having to handle them. Aliexpress and Shein make a lot of their money from this process, as their business model requires quick and frequent purchases. 

They are known for replicating both big brands’ designs, and also independent designers and small businesses. They manufacture low-quality replicas of the originals, and they advertise with stolen images and small prices. 

A sad example of a small brand’s design being ripped off is Fruity Booty, a boutique underwear shop, whose signature orange gingham vest top worth £60 was replicated and sold for £5 on Aliexpress, with their pictures also being used without permission.

The co-owners of the company expressed that they “are a small business and have very little power. At one level it is flattering to be copied, but it is also devastating given it undermines both our creativity and what we stand for as a brand.”

The forgery has gone so far that you can literally upload a picture of any item of clothing you like the look of, and a designer on Aliexpress will contact you with an offer to make it. 

Not only is this harmful to small businesses, who work hard to produce high quality, unique designs with sustainable materials; but it also contributes to fast fashion where people buy clothes only to wear them a few times and throw them away when the trend dies out, which is hugely harmful to the environment. 

It’s safe to assume that when a jacket costs £8, it’s probably made with cheap materials and in an unsustainable environment.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to prevent drop-shipping like this from happening at the root. Depop however, despite banning drop-shipping in 2020, haven’t actively shown that they’re taking the extra precautions to remove it from their platform.

All of these issues prove that Depop is guilty of reflecting the capitalistic motivations of our society. Resale apps have become yet another capitalised space where people’s only concern is making the most profit, regardless of the ethical and environmental effects it may have.

Molchat Doma live at Gorilla

Molchat Doma: Post-punk phenomenon live at Gorilla

Written by Michal Wasilewski on . Posted in Music.

Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma, who were already touring sold-out venues before the coronavirus pandemic, came back on tour this Autumn after gaining worldwide popularity through TikTok during lockdown. In Manchester, they played to a sold-out crowd at Gorilla.

The supporting act was Rhumba Club, a London-based art-pop and queer disco act, who have just released their first album this November. It is fair to say that I was not expecting this kind of happy, upbeat disco music opening for a gloomy and dark show of Eastern European post-punk.

Although it definitely did not fit the vibe that probably should have been created, people seemed to love it. Singer Tom Falle tried his best to engage the crowd, and it is fair to say that he did as well as he possibly could, encouraging concertgoers to sing the chorus of one of the songs: ‘The Rhumba Club Is Waiting For Me’. And I found myself listening to some of their music on Spotify after the concert as well!

Under dim lighting and surrounded by smoke, Molchat Doma entered the stage at 8.30pm. The Belarusian trio emerged dressed in all black, beginning their two-hour set with one of their better known songs, ‘Клетка’ (Cage).

The hypnotic nature of Molchat Doma’s music, with programmed drums and steady vocals throughout most of the band’s songs, could mean that it would eventually come off as repetitive. However, it worked in the band’s favour, as it seemed as if everyone was put in trance for the duration of the show. 

There was little engagement with the audience, apart from the occasional thank you (in Russian, of course), after some of the songs. Whether it was because of a language barrier, or for a stylistic choice, this lack of artist-audience dialogue added to the gloomy, hypnotic atmosphere.

Molchat Doma’s music is influenced by 1980s Russian rock, particularly the band Kino, which is to this day one of the most popular Russian bands. The lyrics of most Molchat Doma songs comment on the bleakness of life both under the Soviet Union and in present day Belarus.

Although portraying a rather negative and depressing view of life in their country, the band restrains themselves from mentioning the Belarusian political situation in their music. In an interview for the New York Times, the instrumentalist Pavel Kozlov commented on daily life in Belarus, saying that “any hasty word that was said too loud can result in a loss of freedom. So, as a band, we don’t talk about politics and our music doesn’t touch upon it.”

Molchat Doma live in concert at Gorilla, Manchester
Photo: Molchat Doma by Michal Wasilewski @ The Mancunion

Despite dark lyrics often reflecting on depression, heartbreak, loneliness, and suicide, Molchat Doma went viral on TikTok a number of times. Even though I’ve long been a fan of Eastern European dark wave music, the first time I heard a Molchat Doma song was probably in some TikTok video.

Therefore, I was more than curious to see what kind of demographics would come to their show in the UK. The result was more or less what I’ve expected, as the audience consisted of every social group you could possibly see at a Russian post-punk TikTok-viral band concert.

A large part of the crowd seemed to be Eastern European, and before the show I could hear people around me speaking all kinds of Slavic languages. There were some old-school British goths, as well as 20-something-year-old students. All of them seemed to enjoy the show equally, dancing around to synth beats and even forming occasional moshpits to some of the faster songs.

The band played most of their songs, and with their three albums totalling to about an hour and forty-five minutes, maybe they actually played every song they’ve ever released. Naturally, the ones the audience responded to best were the most popular ones.

When the trio came back on stage for the encore to play their most smash hit, ‘Судно’ (Bedpan), which currently has over 110 million streams on Spotify, the crowd went crazy, unbothered by the two-hour gloomy set that had teleported them to the 1980s and the other side of the Iron Curtain. 

Even though neither the dark Communist vibe, nor the inherently Russian sounds, nor the Russian language lyrics are something the Western audience can relate to, Molchat Doma’s popularity and sold-out concerts show that apart from Soviet nostalgia, Eastern European post-punk has universal value around the world.

Listen to Molchat Doma here:

Night and Day Cafe from the front

Night and Day Café faces potential closure

Written by Clara Margotin on . Posted in Music, News.

Night and Day has recently raised concerns over Manchester’s community, as it may face closure. Indeed, the venue has received a Noise Abatement Notice from the council, which follows noise complaints made by a resident who lives next to the café.

Following its 30th birthday celebrations, during which the famous English rock band Elbow came and played live music, the venue decided to share its concern on social media, explaining that they were suffering from a lot of pressure from the council and that they may have to shut down.

Everything started during lowdown, when a new resident moved in the flat just next to Night and Day Café. The venue was closed back then, and no complaints were made. However, since the venue’s re-opening a few months ago, the neighbour has complained over the noise several times, and has contacted the council.

He claims having spent at least £17,000 so far on insulation, in order to reduce the café’s noise impact on his flat, and declared having tried to discuss with Night and Day’s owners to find an agreement.

Night and Day thus decided to start a petition, which has received more than 50,000 signatures so far, in order to gain support from the community. The neighbour stated that this petition “goes to show how much they mean to the community” and that he “would be the first to sign if the shoe was on the other foot!”, but that, for him, “[it’s] not the way the law works.”

Established on Oldham Street 30 years ago, Night and Day Café is one of the most mythic live music venues in Manchester. Over the years, this Northern Quarter-based venue has seen the very beginnings of internationally renowned bands such as Elbow, Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms, and more.  

The famous venue has also been labelled a site of ‘cultural significance’ following Covid-19’s lockdowns and received funding from both the Arts Council and Manchester City Council, in order to get financial help after the sanitary crisis.

He affirmed to the Manchester Evening News that he “love[s] Manchester” and that, by “living in thriving Northern Quarter, [he] expect[s] to hear loud noise etc.” but confessed that “the issues [he] face[s] are not really the gigs – it’s with the club nights”, during which there can be “different DJs running until 3am at least twice a week”, sometimes even later.

Night and Day Café had already faced a noise complaint in 2014 but managed to negotiate with the council to remain on Oldham Street. Indeed, the venue was allowed to keep its licence with new and exceptional conditions, including meeting residents every three months, giving them a contact number for the venue, and keeping a complaints book.

Power of the Dog

The Power of the Dog: Cumberbatch shines in Netflix’s Western melodrama

Written by The Mancunion on . Posted in Film.

Written by Giorgia Ravera.

After a 12 year hiatus, Jane Campion returns to the director’s chair with her adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel The Power of the Dog. 

Set in 1925 Montana, the story focuses on two brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), who live together on a secluded ranch. George is a mild-mannered and sensitive man who falls in love with the widowed Rose (Kristen Dunst) and decides to marry her. Phil, on the contrary, is an embodiment of the masculinity cult: smart, cultivated, authoritative and crass, he doesn’t accept vulnerability and rejects any form of namby-pamby mannerism or conventionality . When Rose comes to live on the ranch with her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Phil believes his mental and physical space to be under threat. His hostility towards them turns into a suffocating attempt to disturb Rose and humiliate Peter. However, the tables soon start to turn and Phil eventually succumbs to his masked frailty. 

Disguised as a Western epic, The Power of the Dog is a psychological melodrama in which each scene emerges with a halo of mystery around the direction of the plot and the drive of its characters. The very last scene brings sharp clarity to the whole story, although some questions remain unanswered. For instance, not much is known about Phil’s motivation for his surly disposition, the nature of the relationship with his friend and idol Bronco Henry, and the reasons behind a sudden change which leaves him becoming more benevolent to the young Peter. 

The Power of the Dog trailer

In shooting the movie, Campion’s poetic eye often lingers on the metaphorical contrast between the meditative wildness of the New Zealand landscape, where it was actually filmed, and the disquiet of the domestic environment inside the ranch. What fascinates in particular is the contradiction between the coldness of the interiors and the warmth of the exteriors, which adds to the uneasiness of the characters and forges the nightmare they get trapped in. 

The landscape is also significant for its symbolic meaning. What is hidden in plain sight is often invisible to those who don’t know how to look. Phil always brags about his gift of knowing how to look, how he is able to see a dog in the shadow cast by the mountain’s ridge. However, the real dogs are hidden much closer than where he directs his gaze, and while his lurking eyes are fixed on the horizon, it is the ranch’s inhabitants who really require his attention. 

Through his performance, Cumberbatch gives birth to probably one of the scariest protagonists you’ll see in the cinema, pouring Phil’s hostility and resentment towards a nonspecific recipient with every word, action and glare towards the camera. The lens constantly focuses on close-ups of his eyes, relentlessly moving around, constantly searching for new prey to submit. Perhaps it is precisely the lack of clarity around his past and the reasons for his malevolence that makes the character of Phil so unpredictable, and therefore terrifying.  

Dunst and Plemons also put in convincing performances, and bring some of their real life affection for each other into their portrayal of a couple united by love but torn apart by the unhappiness of their environment. Rose is certainly the character we get to sympathise the most with: her frailty is palpable and her descent into alcoholism as a result of her venomous brother-in-law appears inevitable. Plemons’ George is a likable character, who easily gets the audience’s sympathy for his refusal to react to any of his brother’s insults, and his kindness towards Rose. However, he is overshadowed as the story develops, and gets cut off from pivotal moments in the plot. When he returns on screen, the other characters’ psychological journeys are almost complete, so he remains an almost static and unengaging figure.   

Overall, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is a successfully dark revival of the original source material, explored through the naturalistic lens constructed by cinematographer Ari Wegner, and the immersive score of Jonny Greenwood. Perhaps one of the most promising titles coming out on Netflix, and certainly one of Cumberbatch’s best performances, it will hopefully gain recognition as ‘the dog’s bollocks’ in the upcoming awards season. 

5/5.

The Book of Mormon

Review: The Book of Mormon

Written by Ella Robinson on . Posted in Theatre.

There is no review, preview, or warning that can quite prepare you for the musical The Book of Mormon. Infamously created by the minds behind South Park, even without knowledge of the plot, there is an unwritten expectation that the humour of this musical comedy will push the boundaries.

Indeed 2 hours and 20 minutes later, you are almost guaranteed to be left singing along to the catchy soundtrack but also in a slight existential crisis about how politically correct you really are. 

The plot follows a group of American Mormons, namely the duo Elder Price and Elder Cunningham. Leaving behind the utopia of America, they are sent to Uganda to embark on their duties as missionaries. It is at this moment that your politically correct heart might first sink, upon the realisation that it is Uganda and more broadly the continent of Africa (rather than Mormonism) that is to become the butt of most of the jokes.

The true merit of the production is in its staging and incredible standard of performance. From the very first musical number, ‘Hello!’, we are introduced to the pure talent of the cast who maintain amazing energy and commitment to their roles throughout. Even during their final bows, the characterisation was brilliant, with Elder McKinley being a particularly strong performer. 

Photo: Paul Coltas @ The Book of Mormon UK touring company

Whilst not on the scale of Hamilton, the historical explanations of the formation of the Latter Day Saints were actually informative and very funny. It also poked fun at the idea and need for an ‘All American’ religion with its ‘All American’ prophet. 

The show really came into its own during the fifth song of the show, ‘Turn it off’, with humorous lyrics joking about the suppression of feelings as a “nifty little Mormon trick”. It revealed the unpredictability of what was to come, with the lights ‘turning off’ and back on to reveal the Mormons tap dancing in pink waistcoats, again with Elder McKinley as its star. 

The Book of Mormon was about as far from predictable as you could get, with our interval predictions quickly quashed by ‘Spooky Mormon Hell Dream’, as Elder Price ended up singing alongside Hitler, Genghis Khan, the serial killer Jeffery Dahmer, and the guy who “got O. J. freed!” The staging of hell was incredible, but no wonder actual mormons aren’t fans of the musical’s portrayal of their religion. 

However, it is rather telling that our favourite songs are those that make no mention of the Elders mission to Uganda. Early on, the musical was clearly satirical, with a woman in ‘traditional African dress’ singing a variation on the ‘Circle of Life’ before revealing she had never in fact been to Africa. It seemed to be mocking Americans’ perceptions of Africa the continent, a thread I thought continued into ‘Hasa Diga Eebowai’. 

Photo: Paul Coltas @ The Book of Mormon UK touring company

With lines joking about drought, famine, FGM, saying “and eighty percent of us have AIDS”, this seemed such a stereotypical portrayal of Uganda that it must be mocking the Elders and Americans in general for believing such a perception. However, the AIDS and FGM jokes continued until the end of the play, with Elder Cunningham ‘saving them’ from these problems with Star Wars references and elaborated stories. 

The musical does satirise the White saviour complex, but bizarrely not always at the expense of the White saviours, the Mormons. Mutumbo, a member of the Ugandan village, repeatedly talks about wanting to rape a baby to cure his AIDS, and Elder Cunningham persuades him to rape a frog instead. Yes, you read that sentence right, so you can probably start to understand why we left the theatre feeling slightly scarred. 

None of the simplistic, monochrome marketing quite prepares you for the presentation of Uganda, as an animated yet basic village fairly removed from ‘modern society’ where multiple villagers are quickly declared as having AIDS. The colonial and imperial undertones were automatically obvious and uncomfortable, and I don’t think these can be explained as simply a symptom of being too politically correct.

The banner outside brands it “The funniest musical of all time”, but The Sunday Telegraph’s review “It’s hilarious. God have mercy upon my soul” now reads slightly differently having seen the show. Some of the jokes felt more incriminating to those who laughed at them. 

Photo: Paul Coltas @ The Book of Mormon UK Touring company

With a very White, very middle-class audience, it made us question who these jokes were really targeted at. As Nathaniel Hall put it, “We laugh along with them [the Elders] and by the end the audience is cheering for them as the unlikely heroes as they colonise the African people.” Honestly, we’re surprised this criticism isn’t more mainstream.

You can’t knock the cast, all the performances were brilliant, with Avia Tulley as Nabulungi a shining star. Much of the cast are labelled in the programme as “ensemble”, but they were all key parts of the show, and there is no one you can criticise for their musical, acting or dancing abilities. 

But if someone asked me if I’d recommend it, I’m not sure what I’d say. At least go into it educated, this is not simply a play laughing at Mormons and religion. The missionary zeal, and particularly its colonial and racist undertones, which dominated The Book of Mormon, were conspicuously absent from all previews and marketing, with vague references to “a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get”. Would it be so successful if people knew what to expect?

The Book of Mormon plays at the Palace Theatre until the 1st of January before continuing its UK tour through 2022.

Dick Whittington

Contact Theatre is dreaming of a Catty Christmas

Written by Jay Darcy on . Posted in Theatre.

The bells are ringing out for a sure-fire Christmas hit show at CONTACT this Christmas as eight-freestyle present: Dick Whittington and his Amazing Cat!

A retelling of the English folklore Dick Whittington and His Cat, and the classic panto Dick Whittington, this upbeat, modern production tells the tale of young Dick Whittington and his loyal cat ‘Scratch’ on their exciting quest for fame and fortune. Can Dick defeat evil King Rat and his rat hordes? Can he win the love of the beautiful Alice Fitzwarren? Can he survive shipwrecks, magic, pirates, ghosts, sharks and Freda the Cook’s terrible pies?

Photo: Contact Theatre.

Featuring a multi-talented, all-singing, all-dancing cast – Contact has stated that there will be no “wooden reality-TV stars”, throwing shade to most pantos around the country – this panto is a treat for children of all ages – even grown-up ones!

Contact is proud to be hosting what has become known as ‘Manchester’s Local Panto’.

Sign up for ‘Team Cat’ and join Contact on the road from Manchester to London Town for the funniest, flashiest, funkiest Pantomime of them all!

Dick Whittington and his Amazing Cat plays at Contact Theatre from 11th December until 3rd January.

Prudencia Hart

Review: The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

Written by Jay Darcy on . Posted in Theatre.

In all honestly, I wasn’t that excited for The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, but I was excited for my first ever proper Royal Exchange Theatre press night. My first ever RX press night was Bloody Elle back in June, but Covid meant there was no press social, so it was lovely to have press drinks on the mezzanine for the first time – admiring the beauty of the old Exchange building.

When Prudencia Hart finished, I walked out of the auditorium and through the bar where I passed the Royal Exchange (RX) Theatre’s lovely press officer, Paula, and asked her how on earth I’m supposed to review that.

I was at a complete loss for words – and those who know me know that I always have something to say. I don’t always say it but it’s in my head, nonetheless. I’m creative and opinionated, and this review is going to be filled with creativity and opinions, but it took me a good few moments to collect my thoughts. I knew I loved the show; I just didn’t know what to think of it. So much happened, and the show kept reinventing itself, so I felt a little overwhelmed – in a good way.

The Royal Exchange Theatre traditionally puts on established musicals over the holiday season. Its last one was Gypsy in 2020; it has also produced adaptations of Guys and Dolls, Into the Woods, The Producers, and other well-known (though not necessarily “mainstream”) musicals. I’m always thrilled and excited by the RX’s musical announcement, for it’s always a musical I’ve been hoping to see – but this year’s musical is one I had never even heard of.

By adapting a new, little-known musical (well, musical play), the RX’s artistic directors are putting their mark on the theatre. They’re bold and ambitious – and probably want to give lesser-known plays and musicals a chance to shine. I’d never have heard of Prudencia Hart if it wasn’t for the RX.

Next year, they’re being even more ambitious – their annual musical is a brand-new one: Betty! A Sort Of Musical. Though with Maxine Peake in the lead role, they’re reducing the risk – she’s guaranteed to bring in the audiences. I’d see her in anything – and I did: you don’t go to see Happy Days to be entertained…

Perhaps my scepticism of Prudencia Hart was unfair – because I did not actually know what to expect. The initial information was deliberately ambiguous – but, to be honest, it would be virtually impossible to give audiences a good understand of what this musical play actually is.

The show began with a pre-show performance. The cast’s costumes gave me Midsommar vibes. I knew that this was a folk musical but the costumes had be wondering whether it was going to focus on a cult.

The cast played instruments and sang a couple of well-known songs – Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ and Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. The end of the first act made it clear why the former song was sang – and the song was repeated in the second act.

It took a little time to get into the show, and the story was interesting but hardly the most exciting. It slowly began to pick up, becoming more intriguing with each passing minute.

Although Joanne Thompson was fantastic in the title role, her character was way less interesting than the play’s minor characters – played by the ensemble. The male leads, Paul Tinto (Devil) and Oliver Wellington (Colin Syme), appeared very comfortable in their parts – and also seemed to be having lots of fun playing comical, colourful characters. The ensemble was completed by Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings (Corbie), Amelia Isaac Jones (Corbie) and Malin Lewis (Musical Director and Additional Arrangements).

In this regard, I was reminded of Good Omens – David Tennant and Michael Sheen are brilliant, but the ensemble steal the show. But whilst Tennant and Sheen’s characters are fascinating, Prudencia was kind of annoying – though I guess that was the point. Dry, dull Prudencia was supposed to be overshadowed by the big, bold characters around her.

In fact, the first act’s best scene was the one that didn’t even include Prudencia. It was nice to have a break from her constant whining and moaning, if I’m honest!

This scene was the morning after the hen party, in which the four women (played by three men and one woman) slowly remember exactly what happened the night before. Hodgson-Mullings absolutely stole this scene; he gave one of the funniest performances I’ve ever seen.

The final memory involved Prudencia but instead of the women recounting this one, there was a flashback – Prudencia came back – before the play flashed forward again.

It was this scene that made me realise the potential of this play, and although it did not stay at this level for the rest of the act, the play then took a mysterious turn. Act 1 ended with a huge twist, a shock revelation that reinvented the whole play – though it did not come out of nowhere; there had been a recurring theme that seemed a little out of place but now made a lot of sense.

Act 2 had a completely different setting, and it focused more on Prudencia. Finally, Thompson was allowed to showcase her talent, and Prudencia became likeable, interesting and, most shockingly of all, entertaining. She finally became a protagonist that we wanted to root for. This is testament to the play’s brilliant writing and directing; Act 2 was a complete reinvention – of both story and character.

Whilst Act 1 felt like a musical – albeit a modern, folk musical – the second act felt more like a play with music. If I remember correctly, there wasn’t any singing until later on in the act. This change was jarring and strange, but once again, it worked well to separate the two acts – which are truly worlds apart (key word: worlds) regarding tone and style.

I’ll say no more about the story, out of fear of saying too much…

I was a little disappointed by the show’s set, staging, and use of space. I was not expecting this to be a “big” production like the musicals that the RX has produced before, but the theatre is known for using its stage to great effect. In Prudencia Hart, however, the stage felt a little squandered at times. That said, there were some scenes where staging and set were used very well, especially later in the second act when Prudencia repeatedly tries to escape the place that I will not reveal in fear of giving away too much.

The music was fun and folksy; it helped transport us to this fictional world that looked a lot like ours but was a little more eccentric. I liked the inclusion of Malin Lewis – the show’s musical director – in the cast.

The costumes, too, were simple but effective, adding character to the characters. That said, some of the costumes looked a little cheap, or like they had been hastily chosen, but part of me thinks that that could be the point: this musical is sort-of anti-musical. This musical is folk.

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 15th January.

Top 10 Manchester City Centre Pubs

Written by The Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Pub aficionados Freddie Moss, James Stanley, and Jack Birtles take us on their ultimate pub crawl around Manchester. Read on for the best ales, lagers, and spirits in town – ranked from 10 to 1. Not for the faint-hearted, this walkable crawl is guaranteed to have you singing in the streets by 9pm!

Photo: The New Oxford 2019

New Oxford – 10
Technically in Salford, The New Oxford is a fantastic small pub just outside of Spinningfields. This pub boasts a huge variety of beers, ales and lagers, in kegs as well as barrels, and features many decorations, including glasses, photos and a great number of coasters at each table. Although pricey, this is a great boozer in a quieter part of town that few students visit.

Thirsty Scholar – 9
Coming in at number 9 we have the thirsty scholar, conveniently located a stone’s throw away from Oxford Road train station. Walking into this pub, you immediately feel its quieter underground vibe and lose the hustle and bustle of the city. A decent range of beers are on offer – but at great price – and as the name suggests, it’s a popular hub for university students, so it can get very busy in the night time.

Photo: Thirsty Scholar @ Wikimedia Commons

Gulliver’s – 8
In the heart of the Northern Quarter we have Gulliver’s, a lively pub and a very popular venue for bands and live music. With multiple rooms and a large selection of good quality beers, it’s got a buzzing atmosphere at night. This 160 year old building is very aesthetically pleasing, and as it always stays open until 1am, it’s great any night during the week

The Angel – 7
Although a bit rough a round the edges, the Angel is a top boozer if you’re looking for good beer at a reasonable price. This old school pub is stooped with history, its walls lined with books. The Angel has a friendly vibe and a good variety of different ales and stouts from breweries around the North West. 

Sinclair's Oyster Bar
Photo: Sinclair’s Oyster Bar

Sinclair’s Oyster Bar – 6
Found in Shambles Square connected to the classic Old Wellington Pub, Sinclair’s Oyster Bar is our next choice. Although fans of both pubs, we prefer its old school vibe with its unique no phones and no swearing policy. The beer on tap keeps it simple, one lager and all the rest dark ales. The inside of the pub is fantastic and old fashioned with a lovely upstairs. The price of the beer makes this pub well deserving of 6th spot. For less than £3 a pint in the centre of Manchester, it’s not one to miss!

Lower Turks Head – 5
Another great Northern Quarter pub, the Lower Turks Head is a classic boozer. This Joseph Holt Pub has been running since 1745 and has a large collection of cask ales, kegs and lagers – 30 taps and 12 pumps to be precise, so plenty of choice for everyone! It’s averagely priced for the Northern Quarter but makes up for it with an excellent ambience and knowledgeable, friendly staff. The pub itself has a great deal of history with multiple rooms and even an upstairs with another mini-bar.

Briton’s Protection – 4
One of the greats of Manchester. Impossible to leave it out, it’s been around for decades and I hope it’s around for many more. This pub looks as good from the outside as it does on the inside: consisting of 3 rooms, my favourite is the back room with the fire place. The speciality of the Briton’s Protection is their vast collection of whiskeys; with over 300 on offer you’ve got plenty to choose from! Although this is a great pub it’s one of the more expensive ones in Manchester, so take it steady when drinking here, especially if you’re drinking on a budget.

Peveril of the Peak
Photo: Peveril of the Peak @manchesterhistory.net

Peveril of the Peak – 3
Another classic, there is absolutely no way I could leave out Peveril of the Peak. A once popular drinking spot for the Oasis superstars Liam and Noel Gallagher, it’s hard to miss this vibrant-looking pub just outside the centre of town. The inside has multiple different rooms to drink in, with access to the bar from 3 different positions. Although the drinks are on the expensive side, they’ve got a lot to offer in Peveril of the Peak, so it takes the bronze medal position in our top 10.

Castle Hotel – 2
The superior sibling to Gulliver’s across the road, the Castle hotel is a great pub. Very modest and almost hidden, it took us a while to hear about this pub and finally have a drink in there. It’s got everything you could want: a fantastic selection of real ales, and great music on every evening including occasional live events. The Castle Hotel has everything to offer including an ace atmosphere, so clinches a very worthy number 2 position in this list.

The City Arms – 1
At number 1, the holy grail: The City Arms is simply the best in town. Dead in the heart of Manchester, it’s got an almost unbeatable selection of real ales. Aesthetically, it’s as good a pub as you’ll find anywhere. The pub regularly updates its pumps and you’ll find that you can walk in one week after another with almost a completely new selection on offer. The price is slightly high, but it’s fully justified by the pub and the quality of beer that they’ve got in there. For us, this is the best that you will find in Manchester and it may take a lot to change my mind.

The City Arms
Photo: The City Arms

Our suggested route is: The New Oxford, Sinclair’s Oyster Bar, Lower Turk’s Head, The Angel, Gulliver’s, Castle Hotel, The City Arms, Briton’s Protection, Peveril of the Peak, The Thirsty Scholar.

 

Written by Freddie Moss, James Stanley, and Jack Birtles.

Max Verstappen wins F1 championship

Max-imum drama: Verstappen wins F1 world title in the last lap of the championship

Written by Alexandra Bikard on . Posted in Sport.

The 24-year-old lion of the 2021 Formula One world championship has secured his very first victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

The anticipation for the race was at an all-time high after the Saudi Arabian GP where Hamilton finished first and with the fastest lap ensuring that he and Verstappen: the two championship contenders, came into Abu Dhabi with 369,5 points each. This was therefore the deciding race, and the high-drama season had one final plot twist.

Max started on pole after a fantastic flying lap during qualifying but Hamilton had a much better start and quickly put himself in front of the Dutchman. Just a few corners after, Verstappen challenged Hamilton in turn seven but Hamilton went off-track, cut the corner and came out in front. Red Bull was fuming but according to the stewards, Hamilton slowed down enough to give back his advantage and no investigation is deemed necessary.

In the meantime, Hamilton built an ever-increasing gap over Verstappen who’s soft tires were slowly giving up on him leading him to pit on lap 14. Hamilton promptly followed and came out 11.513s behind Perez, who hadn’t been pitted in order to keep Hamilton at bay.

After the gap is closed Perez became the teammate of the century by making it really difficult for Hamilton to pass him and therefore allowing the gap with Verstappen to go from over six seconds to 1.241s!

While Hamilton stretched that gap again, Kimi Raikkonen crashed and a yellow flag ensued, a virtual safety car quickly followed after Giovinazzi spins off the track. This allowed Christian Horner to bring his drivers in for a second pit stop. 

Once the track was clear in lap 38, Verstappen worked his way to close the now 17.614s gap with Hamilton. However, it seemed that his tires were quickly degrading and he was now struggling to find the pace to close a 13-second gap before the end of the race. 

But! Just a few laps after Horner admitted that it would take a miracle to win the race, his prayers were answered: Nicholas Latifi (Horner thanked Latifi in his post-race interviews) crashed in corner 14 after bumping into Mick Schumacher and a safety car was triggered. Verstappen took yet another opportunity to pit to get on softs but much to the dismay of Red Bull, the FIA decided that lapped cars will not be able to overtake.

In a deciding and controversial decision: the FIA let only the lapped cars that are between Verstappen and Hamilton unlap themselves, allowing Verstappen to be right behind Hamilton’s tail on the restart, which ultimately secured him the championship bypassing his opponent in the very last lap of the race! 

While Dutch fans are understandably over-the-moon, many others have a lot of questions about the regularity of this race. This season, in general, has been punctuated by many controversies which have built a profound rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull, and this last race might have been the last drop for Mercedes.

While Max seemed to have the championship in his pocket during the first half of the season, Hamilton and the Mercedes team did a fantastic recovery during the last stretch of the season. In particular, it did seem that the Mercedes car was the better one and that Hamilton was bound to win as Max couldn’t catch him. Many therefore believe that Verstappen was handed the championship win on a silver platter by the FIA.  

In fact, following Toto Wolf’s discontent, Mercedes contested the results on the basis that the rules and protocols of racing were not followed. However, the appeal has been rejected by the stewards.

George Rusell, who is meant to become Lewis’ teammate next year wrote on Twitter: “Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot believe what we’ve just seen./ THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!”. It is clear that many are very unhappy with the way the FIA handled the race. 

One thing is for sure: whether you are a Hamilton or a Verstappen fan, you cannot deny that this season has been the most exciting one in a very long time. It has essentially managed to put F1 back on the map as a sport worth watching. The rivalry between the two champions will be higher than ever next year and the fans cannot wait to see what the teams have in store for the 2022 season. In the meantime, they will be able to relive the emotions of this season thanks to Netflix’s upcoming season of Drive to Survive.