INSIDE: - Seren - Bangor University

Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper 

ISSN 1755-7585 Issue No. 215 

December Issue 2010 

Made in Wales 

Christmas gifts 

and gadgets for 

under £10! 

Union President speaks out against 

increasing tuition fees 

• Wales mirrors uk 

• But fee increase will 

not affect welsh students 

The Welsh Assembly has announced its plans regarding the 

changes to Higher Education fees that have been introduced 

by the Condem Government in response to the Browne report. 

The fee system mirrors that set out by the UK government, with a 

“twin” cap of £6,000 and £9,000. To be able to charge more than the 

£6,000 cap, Universities will have to meet a set of criteria that commits 

them to widening access and strategic targets that will be “tougher requirements” 

than for English Universities. There was also an increase 

in the payment threshold to £21,000 and the introduction of loans for 

part-time students. 

However, this increase in fees will not affect students from Wales. 

The Welsh Assembly will meet the difference between the current 

£3,290 and whatever fees the University they wish to attend sets, 

wherever the University is based (i.e. Wales, England, Northern Ireland 

or Scotland). This is in addition to the loan system in Wales as it 

currently stands. 

In short, the Assembly has allowed Universities in Wales to mirror 

the fees set in England, because otherwise they believe there would be 

a shortfall in University financing that the Assembly could not match. 

They have decided therefore, to attempt to protect the students of 

Wales by ensuring that there is no real-term increase in the amount 

that they have to pay, wherever they choose to study. 

Continues on Page 3..... 

Students continue protests for those affected by increasing fees 

INSIDE: 

Sun vs Snow: 

The best places for 

your Christmas 

holiday 

Brand new Health 

and Beauty Page! 

New union 

nightclub 

in joop 

See page 3 for details!

2 

How does Good 

King Wenceslas 

like his pizzas 

Deep pan, crisp 

and even! 


www.seren.bangor.ac.uk 

Editorial 

Hi there,this is the Christmas 

issue of Seren which is a 

hearty 32 pages long! 

We have LOADS of new 

features so let’s hope you 

enjoy them! As always I would 

love for you to get in touch 

and tell me what you think., 

editor@seren.bangor..ac.uk 

This issue I would recomend 

the new, games and 

gadgets,health and beauty 

and politics pages,they are 

all fab introductions to Seren 

and will hopefully become staples in upcoming 

issues. 

You can always contribute to any page in Seren,just drop me a line and let me 

know which section interests you. 

Until next time have a very Merry Christmas,from me and all these wonderful 

people beside me. 

Gemma x 

The Seren Team 

Editor: Gemma Ellis 

Health and Beauty: Emily Tearle, 

Becky Sage and Sara Royle 

News: Andy Trigg 

Whats up:Jennifer Krase 

Features: Nicole Nally 

Travel:Rowena Nathan 

Creative Corner: Nayab Khan 

Sport:Matt Cox 

Music: Joe McNally 

Secretary, Games and Gadgets: 

Whats On: LJ Taylor 

Aaron Wiles 

Whats In: Kaden Wild 

Treasurer: Tom Knott 

Food and Drink: Steven Freeman 

Social Sec: Hayley Neill 

Politics: Anna Hatfi eld 

Design: Dan Turner 

RECYCLE ME! 

Hello hello hello! Welcome to 

Seren which is now made from 100% 

recycled paper. Get in on the action and 

recycle me when you are done! 

Contributors 

Jez Harvey 

Luke Dobson 

Anna Hatfi eld 

Lucas Ford 

Becky Sage 

Jo Caulfi eld 

Christy Sago 

Abbi Ryan 

Amy Westlake 

Heather Boyles 

Louis Waters 

Alexandra Ross 

Rosie MacLeod 

Sophie Davies 

Chris Bridgeman 

Nathan Chadwick 

Peter Weale 

Craig Heffey 

Catrin Morris 

Health and Beauty 

team 

The Sabbs



Continued from page 1..... 

Leighton Andrews, the Welsh Assembly 

minister for education who has previously 

slated the outcome of the Browne review, 

said that, “Welsh domiciled students will 

not have to find either £6,000 or £9,000 to 

study. The public purse will continue to 

subsidise higher education for Welsh domiciled 

students”. He described the policy as “a 

'Made in Wales' policy which demonstrates 

the benefits of devolution”. 

As part of the Coalition agreement, 

known as the One Wales programme, between 

Plaid Cymru and Labour, the Welsh 

Government is committed “to do whatever 

is possible to mitigate the effects on Welshdomiciled 

students should the cap on fees 

be lifted”. 

Commentators had expected that the 

fees would be raised in line with those in 

England, and some had even expected an 

increase in support for Welsh students, but 

the announcement was a surprise to many. 

NUS Wales, in a statement released prior 

to the announcement, predicted that the cap 

would indeed rise to £9,000, and that there 

would be increased support for Welsh students. 

However, whilst welcoming the news 

that Welsh students would be protected, 

they criticised the Minister for introducing 

a £9,000 cap. The Minister had argued 

previously that a cap that high would introduce 

a market in to higher education, which 

would be massively detrimental to the state 

of education in the UK. 

Jo Caulfield, Bangor S.U. President, said 

of the plans, “Whilst it’s encouraging to 

see the Assembly Government protecting 

Welsh students wherever they choose to 

study, it’s disappointing that they’ve chosen 

to introduce such a high cap when there is 

no need to. Whilst the English budget has 

been cut by 40%, in Wales we are only looking 

at a 10% cut. This is a complete overreaction, 

and the Minister has gone back on 

his word”. 

The plans are due to be introduced for 

students starting in September 2012. 

Jez Harvey 

Royal Newlyweds to Settle on Anglesey 

Prince William and Kate Middleton chance to celebrate on the day." 

is very special to me and Kate is very special 

to me now as well. It is only right the 

could soon become a common sight The couple, both 28, got engaged while 

in and around Bangor after the pair on holiday in Kenya in October. The Prince two are put together. It was also a way of my 

announced plans to settle in Anglesey after 

their wedding next year. Prince William is 

currently working as a search and rescue 

pilot at RAF Valley, with a further 

3-years to serve. Pubs and restaurants 

around the base have said that 

both William and fiancée Kate are 

becoming regular visitors and Kate 

is often visiting the Waitrose store 

in Menai Bridge. 

The pair has announced the date 

of their royal wedding which is set 

to take place on Friday 29th April at 

Westminster Abbey. The day will be 

marked by a public holiday across 

the UK and Prime Minister David 

Cameron said, “It will ensure that 

proposed to Kate with his mother Diana’s 

diamond engagement ring. 

Asked why he had done so, he said: "It 

mother being a part of today.” 

The Royal Family and the Middleton’s 

will pay for the wedding itself, but the taxpayer 

will meet the cost of extra security 

and transport. 

The Prince's private secretary, 

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, said the 

couple chose the Abbey for its ‘staggering 

beauty,’ 1,000-year royal history 

and its feeling of intimacy despite 

its size. Westminster Abbey has 

hosted the weddings of the Queen 

and Queen Mother and was the 

venue for Princess Diana's funeral 

in 1997. 

Andy Trigg 

the most people possible will have a 

Joop For Your Love 

It is no mystery that there have been 

a large amount of problems surrounding 

a Union nightclub. Ever since 

Time and Academi shut at the end of 

last year Bangor has been left with 

only two clubs, both of which are run 

by outside companies. Octagon and 

Base have risen to the occasion, with 

Octagon working with the Union to 

put on AU nights and Base taking on 

ex-Time staff and revamping in order 

to become friendlier for students. 

Actually having a Union nightclub, 

however, is a major sticking point 

between the Union, the University 

and all of us; the customers who are 

crying out for a club. 

For everyone except first years, what 

has been cried out for is the return of 

Time. That club which held cheese 

filled Monday nights, chart topping 

Fridays and everything in between. 

It was easy to reach, cheap, friendly 

and the last stop of many a pub crawl. 

Everything that Hendre Hall is not. 

Hendre is a brilliant venue and the 

Undeb Trading team have worked 

tirelessly to create a Union nightclub. 

Having hosted many nights there by 

now, it has become apparent though 

that only the special events pull in the 

crowds. Lost Property, Fruit Salad 

and almost certainly Racubah are 

monthly nights that fit this mould but 

the main staples of the club, its Retro 

Monday’s and Digital Friday’s are 

failing. This is through no fault of the 

staff but through the fact that the University, 

as the owners of Undeb, opted 

for a venue outside of Bangor. It is 

only a five minute bus ride but for 

students used to walking down a hill 

and being able to come and go from 

their club when they please, it fails in 

its purpose. The 

feeling in the 

air, online and 

on the lips of 

many students 

is that Hendre 

is not the Union 

nightclub we 

want or deserve. 

So what can be 

done Seren 

went looking 

around Bangor 

for alternative, existing spaces to 

place a nightclub suitable for the 

Union’s needs and there appears to be 

only one. Carry on past Base on the 

High Street and you’ll come to the 

remnant of Joop. Last year this local 

club boomed then busted because 

of the terrible market. The space 

inside would be fit for purpose after 

some renovations and we could have 

a Union club in Bangor. There are 

problems that would arise of course. 

That end of the High Street is known 

to be notorious for many students as 

it is a very local orientated area of 

Bangor. However the recent moves 

Base has made to become safer and 

more appealing to students does show 

that this stigma can be overcome. 

The very idea of Joop is just that, an 

idea, a theory. From a student perspective 

it is surely the only available 

space wherein a decent Union nightclub 

could be created whilst other, 

long term ideas are put into motion. 

Whatever happens, it is hoped that 

the University, and through them 

Undeb, can rectify the malignant loss 

of a student orientated venue before 

Hendre closes and we are left with 

nothing whatsoever for two years at 

the very least. 

Luke Dobson 

North 

The student who mindlessly 

threw a fire extinguisher from 

the top of the Millbank building 

at last month’s demonstration, has 

pleaded guilty to committing a violent 

disorder. 

18-year-old Edward Woollard appeared 

before Westminster magistrates on Wednesday 

faced with the charge which carries a 

maximum prison sentence of five years. 

Woollard was arrested five days after the 

demonstration which saw a further 60 students 

detained. He attended court dressed 

in a suit and his parents watched from the 

public gallery as he was asked by the judge 

only to confirm his name, address, date of 

birth and his plea. 

His solicitor, Matt Foot, said, “Mr Woollard 

is pleading guilty and I make it very 

clear he is very sorry for his actions.” 

News 

Student Pleads Guilty 

to Throwing Fire 

Extinguisher 

Fire extinguisher 

narrowly misses 

police officers 

The A-level student from Southampton 

was among the 2,000 strong crowd that succeeded 

in forcing entry in to the Conservative 

headquarters building after the student 

protest turned violent. Around 60 students 

made their way to the top of the building 

and proceeded to smash windows, vandalise 

furniture and attack the police. Photographic 

evidence shows Woollard throwing 

the fire extinguisher and narrowly missing 

the police struggling with protestors below. 

Prosecutor Robert Short told District Judge 

Nicholas Evans the case was not suitable for 

sentencing at the magistrates’ court. Woollard 

will now be sentenced at Southwark 

Crown Court at a later date. 

Andy Trigg 

Police warn students after recent spate of 

Burglaries 

Wales Police have issued a 

statement to warn all students 

going home for the Christmas 

period to take all valuables back with 

them. The warning comes after a recent 

spate of burglaries in the Bangor area in 

which halls of residence, student housing 

and cars have been the subject of attack. 

In a statement on the North Wales 

Police Website, Detective Superintendent 

Ynyr Hughes describes how easy 

some students are making it possible 

for burglars. "In the majority of cases, 

premises are being left insecure and expensive 

items such as laptops are left in 

full view. During one of the latest incidents 

which occurred in a ground floor 

room of one of the halls of residence, a 

student left his room leaving his laptop 

on the table. This was during the hours 

of darkness and the curtains had been 

left open which meant the laptop was in 

full view of anybody passing." 

Bangor University’s Community 

Beat Manager, PC Gwenno Jones describes 

the crimes as despicable. "Leaving 

homes and halls empty for a long 

period of time means they can become 

particularly vulnerable to burglary, so 

we are urging all students to take their 

valuables such as laptops, televisions 

and DVD players with them. Regular 

patrols will be carried out throughout 

the area by police as well as University 

security teams, but by following the 

simple advice that we are giving out, 

you can avoid falling victim to this despicable 

crime." 

North Wales Police have issued a few 

simple steps which students should follow 

in order to not become a victim of 

crime. 

• Take all valuables such as laptops, televisions, 

DVD players, ipods and cameras 

home with you. 

• Ensure you have locked all windows 

and doors. 

• Set the alarm if you have one. 

• Do not have items such as cash and 

phone chargers on display - this may 

tempt a thief into your property. 

• If you live in rented accommodation, 

let your landlord know when you will 

be returning. 

• Always lock your vehicle and remove 

any valuable items. 

Officers are also advising students 

to security mark their valuable items 

which will discourage burglars from 

stealing them by making it difficult to 

sell them on. 

This will also help the police to ensure 

the items are returned to their 

rightful owner if they are stolen but 

subsequently found. 

If you would like to have your property 

marked or if you would like to 

speak either to PC Gwenno Jones or the 

Security Team at the University regarding 

crime prevention and advice, please 

phone 01248 382795. 

3 

Andy Trigg

4 

A 

Christmas festival along 

Bangor High Street is going 

ahead all thanks to the help 

of the People of Bangor Community 

Group and the generosity of the 

public. Volunteers from the POB- 

CG have been lining Bangor High 

Street and Ffriddoedd Road to raise 

money for the event which will see a 

range of fun activities including an 

ice rink, carol singing, a grotto and 

fireworks. There are also hopes for 

fairground rides, a big Christmas 

tree, real reindeers and a brass band 

but these will be announced nearer 

the time as the group are still raising 

money to fund the festival. 

The event, which is set to take 

place on Saturday December 11, has 

also been funded by the generosity of 

local businesses and the University itself 

helped to bump up the figure by 

donating £500 toward sponsorship. 

The group are still hoping to raise another 

£6,000 with fundraising events 

planned in the next couple of weeks. 

The group’s Chairman Nigel Pickavance 

told Seren that students will 

have plenty of festive activities to enjoy. 

“There are various activities which 

students can enjoy with the obvious 

being the ice rink, feeding reindeers 

and a DJ playing continuous music 

throughout the day. There will also be 

a chance to visit Santa, dance groups, 

A 

large queue formed along 

Bangor High Street as keen 

shoppers eagerly waited for 

the grand opening of one of the UK’s 

much loved clothing stores. Swedish 

giant H&M opened its doors for business 

following a recent trend which 

has seen other top retailers - such 

as Republic, TK Maxx and Dunelm 

Mill - set up business in the city. 

The recent influx of retail trade has 

been extremely welcomed in Bangor, 

being a major boost for the city’s 

economy by providing revenue as well 

What’s brown and 

creeps around 

the house 

Mince spies! 

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 

There are 

various 

activities which 

students can enjoy 

with the 

obvious being the 

ice rink 

as employment. 

City Councillor Dewi Lewis said 

it was extremely encouraging to see 

other big retailers coming to the city. 

“This will provide a real boost for 

Bangor High Street and the retail sector 

locally and follows a number of 

other high-profile retail companies 

who have opened stores in the Bangor 

area. With work on a £3.5m regeneration 

project along Bangor High Street 

also being developed, this is an exciting 

time for business in Bangor.” 

The highly anticipated H&M – 

which opened in Bangor on November 

24 – will only sell women’s clothing 

and the store doesn’t currently 

offer any student discount, but with 

reasonable prices and two large floors, 

the store is set to become extremely 

popular. 

H&M – which has stores across 

North America and Asia and uses the 

slogan ‘fashion and quality at the best 

price,’ currently employs 76,000 people 

across the world and in the past 

five years the company has seen increased 

profits of 88%. 

snow canons and a performance 

at 4pm where local societies and 

societies from the University will 

join together to sing Christmas 

carols. It’s going to be a fantastic 

day for both residents and for students.” 

In response to the generosity of 

the residents of Bangor, Mr Pickavance 

said it had been outstanding. 

“I can’t speak highly enough of 

the level of generosity the group has 

received. With the current economic 

climate it was touching to see people 

donating their last pounds. We collected 

a large amount of money in 

Upper Bangor where there is a high 

population of students. The University 

also gave £500 towards sponsorship 

which is absolutely fantastic, especially 

given the fact that the council 

hasn’t donated a penny, which we find 

highly insulting.” 

Mr Pickavance also said that in 

recent years there had been an unfortunate 

reduction of communication 

between the Bangor community and 

the University. 

“I remember looking forward to 

RAG week back when I was a boy. 

There used to be more of a connection 

between the University and the 

residents of Bangor back then and it 

seems to have dropped in the last few 

years. But it’s events like the Christmas 

festival which will bring everyone 

together. Students will be made to 

feel very welcome by the residents of 

Bangor and that’s precisely the kind of 

thing the group stands for.” 

Andy Trigg 

Republic and H&M follows suit 

Republic – which opened along 

Bangor High Street on November 6 

– is also hoped to be just as successful. 

The company has grown from 

strength to strength in recent years, 

opening many new stores and generating 

record breaking profits. In 2009 

Republic boasted profits exceeding 

£200m. 

The store will stock a variety of 

fashion and a large range of brands 

including Firetrap, Bench, Fenchurch, 

Henleys and Diesel as well as many 

others. Unlike H&M, Republic sells 

both women and men’s clothing 

and also offers a 10% all year student 

discount. 

Andy Trigg 

With work 

on a £3.5m 

regeneration 

project along 

Bangor High 

Street being 

developed, this 

is an exciting 

time for 

business in 

Bangor. 



News 

Burning Burgers! 

A 

BANGOR IN BRIEF BANGOR IN BRIEF BANGOR IN BRIEF BANGOR IN BRIEF BANGOR IN BRIEF BANGOR IN BRIEF 

Bangor university student 

learnt an important lesson 

about the dangers of cooking 

under the influence of alcohol 

recently. 

The student living in halls of 

residence had enjoyed a night 

out before cooking burgers on 

their return home. It wasn’t until 

the fire alarm sounded that the 

student realised their food had 

caught fire whilst they slept. 

Thankfully no one was injured 

and no ‘real’ damage was done, 

however students can be charged 

up to £300 for a fire risk so Seren 

would encourage students to 

splash out on a take away instead 

and whatever you do DON’T 

DRINK AND COOK! 

ID Caution 

Police are advising students 

and young people to take 

extra care when using their 

passports and driving licences as 

formal identification. The warning 

comes from North Wales Police 

after 21 passports and dozens of 

driving licences have already been 

handed in Bangor this year. Western 

Superintendent Peter Newton 

said: “Every year in Bangor alone we 

probably get between 20 to 30 passports 

handed in. We keep them for 

24 hours and then we have to cut off 

the corner, thus destroying it, and 

send it back to the passport office. 

“Recently, we had an occasion 

where someone lost a passport and 

fortunately it was handed in and she 

was able to claim it back. She was 

very lucky because she was due to 

travel somewhere a few weeks later 

and had she not realised then not 

only would it have been expensive 

to replace but she would have had 

to travel to Liverpool to get a new 

passport.” 

Supt. Newton said that it was 

mostly students and young people 

who use passports and driving licences 

as identification and he was 

sure that if they were more aware of 

the problems they could face, they 

would take more care. 

“We just want to advise students 

and young people to either take 

more care of their cards or leave 

them at home and use another form 

of ID,” he said. 

Excellence in 

Psychology 

The 2010 CHE European Excellence 

Ranking placed 59 

European Universities in the 

"Excellence Group" for Psychology. 

Of these, Bangor's Psychology department 

was placed in joint third 

overall (second in the UK) in terms 

of the number of stars it achieved 

based on the institutional survey. 

Stars are awarded to departments 

who do particularly well in certain 

areas, and the fact that Bangor has 

scored so highly in terms of stars 

awarded is a clear demonstration of 

the department's overall quality and 

the international esteem in which its 

staff and students are held.



Student Speaks Out about Attack 

Well, we all know that Bangor 

is one of the safest University 

cities in the country, 

don’t we So why on earth do we need 

to be vigilant This is now my forth 

year living in Bangor and other than 

the odd vocally loud (possibly randy!) 

local and a few eggs flying out of car 

windows, I have never even had a 

second-thought about my safety here. 

I‘ve never felt uncomfortable walking 

back from places on my own, despite 

late hours... but a five minute event can 

change everything. 

Recently, I’ve been hearing of a lot 

of attacks made towards students by 

the locals. Particulars may not be important 

but I’ve heard varying stories. 

Some events are quite small— people 

waiting in cars outside Pizza House 

and grabbing people’s food as they 

leave the takeaway. However, some are 

far more serious assaults, where blood 

is spilt. 

A few weeks ago, I was walking towards 

Late Stop to meet up with some 

friends. I crossed over the road where 

a car was stopped just opposite the 

stairs down into the Morrison’s car 

park and thought nothing of it. 

Now, I’ve always been a friendly 

person, so when I heard a voice coming 

from the car I thought nothing of it 

and turned to see whether I knew the 

person inside. I wasn’t sure because I 

couldn’t get a proper look in, so I got a 

bit closer. “You alright love, bit drunk 

Reckon you should go home” was 

shouted at me by the lad in the front 

passenger seat. I had to reply, obviously, 

it was a question. ‘I’m fine thanks, 

just meeting some friends.” Right, now 

they know someone is waiting for me. 

I turned to walk away at this point, 

although at the time I hadn’t felt uncomfortable, 

I probably should have. 

It wasn’t until the lad in the front of 

the car grabbed me by my scarf and 

started dragging me towards the car 

through the window that I started 

panicking. Eventually, the lad let go. 

Unfortunately, the force in which he’d 

been pulling me with sent me hurling 

into a wall. 

Luckily for me, some girls stopped 

in a car on the opposite side of the 

road. They looked after me, phoned 

my friend for me, called an ambulance 

and tried to stop me panicking! 

Events like this are rare in Bangor 

and although they do seem to be becoming 

more frequent, I can’t fault the 

police for the help they’ve given me. As 

far as I am aware, this has been taken 

very seriously. A few days later, a week 

at home and the panic attacks stopped. 

I may have ended up with a seriously 

stitched up head and hopefully the little 

*starred out word* that did it to me 

is wondering what his punishment is 

going to be or at least being prevented 

from hurting anyone else. 

I don’t think we have to worry 

about not being safe in Bangor just yet, 

despite news of local gangs targeting 

students here. I think perhaps what we 

do need to do is be more aware that 

it could be an issue. Instead of knowing 

that Bangor is safe, maybe we do 

need to think about where we’re going 

to and whether we should cross a road 

to avoid people or not What I’m saying 

guys, is don’t take a safe place for 

granted. Be aware that no place is ever 

completely safe. 

“the lad in 

the front of the 

car grabbed me 

by my scarf and 

started dragging 

me towards 

the car 

Bangor’s Famous Yellow T-shirts Get 

Nominated for Award 

News 

A Month in News 

3 November 

Barack Obama and the Democrats 

suffered a punishing defeat by the 

Republicans during America’s midterm 

elections. 

4 November 

Firefighters called off a planned strike which would have seen no fire engines in action 

during bonfire night. The firefighter’s union said the decision to stand-down 

the strike was made due to public safety. 

10 November – 52,000 students descended upon the streets of London 

in protest to the government’s plans to cut the education budget and raise tuition 

fees. The demonstration started peacefully but ended violently with the Tory 

HQ’s building being the target of attack. 

11 November The UK stood still for two minutes as respect was shown 

to the brave soldiers who have lost their lives whilst fighting for their country. 

13 November Burmese military authorities release pro-democracy leader 

Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel peace prize winner has been detained for the 

previous 15 of the past 21 years. Jubilant supporters gathered outside her home 

and she emerged smiling. David Cameron said it had been long overdue and her 

detention was a travesty. 

14 November Paul 

and Rachel Chandler were released 

by Somali Pirates after being 

held captive for more than a 

year. The pair were underweight 

but seemed in high spirits. Foreign 

Secretary William Hague reiterated 

the long standing British 

policy of not paying ransoms. 

16 November – Prince William and Kate Middleton revealed publicly 

that they’re set to marry next spring but a date hadn’t been set. 

19 November – An explosion at a New Zealand mine traps 29 men 

underground. Another explosion on the 24th November destroys any hope of survival. 

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the loss of life was a national 

tragedy. 

23 November – Prince William and Kate Middleton revealed that the 

ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29th April. The day will 

be a public holiday and will follow the tradition of a royal wedding taking place 

on a Friday. 

5 

Bangor University’s famous peer 

guide scheme narrowly missed 

out on an award for Outstanding 

Student Support at an awards 

ceremony in London last month. The 

awards – presented by The Times 

Higher Education (THE) magazine on 

November 25th saw Bangor University’s 

unique scheme gain recognition 

but unfortunately Bangor left without 

a prize. Kim Davies – Bangor University’s 

Peer Guiding coordinator – describes 

the event as ‘disappointing, but 

interesting.’ 

“Although we didn’t win the award 

for Outstanding Support for Students 

at The Times Higher Education 

Awards, it was an interesting experience. 

Obviously we were a little disappointed 

but there were so many good 

schemes nominated that we did well 

to just get short listed. It was really interesting 

hearing about other projects 

that had also been short listed, which 

made us realise how well Bangor is doing 

as we have many similar schemes. 

It was good to acknowledge this and 

to recognise that there are things we 

do here that could well be worthy of 

nomination in the future.” 

Bangor’s Peer Guide Scheme is one 

of the largest of its type in the country. 

It matches up new students with current 

second and third year students 

who act as mentors. They arrange social 

activities, show students around 

and generally give advice. The Scheme 

has developed and expanded over the 

15 years since the original pilot. This 

year for the first time, post-graduate 

students have a parallel ‘buddy’ 

scheme - their own dedicated Postgraduate 

Ambassador. 

Kim Davies reiterates Bangor’s 

unique peer guide scheme. 

“One thing that tends to make ours 

a good scheme and gain us recognition 

from other institutions is the scale 

of what we do: we recruit 1 Peer Guide 

volunteer for every 5 incoming freshers 

across the institution and operate 

the scheme in every 

academic school. In 

addition the dual 

structure works 

very well. Its central 

aspect bonds it together, 

while having 

its operational roots 

within individual 

academic schools 

gives it the flexibility 

to adapt to the needs 

of the schools. This 

“Peer Guides 

and freshers alike 

gain a sense of 

belonging 

base within the academic schools also 

gives it a sense of community; Peer 

Guides and freshers alike gain a sense 

of belonging - something that would 

be very difficult to achieve from a central 

position.” 

Andy Trigg 

24 November –A second student protest saw the protests spread 

nationwide as lecture rooms became occupied by sit-ins and more violence took 

place at Parliament Square in London. 

25 November – 

The UK sees the earliest widespread 

snowfall in 17 years. Forecasters 

said the cold spell could 

last up to 2 weeks with the Northern 

and Eastern parts of the UK 

bearing the brunt of the wintery 

conditions. 

29 November - Website 

WikiLeaks reveals sensitive information between foreign diplomats. The messages 

were sent between 1966 and 2010 but most are from this decade. Among the 

revelations is a report that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, among other Arab leaders, 

urged the US to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.and President Nicolas Sarkozy 

of France is said to be thin-skinned and authoritarian, while German Chancellor 

Angela Merkel is described as risk-averse. 

29 November - Veteran comic actor Leslie Nielsen, star of Airplane! 

and The Naked Gun, died at the age of 84. He died in hospital in Fort Lauderdale, 

Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia. In all, he appeared in more 

than 100 films and has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. 

“With his friends 

and his wife by his 

side, he just fell 

asleep and passed 

away,” his nephew 

Doug Nielsen told 

the AFP news 

agency.

6 

What do you call 

someone who 

doesn’t believe in 

Father Christmas 

A rebel without a 

Claus! 



Politics 

Labour’s Lacklustre Leader 

Europe’s 

Economic 

Explosion 

The Euro’s very existence is 

under threat. With many 

members facing national crises 

and mounting debts, the cost of 

sustaining the single European currency 

has seen record bailouts. Italy, 

Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece 

are just a few countries working tirelessly 

to maintain their position in 

the Euro. 

The International Monetary Fund 

has come together with the European 

Union to help members in need. 

Greece became the first Euro zone 

country to need assistance and in 

doing so broke records, with a £95 

billion bailout needed to help keep 

the Greek economy afloat. The three 

year loan deal, paid back at a 5.2% 

rate of interest will see Greece face 

serious government cuts to try and 

combat the debt. 

However Greece is not the only 

nation to have asked for help from 

the E.U and the IMF. Ireland’s deal 

was agreed late Sunday night. The 

£72 billion bailout will see 35 billion 

go to help keep the banking system 

afloat whilst the other 50 billion will 

help the government run as normal. 

Yet the rate of interest was given at 

5.8%, higher than Greece’s. However, 

Brian Cowen, the Republic of 

Ireland’s Prime Minister argued that 

it was “the best available deal”. 

With members needing financial 

rescuing, the future of the Euro 

is under serious threat. This is the 

first major obstacle to hit the euro 

since its introduction in 1999. If the 

Euro survives the current economic 

downturn it will show the strength 

of Europe and prove how they were 

right to merge into one single currency. 

Anna Hatfield 

Where does our 

money go 

The call for a 5.9% increase in 

their annual budget of the European 

Union in times of economic 

recession has been deemed 

thoughtless by many. Although David 

Cameron has called for a 2.9% increase, 

this would still cost Britain an 

additional £435 million. Seeing as we 

are already giving the E.U. £8.3 billion 

in 2010-2011 the Euro sceptics have 

become enraged with this. The E.U 

Ed Miliband’s return to front 

bench politics after a two week 

paternity leave, following the 

birth of his son Samuel, has not gone 

as smoothly as the new Labour leader 

would have liked. During his absence 

there has been a growing sense 

of disillusionment coming from 

the Labour back benchers over his 

ability as a leader. Yet at the Labour 

policy review he came across well, 

with his sense of direction for the 

Labour party clear. He revealed that 

every Labour policy and idea will be 

reviewed in the next two years, before 

any general election. Miliband 

is adamant that he wants Labour 

to take back the “Big Society” from 

David Cameron and show how Labour 

is the party for the people, not 

the Conservatives. Yet by doing so 

he wants to steer clear of New Labour 

and sees his leadership as a new 

chapter for the Labour party. He spoke 

about standing up for communities 

and how politics needs to be at a more 

local level as well as a national one. 

There seems to be a new phenomenon 

spreading through 

the playgrounds of the upper 

echelon of the Conservative party -the 

weekly gaffe. 

Firstly we had the old Tory boy Lord 

Young, who bumbled into an uptown 

restaurant, with intrepid Daily Telegraph 

reporter in tow. Political disaster 

ensued. The comments "They've never 

had it so good " and "so called recession" 

will probably be mainstays of Ed 

Milibands' 'Big book of condemnations 

of the coalition government' for 

a long time to come — and at two lines 

it certainly makes for heavier reading 

than his policy review. 

The remarks had that sort of cold, 

blunt, trenchant feel you would expect 

from Thatcher and in this time 

of modern, compassionate conservatism 

this became quite the issue. 

However, I would question whether 

this really was the humdinger of a 

heartless comment/gaffe the media 

are making it out to be — specifically 

budget is set at 1% of the E.U.’s gross 

national income. Although this does 

not sound a lot, the budget for 2010 

was set at 141.5 billion Euros! This is 

a 3.4% increase on 2009. With the E.U. 

budget constantly swelling, I decided 

to have a look at what our money 

is spent on. The entire budget from 

2007-2013 is 862 billion Euros but the 

question is, where does our money go 

Just over 43.8 Billion Euros are 

spent on the Common Agricultural 

Policy (C.A.P) which helps farmers 

maintain a high standard of living. 

This is 6.4% more than 2009 and this 

policy alone costs Britain £7 billion 

per year. It takes up the biggest chunk 

of the E.U. budget, with one third of 

Ed also spoke of his determination 

to be proactive and not wait for the 

coalition to make a mistake. He wants 

Labour to become the first choice 

again, rather than the public becoming 

unhappy with the Conservative party 

and seeing Labour as the only other 

alternative. 

the left wing media — or was this just 

a 78 year old man speaking his mind 

plainly He may well be proved correct; 

low interest rates are benefiting 

many people across the UK— granted 

the majority of these people don't need 

the benefits — but, as I said there is 

some small hint of truth. 

The second 'gaffe' came from soonto-be 

peer, Howard Flight. Writing in 

The Evening Standard he said, 

"We're going to have a system where 

the middle classes are discouraged 

from breeding because it's jolly expensive." 

"But for those on benefits, there is 

every incentive. Well, that's not very 

all money being spent on agricultural 

policy. Although this money is spread 

around the E.U., it is the French who 

are the chief supporters of this policy 

as they are firm believers in state intervention 

in agriculture. The C.A.P. 

is a form of protectionism and helps 

European farmers, particularly against 

overseas competition. If food prices 

drop, the E.U. will step in and buy the 

produce above the value and store it, 

so that European farmers don’t lose 

out. However these “food mountains” 

often go to waste as most of the produce 

is fresh and it ends up being 

thrown away. This has caused lots of 

controversy as not only is it a waste; it 

damages global competition and trade. 

“Join us on this journey which 

makes us once again the people's party, 

the party of people's hopes and aspirations, 

back on people's side, back 

in power; 

making for 

the fairer, 

the more 

equal, the 

more just 

country we 

believe in.” 

Miliband 

still has the 

support of 

his shadow 

c a b i n e t , 

with Alan 

J o h n s o n , 

the shadow 

c h a n c e l - 

lor coming 

forward to 

stamp out any rumours about the state 

of the leadership. “The reason why 

there are so many attacks on Ed from 

our political enemies is that they are 

sensible." 

It is of course easy to see why the 

inner child of every liberal could only 

describe Mr Flight as 'a bad man' for 

this. Douglas Alexander, the Shadow 

Work and Pensions Secretary eagerly 

chipped in and questioned the credibility 

of the Prime Minister, David 

Cameron, for appointing Mr Flight. 

“These shameful but revealing 

comments cast serious doubt over 

David Cameron’s judgement in personally 

appointing Howard Flight to 

the House of Lords only a few days 

ago." 

But again, as with Lord Young, I 

would have to question whether this 

really was as bad as 

it first seems. Flight's 

comments were in danger 

of being misinterpreted 

because of the 

language he elected to 

use. Flight was trying 

to make quite a simple 

point: That a vast 

amount of working 

families cannot afford 

to have children, yet 

those on benefits have a 

cash incentive to do so. 

This point was marred 

quite substantially by 

Regional Policy takes up 35.6% of 

the entire European Union budget. Its 

chief aim is to help developing regions 

which have a GDP which is less than 

75 per cent of the European average. 

In the long term this will help Europe 

develop as a whole. Yet from 2007- 

2013, Regional Policy will cost 347 billion 

Euros, with only 9.4 billion going 

to Britain. Although this shows how 

Britain is helping her neighbours, with 

Regional Policy taking up such a vast 

amount of the budget, it has led many 

to question how much the E.U. helps 

Britain develop and progress. 

This is reaffirmed by other ways the 

E.U. spends its money. Although 7.9 

billion Euros does not seem like a big 

getting worried about him”. This sense 

of unity demonstrates how Labour 

is bouncing back after the end of the 

Blair and Brownite eras 

Yet as Ed Miliband talks about the 

new direction Labour is going in, it is 

not widely known how strong his links 

to the past are. Ed wrote the Party 

Manifesto for Labour at the General 

Election which shows how his policies 

may not only be unpopular but how he 

played a vital role in Brown’s government. 

So how different can he really 

make the Labour party In the latest 

yougov polls 35 per cent don’t think Ed 

will make any real change at all. 

However, we are only at the start 

of his leadership and with his close 

relationships with the Unions and 

his left wing ideology, it is clear that 

Labour is moving away from the Blair 

and Brownite eras. To what extent, we 

shall have to wait and see. 

Anna Hatfield 

Shameless comments or simply plain speaking 

Just a 78 year 

old man speaking 

his mind plainly 

Cameron with Lord Young 

“These shameful but 

revealing comments 

cast serious doubt 

over David Cameron’s 

judgement.” 

his use of the word 'breeding' which 

seems to suggest farming or eugenics, 

the latter of which is not exactly a 

popular subject. But should his opinion 

be lambasted by the media simply 

because he was speaking his views 

plainly In my eyes, no. 

This ultimately results in a matter 

of free speech. I know plain speaking 

and politics is a recipe which usually 

results in a spectacularly terrible soufflé, 

but we shouldn't be so eager to 

throw it away, regardless of whether 

we agree with a politician or not, they 

should not lose their jobs, or be forced 

to submit a grovelling apology for simply 

speaking their minds — that is after 

all what they are paid to do — I for one 

think this is a fair price to pay for free 

speech. 

Lucas Ford 

amount in comparison to the budget 

for other policies, this amount is still 

spent on administration. This means 

that 5.6% of the budget is spent on 

maintenance and employment, highlighting 

how costly the E.U. is to keep 

running. 

With such a vast amount of money 

at stake, the E.U. has a responsibility 

to all of its member states to spend the 

budget wisely and fairly. With lots of 

policies not affecting the UK to a high 

extent and a steady increase in the E.U. 

budget, is being a member of the European 

Union beneficial to the UK 

Anna Hatfield



Comment 

7 

By the time this paper comes out 

it will have passed but I feel it still 

needs to be talked about. The 1st 

December was World AIDS Day, 

as it is every year. It is a memorial 

and a celebration of the lives that 

have been taken by a disease which 

has destroyed immune systems and 

built up social stigmas. Nowadays it 

is easy to forget how much this devastated 

the ‘gay community’ but it is 

similarly easy to forget that HIV is 

no longer, if it ever was, a singularly 

gay disease. 

The Donation not Discrimination 

campaign runs from this knowledge. 

Last year there were more heterosexual 

people diagnosed with HIV 

than gay people. It is a universally 

affecting disease which everyone 

needs to protect themselves against. 

Christmas time is fast approaching. 

Trees are being put up and decorated, 

lights are being turned on and 

the wintry nights have drawn in. At 

this time of year everyone, no matter 

their sexuality, should be warm, 

merry and cared for. Unfortunately 

that is not the case and some people 

are going to return to homes where 

they feel out of place or utterly alienated. 

Personally, I have decided to 

come out to my parents this Christmas. 

The Chair of Unity is not yet 

out to his parents Yes, I know, it’s 

more than a tad unusual. I have 

been waiting for the best time and I 

feel it is now. I hope that they will 

be ok with this but I have no real 

idea. Whatever happens I know that 

I have amazing friends at home and 

here in Bangor who will be supportive 

throughout. I am lucky in that 

but others may not be, as I have said. 

What I’d like you to know is that 

there are always people who will 

be there for you. I know I’m being 

soppy and all but it’s an important 

issue. Whether you confide in your 

friends, a family member who is 

Recently I had the joy of attempting 

to get to, and return from, 

Anglesey courtesy of an Arriva 

Wales bus. My destination was Llangefni; 

the purpose of my little excursion 

to interview the Island’s Council 

Leader. 

Already in a foul mood from having 

to get up earlier than 9am on a Friday 

(in Reading Week no less), I traipsed 

my way out of my nice warm halls to 

catch the ten o’clock bus. Not only was 

the bus late, I was charged a hefty three 

pounds for a single ticket. A single 

ticket, i.e. one way only, no return included, 

cost me three pounds. People 

say London is expensive, but for less 

than that you can get a bus halfway 

across the city at two in the morning. 

Call me a tight-fisted grump, but as a 

student struggling to survive on what’s 

supportive or an organisation such 

as the wonderful Nightline, know 

that you are never, ever alone. 

Now on to more festive stuff. Our 

last Fruit Salad raised over £175 for 

AIDS charities, so I’d like to say a big 

thank you to all who came to donate 

and dance. On the 14th December 

we will be hosting our Christmas 

Fruit Salad in Hendre Hall. I know 

that the venue has been a thorny issue 

for many but this will be the perfect 

place for what we have planned. 

This will be the best Fruit Salad so 

far this year and I hope to see more 

than just our regulars there as it is 

going to be a winter spectacular! 

Remember, our Unity Guides are 

there for you throughout the year. If 

you want someone to chat to concerning 

anything LGBT related or if 

you just want a friendly ear to listen 

to your queries or issues just send an 

email to lgbt.guide@undeb.bangor. 

ac.uk 

Have a very Merry Christmas and 

a great New Year! 

Arriva Agony 

left of my loan after various nights out 

that I can’t quite remember (money 

well spent, I know), three pounds for 

a single bus journey borders on the ridiculous. 

It’s not as if Arriva Wales buses 

are luxury coaches complete with air 

conditioning and plush seats that lean 

all the way back in case you fancy a 

quick snooze. Not that many buses are 

like that, but hey, I can dream. What’s 

certainly true is that Bangor’s buses 

aren’t any better than those in London 

or any other big city for that matter, so 

why the nasty price tag 

The task of actually getting back to 

Bangor from Anglesey proved to be 

equally headache-inducing. I was a 

little dismayed to see a Bangor-bound 

bus go past me as I walked to the stop 

but, being a city-girl and generally an 

optimistic type, I naively assumed that 

Died you say 

How 

Lucas discusses our irritating obsession 

with the cause of death 

You know what irritates me recently 

Causes of death. Undoubtedly 

my irritation is incomparable to 

the deceased but still I’m rather irked 

or perhaps confused (but let me live the 

dream of 'irked'). 

How exactly am I irritated Well, being 

an avid reader of various pieces of 

writing which describe the events of the 

day whilst also soiling them with a highly 

polished political turd/spin in a Machiavellian 

attempt to generate a profit and 

perhaps change the view of the common 

man enough so that he becomes indoctri.... 

a subscriber (yes, newspapers), I 

often find myself learning that someone, 

somewhere has died in circumstances 

more scoop worthy than those concerning 

the deaths of every other someone 

who has presumably died somewhere on 

that day. Often these stories detail how 

an unfortunate individual (most likely 

on their mobile phone) was trapped in 

a building as it burned down, or fell off 

a mountain, or tried to ride one of London’s 

new gargantuan Borris-bikes faster 

than a brisk walking pace. 

Fair enough, you might say, people 

die and yes sometimes it is peculiar and I 

can understand that this warrants a news 

story. But why is it that at the end of the 

VAST majority of these news stories the 

phrase "the cause of death has yet to be 

determined" rears it's ugly seriffed face 

Isn't it obvious Daily Star readers 

perhaps I can understand, but if a paper 

has just detailed the tragic and horrific 

death of a man who slipped off Everest, 

propelled himself into a river or shoved a 

12 gauge down his throat, shouldn't it be 

blindingly obvious as to what the cause 

of death was 

But this bewildering lunacy isn't just 

limited to the news media, no, we see 

it on TV dramas and soaps too, where 

some stereotypical unshaven detective 

with a salty northern accent and an inability 

to wear a trench coat properly 

(WHY DO THEY NEVER WEAR THE 

SLEEVES) stands over the body of a 

man missing his entrails only to demand 

an autopsy from one the numerous inconsequential 

secondary characters to 

determine 'cause of death'. The demand 

is often accompanied by a close up of the 

grizzled body and a flash of the officer's 

deep furrowed brow. 

Yes, perhaps 'cause of death' does have 

it's uses in some circumstances such as 

receiving multiple injuries from various 

weapons or poisoning. Then again we 

don't really see many poisonings do we 

What with modern societies' eagerness 

to consume bottled water and Starbucks 

coffee we're unlikely to hear about someone 

succumbing to poison in their beverage. 

"Cause of death, poison digested 

via his bottle of Volvic". 

In conclusion, the notion of 'cause of 

death' is utterly useless in stupidly obvious 

deaths, and if you live far away from 

franchised coffee outlets and only drink 

tap water you could be more susceptible 

to poisoning. 

Lucas Ford 

another bus would 

be coming soon. This 

was at about twelve in 

the afternoon so my 

expectations weren’t 

exactly unreasonable. 

As it turns out, 

the rare creatures that 

are Llangefni to Bangor 

buses only come 

out of hiding once 

every hour. Okay, so 

I’m aware that it takes 

around forty-five minutes to get from 

Llangefni to Bangor, but would it really 

be so difficult to put just one more 

bus on the go Other cities manage it, 

and Bangor is supposedly a city, albeit 

a very small one with no cinema and a 

rather grey pier. 

The moral of this tale would probably 

be: don’t go to a small-town university 

and expect to be able to explore 

the neighbouring towns unless you (a) 

have a car or (b) are prepared to spend 

money on ridiculous fares for buses 

that come once in a blue moon. 

Becky Sage 

Rowena talks 

CHRISTMAS! 

It is the time of year where you 

venture up into the loft to dig out 

those decorations, which are surely 

by now are older than you. You will 

also go out and pick up the perfect 

green tree, even though they are 

awfully similar. It is the time to be 

festive, merry and where anyone 

can act like a kid and it is the norm. 

Yes, I am talking about the season 

that we know as Christmas. 

Now one thing I find quite funny 

about Christmas is that in Australia 

and New Zealand you can bask in 

the sun and get an amazing tan but 

the shop windows show a different 

story. Fake snow and winter 

scenes will fill the windows with 

little people dressed up in hats, 

gloves and scarves then when you 

walk in you see that cute pair of 

shorts you have been searching for 

all summer. You may ask yourself 

why do this I mean surely there 

are hundreds of people who would 

prefer to sit on a warm sandy 

beach soaking up the rays than 

huddling around the fire with hot 

chocolate 

One part of Christmas I LOVE is 

the fact it is the time of the year 

where you can pig out on as many 

chocolates, turkey and enough 

stuffing to fill any cupboard and 

no one can say a word; because 

it’s Christmas. Food, for me, is 

definitely a highlight of Christmas 

day. When you sit down for that 

meal you forget about all those 

rubbish vouchers your gran got you 

or that hideous hat you pretended 

to love from that distant cousin 

you see once a year. At the table 

all of that goes away and you can 

enjoy what Christmas is all about. 

Turkey. The juices of it oozing onto 

your plate, the stuffing inside, 

the cranberry sauce to dip, the 

vegetables pushed to the side of 

your plate and finally the Yorkshire 

pudding to top everything off. 

However, I must draw your 

attention to a depressing side of 

Christmas. It is the one part that 

I physically hate and dread every 

year. Yes, my fellow readers I am 

talking about the dreaded Brussel 

sprout. Each year I am physically 

forced to eat one with all my family 

staring at me until that little green 

thing is swallowed and gone. The 

pressure to like it is insane. Even 

though the whole of my family 

love Brussel sprouts, I am sure I 

am not the only hater of this fowl 

vegetable. 

Finally, do not offend your 

turkey. Remember: a turkey isn’t 

just for Christmas it’s for life. 

Rowena x

8 

At the 

National 

Demo 


When 52,000 thousand www.seren.bangor.ac.uk 

students took to the streets 

of London on 10.11.10 to oppose sky high tuition 

fees and cuts to education, Bangor students 

were firmly among those protesting for the future. Five 

coaches full of students and union staff left Bangor University 

at 4.45am on the morning of the NUS-UCU National 

Demonstration equipped with t-shirts, banners, signs and 

a goodie bag of food provided by the passionate and hard 

working officers of the Students’ Union. Protestors gathered 

to oppose plans to nearly treble the current cost of tuition 

fees to £9,000, to show their disappointment at cutting Education 

Maintenance Allowance for poorer sixth form students 

and to encourage the coalition government to reconsider 

planned cuts to further and higher education. 

Unfortunately a small minority hijacked the otherwise 

peaceful protest, in what can only be described as an angry 

and counterproductive attack on the coalition government. 

Extremists stormed the Millbank tower, Conservative party 

headquarters, smashing windows and attacking police vehicles. 

One rioter even threw a fire extinguisher from the 

roof of the tower. NUS president Aaron Porter said those 

responsible for the violence were an ‘utter disgrace’ as their 

actions detracted from the real message of the protest. We 

can proudly say however, that no one from Bangor University 

took part in the violence. Instead one Bangor student 

describes the protest as fantastic commenting that, “The 

atmosphere at the demo was energetic and exciting. We 

marched in unity for a cause we all believed in”. President 

of the Students’ Union Jo Caulfield also said, “It was simply 

incredible to see so many people on the street marching for 

one cause. Bangor students made me really proud and everyone 

had a great day.” 

The demo made history as the biggest student protest in 

a generation. The estimated 30,000 protestors were almost 

doubled as so many of us wanted to make our voices heard, 

in what was a powerful and progressive display of unity. 

Here are the photos from Bangor Students of their historic 

day at the National Demo. 

Gemma Ellis 

$!

9 



Union 

An interview with the President 

We all know it’s a tough time to be a student at the moment, on a 

local and national level. So this month, Seren met up with our former Editor 

and current Students’ Union President, Jo Caulfield to find out what’s been 

happening in the world of student politics, both in Bangor and beyond... 

What’s been the biggest challenge 

this year 

Well, I would say dealing with having 

no permanent building and a severe 

lack of facilities; no permanent nightclub 

for students, whilst somehow 

trying to navigate a way through 40% 

cuts to the higher education sector and 

deal with a university that wants to increase 

tuition fees. I’d say all together 

that makes for a challenging year…! 

Are you happy with the current 

location of the Students’ Union in 

Oswalds 

I would much prefer to be in a more 

central location, akin to the whereabouts 

of the old building. Our current 

location is good for those who live on 

Ffridd Site, but not so much for everyone 

else. However, the building itself 

isn’t too bad as a stop gap. I have the 

University working on a lot of redevelopment 

here, so soon it should be 

even better. I’m keen to move out to 

something more suitable as soon as 

possible. 

And how about Hendre Are you 

happy with that at the moment 

I’m only as happy as the student body 

is when it comes to Hendre, because 

it’s not an operation that’s controlled 

by the Union. My job is to reflect 

the opinions of students to the people 

operationally responsible for it and I 

do that on almost a daily basis. I don’t 

think students are satisfied with Hendre, 

and I don’t blame them – the University 

should have sought a solution 

long before Time & Academi were demolished, 

but I will say that the university 

have put a lot of effort into trying 

to make it work. I don’t think they’ve 

pulled it off though and I’m strongly 

encouraging them to look at other options. 

This process has now begun. 

How do you plan to improve student 

experience with the Hendre flop 

Well, firstly I’d say that it’s not up to 

me to improve the student experience 

– that’s the job of the University as 

they’re the ones with all the resources! 

However, what I can do is make sure 

the voice of students is heard within 

the University loud and clear. I like to 

think I do that pretty well. 

They are well aware of how passionately 

students feel about the lack 

of social provision for them here, and 

have reiterated that they need to take 

it seriously. Students who were here 

last year miss the facilities they once 

had, new students have not got what 

was advertised to them on open days, 

it’s all a bit of a mess really. I’m bloody 

angry about it and I know students are 

too. 

What I would like to say though, is 

that the university couldn’t be more 

aware of our feelings on this issue,and 

are trying. I do accept that it’s difficult 

for them with the Council not willing 

to play ball. 

What are your opinions on the 

National Demo Where do you 

think we can go from here 

Taking 250 Bangor students down to 

London made me exceptionally proud 

to be President of this union. Our students 

were brilliant, they were energetic 

and happy to be there even after 

they had travelled a much longer way 

than most! They all protested peacefully 

and did an excellent job of making 

Bangor’s voice heard. Now the next 

stage has to be lobbying. We need to 

be emailing MPs and Assembly Members 

on this issue. I want every single 

MP in this country to have messages 

from thousands of students telling 

them why they shouldn’t increase 

fees and shouldn’t savagely cut Higher 

Education. I also want to educate 

as many students as possible on the 

whole thing, because it can be quite a 

complex issue with many levels. 

For newer students who didn’t 

see the workings of the previous 

President, John Jackson, what do 

you think you have changed about 

the Union 

Well, I’ll freely admit I haven’t spent as 

much time dealing with constitutional 

matters or the inner workings of the 

Students’ Union itself as John did. I 

think there’s a time and a place for that 

and don’t begrudge that work at all. This 

year however, I wanted to change tact. 

Currently, students have one hell of a 

right to be annoyed, for many reasons, 

so if the Students’ Union is going to 

make a song and dance in the University, 

we need to do it now. I think it’s been 

paying off – the University are largely 

sympathetic to our requests. For instance, 

our Rowing Club were about to 

throw the towel in after their last boat 

broke and we had no money to replace 

it. So, we went to the University about 

the issue and persuaded them to buy 

new boats for the club. There have been 

many examples of that and I’m pleased 

with progress. 

I like to think we are a critical friend 

of the institution and I also believe 

we’re building a mutual respect – even 

if we disagree on some issues. 

The SU’s updates on Facebook are 

focused largely on the results we are delivering 

for students & there’s a reason 

for this - if a day comes when we aren’t 

securing change and a better deal for 

our members, then I believe we may as 

well go home. 

What would you say you’re most 

proud of this year 

I think just seeing the sheer number 

of students who care about the current 

threats to higher education. It’s 

very easy to think you’re fighting the 

battle solo sometimes, especially as 

in previous years many Bangor students 

haven’t been as ‘protest-active’ 

as others. This year, I’ve had so many 

conversations, emails and tweets from 

students wanting to get more involved, 

wanting to know how they can help the 

fight. I’m actually very proud of Bangor 

students, and exceptionally honoured 

to be leading out fight. 

Finally, how should students who 

want to get in touch with you do so 

Oh any way they can, please! I 

love to hear from students, as you 

would imagine. You can tweet me: 

(@jocaulfield), email me: 

(jo.caulfield@undeb.bangor.ac.uk), 

add me on Facebook, or even - shock 

horror - actually storm into my office 

and see me. Whatever floats your boat. 

Interview by 

Gemma Ellis 

“I don’t think students 

are satisfied with Hendre, 

& I don’t blame them - the 

University should have 

sought a solution long 

before Time & Academi 

were demolished.”

10 

What 

nationality is 

Santa Claus 

North Polish! 



Features 

A Year of 

Change 

Hi! Welcome to this year’s third issue of Seren, I’m the new Features 

editor. I didn’t do an introductory message last issue because I didn’t 

have room but with this issue’s massive. 32 pages (2 of them devoted 

entirely to Features) so I figured that I’d have enough room to do one 

this time around. This issue we’ve got an article on Primark and the 

controversy surrouding it written by yours truly (my first ever article 

in Seren, despite having been around for almost 3 years now). On this 

page I’ve asked some of our writers and your fellow students to write a 

little on how their life has changed in the past year, in keeping with the 

idea of Christmas and New Year being a time to look back on the past 

year and remember. I hope you enjoy reading about their experiences. 

If you’d like to write for Seren or the Features section get in touch 

with me at; 

features@seren.bangor.ac.uk 

Nicole 

For all of you who don’t know what 

Urdu or Cymraeg means, here’s a little 

overview. Urdu is the national language 

of Pakistan (where I come from) 

and Cymraeg is the national language 

of Wales (where I am right now). Yellow 

guys! 

I am Nayab Gul Dawood Khan famously 

known as Naboo around here. 

I am an International transfer student, 

studying BA Business Economics (2nd 

year). 

I was told by the writer of this section 

to write something about my experience 

as an International student. 

It has truly been a roller coaster ride! 

From the busy city of Karachi (nearly 

18 million people) to the beautiful, serene 

university town known as Bangor 

(not more than 18,000 people) it has 

been just splendid. When I was filling 

out the admission form for Bangor 

After spending the majority 

of my last summer 

of freedom doing 

a tedious and soul-destroying 

work placement, I couldn’t 

have been happier when September 

arrived and it was time 

to head back to Bangor. One 

more glorious year of student 

living to enjoy before I join the 

graduate job hunters’ rat race 

and inevitably go insane from 

the stress. Hooray! 

Last year, my second year at 

university, was relatively chilled. I 

became a bit of a workaholic and 

as such barely spent any money 

on partying. My loan was spent 

largely on a ridiculous amount of 

clothes from New Look and driving 

lessons, two expensive habits 

which I couldn’t keep up for long. 

I emerged from second year feeling 

a bit deflated, despite getting 

Three years, two homes and one degree. 

relatively good grades. Sure, the 

whole point of going to university 

is to pass all your exams and get 

a nice, important sounding degree 

to show for it at the end, but 

let’s be honest, that’s not what really 

attracts us. We want the whole 

‘student experience;’ the minimal 

responsibilities, endless house parties 

and guilt-free lie ins which we 

can enjoy safe in the knowledge 

that we’ve got at least another three 

years to grow up. 

So far, my university life had 

been somewhat lacking in this 

respect. I was determined that 

this year would be different. The 

decision to move back into halls, 

although last-minute, felt so natural. 

I had forgotten how much I’d 

missed the community atmosphere 

of Ffridd Site, that feeling of stepping 

into this wonderful studentsonly 

world where adult responsibilities 

can’t touch you. Plus, there’s 

no denying that the new halls are 

pretty swanky, even if (most of 

them) have now been lived in for 

two years. A massive kitchen, your 

own bathroom and daily rubbish 

collection beats a cramped student 

house any day. On top of all this, 

I’ve been lucky enough to have 

a bunch of incredibly lovely first 

years for flatmates. In just a few 

months they’ve become like family 

(horribly cheesy, but it’s true). 

Coming home after a particularly 

dull lecture and finding the kitchen 

buzzing with laughter and life is 

the best pick-me-up. This semester 

has gone by in a blur; I’ve been 

getting involved in everything and 

anything I can, trying new things 

(drunken karaoke at The Menai, 

anyone The Cure is my specialty!) 

and meeting some great people 

along the way. 

Becky Sage 

From Urdu to Cymraeg 

University I didn’t know what I would 

be getting in return: heaven on earth! 

Even though it was a little difficult 

settling down here because of the differences 

in culture and people, I have 

settled well. 

If you ask me, Bangor is truly the 

place to be. There are many reasons 

that back up my statement. Not only 

are the people friendly but life is 

just simpler. One doesn’t have to go 

through the complicated process of 

getting a hospital treatment card or 

permission to work (all I had to do for 

the former was to register with the local 

medical practice and make a phone 

call for the latter) and both of the cards 

(NHS and NI) arrived safely in my 

porter’s office at my halls of residence. 

One meets people from all over the 

world and they are all, whether they be 

Welsh, English or any other nationality, 

very supportive and cooperative 

when you need them, even strangers. 

When it was just my second day at 

Bangor I was cycling to Upper Bangor, 

quite unwell, and this girl who I had 

never seen before actually stopped me 

and asked me if I was alright! Sheer 

hospitality, I must say. 

Living in halls is a different experience 

on its own especially at Normal 

Site where everyday pranks and parties 

can’t be missed and we are like one big 

family: All for one, one for all! Back 

home, I was a spoilt kid where everything 

was done for me in advance i.e. 

food, clean clothes etc. Over here, it’s 

the beauty of doing things on your 

own and living life independently that 

I am loving. 

Back home I never saw snow or 

too much cold weather either. Put it 

like this, the summers here are as bad 

as the winters in my home city. But I 

am loving the snow even though I 

am quite unwell. Wearing jackets and 

scarves and covering yourself up was 

always my way of showing off my 

warm gear back home even though the 

winters lasted only two months maximum. 

Here I guess I can do it all year 

Halls to a Home 

Everyone knows that going 

to university is a life ers coming in. I opted for the liv- 

cope with a whole new set of fresh- 

changing experience ing in a house option - so no more 

halls for me - which may seem like 

but does your life change all 

a good idea when you think that it 

at once Or does it carry on 

means you have no more wardens 

changing for the whole three to fine you for getting locked out 

years 

of your room and you get to actually 

call a whole place yours. But 

I am now in my second year and 

my life has changed even more than on the minus side this also means 

it did in first year. For most people 

going to university means 

leaving home for the first time 

and in some cases moving far 

away from home to the other 

end of the country. You are also 

leaving the friends that you have 

had for most of your life and going 

somewhere where you know no 

one. There’s no denying that first 

year is definitely a big change. However 

I feel that second year is too, 

because in second year you either 

move into a house with some of 

your friends that you made in first 

year, or stay in halls and have to 

round. Yippie! 

I love the sea and to my surprise I 

never knew I would see it right outside 

of my window as well as the mountains. 

I mean, how many places in this 

world are there where you get to see all 

of this together in one place Plus I, being 

a sucker for scenery, am enjoying 

every bit of it. 

Last but not the least, nothing compares 

to the party life here at Bangor. 

From crazy fancy costume nights to 

For most people going to university 

means leaving home for the first 

time and in some cases moving far 

away from home to the other end of 

the country. 

no more free electricity, so this year 

our house echoes to the sounds of 

people screaming to turn the lights 

off. If you’ve ever tried to walk 

down stairs in pitch black, you’ll 

understand this. You also have no 

cleaners and it’s amazing how long 

six people can go without doing any 

funky techno music in amazing bars 

we have it all. Every night is a party 

night for Bangor and it is so much fun 

because you get to see the same people 

doing different things so there’s definitely 

no way of being lost, bored or 

confused. 

I can go on and on about my experience 

but I guess I’ll leave here. Cheerios! 

Nayab G.D. Khan 

washing up. 

On the plus side however, if you 

are living in a house you have been 

able to choose the people you live 

with. There is more work to do in 

the second year, in a shorter time 

frame and as everybody keeps telling 

me this year actually counts 

towards your degree! But, in the 

second year your modules are more 

tailored to what you actually 

want to be doing, so you have 

more of an interest in them, 

and (hopefully) won’t mind 

doing the assignments as 

much. I am enjoying my second 

year at Bangor University 

just as much as the first if not 

more and feel that now I have found 

my place in the university that I 

might never want to leave. 

Christy Sago



11 

Features 

Primark – the place of cheap, 

fashionable clothing; the student’s 

favourite place to shop. 

But why are the clothes so cheap 

The principles that Primark aim to 

meet are the provision of quality and 

ranged clothing at an affordable price, 

at the bottom end of the high street 

b u d g e t . 

People are 

inclined to 

believe tht 

this aim 

encourages 

the potential 

of poor 

w o r k i n g 

conditions. 

Maybe this 

is why Primark has been the subject 

of so many investigations and debates 

upon their labour ethics over 

the years. 

2005 saw Primark scoring the 

lowest of all leading clothing chains 

throughout the UK on the ethical 

index, which covers issues such as 

workers’ rights and business dealing 

with oppressive regimes. Primark 

contested these claims and, in 2006, 

joined the Ethical Trading Initiative 

to work on labour rights within their 

supply chains. Joining the ETI implies 

that Primark were committed towards 

implementing a code of conduct 

based on the International Labour 

Organisation. Primark’s participation 

within ETI suggested that the company 

intends to treat their labourers 

fairly. This was only the first time that 

Primark was under fire for dubious 

ethics. 

In December 2008, the criticism 

continued. UK charity War on Want 

exposed in their report, Fashion Victims 

II, that conditions had not improved 

in the Bangladeshi suppliers 

that Primark used after their visit two 

years previously. 

The most controversial revelation 

came just six months earlier, on 23 

June 2008. When Panoroma revealed 

that three of the Bangledeshi factories 

sub-contracted to Primark make use 

of child labour the public was outraged. 

Once the BBC informed Primark 

of this fact the company released 

a statement; “Under no circumstances 

would Primark ever knowingly permit 

such activities”. Primark immediately 

halted trading with the guilty 

suppliers. 

1 aim, 1 tenner, 1 charity shop! 

It’s charity shop time again guys, but Christy (my model) chose the charity 

this time it’s a winter Christmas shop Ty Gobaith, Hope House. It is a 

special! This month I was inspired tiny store situated near KFC, further 

by the new H&M in 

down the high 

Bangor town and by 

some of the students 

walking around. 

I wanted to pick a 

cute but warm outfit 

that would be suitable 

for Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and 

especially with the snow approaching, 

the outfit I chose suits perfectly. Me and 

Child protection groups criticised 

this action, stating that this would 

cause greater difficulties for the workers, 

it would have been better to work 

with the suppliers to improve working 

conditions for their labourers and 

change practices for the better. 

This wasn’t the end of the criticism 

surrounding Primark. The next focus 

of investigation was focused towards 

Primark’s employment practices. On 

the 9 January 2009, from an investigation 

carried out by the BBC/The 

Observer, a supplier was forced by the 

ETI to remove branding from Primark 

stores and websites after allegedly 

using illegal immigrant labour, paying 

less than the legal UK minimum 

wage, going strongly against the ethical 

trading standards of both the ETI 

and Primark. 

The unearthing of the truths surrounding 

the suppliers and their 

mistreatment of workers has led to 

P r i m a r k 

changing its 

ethical trading 

statements. 

As 

a result the 

prices seem 

to be rising 

as they 

attempt to 

remove the 

stigmatism 

by claiming 

to improve 

the conditions 

of their 

l a b o u r e r s . 

Primark still 

sits at the 

bottom end 

of the high 

street spectrum 

though, 

street. Firstly I 

chose the bright 

red knitted jumper, 

which cost £3. 

It is perfect for 

the Christmas 

season, and has the traditional patterns 

of black and white reindeer. It is bangon 

trend, with Topshop and New look 

below the likes of New Look which, 

despite a student discount, can still be 

pretty pricey sometimes. Primark is 

considered to be on a similar level to 

supermarket clothing chains belonging 

to Asda and Tescos. 

A visit to the Primark websiteshows 

that the multiple criticisms has 

led to a change. There is now a section 

within the website focused entirely 

upon ethical trading and Primark 

wants to emphasise it. On every page 

of the website the link to the section 

regarding Ethical Trading is present, 

inviting site visitors to take a look for 

themselves. The In-Practice subsection 

says “As Primark has grown, our 

record on ethical trading has come in 

for close scrutiny... we are firmly committed 

to improving the ethical performance 

of our business and that of 

our suppliers and their factories.” 

The fact still remains that whenever 

a controversy has arisen regarding 

exploitation of workers Primark 

has immediately ceased trading with 

the guilty supplier. Personally I can’t 

help but wonder whether Primark 

truly wish to protect the rights of their 

workers by ceasing trading or whether 

they are simply trying to save public 

face by disassociating themselves with 

Cheap and fair or just plain cheap 

I wanted to pick a cute but 

warm outfit that would be 

suitable for Christmas day 

or Boxing day 

People rioting at the 2007 store opening 

the guilty parties, claiming ignorance. 

Primark’s controversies haven’t 

been solely based on abuse of labourers. 

Attention was focused on Primark 

again in 2007, this time it was aimed 

at one of the UK stores in London’s 

Oxford Street. On its opening day the 

queuing shoppers descended into riots 

in their rush to reach the bargains 

and a non-existant half-price sale. 

After the store was forced to open 15 

minutes early due to the crush outside, 

two members of staff; a security 

guard and a manager, were injured 

and taken to hospital as a precaution. 

For days afterwards the news of 

the store riot could 

be found in many 

newspapers and 

in TV news, questioning 

whether 

the low prices were 

to blame for the 

crowds agitation. 

When reporting 

upon the incident 

The Independent 

again returned to 

the exploitation of 

workers “Anti-poverty 

charities claim 

the clothes are 

made by workers 

in Bangladesh paid 

as little as £3 for an 

80-hour week in 

selling the same style for a much higher 

price. Because the jumper is bold and 

bright, I wanted an understated look 

for the trousers. I chose some dark 

grey skinny jeans, which were an amazing 

£3.49. To top the look off, I chose 

a white woollen scarf to drape around 

Christy’s neck. It cost £1 which makes it 

the bargain of the day! So there we have 

it, and the whole outfit didn’t even cost 

a tenner! Just shows, a little thought 

can make an ideal Christmas outfit and 

you will feel good for giving to a wonderful 

charity which supports families 

and their terminally-ill children. Hope 

House relies on donations and fundraising 

to keep their hospice going, so 

you really will be making a difference 

and maybe helping to make somebody 

else’s Christmas a lot 

brighter. 

Abbi 

Ryan 

grim sweatshops 

without union representation.” 

The 

frequent return to this issue suggests 

that no matter how long Primark 

sticks around there will always be a 

stigma attached to their clothing production. 

Events such as the store riot can be 

considered to show the high popularity 

of the store and it certainly hasn’t 

l e s s e n e d 

since then. 

If anything, 

despite the 

allegations of 

labour abuse 

and the often 

poor quality 

of the 

clothing, the 

chain seems 

to be growing in popularity and it appears 

increasingly unlikely to lessen 

any time soon. 

Do students need Primark though 

In most university towns, Bangor in 

particular, there are multiple charity 

shops carrying high quality, almost 

new clothing for a fraction of the price 

(sometimes the clothes can be from 

the top end of the high street market 

from stores like Jane Norman). New 

Look offers a 20% student discount 

and regular sales giving student shoppers 

the chance to buy a larger range 

of clothes that are, in my opinion, of 

much higher quality. River Island 

too offer a large number of sales, occasionally 

cutting prices by as much 

as 75% (I managed to get a dress for 

£12.50 that was originally £50!). 

Most student shoppers have the 

knowledge and smarts to get the most 

for their money without the compromise 

on quality of clothing that Primark 

seems to give us. Maybe the rest 

of us should take a lesson from them 

and do the same. Plus charity shop 

shopping gives you the warm fuzzy 

feeling of helping a good cause while 

snapping up a bargain. 

Personally I think that Primark is 

going to be around for a long time, as 

the economy gets worse and that even 

after it recovers Primark will still be 

the hunting ground of those after a 

good bargain. Even when fancy dress 

outfits are necessary Primark is the 

best place to go, especially if you’re 

only going to wear it once. Honestly 

though, I’m unlikely to shop there for 

any other reason. 

Nicole Nally

12 

Student Cut Films is the newest 

film society to emerge at Bangor 

University. The society originally 

started towards the end of the 2009 

University year. Then called F.A.B 

(Filmmakers At Bangor), with not 

much success, the society was handed 

over to second year creative studies 

student Adam Farrand who gave the 

society a new style and new aim. “We 

wanted to give students a chance to 

create an exhibit of pieces of their own 

work outside of the restrictions of their 

chosen courses” says Adam. 

Adam works alongside a small committee 

of other students. Marty Hughes 

(secretary), Joey McNally (Treasurer), 

Mathew Owen (Technical coordinator) 

and John Evans (Creative coordinator) 

all generate ideas to keep the society 

working successfully. 

The society meets every Thursday 

What do snowmen 

have for 

breakfast 

Snowflakes! 

at 6pm for a 6:10pm start in the Main 

Arts Lecture Theatre and is dedicated 

to making and producing films. At the 

minute they have small group-based 

projects in the stages of pre-production 

which include a drama project based 

around Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The 

Raven”, an action budget remake of the 

Hitchcock film “Rope” and a mockumentary 

style film looking at a local 7 a 

side football team. These projects have 

involved a mentor scheme. This allows 

people with no experience to learn 

new skills from those who have prior 

experience. As well as this, the group 

have a number of short films made and 

next semester plan to take inspiration 

from the 2008 film “Be Kind Rewind” 

and “swede” some popular, well known 

films. 

Adam and his committee are keen 

for their work to get noticed and are 



Societies 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: STUDENT CUT FILMS 

also working on a website for the society 

along with a YouTube page to promote 

their work. Adam is also looking 

into submitting work to an online production 

company called HitRECord. 

This is run by actor Joseph Gordon- 

Levitt of Inception fame and is a professionally 

run company that looks for 

new and unnoticed creative work. 

The great thing about Student Cut 

Films is that they accommodate for 

anyone interested in film. Filmmaking 

is the society’s main focus but if you 

are interested in any other aspect of the 

area like screenwriting, editing, producing, 

sound, acting, makeup etc then 

there will be something for you to do. 

Not everything is work-based 

though. Adam is keen to hold events 

to raise the profile of the society. He 

recently held a quiz for members of 

the society and a team of people from 

Student Cut Films won first prize at the 

Bar Uno quiz night. The group regularly 

go on to social nights at local pubs/ 

clubs to make everyone feel welcome, 

“The plan is to hold several events over 

the next year, hopefully in JP Hall. Not 

only will they help generate word of 

mouth for the society but it will also 

help the school of Creative Studies and 

Media become much more sociable,” 

says Adam. 

Currently the society has a regular 

turnout of 15-20 members and is always 

looking for more. As a new society 

at the University it is fair to say that 

they are slowly making their creative 

mark on Bangor. 

Facebook – Student Cut Films 

Twitter - @StudentCutFilms 

Amy Westlake 

Student Cut Films 

Bangor boast the BEST 

Nightline in the country! 

DVD Sale! 

For those of you who don’t 

remember, Ffriddoedd site’s JCR 

used to rent out DVDs to students. 

It worked like an on-site Blockbuster 

and collected over 1000 DVDs over 

time, including box sets and series. 

Unfortunately the demise of the 

JCR meant Ffridd site saw the end 

of its DVD renting days and has 

now left the Students’ Union with 

a huge stack of comedy, romance 

and action to sell! As there is no 

longer a cloakroom to raise funds 

for societies, the Union has decided 

to use the sale to raise some money 

for them. DVDs will be selling for 

£2 and series will be sold at £5 

providing you with perfect, bargain 

stocking fillers! The sale begins on 

6th December and will run until 12th 

so come along to the Alaw common 

room on Ffridd site between these 

days to grab a bargain! 

Reclaim The 

Night 

Nightline, that service that’s always there, every 

night, no matter what you need. 8pm to 8am, 

always there to listen to you, to give you phone 

numbers, or even give you exam times at 6am 

when you get that bizarre craving to just know 

when you get to sit through the thrilling experience 

of exams again. 

So here we are again, coming to the end of 

the first term of the year, and getting ready for 

the Christmas holidays! A chance to make sure 

work’s done and out of the way so we can kick 

back and hopefully get a bit of a break from the 

work and exams. 

For us, it’s been a busy start to the year. We’ve 

had loads to do at the start of the year, getting to 

know the new committee and everyone’ having a 

really good time so far. We’ve also been working 

hard to make sure things are better for you. 

We’ve had our first new intake of volunteers, 

bringing us up to 79 volunteers. This makes us 

the second biggest society within the union! All 

these volunteers have gone through our intense 

and fun training weekend (even though it’s more 

than just two days). They’re all ready to take to 

the phone and help out with what ever you can 

possibly need. 

We’ve kept up our record of being open, being 

open more in the last two years than we ever have 

before, making sure we’re open as often as we can 

for you guys. With our new volunteers, we’re hoping 

to get even better. 

Work has begun on our new website, which 

should be easier to use and allow you guys to 

give us your feedback on the service completely 

anonymously, so you can help us see where we 

can improve. Even our beloved bear Dafydd will 

have his own page! 

We have also been awarded the "Best Practice 

Standard certification", making us the leading 

Nightline in the country. This allows us to work as 

an example for other Nightlines around the UK. 

This nationally recognized award is a genuine 

recognition of the work put in by the committee 

and all of our volunteers. 

Volunteering with Nightline can be very fulfilling 

as well as a lot of fun. As well as getting 

to know people from the society, we have great 

socials and it can feel really great knowing that 

you’re doing something to help someone else, 

completely anonymously. 

You have complete control over when you can 

volunteer, so you can tailor it to whenever suits 

you. 

We’ll be having another volunteer intake in 

the second semester, after Serendipity 2, so if 

you’re interested in volunteering with us, drop by 

the stall to find out more, or send us an email at 

any time for more information. 

We hope you have a great Christmas, and if 

you want to find out anything more about Nightline, 

drop us an email at nightline@undeb.bangor. 

ac.uk, or visit our website at www.bangorstudents.com/nightline. 

Nightline, here for you 8pm-8am, every night. 

01248 362121 

Take a stand against sexual violence 

against women in our community, on our 

campus and in our culture 

Meet 14th Dec, 7pm, Main Arts Car Park 

• The march begins at Main Arts, ending at Blue Sky Cafe 

where there will be a film screening, food and drink. 

• The event is free and all are welcome 

• All donations go to RASA Caernarfon 

For more information email: bws@undeb.bangor.ac.uk



Three headed experts, dolphin trainers, and a post 

office in space; just an average day for Bangor’s ImpSoc 

To be a good comedian takes 

a lot of confidence, quickwittedness, 

a great deal of 

imagination and that certain knack 

of being able to make everything 

and anything seem totally hilarious. 

Luckily the members of 

Bangor’s ImpSoc have all 

these traits in abundance, 

as I discovered when I attended 

the ‘Feature Length 

Improv Comedy Show 

with Bells On!’ in JP Hall 

on Friday 19th November. 

The fun and games 

kicked off with an Oscarworthy 

rendition of Disney 

classic ‘The Little 

Mermaid.’ The audience 

was driven to hysterics as 

a rather masculine Ariel 

clutched his hands to his 

bosom while an incredibly 

wiggly-hipped eel 

tried to tempt him into 

Ursula’s trap. As the show 

progressed, the audience’s 

suggestions became weirder 

(a particularly memorable 

one was ‘dolphin and 

dolphin trainer’ for the 

relationship between two characters) 

and the performers met their demands 

with gusto. We were treated 

Ever thought vegetables are boring 

Think again, as there is a brand 

new society called HOGS (standing 

for Horticultural Organic Garden 

Society) that started one of the most innovative 

projects in Bangor in the last few 

years! It all started as some crazy idea but 

luckily we found enough crazy people to 

hop on board and help push the train. In 

less than half a year we planted the seed 

that would become a society, shovelled 

through all bureaucratic and formal procedures 

and actually started some real 

gardening. That’s right, we got ourselves 

the permission to plant and grow vegetables 

and fruit on the land next to Fron 

Heulog (opposite Morrisons) and 

started transforming it into an organic 

student community garden. 

So what’s the plan Well, of 

course it needed cleaning up first. 

But fortunately we had already 

gathered a whole army of vegetable 

addicts who helped us construct 

the first raised bed, replant bushes 

and plant our first apple tree. But 

do not fear, HOGS is not only for 

hardened gardeners (then I’d certainly 

be wrong there, I wouldn’t 

recognize a lettuce from a cabbage). 

Many tasks included weren’t very 

demanding but there surely was 

fun to be had while chatting in little 

to an exclusive interview with the 

‘three-headed experts’ who warned 

us of the dangers of using glue while 

working with trapeze-artist elephants. 

Other delights included the 

‘Whose line is it’ game which saw 

a dare-devil’s attempt to convince 

his friend to jump out of a plane, using 

previously unseen lines which 

had been written before the show. 

Thrown in with the more run-ofthe-mill 

lines were some truly wacky 

ones (something to do with ‘buying 

a horse a prostitute’ and ‘tickling 

pickles’ spring to mind) which 

the performers somehow 

managed to successfully 

incorporate into their 

sketch. The grand finale 

of the show, a game where 

every line spoken had to be 

in the form of a question, 

soon became a battle of the 

wits as a lengthy stand-off 

ensued between two of 

the performers, first in a 

school setting and then in 

a futuristic post office in 

space. 

There was laughter, 

applause and smiles all 

round at ImpSoc’s debut 

show. The performers were 

quick-witted and confident, 

effortlessly winning 

over the audience with 

their comedic genius. Another 

show is already in the 

works, and if it’s anything 

like its predecessor, I’m 

sure it won’t disappoint! 

Becky Sage 

HOGS – We dig veg! 

groups and trying to get rid of the litter 

(and finding rather odd items) or taking 

pictures. I have to admit that I have 

no idea what we actually planted, and 

it might be quite a hard time waiting to 

see what interesting vegetables jump up 

through the ground, but we sure found a 

way to bridge the long waiting time. With 

recycled milk bottles and other items we 

created pots in order to plant herbs which 

were courteously supplied by Anglesey 

Herbs, so in the end everyone was able to 

take their own herbs home. I have to admit 

it was incredibly exciting when they 

started growing and, most certainly, there 

is a vivid competition going on in whose 

basil is growing fastest (I gave mine a bit 

of extra love today to make it grow faster 

and show it off tomorrow). 

So what happens with the veg once it 

is ripe for the picking Well, it’s a community 

garden, so we don’t only plant 

and nurse it together, we also share and 

eat it all together! We have some awesome 

dinner parties in planning, and 

growing vegetables is not the only thing 

we do. Be prepared for epic movie nights 

(next: “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of 

the Were-Rabbit”, Thursday 2nd December, 

MALT, 7.30pm), trips away (food 

festivals, organic farms,...) and of course 

more exciting workparties and workshops 

(preparing you to be the 

perfect home gardener!). And, 

of course, everything is organic 

and environmentally friendly 

– so you can walk home with a 

satisfying smile of having done 

a difference. We happily welcome 

new members to the society 

all year round. Our socials 

are at the Belle Vue at 8pm every 

Thursday. You can contact us 

at hogsoc@undeb.bangor.ac.uk 

or join our facebook group 

(HOG Soc! Horticultural Organic 

Garden Society)! Come 

round and check it out! 

Presents 

Venom Day 

13 

Societies 

11th December 

Location is Brambell A12, Deiniol Road, Bangor, LL57 2UW. 

Everyone is welcome and the price is £3.50 for members and £7 for non-members on the door. 

For enquiries and booking please contact bangorherpsoc@googlemail.com. 

10am-5.30pm

14 

If athletes get 

athlete’s foot, 

what do elves get 

Mistle-toes! 

Gifts 



Stuck for buying cool Christmas gifts on a budget Let us help! 

For him: For her: 

Rubik’s 360 

The modern take on the Rubik’s Cube 

is here and it’s just as complicated as 

the original. This time you have to twist 

and turn to get the right sphere in the 

right place. 

£7.47 

www.toysrus.com 

NanoWatch 

Turn his iPod Nano into the coolest 

wristwatch, simply pop the iPod into 

the rubber strap and he can know the 

time as well as listening to his favourite 

tunes. 

£16.99 

www.firebox.com 

Diamante Mini 

Speaker 

This stylish mini portable 

speaker will allow her to listen 

to her audio player on the 

move with a bit of glamour. 

£9.95 

www.prezzybox.com 

Stag Couple 

Hot Water 

Bottle 

Keep her warm and cosy this 

Winter with this cute Stag Hot 

Water Bottle. 

£12.00 

www.topshop.com 

StressBerry 

Because he gets stressed and it’s 

cheaper than smashing an actual 

phone, this Blackberry-inspired foam 

gift will relieve the stress in no time. 

£3.99 

www.iwantoneofthose.com 

For him and her: 

Desktop Henry & 

Hetty Hoovers 

The cutest hoovers around got desktop sized. Now 

there’s no excuse for a messy desk as mini Henry and 

Hetty’s powerful motors will deal with the crumbs 

and dust ensuring surfaces are spotless! 

£7.97 

www.amazon.co.uk 

Light Up 

Tweezers 

No one likes bushy eyebrows and be 

sure to point out that she doesn’t have 

bushy eyebrows before she recieves this 

gift otherwise you’re in trouble! Just tell 

her that you want to make her plucking 

job easier with the guidance of some 

light. 

£8.95 

www.gazoo.co.uk

15 

and Gadgets 



ios 4 update brings much needed 

iphone features to the ipad 

Multitasking and folders were something the iPad lacked, but now with the iOS 4.2 

updated software, this is no longer a problem, making your iPad ownership much 

easier. Other features include Airprint which brings about wireless printing, Airplay 

which enables wireless digital streaming to your Apple TV, improved mail and a snazzier 

version of the iPhone’s Game Centre. iPad users aren’t the only people to benefit from 

the update either, iPhone and iPod Touch users also get Airprint and Airplay with the 

update. Not only that, but you can now use different fonts on Notes! And if any of you 

manage to lose your Apple product, Find My iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch works with 

Mobile Me to track down your device. 

Self stirring mug amazes! 

Meet the cup that means you never have to pick up a spoon again! The Plain 

Lazy Self Stirring Mug simply requires 2 AAA batteries and the rest is history. 

Simply press the button which is conveniently located where you thumb lands 

on the handle, and self stir away! The only thing more amazing than this 

gadget is the price - it can be yours for £9.95 from www.prezzybox.com 

fivepoint gloves save you from 

the cold. 

Those of you with touchscreen phones or other touchscreen gadgets will 

be aware of the devastation faced when you have to take your gloves off in 

these temperatures to use it outside. Well fear no more, FIVEPOINT have 

created the glove that finally allows us to use our touchscreens without 

having to brave the cold. Check out www.fivepointgloves.com for a full list 

of gadgets that the glove is compatible with. It works with all Apple products 

and the following mobiles: HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid, 

Nokia N900, Sony Ericsson Satio and the Palm Pre Plus. It also works with 

some touchscreen cameras and portable media players. They’re yours for 

£24.99, bargain. 

App of the month: 

100,000 users can’t be wrong can they Because that’s how 

many people have downloaded this cool little application in its 

first week of being available. Instagram allows you to edit your 

pictures with a cool collection of different filters that transform 

your photos. Not only that, but it attaches your location and lets 

you share with Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Facebook and Foursquare. 

Pretty nifty yes Check out Creative Corner for some examples. 

Application: Instagram 

Available from: iTunes 

Price: FREE 

Compatible with: iPhone, 

iPod Touch 

iPad

12 

Options 

The Great Arete 

Lads and Dads 

Barbers 

Siop viv 

Lindas 

Barbers 

CK HAIR 

Spicy Vujon 

Bangor Eye Centre 

G Williams 

& Son 

Butchers 

Zero 

Orient 

Expresso 

Nice wings mate! 

Go for it Sports Gear 

RMB Salon 

Sew 

Wise 

Claytons Hair Design 

Yo' Mamas 

Jewellery box 

嘉顿大酒店 

Garden Hotel 

Dragons 

Bite 

Natalie’s Nails 

The Flower Centre 

The Vibez Centre 

Computer MOT Centre 

Arthaus 

61 

H9 Unisex Salon 

Elias Garage 

The 

Whistlestop 

Cafe

BeEn snapPed with Seren 

Send your photos to editor@ 

seren.bangor.ac.uk to 

apPear in the next isSue! 

SnapPed 

with Seren 

This may be the BEST dog in the world! 

LOOK at 

him go... 

reading 

Seren

Father Christmas 

has two reindeer. He 

calls one Edward 

and the other one 

Edward! Why 

Because two ‘Eds 

are better than 

one, of course! 

O 

Doctor Who 

ver the past five years we’ve 

seen everything from a replica 

of the Titanic falling out of the 

sky to Cybermen taking over Victorian 

London. Just last year we saw David 

Tennant’s emotional exit as the Tenth 

Doctor so the question is; what have 

they got for us this year Steven Moffat 

has already proved that he’s a more 

than adequate replacement for Russell 

T Davies as head writer on Doctor Who 

with last series’ gripping finale and by 

the sounds of it he’s looking to solidify 

that with this year’s festive special. 

After all the events of last series 

you would think, or at least hope, that 

newlyweds Amy and Rory would have 

a peaceful honeymoon but of course 

‘A Christmas Carol’ 

this is Doctor Who and nothing is ever 

peaceful. Trapped on a crashing space 

liner Amy and Rory must rely on the 

Doctor to save them but their only 

hope lies in the redemption of Kazdan 

Sardwick [Michael Gambon] in what 

promises to be an epic mash-up of 

Doctor Who and A Christmas Carol. 

The Dickens classic’s inclusion in the 

‘Who-niverse’ is something that has 

been talked about since ‘The Runaway 

Bride’ back in 2006 and I have to say 

it is at least intriguing to see what 

Moffat’s twist on it will be. 

LJ Taylor 

Christmas Day - 

BBC One 

Top Ten Games 

This Christmas 

10 - World of Warcraft Cataclysm 

09 - Star Wars Force Unleashed II 

08 -Rock Band 3 

07 - DC Universe Online 

06 - Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock 

05 - Fifa 11 

04 -Medal of Honor 

03 - Fable 3 

02 - Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood 

01 - Call of Duty Black Ops 

Most Likely Winners 


The boy band are still firmly in the competition. During 

the ‘Rock Week’ show they gave performances of “You 

are so Beautiful”, finally seeing them sing a ballad, which 

was simple but effective. “Summer of ’69” was an upbeat 

change to demonstrate their versatility. 

Matt Cardle 

8/10 

Matt remains a strong 

favourite. Certainly 

continuing to be popular 

with the ladies, he gave 

performances of “I love 

Rock and Roll” and “Nights 

in White Satin”. Could his 

guitar skills give him that 

extra edge to secure more 

votes and win 

The boy band are still firmly in the competition, during 

the rock week show they gave performances of “You are so 

Beautiful” where we finally saw then sing a ballad, which was 

simple but effective. “Summer of ’69” was an upbeat change to 

demonstrate their versatility. 

Winner potential: 8/10 

One Direction 

Rebecca 

Ferguson 

8/10 

7/10 

The Liverpudlian with a unique 

voice gave performances of 

“Still haven’t found what I’m 

looking for” and “Satisfaction”. 

It would be nice to see her 

move around the stage a bit 

more...but I suppose that’s 

the choreographer’s fault 

rather than hers. 

I’m a 

Celebrity 

Get Me Out 

of Here! 

It’s that time of year 

again. The bleakness of 

winter has arrived but we 

look towards Australia for 

that hint of sun. Ant and 

Dec are in their usual moods 

joking at the expense of the 

not so cheerful celebrities 

and this season is bound to 

glue us to our televisions 

yet again. While last 

season was packed with 

sky diving, water canoeing 

and celebrity secrets we 

find that this year these 

adventures have intensified. 

The producers have 

learned that in order to 

get the best viewings 

possible from the audience 

they must bring the most 

exciting bush tucker trials 

and celebrities to the 

table – and trust me it has 

definitely paid off. The first 

episode of the year brought 

in a whopping 11.2 million 

viewers which will persuade 

the producers to keep our 

beloved I’m a Celeb going. 

Yet we have to remember 

what we truly love about 

the show. 

From claustrophobic 

coffins to maggot infested 

meals the trials have truly 

put the celebrities to the 

test and sometimes even 

brought them to the brink. 

You can expect, as normal, 

the tensions to rise from 

the lack of food and even 

the ‘look’ of it. While not 

everyone likes crocodile feet 

a s 

t h e i r 

evening 

meal it 

has to be 

better than 

beans and rice, 

right It certainly 

is an improvement 

to the menu from 

last season when Gino 

cooked a rat he randomly 

found in the jungle. 

However one of our most 

loved tasks – the luxurious 

and relatively hard celebrity 

chests have been revamped 

for future seasons. We 

as an audience would sit 

there laughing slightly and 

eventually getting bored as 

a celeb would take hours to 

pour a jungle liquid into a 

container only to fail at the 

question at hand. So this 

year the tasks have added 

the embarrassing factor 

to the celebrities involved, 

sometimes giving a muddy 

treatment to top names 

such as Aggro Santos. 

Furthermore it is safe 

to say that I’m a Celebrity 

will continue to be one of 

those programmes that 

you will either love or hate 

but whatever your opinion 

Ant and Dec will continue 

to entertain the nation and 

hopefully it will continue 

well into the future. 

Louis Waters

Coming Soon 

Chronicles of Narnia: 

Voyage of the Dawn 

Treader 

It seems like only yesterday that I 

was refusing to jump on the Harry 

Potter bandwagon, I didn’t see 

the hype nor did I want to. I wouldn’t 

say that finally embracing it changed 

my life because that would be a little 

extreme, but Harry Potter is something 

I imagine I’ll look back at in 

twenty years and proudly say, “Yeah, 

I grew up with that.” And so it’s both 

exciting and sad to see it coming to 

an end for, as the trailer claims, it is 

‘The motion picture event of a generation’. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 

is different from its predecessors 

in that the drama is no longer 

based around Hogwarts. Following 

on from the Half Blood Prince, Harry 

[Daniel Radcliffe], Ron [Rupert 

Grint] and Hermione [Emma 

Watson] are tasked with finding and 

destroying the mysterious objects 

known as Horcruxes in order to destroy, 

once and for all, Lord Voldemort 

[Ralph Fiennes]. 

With the protective enchantment 

around his Aunt and Uncle’s house 

set to break the moment Harry turns 

seventeen, Deathly Hallows kicks off 

with a bang. Voldemort now controls 

the Ministry of Magic and that only 

means that Harry and his friends are 

in even more danger than ever before 

as they step out into the real world, 

armed with just their wands and the 

protection of each other. Deathly 

Hallows Part 1 may not seem as action 

packed as previous Harry Potter 

movies but it is a vital stepping stone 

towards what is sure to be an explosive 

finale in Part 2. It’s refreshing to 

see, also, that the often criticised performances 

of the three main protagonists 

seem to have improved and it’s 

hard to believe Radcliffe is the same 

boy we saw in Philosopher’s Stone. 

Without a doubt, though, Helena 

Bonham Carter’s portrayal of insane 

and purely evil Bellatrix Lestrange 

steals the show even if she doesn’t 

have as crucial of a role as she had in 

her debut, Order of the Phoenix. 

Potter fans, I’m sure will, appreciate 

the fact that the last instalment 

has been split into two parts to make 

sure that all the important details are 

included, something that the previous 

movies have been criticised for. 

While the movie, at parts, seems 

slow paced most fans I’m sure will 

agree that the story is told well 

and doesn’t feel rushed this time 

around. 

With four horcruxes left to find 

Harry and his friends are sure to 

be in for one bumpy ride come 

next July when Part 2 is released 

worldwide in 3D. 

LJ Taylor 

The saga continues - in 

3D - as Lucy and Edmund 

return to the magic land 

of Narnia for their greatest 

adventure yet... 

The Tourist 

A trip to Italy leads to a 

whirlwind of intrigue, danger 

and romance in this thriller 

starring Johnny Depp and 

Angelina Jolie. 

Tron Legacy in 3D 

In this sequel to the cult 

1982 sci-fi hit, Kevin Flynn 

(Jeff Bridges) returns as his 

son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) 

decides to find out what 

happened to his father. 


SAY 

= 

S T U D E N T ’ S 

Die Hard because Alan 

Rickman is the man. 

Matt Cox 

DVD 

OF THE 

MONTH 

Elf makes me 

feel twelve again! 

Ashleigh 

Garnett 

Gremlins! 

David Harris 

The Snowman 

because it is just 

gorgeous and the 

music’s insane. 

Rowena Nathan 

I love Love Actually, 

‘cause it’s on 

every single year and 

I watch it every single 

year. 

Kaden Wild 

Home Alone is 

hilarious and it 

cheers me up every 

Christmas. 

Luke Dobson 

The Muppets 

Christmas Carol 

is the best thing 

since sliced bread. 

Seren Editor 

While for me Christopher Nolan will never top his 2000 movie ‘Memento’, I have to say ‘Inception’ 

isn’t far short of a masterpiece. Nolan’s critically acclaimed ‘The Dark Knight’ did 

very little for me and so it’s great to see him back to what he does best; creating a mind 

boggling thriller that leaves you still asking questions six months down the line. 

Prior to its release and with little known about it other than it been a thriller where ‘Your 

mind is the scene of the crime’ Inception was predicted to be the movie of 2010 and it’s easy 

to see why. With Nolan’s success with ‘The Dark Knight’ an all-star cast featuring Leonardo 

DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine backing it up Inception 

had everything it needed to be a success. 

The story follows Dominic Cobb [DiCaprio], a professional thief of sorts, who steals 

secrets from people from within their dreams. Along with his specialist team, Cobb is on 

a mission to infiltrate the mind of a rich young business heir Fischer [Cillian Murphy] in 

order to influence his decisions; a concept they refer to as Inception. Along the way though 

the team encounter a myriad of problems from Ariadne’s [Ellen Page] inexperience, their 

client Saito’s [Ken Watanbe] interference and most crucially Cobb’s projections of his dead 

wife [Cotillard] whose manifestations he can’t control. Cotillard’s character, Mal, acts as the 

main antagonist for the movie always finding a way to prevent the team from succeeding as 

Cobb tries to deal with his guilt at her suicide. 

With a complicated plot it’s easy to give up on Inception but if you stick with it and let 

the story play out you’ll soon find yourself drawn into the many unique and unorthodox 

worlds Nolan has created. It’s not only the characters that’ll soon find themselves confused 

as to what is reality and what is a dream but that is why Inception is so brilliant; you truly 

do get sucked in. 

Out on DVD and Blu Ray 6th December

20 December Issue 2010 


What did the bald 

man say when 

he got a comb 

for Christmas 

Thanks, I’ll never 

part with it ! 

T 

he long awaited collection by 

Alber Elbaz, Lanvin’s artistic 

director for the high street 

giants went on sale on November 

23 in selected H&M stores 

nationwide. And this is one fierce 

collection. 

It is clear that this collection 

will bring luxury into people’s daily 

style. 

Highlights include the line's 

tuxedo jacket, a tiered ballerina 

dress and shoes covered with 

ribbons. Asymmetric necklines, 

ruffles and super-flattering, 

feminine silhouettes are another 

feature of this line. Further 

looks included humorous 

embellished tees, elegant 

coats, and fabulous feminine 

accessories. The collection 

carries all of Lanvin's 

signature trademarks with 

a pleasing H&M price tag. 

According to Alber Elbaz, The 

inspiration for the collection is 

Lanvin’s creations from yesterday, 

not from tomorrow. The collection 

is all about colour, shapes, flowers 

and happy clothes. 

A great thing about the 

collection is that Lanvin refused 

to compromise on design and 

quality. Furthermore H&M 

embraced the brand’s culture, 

attempting to reach a wider 

audience that would still seek 

luxury. 

Fashion isn’t just for 

girls. This look included 

tailored men’s suit jackets, 

vibrant reflective shoes, 

and detailed men’s ties or 

bowties. In my opinion the 

collection is contemporary, 

playful and elegant and 

you could be any age to 

pull the dresses off - 

whether you are a young 

fresher or a mature 

student with kids. You 

will be the showstopper 

in Octagon wearing this 

on a Saturday night! 

Hopefully Lanvin 

and H&M will create 

another fabulous 

collaboration and 

bring it to the 

new store in 

Bangor. Then 

h o p e f u l l y 

we will 

be seeing 

you all in stylish 

clothing! 

Kaden 

Wild 

Student Style 

Cat Curtis 

19 

Phychology 

So how do you put 

your outfits together 

in the morning 

Afternoon 

Whenever you 

decide to surface 

“I just wear the 

clothes that I like 

and hope for the 

best that they look 

good” 

Where do you 

shop in Bangor 

“I mainly shop 

at Topshop, River 

Island, New Look 

and H&M... When 

I have the money” 

And how is the 

course going 

“I’m failing but it’s 

alright ‘cause I love 

Bangor!” 

T 

he American Music Awards recently 

attracted the worlds biggest music 

stars, bringing the glitz and the 

glamour to the red carpet. Here are my 

top 3 looks! 

1 

2 

3 

Fine 

Fresh 

Fierce 

Rihanna went for drama at the 

2010 American Music Awards 

with this sheer, red floral motif 

gown from Elie Saab’s Fall 

couture ‘10 collection. 

“Can’t Be Tamed” singer Miley 

Cyrus was looking beautiful 

in a strapless white Marchesa 

dress adorned with ruched silver 

detailing. Making her dress all 

the more stunning was a large 

bow and long train. 

Jenny McCarthy Rocks this 

sparkly, metallic, cheetah print 

Stella McCartney mini dress. 

1 

H&M 

£19.99 

River Island 

£49.99 

Get the 

Look! 

Topshop 

£46.00 

2 3 

H&M 

£24.99 

Topshop 

£32.00 

Christmas means parties, and parties means sexy 

cocktail dresses. Vanessa from The Saturdays 

knows a thing or two about statement dresses, be 

sure to get in on the action with these looks which 

can all be purchased in Bangor!



21 

What’s in 

Guys Get The Look 

The Christmas season is in full swing. Christmas means 

parties so your wardrobe should be prepared! Think smart 

shirts, skinny ties, slimline trousers and a smart blazer. 

Here’s a few items that you can buy in Bangor. 

New Look 

£17.59 

Topman £16 

Topman £40 

River Island 

£26.99 

River Island 

£29.99 

Tom Fords' Spring 2011 

Preview 

T 

om Fords’ new Spring 

2011 Women’s 

Collection has created 

a surge online. 

Although Tom has said 

that his collection is said to 

reference the Seventies, I 

would say that it looks way 

more retro, almost 1920s 

inspired. The preview of his 

new collection shows deep 

plunge-neck blouses, fringed 

silk dresses, tailored trousers 

and tuxedo jackets both in white 

and a graphic leopard print. 

Every design is incredibly bold 

and showcases strong personality 

in attitude and styling. The 

garments would remain eyecatching 

if they stood alone, but 

the accessories chosen along 

with the hair and make-up editing 

accentuate the looks. 

The looks that stood out most for 

me are the fringe 

silk dresses; the 

A 

fringe on it is so fine that it 

looks like actual hair. 

The red and pale 

pink fringe dress 

looks like a lava 

flow sizzling out 

of the ground and 

delicately fading as 

it rose… a very cool 

effect indeed, Mr. 

Ford. However my 

favourite look is a 

longline dress which 

appears to be made 

from tweed, with bow 

feature at front and 

plunging neck. 

As for the rest 

of his collection... 

It will be going on 

his website so keep 

an eye out. If it’s 

anything like this 

preview, it’s bound to 

be a success. 

Kaden 

Wild 

Heidi Klum Hangs Up Her Wings 

fter more than a decade of representing one of the sexiest and well-known brands on 

the planet, supermodel Heidi Klum is hanging up her angel wings. Klum will no longer 

be one of the faces of lingerie giant, Victoria’s Secret. 

The supermodel wowed audiences last year at the annual November Victoria’s Secret fashion 

show when she strutted the catwalk in skimpy lingerie a mere five weeks after giving birth. 

Though no reason for the departure was given, it’s assumed Klum is planning to focus her 

time and energy toward other projects, including her hit on Lifetime, ‘Project Runway,’ and 

her many clothing lines. 

On the previous page we 

gave you the highlights of 

the American Music Awards 

- now it’s time to slate the 

stars that graced us with 

outfits that we would rather 

forget. 

Red alert 

Over the past few months a new trend has 

hit our screens, magazines and streets and 

it’s spreading like a fierce fire (pun intended)! 

Yes you guessed it - it’s red hair!! However the most important question is 

who rocks it better 

1 2 

I have no words... 

that hair, the 

studded eyebrows. 

It looks like she made 

the dress herself. She is 

in desperate need of a 

good stylist. Bad Times 

Ke$ha! 

You have a lot 

to learn Willow 

Smith... it works 

for the likes of Gaga 

and Rihanna but not 

a 10 year old girl. So 

stay clear of the S&M 

clothes! 

3 

I love your new 

album ‘Pink 

Friday’... but 

I can’t say the same 

about the outfit! What 

went wrong here We 

know you’re a bit crazy 

but Nicki Minaj that 

thing is vile!

22 

What’s Scrooge’s 

f a v o u r i t e 

C h r i s t m a s 

game 

Mean-opoly 

Jennyxxx 



Your advice page 

This month I’ve chosen to shape this column around the issues of sex, consent, and rape. Serious stuff, 

really, but it was International Day to End Violence Against Women this week just gone. We’re living 

in a country whose government has demonstrated in its program of cuts a disregard for women so 

flagrant that the Fawcett Society has sued them on discriminatory grounds. 

What is 

consent 

Consent is a mutual agreement between sexual partners to 

respect each other’s boundaries. But there are a lot of people 

who think that wearing revealing clothes, drinking, flirting, or 

a promiscuous sexual past make victims of assault responsible 

for the things that are inflicted on them. So, let’s be clear: 

consent has to be informed, enthusiastic, and explicit. Here’s a 

few thoughts for you: Is consent a one-time yes agreement Does 

a yes to oral mean a yes to everything else What if you make 

out with someone and things get a little hot and heavy Just 

because you’re cool with that, does it mean you’re cool with 

going ‘all the way’ And how about with a regular partner 

or partners Do you owe your significant other sexytimes just 

because you love them and they want it These are all questions 

you have to answer for yourself every time you have sex - and 

How common is 

sexual assault 

Among the general population, the victims of sexual assault are 

overwhelmingly women; about one third of women in the UK has at any 

given time experienced sexual assault. Information on male victims is 

much sketchier and reporting is believed to be even lower than among 

women. Sexual assault is frequently experienced alongside various types 

of abuse and women who have a partner who abuses or assaults them 

are the most likely to experience multiple rape. (Legally, rape is defined 

separately from sexual assault; rape is a form of sexual assault, but 

sexual assault is a more general term than rape.) The Hidden Marks 

Report (hiddenmarks.org.uk) was the first of its kind to look specifically 

at women students’ experiences of violence, harassment and stalking 

on campus. The overall conclusion was that women students experience 

sexual and physical violence, harassment, and stalking behaviour at 

similar rates to women who are not currently in education. 

it’s probably worth sharing with your partner, too. 

How do I prevent it 

There’s nothing you can do 

to prevent it - full stop 

- from happening to you. 

The only thing you can 

do is to prevent sexual 

assault happening to 

your partners when you 

are with them. Practice 

informed, free and willing 

consent every time you 

Crossword 

have sex, and you’ll be in 

the clear. Your partners 

will thank you for it. 

You’ll thank me for it. 

Everybody will be happier. 

Anyway, we’re able to 

conclude from Hidden 

Marks, in combination 

with other work carried 

out by rape and abuse 

Down 

1. Avid (7) 

2. Shrewd (6) 

3. Slightly open (4) 

4. Atmosphere (3) 

6. Yield (7) 

8. Well-founded (7) 

11. Depict (7) 

12. Stringed 

instrument (6) 

15. Catch sight of 

(4) 

16. Large vase (3) 

charities as well as the 

Home Office, that women 

in the UK regardless of 

age, education, work, or 

location face the same 

base level of risk and 

aftermath of sexual 

assault. I hate to say it, 

but if you’re a woman 

under 25 reading this 

Across 

column, statistically 

you’re among those at the 

highest risk. That might 

scare you, but I hope 

it’s also a comfort - if 

you’ve ever experienced 

sexual assault, there are 

countless sisters out there 

who have gone through 

the same thing, and 

1. African equine (5) 

3. Artery (5) 

5. Part of a circle (3) 

7. Farm vehicle (7) 

9. Embellished (6) 

10. Break suddenly (4) 

13. Plant support (4) 

14. Lumber (6) 

16. Household implement (7) 

17. Make a mistake (3) 

18. Awful (5) 

19. Cacophonous (5) 

7 

5 

6 

2 

1 

8 

3 

8 

they’re not all keeping 

quiet about it. For more 

information on how 

they’re speaking up and 

speaking out, look out 

for updates on our local 

Reclaim the Night march 

and how you can get 

involved. 

9 

2 4 

Sudoku 

5 

1 

7 

6 

1 

9 

3 

8 

5 

6 

7 

3 

7 

1



23 

As the days get darker you’re not 

only left feeling down in the dumps; 

the freezing cold, torrents of rain and 

biting wind that often accompany a 

British winter can also wreak havoc 

with your skin. The prospect of dry 

skin complete with red, itchy patches 

and cracked lips is a real bugbear for 

many of us. 

The main cause of our winter skin 

woes is the low humidity outside in 

the chilly air and inside thanks to the 

over-use of central heating systems. 

Save your skin and your cash by 

wearing the hell out of your chunky 

knits, cuddling up with loved ones and 

turning off that heating! 

If your skin tends to be dry and 

sensitive all year round it is especially 

important to keep it hydrated over the 

winter months. Flare-ups of eczema 

or atopic dermatitis, skin conditions 

which cause inflamed, itchy patches of 

Winter skin S.O.S 

skin, are much more common during 

this time of year. Jess, a graduate 

from Scotland, has suffered from 

bouts of winter eczema for years. She 

shares her words of wisdom on how to 

keep the itchy condition at bay: 

“Stay away from heavily perfumed 

soaps, lotions or moisturisers. Instead 

apply an un-perfumed lotion to 

problem areas twice a day - especially 

after washing – to help prevent 

dryness around the clock. E45 body 

lotion is very effective as it doesn't 

contain any perfumes which may 

irritate sensitive skin.” 

As a general rule it’s also a good 

idea to take shorter and slightly 

colder showers or baths during winter. 

Tempting as it may be to bask in a 

boiling hot bath and pretend you’re on 

a beach in Malibu rather than dreary 

old Blighty, all that hot water strips 

your body of its natural oils leaving 

your skin incredibly thirsty. Swap 

your regular soap for gentle cleansers 

containing natural soothers such as 

lanolin, coconut oil or cocoa butter 

that will not only give you a much 

needed moisture boost but will also 

leave you smelling divine. 

Often the best way to look good 

on the outside is to take care of what’s 

inside. Be sure to include foods rich 

in Omega-3 fatty acids in your winter 

diet; fish such as mackerel and 

salmon, along with walnuts, Brazil 

nuts and flaxseeds will work wonders 

for your complexion and your hair. 

If you’re not a fan of fish, Boots 

does a great range of cod liver oil 

supplements which come in capsules, 

so you can still get your daily dose 

of skin-loving Omega-3 without the 

nasty taste. 

Becky Sage 

Your Guide 

To A Perfect Party Pout 

Red is in ladies, so dare to go bold this Christmas 

1 

Start simple. Your face should be a blank canvas so begin 

with a touch of foundation. Don’t forget to keep it natural! 

2 3 

Suggests... 

To create an even look, apply your lipstick with a lipstick 

brush. If you’re feeling shy, try using lip balm as a base to 

create a subtler look. 

To complete the look, add a sweep of liquid eyeliner. 

Remember, bright lips make a statement, so there’s no 

need to go overboard with the rest of your face. 

Best body 

moisturiser 

SPLURGE 

My One Green Bottle 

Absolutely Fabulous Body 

Oil 

£35 

SAVE 

Nivea Body Rich Nourishing 

Lotion 

£3.49 

SPLURGE 

Jurlique Calendula Cream 

£22 

SAVE 

Nivea Visage Aqua Sensation 

Invigorating Day Cream 

£4.99 

SPLURGE 

Apples & Pears Calendula 

lip balm 

£7.95 

SAVE 

Burt’s Bees Beeswax 

Lip Balm Tin 

£3.49 

Best for 

chapped lips 

Something For The Guys... 

The month of November, or ‘Movember’, sees 

men all over the world (including two of our 

lovely Seren boys) growing their moustaches to 

raise awareness about men’s health. For more 

info and for a chance to donate to The Prostate 

Cancer Charity, visit: 

http://uk.movember.com/ 

Best 

facial 

moisturiser 

Rimmel London Moisture Renew: 

Rose Passion (Shade 160) 

This shade has a pink tinge to it, making it great for 

paler skin tones and girly party dresses. It works well 

during the day as well; just apply a little less for a 

more casual feel. Lasting up to 5 hours, it’s great for 

an evening. Excellent value for money and definitely 

our winner! 

Available from Superdrug £6.29 

Bourjois: Sweet Kiss 

Naturel (Shade 01 – 

Rouge soyeux) 

Although this product 

promises to keep your 

lips looking fresh all day, after an hour we were feeling the 

effects of the Welsh winter weather. The colour is on trend 

and Superdrug offer a handy 10% discount to NUS Extra 

cardholders, but we’re still not sure it’s worth parting with 

your student loan for. 

Available from Superdrug and Boots 

£7.99 

Colourglide Lip Colour: 

Brilliant Red (Shade 53) 

Rock the vintage 

look with this 

classic Hollywood 

glamour red. 

We love how 

moisturised our lips 

felt even after an entire 

days wear. The shade 

easily transitions from 

day to night, so although 

the price tag is a bit 

steep we think it’s worth 

the investment. 

From The Body Shop 

£8.00

24 

What did Santa 

say to Mrs. Claus 

when he looked 

out the window 

Looks like “rain”, 

“Dear”! 



Music 

For true Take That fans this album could be 

quite the divider. The diehard followers still may 

have not forgiven Robbie Williams for his swift 

departure in the mid-nineties, which left the pop 

world distraught. Yet it seems others cannot wait 

to see Robbie 

back. After the 

“In essence it is the culmination of 

20 years of first class pop albums” 

serious, soulsearching 

TV 

d o c u m e n t a r y, 

‘Look Back, Don’t 

Stare’, you can see the reformed five are trying 

hard to impress. After all this is the pinnacle. It is 

what people have waited 15 years for; the original 

five-piece reunited. 

After the number one comeback album 

‘Beautiful World’ in 2005 it seems “Progress” is 

just as good. The album opens with ‘The Flood’ the 

single that didn’t quite make it to the number one 

slot yet it is what Take That do best, unadulterated 

pop. With the opening lines sung by Robbie you 

seem to notice his voice is purposely ever present 

throughout the album and it’s definitely not a bad 

thing. You also start to realise why you loved Take 

That back in the nineties. Even if you were only 

5 or 6, and it was your mum or auntie who was 

obsessed with Gary Barlow (and sadly probably 

still are) Perhaps this is why they are so popular. 

Their ‘Progress’ tour due next summer sold over 

1 million tickets in one day, showing that they 

have the ability to enamour more than just the 

housewives of this country. 

Back to the album and after the well crafted 

opening track Mark Owen’s voice is instantly 

recognised at the beginning of “SOS”, with what I 

think is the catchiest song on the album. It’s the 

type of song you’d crank up in the car and have 

a good sing to. Another stand out track is ‘Kidz’ 

with a memorable base line 

and almost political message, 

with lyrics such as ‘say 

nothing, deny everything’, 

quite unsuspected from 

the golden boys 

of pop. It’ll have you tapping your 

feet and daydreaming about Mark 

again... swoon. 

Is there an epic, a ‘Never Forget’ 

among this album After all you 

cannot deny this album will be 

judged against previous work. In 

essence it is the culmination of 20 

years of first class pop albums, both 

as Take That and Robbie’s own career 

which we all know made him ‘rich 

beyond his wildest dreams.’ There is a 

hint at what they boys do best at the end of the 

album. In ‘Eight Letters’, Barlow’s dulcet tones 

produce a tone fit for a first dance, just like their 

classic ‘A Million Love Songs’. Yet is seems not 

even their new material can quite measure up to 

such publically revered songs. 

When hearing Robbie was returning it would be 

easy to think perhaps was just one more earner 

for the already multi millionaires, an album, a tour 

and it will all be put to rest. Yet the album leaves 

you yearning for more, realising why you loved 

the band so much in the first place. If you’re 

buying ‘Progress’ as a present for your 

mum for Christmas or for your own 

pleasure (guilty or not!) you’re in 

for a treat. They’ve pulled off this 

comeback even better than the 

first. 

Alexandra Ross 

BOB DYLAN: LOVE AND THEFT 

Bob Dylan (real name Robert Zimmermann) 

certainly has had a vibrant and varied life down 

on music road. First, he was “the apple-cheeked 

kid in the Huck Finn cap” and in 1962, critics 

labelled him “a lung cancer victim singing Woody 

Gutherie”. In 1992, the idea first emerged that 

his lyrics are, in fact, “as good as Keats”. 

On the sombre day the world stood still, 

September 11th, 2001, Bob Dylan released his 

31st studio album, Love and Theft. “Country” is 

the single word that best describes this album. 

I hesitate to use the word “folk”, since the man 

himself once said “Folk music is a word I can’t 

use…I think of all this as traditional music.” Love 

and Theft is a magical tour throughout what 

Uncut magazine calls “most of the great styles of 

20th-century American music”. As soon as the 

album was released, the aforementioned music 

magazine was already calling Floater (track six), 

High Water (track seven) and Po’ Boy (track 

ten), a poignant song about one man’s very hard 

life, “classics”. 

This album is rich in traditional American 

country blues techniques and blues-style 

finger-picking. Cry a while (track eleven) uses 

a recurring time-signature change to assert 

the album’s American folk, I mean traditional 

identity. On the second track, Mississippi, Dylan 

paints a picture of the place and his emotions 

in words, using a catchy hook and blues chords 

on a piano. This song is blues meets folk meets 

nature poetry. The line “I wanna look at you ‘til 

my eyes go blind” reminds us that he truly is a 

poet with a guitar. 

On this album, there is a real sense of 

reflections by someone getting older. There are 

several nostalgic references to memories and 

times past. This is a far cry from his revolutionary 

“The times, they are a-changin’” era or when 

he shocked everyone by trading in his acoustic 

for an electric guitar, breathtaking and full of the 

energy fueled by “the perpetual motion of 

his hands and feet”. 

Often, the songs on Love and theft are 

bittersweet, bleak and misanthropic. Lonesome 

Day Blues (track five) is Bob Dylan’s own style 

of a rant in a song. It has some solemn and 

sobering lines like “How many of his pals did 

they kill today” and “I wish my mother was still 

alive.” 

Its pessimistic viewpoint places it in the vein 

of Everything is Broken but its upbeat melody 

coupled with the misery it describes renders it 

more comparable to Maggie’s Farm. The last 

track, Sugar Baby, is a Dylan-esque “I don’t 

need you” song, à la Like a Rolling Stone. 

Written about a woman who broke his heart, it 

remains nostalgic despite the sadness. This is 

demonstrated by the 

lines “You went years 

with me, you may as 

well keep going now” 

and “some memories 

you can live with and 

others you can’t”. 

Love and Theft: Listen 

and Love. 

Rosie 

MacLeod 

“On this 

album, there 

is a real sense 

of reflection 

by someone 

getting older 

RIHANNA- LOUD 

It’s been less than a year since ‘Rated R’ was 

premiered to the world, and whilst it wasn’t 

exactly a flop, the success of the dark and 

moody album paled in comparison to the upbeat 

party smash that was ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. So 

it’s no surprise that we see Rihanna return to 

the latter form with her new album ‘Loud’. 

An impressive start to the album comes 

courtesy of the sexually charged ‘S&M,’ currently 

rumoured to be the third single, the track’s 

lyrical content is just as provocative as the title 

as she sings about how “chains and whips” 

excite her. From experience Rihanna knows 

how to do catchy and this is right up there with 

her best, it’s a sure fire hit. An already firm hit 

from the album is the second track ‘What’s My 

Name’ The second single from Loud managed 

to hit number one in America before the first 

single ‘Only Girl in the World’ did, enlisting the 

help of the now successful Drake to tell us how 

desirable she is, the track sees both artists 

compliment and flow perfectly with each other. 

Keeping with the party attitude is ‘Cheers 

(Drink To That)”, it’s hard to believe that a song 

can sample Avril Lavigne’s ‘I’m With You’, it’s 

even harder to believe that such a thing would 

work but this does. Along with the brilliant ‘Man 

Down’ (I’ll come to that later), it’s my personal 

favourite from the album, mainly due to the 

impressive production and it’s get your drink on 

attitude. Whilst we’re on dancefloor hits, you 

will all by now be aware of the David Guetta 

produced and worldwide smash “Only Girl in the 

World”, complete with impressive vocal range 

and an energizing dance track, it’s been tearing 

up the clubs far and wide. 

Rihanna isn’t just all about the dancefloor 

though, she can hold her own when it comes 

to ballads. ‘Complicated’ and ‘Fading’ are the 

examples here on ‘Loud”, the first being the 

better of the two, Rihanna gets her frustration 

out in style and again, her vocals impress. 

‘Fading’ isn’t as catchy or impressive but still 

manages to get the job done. The same sadly 

can’t be said for ‘Skin’, keeping with the sexually 

charged themed it doesn’t quite hit the mark 

as the mishmash of the guitar clashes with her 

voice. And whilst we’re disappointed, ‘Love The 

Way You Lie’ would be perfect would it not be for 

Eminem shouting at me. 

However, all is not lost as we encounter 

‘Man Down’ and ‘Raining Men’. The first sees 

Rihanna head back to her Barbadian roots that 

we first saw on ‘Music of the Sun’ and ‘A Girl 

Like Me’. In the track she compares the ending 

of a relationship to shooting the man she was 

involved with. Her delivery and the Reggae 

inspiration has resulted in me having this on 

repeat for quite a long time, it’s definitely up 

there in my top Rihanna tracks. ‘Raining Men’ 

features the freshest new female urban artist 

Nicki Minaj and we see Rihanna adopt Nicki’s 

unique delivery style meaning it’s one of the 

most unique tracks on ‘Loud’. 

I think it’ll be hard for Rihanna to ever beat 

the success and quality that was ‘Good Girl Gone 

Bad’, but don’t dismiss ‘Loud’. It’s a solid album 

with just a few flaws. It’s good to see her going 

back to her roots from even before ‘GGGB’, and 

whilst I enjoyed ‘Rated R’, I’ve always preferred 

a happy Rihanna and ‘Loud’ is just that. 

Aaron Wiles



Music 

25 

Rihanna- Only Girl in 

the World: 

The chorus is bigger than Jupiter, 

and fires Rihanna back 

to the forefront of the scene. 

Blood Red Shoes- Light it Up: 

Is there any justice in the world If 

this brilliant record propels the wonderful 

Blood Red Shoes into the mainstream, 

then yes there is. 

Ellie Goulding- Your song 

I always say that covers never live up 

to the quality of the original 

track, but in 

this case I 

take it back. 

Beautiful 

song. 

Mike Posner- Cooler 

Than Me: 

An embarrassment to rival your 

Dad ‘rocking around the Christmas 

tree’. 

The X Factor Finalists 2010- 

Heroes: *shudder*. Raising money 

for the British Legion Fair enough. 

Doing it by tarnishing one of the 

great British artists finest records 

makes me feel bloodlust towards Mr 

Cowell. 

Bruno Mars- Just the way 

you are 

Am I the only one who 

thinks this song is too 

cheesy for words 

It makes me want to 

shake off the cringe. 

Eww! 

Featured Artist 

introducing you to bands that are slightly off the radar. 

NINE BLACK ALPS 

Imagine if Nirvana came from 

Manchester. In a sentence, you have 

Nine Black Alps. Snarling their way 

through their first album, ‘Everything 

Is’ back in 2004, releasing the softer 

(yet equally stellar) ‘Love/Hate’ in 

2007, and recording their third album 

‘Locked Out From the Inside’ at local 

Bryn Derwen studios in Bethesda, 

this is a band that don’t do things by 

halves. 

Swaggering their way through 

distortion laden rock songs and 

lovely little ballads, Nine Black 

Alps are a criminally under-rated. 

For fans of: ‘Nirvana’ ‘The Sunshine 

Underground’ 

Recommended tracks: ‘Not Everyone’, 

‘Happiness and Satisfaction’, ‘Buy Nothing’ 

Classic Album 

brilliant records your life will be completed by. 

Symptomatic of the failing 

friendship between frontmen Pete 

Doherty and Carl Barat, this rough, 

ragged, shambolic album was the siren 

sound of the band that revolutionised 

British indie. 

Despite the album’s musical 

mistakes (the band recorded their 

albums live), the it showcases two 

musicians in the ultimate love-hate 

relationship (best exemplified in ‘Can’t 

Stand Me Now’), and it’s compelling 

listening. From the incredible ‘Music 

When the Lights Go Out’, to the 

ramshackle brilliance of ‘Arbeit Macht 

Frei’, this album is necessary in every 

way. 

Best tracks: ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, 

‘What Became of the Likely Lads’ 

SLOW CLUB 

It’s been almost a year since 

Sheffield two-piece Slow Club have 

been able to return to their roots. The 

band, who cite their main inspiration 

as Neil Young with a mixture of 

anything and everything they listen 

to, have spent time touring worldwide 

over the last year;“New Zealand was 

definitely our favourite.” 

Between promoting the release 

of their first album, ‘Yeah So’, and 

beginning work on their second it’s 

been a hectic eighteen months for 

both Charles and Rebecca. “Its well 

overdue” they say of their return to 

Sheffield. After taking time out from 

working on their new album to tour 

with well known Scottish singer KT 

Tunstall returning to Sheffield, and 

a small venue like the Leadmill, was 

bound to be different. While the KT 

Tunstall tour was undoubtedly a great 

experience for the pair, Charles admits 

it was not only “fun” but “weird” too. 

“We do prefer the little shows” and 

it’s easy to understand why when 

they have such a devoted fanbase 

gathered in Sheffield’s Leadmill ready 

for their homecoming show. To go 

from practicing in Charles’ parents’ 

garage with chairs, bottles and 

saucepans over four years ago to 

return to their hometown and play in 

front of both friends and family they 

say is “brill!” 

Known for their unique and often 

eccentric style and their guest 

musicians Slow Club are surely used 

to being quizzed about whether or 

not they have plans to increase their 

current guitar and drums lineup. “We 

have two friends with us tonight [at 

the Sheffield show] on three songs but 

there’s nothing permanent.” 

With a sold out festive show in 

London and work on their next album 

set to continue there’s sure to be a 

bright future ahead for the band. “I’d 

like to play myself in a movie one 

day” jokes Charles while Rebecca 

sees herself “eating food and being 

married to a footballer with lots of 

dogs”. Hopefully that doesn’t mean 

they are going to give up on their 

music anytime soon though for if the 

last couple of years are anything to 

go by Slow Club have got a lot more 

up their sleeves. 

LJ Taylor 

Debut Album ‘Yeah So’ out now on 

Moshi Moshi Records. 

www.myspace.com/slowclub 

www.facebook.com/slowclub 

playlist of the 

month 

link: http://tiny.cc/8ntra 

This lovely little indie playlist 

from ‘lexyr’ is perfect for relaxing 

on a quiet Sunday afternoon. 

Flitting between bands like 

Bombay Bicycle Club and Two 

Door Cinema Club, you’ll love this 

playlist if all things indie are for 

you! Not every track was to my 

personal taste, but on the whole 

the playlist was well picked, and 

the right tracks were chosen from 

each artist. 

‘lexyr’, or Alexandra Ross to 

call her by her real name, is an 

English Literature student from 

Wrexham, and her favourite band 

are the Arctic Monkeys. 

Editor’s Rating: 8/10

26 

What happened 

when the snowgirl 

fell out with the 

snowboy 

She gave him the 

cold shoulder ! 



Travel 

SUN vs SNOW 

Okay, so, it’s that time of year again 

when old Jack Frost comes out 

to play and you start craving that 

winter break. So you pick up that travel 

magazine and find yourself flicking through 

wondering exactly which destination would 

satisfy your need for a holiday. 

But first you must ask yourself what type 

of holiday you are craving. Do you simply 

want to flop on a beach somewhere or head 

out into the mountains and feel that cool 

winter air in your hair Once you have answered 

this question you can go searching 

for that dream winter break. Still deciding 

what you would prefer Well we have the 

low down on the best and worse bits of each 

type of holiday. 

I used to love nothing more than imagining 

myself sweating it out on one of the sun 

beds pictured in one of the glossy brochures 

and doing nothing to my heart’s content. 

But this year I got the chance to go on a skiing 

holiday with my family and absolutely 

LOVED it. So this has now put a spanner in 

the works when I came to choose my winter 

break this year. 

Do I want to sit on that amazing white 

sandy beach, smell the fresh sea salt air and 

chill Now this option is tempting, as after 

the stress of the year you can do as little 

as you want and completely unwind. Have 

a relaxing swim in the cool, calm waters, 

basking in the sun and finally enjoying 

fine exotic food before going to sleep in the 

warm evening’s air. 

For one of the BEST destinations to 

spend your winter break we looked at New 

Zealand and why this should be your winter 

destination! Christmas down under, doesn’t 

sound like it could get any better does it 

However, you could be craving that rush 

of excitement as you go whizzing down a 

slope whilst taking in the gorgeous mountain 

scenery. That heart beating moment as 

you feel your skis/board hit the snow for the 

first time, hearing the crunch of fresh snow 

under your feet on your first run of the day 

is definitely a sound worth hearing. Finally 

the grin you have at the end when you realise 

you have just come down that slope 

and queue up to get back on that chair lift 

to have another go. Or half way through the 

day stopping of at a mountainside cafe and 

drinking a luxurious hot chocolate, mixing 

the warm drink with the cool winter air is a 

feeling you don’t forget in a hurry. So we are 

looking at one of Italy’s top ski resorts - St 

Caterina. With more than skiing to offer, we 

show you why snow is the place to be this 

Christmas. 

It might be snowing and cold outside but 

ask yourself, what would you rather be doing 

this Christmas Lying around in the sun 

chilling out or up on your feet doing something 

different and totally exciting 

So are you ready to answer the question 

Sun or Snow 

Sophie Davies 

SUN 

New Zealand as a winter holiday 

destination is almost perfect. It 

has a similar summer 

climate to Britain and switches 

between bright sunshine and 

torrential rain. This lessens the 

sensation that you are thousands 

of miles away from rainy old Britain 

yet the high temperatures, even during 

rain showers, definitely give you the 

feeling that you’re on holiday at an exotic 

destination. You get a wonderful sense 

of Christmas from the decorations and 

lights without the discomfort of shopping 

for presents in wind and rain and, if 

Britain is really unfortunate, snow. When 

I visited New Zealand I was seeing family 

that I’d not seen for roughly 8 years. 

It was quite a while ago, when I was 

11, but I still remember it clearly. 

There was nothing better, 

and has been nothing better, 

than on Christmas Day, after 

opening presents, lying in 

the sun reading some of 

the books I had gotten. 

I spent the majority of 

that winter holiday 

in paddling pools 

and wandering 

through forests in shorts and light tops. 

I explored a lot of the North Island that 

winter. Touring the Island in a camper van 

we slept somewhere new every night and 

visited some of New Zealand’s most famous 

areas. Of note were the thermal 

beaches, where if you arrive at the 

right time you can dig a hole in 

the sand and watch it fill with 

hot water before climbing in 

and enjoying a natural hot 

b at h . Unfortunately 

we visited 

at high tide 

and couldn’t 

dig but the 

sights and the 

sun were fantastic 

and enjoyable, 

despite my having 

food poisoning at the 

time. We later visited the 

hot springs that had been 

formed into swimming pools, 

beside a gorgeous sandy beach. 

That Boxing Day was also incredibly 

memorable; swimming in a sparkling 

blue warm sea and playing in the sand before 

toddling off to the hot springs nearby to 

wash off the sand and enjoy a soak in warm 

water. 

There is something so luxurious about 

the idea of spending December in summer 

clothing. That feeling of luxury and decadence 

of being in summer clothes during 

what should be winter is why I highly recommend 

sunny holidays as a winter break. 

Plus… who wants to be chilly at the most 

wonderful time of the year 

Nicole Nally 

Chillaxing on 

the beach or 

by the pool! 

Snowball 

fights anyone 

Sun Tan! 

Outdoor hot 

tubs! 

Tones of 

preparation 

for the ultimate 

bikini 

body 

Wearing a 

big coat, 

scarf and hat 

98% of the 

time 

Sun burn and 

peeling skin! 

SNOW 

I 

would choose snow over sun everytime. 

I am a ski lover. I have been skiing since 

the age of 11 and have never looked 

backed. I recently qualified as a ski instructor 

which has made my passion for skiing 

even stronger and I have been lucky enough 

to ski in some of the world’s 

hotspots, including teaching in 

Australia at Perisher Blue Ski 

Resort. However my favourite 

resort closer to home 

is St Caterina in Italy. 

This stunning resort offers tourists so 

much to do, not just skiing and snowboarding. 

This was the first ski resort I ever went 

to, so from experience I can say I have never 

been more impressed than I was with their 

ski school. All Italian born and bred the 

ski instructors are welcoming and friendly 

and make you do very fun yet crazy things! 

So even if you’re a beginner, giving skiing 

or snowboarding a try for the first time, I 

would advise booking for a lesson with the 

ski school. Offers are regularly changing so 

it is worth keeping an eye out. St Caterina 

also offers a wide variety of ability slopes. 

With a numerous amount of blue slopes 

(low difficulty) it is bound to keep those beginners 

busy learning the skills needed for 

more challenging slopes. However, for those 

of you ready for more challenging slopes, 

there are 27km of red slopes (medium difficulty) 

which stretch out across the resort. 

These red slopes are at a variety 

of heights up in the glacier. If you’re 

looking for a nice long run, you can 

stick to red runs from the top until 

the end. But if you’re feeling really 

adventurous and fancy adding in some 

black runs (high difficulty) this can really 

open up so many options for the adventurous 

skier/snowboarder. Black runs pop up 

next to red runs so they are easy to find and 

if you are struggling and would prefer 

to finish on a red run, they are easy 

to get off. St C a t e r i n a 

also offers 

a good 

amount of 

off piest ‘riding’. 

This gives you the chance to really go 

out and explore. 

However if you have had a good morning 

in the snow and want to relax in the afternoon, 

St Caterina can cater for those needs 

as well, with the majority of hotels offering 

outdoor hot tubs that are perfect to relax in. 

Or you can sit in one of the resorts many cafes 

and enjoy the views or watch fellow skiers 

or snowboarders enjoying their time. But 

if you’re not done for the afternoon there is 

also a very popular ice rink which is perfect 

for all the family. So this winter head out to 

the beautiful mountainside and experience 

something new and exciting. Spending your 

Christmas in the snow could not be any 

more perfect. 

Rowena Nathan 

Goggle tan 

(not sexy)!

27 December Issue 2010 


Travel 

As you can see this time, my 

throw was a little off centre. So for this 

issue’s dart destination were heading 

off to the exotic sights and sounds of... 

MEXICO! 

It’s time for this issue’s... 

Dart Destination 

Mexico is a dream destination 

for some, though for others it 

wouldn’t be their first choice. 

However, I myself have been to Mexico 

and loved every second I spent there. It is 

a beautiful country with many things to 

see and do, and in 2005 was ranked the 

7th most popular tourist destination in the 

world. 

If it’s real culture you’re looking for 

head to the capital, Mexico City, where this 

ancient Meso-American city is filled with 

amazing attractions like the Pyramids of 

the Sun and the the Moon. Other tourist 

sites include the La Zona Rosa, a neighborhood 

within Mexico City, which is known 

for its fantastic shopping and nightlife. 

Other shopping hot spots include the El 

Palenque and El Zocalo, (one of the largest 

public plazas in the world) where you can 

get anything from authentic rugs to that all 

important sombrero. The city is also home 

to the Acapulo’s Plaza de toros Mexico – 

the world’s largest bullring. So, if you fancy 

an evening with a difference, pop along to 

witness one of the worlds most interesting 

sports. 

However, if it is a bit of adventure you 

want why not try a tour with a difference 

Vallarta Adventures offer a Swinging 

Canopy tours which is not for those afriad 

of heights. You will glide from treetop to 

treetop while a guide explains the ecosystem 

below. Only costing you $65 for adults 

and $33 for children, this is a tour you will 

never forget. But if heights aren’t your thing 

why not try diving into the deep at Arrecife 

Palancar. This under-water paradise 

lies less than a mile off the Cozumel coast 

and offers 230-foot visibility – perfect for 

underwater photography. The deepest area 

of Arrecife Palancar is 80-feet deep – which 

is ideal for deep-diving among the colorful 

marine life. 

So remember - practice your spanish, 

pick up your Mexican Peso’s and do your 

research before you go so you can make the 

most out of your time in this unforgettable 

country. 

Rowena Nathan 

Top 5 Sights of 

Mexico 

1. Dia de Muertos –In November 

the Dia de Muertos festival culminates 

with a parade of masked skeletons and 

fireworks. Mexico is a sea of elaborate 

wreaths, candles, silk flowers and edible 

treats made into skulls, coffins and bones 

all to commemorate the souls of loved 

ones that have deceased. 

2. The Sun Pyramids and Moon Pyramids 

– Situated on the outskirts of Mexico 

City these amazing structures are just 

waiting to be explored. You can climb 

up both pyramids for a spectacular view 

over Mexico. These stunning architectural 

pieces were the second largest manmade 

structure on Earth until the 1920’s. 

3. The Plunge at La Quebrada – Cliff 

divers aim to wow the crowds at La Quebrada’s 

30-meter cliffs when they dive 

into the narrow ocean cove below. You 

can get a front row view of the divers 

from the terrace at Plaza Las Glorias El 

Mirador Hotel or from the hotel restaurant 

and bar - La Perla. 

4. See Red at a Bullfight – From December 

through to March, traditional 

Mexican bullfights, called ‘Fiesta Brava’ 

are held weekly at Acapulo’s Plaza de 

Toros. One of the different sights to see 

in Mexico, this is something not to miss. 

Tickets can be purchased for $17 to $40. 

5. The Malecón –This waterfront 

boardwalk is adorned with art and sculptures 

from world renowned Mexican 

artists and traces the entire length of 

downtown Puerto Vallarta. Walk along 

the sea front with your toes in the sand 

and experiance the hive of activity that 

The Malecon has to offer, which includes 

a grand outdoor amphitheatre where 

busker festivals, folklore dances and live 

concerts take place daily. 

Top 5 places to 

eat in Mexico 

1. Le Kliff Restaurant & Bar - Perched 

cliff side in Perto Vallarta is Le Kliff, is 

a mammoth palapa (thatched roof) restaurant. 

Le Kliff has received many accolades 

including mention in The Guinness 

Book of World Records for having 

the ‘World’s Largest Palapa’. Le Kliff 

serves tender delights from the ocean 

below such as tequila shrimp, blackened 

fish and juicy filet mignon. 

2. Casa Fuerte – When fashion designer 

Irene Pulos turned her trendy 

clothing showroom into Guadalajara’s 

hottest patio café, Casa Fuerte, she didn’t 

anticipate an equally hot set of diners. 

Casa Fuerte draws heat from its spicy 

Mexican cuisine. 

3. El Olvido – overlooks a stunning 

vista of Acapulo Bay on its elegant openair 

terrace. El Olvido is pricy, but worth 

the view alone; not to mention entrees of 

juicy quail and tender sea bass topping 

the menu. 

4. Festival of San Lucas – On March 

8th, every year, Cabo San Lucas hosts 

an elaborate 11-day festival in honour 

of the city’s Patron Saint – St. Joseph. 

The ‘feastivity’ centered in downtown 

Cabo San Lucas features carnivals and 

parades, but food vendors will tantalise 

your taste buds with fresh made tamales 

and tacos. 

5.Tamalli - Specializes in authentic 

Mexican City tamales. Tamalli’s is 

a take-out only eatery whipping up 

traditional corn dough pockets, filled 

with your choice of savory or sweet fillings 

and wrapped in corn husks then 

steamed to perfection. Famous tamales 

include sweet brown beans and pineapple, 

chicken, potato, pork, vegetarian, 

curry or beef. 

Where is Mexico 

Mexico is located between North 

and South America, and sits on 

the coast of the Pacific Ocean and 

the Gulf of Mexico; which means you’ll be 

near to some gorgeous beaches. Since it is in 

such a great location you can expand your 

holiday by popping either over the border 

and discovering some of the sights North 

America has to offer or head South and realise 

the potentional of South America. With 

its wild jungles and individual culture either 

side of Mexico has a lot to offer. 

You can get to Mexico in around 12 hours, 

taking a direct flight to the main airport 

‘Cancun’. There are a good variety of well 

known and reliable airlines that fly there, 

these may include the well known ‘British 

Airways’. However, other good respectable 

airlines include; ‘American Airways’, ‘Virgin 

Atlantic’ and many more. However if you are 

looking for a cheaper deal, book early and 

make sure you shop around and you may 

find a less popular airline such as ‘AirFrance’ 

will give you a great deal. 

Flying to Mexico you can also opt for an 

in-direct flight, which if you dont care about 

the time it takes you to get there and your 

interested in saving some money this could 

be a great option. By making a stop over you 

can redcuce the price down by one hundred 

pounds plus.

28 

Doctor, Doctor I’m 

scared of Father 

Christmas 

Doctor: 

You’re suffering from 

Claus-trophobia. 

DecemberIssue 2010 


Food and Drink 

S w e e t N o t 

S a v o u r y 

By Steven Freeman 

A 2kg whole chicken or turkey 

Garlic paste (1 tsp) 

Ginger paste (1 tsp) 

Butter (melted – 2-3 heaped tbsp) 

Basil (1 tsp) 

Greek style Yoghurt (1tbsp) 

Salt and black pepper 

Vegetables of your choice 

1 

2 

Prepare the meat by scathing the surface, thus ensuring 

that the meat holds the flavour once marinated. 

Mix together well the garlic, ginger, butter, basil and 

yoghurt until you form a thick paste and add then add a 

sprinkle of salt and pepper. 

3 

Marinate the meat with the paste, getting into all the nooks 

and crannies. Leave to stand for at least an hour, the longer 

the better. 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees and place the meat in the 

oven for around 2 hours. 

Once this is done, prepare your veg and ready it for the boil 

or roast. 

30 minutes before the meat is ready, bring the veg to boil 

and simmer on a low medium heat. 

If you are cooking parsnips, a festive favourite, add a little 

extra flavour by peeling and halving some parsnips, coating 

them in olive oil, and lightly sprinkling them with cumin and 

thyme. Following this, roast them for around 45 minutes until 

golden brown. 

8 

Serve up the meal and enjoy with some cheesy christmas 

music to really get the festivities going. 

Upon the arrival of the new Creperie 

in upper Bangor I felt obliged to 

review this quick snack stop and report 

my findings to all you students of 

Bangor. It’s fair to say my first experience 

was far from pleasing. As it was 

around lunchtime, I decided to go for 

a savoury crepe, as did my friends. This 

turned out to be entirely the wrong decision 

as one of my friends got given a 

crepe tasting totally of pepper, another 

crammed with tomatoes despite specifically 

asking for no tomatoes and as for 

my own, I only received half the fillings 

I had ordered. However, I decided to give the Creperie the benefit of the doubt, being 

a new business and all, and I decided to revisit and order a sweet crepe instead. On this 

visit, the food was substantially better and the crepe was filling and tasty. So I advise that if 

you eat at the Creperie in upper Bangor most definitely stay clear of the savoury crepes and 

opt for the sweet! Food aside, the cafe offers a warm and modern atmosphere in a central 

location which is ideal if you need that all important sugar overdose before your Friday 

afternoon lecture or are just simply out for a chat with your mates. 

Of course I didn’t expect everyone to 

spend a few hours slaving in the kitchen 

so instead you can gather these easyto- 

prepare ingredients and still enjoy 

a nice Christmas dinner. Iceland have 

a wide selection of frozen, ready to go 

ingredients which can be quite tasty and 

easy to cook if you are really lacking time 

and effort. 

Starter 

Wensleydale & Cranberry Cheese £2 

80 Cocktail Sausage Rolls £2 

Main 

2kg Stuffed Turkey Breast Crown £12 

Mixed Frozen Vegetables £1 

Yorkshire Puddings £1 

Dessert 

White Chocolate Gateau £4 

Yes that’s right, it’s once again 

that time of year when the nights are 

long and essay deadlines are drawing 

in. Sometimes you may need a 

little something to give you a kick in 

the right direction, to help you focus 

and stop your mind wondering into 

thought about how you will spend 

your Christmas holidays. With this 

simple chart you will be able to 

pinpoint the perfect coffee for your 

needs which will then hopefully 

help you achieve your goal. 

By Steven Freeman 

By Steven Freeman and Nayab G.D. Khan 

Espresso 

Ideal for: Instant energy for 

those times when you need 

to drag yourself out of bed 

and get your ass into gear. 

Steamed Milk 

Shot of Espresso 

Boiling Water 


Americano 

Ideal for: Sustaining concentration 

if you have a 

tedious lecture. 


Caffé Latté 

Ideal for: When you don’t have time 

to get a decent lunch. The protein 

in the milk helps satisfy immediate 

hunger, but you still get the caffeine 

boost you need to make that 5PM 

deadline. 

Great British Grub 

The Tap and Spile which is located 

by Bangor Pier offers amazing food 

at great prices. When considering 

restaurants to review I had heard all 

the hype surrounding the Tap and 

Spile with its great views and affordable 

nosh and I decided it was a must. 

Being a fan of traditional British 

cuisine I ordered a giant Yorkshire 

pudding, which as you can see by the 

picture was bursting off the plate. It 

amazed me how a meal that cost so 

little came out to be so filling and of 

good quality, a combination of which 

I can honestly say is hard to find in this day and age, especially in Bangor. There was no 

sense of the kitchen being stingy that you get with some restaurants, as once I had tackled 

the meat-filled Yorkshire I discovered another bed of chips underneath! It’s fair to say that if 

you like filling meals of relative simplicity and are not particularly a fan of the ‘less is more’ 

approach, then you should really try this place. As well as the great food they also serve real 

ales which if you are a fan of, you will be spoilt for choice. Although for some people living 

in halls or in town the Tap and Spile may be a fair distance away, it’s well worth the trek. 

Steven Freeman



29 

The lady with the eyes like the sea. . . 

Oh, is it a face or the moon’s come to life 

Is your thick lock a flowing evening 

O one with the eyes like the sea! 

Will you tell me your name. . . 

You wouldn't know how much for you 

This heart longs 

You wouldn't know the kind of dreams 

That this heart dreams 

Says my heart: 

If you were here 

This passing moment will stop 

The river of time as it flows 

Halts as it is now 

You made my heart go crazy 

What was it accused of 

O one with the eyes like the sea 


Oh, today I may be far from you 

And you may be a stranger to me 

If I can't have your company 

Then desiring you will suffice 

These are desires, not noises 

There should be carnivals of silence 

There should be no one else in this world 

Just you and me alone 

I am dreaming dreams of you 

What else have I left to do 

O one with the eyes like the sea 


Nayab G. D. Khan 

Featured Photograph 

Aaron Wiles 

What matters to me 

What matters to me 

The things I adore. 

What matters to you 

I’m not quite sure. 

What sort of things are you interested in 

Cleaning the car or cleaning the bin 

It could be a number of things, 

Things that go bang or things that go ping. 

Either way we both should know, 

We are all human and all have a soul. 

If you were an alien what would you think 

About the world, its sights and its stink 

The world has no reverence now, 

The population is no longer proud, 

Of deeds done to aid others 

It ignores dying babies and their sick 

mothers. 

I realise now that this may sound deep, 

But I couldn’t stand by and just not speak. 

I’ve read the paper every day, 

And the only thing left would be to pray. 

The world is dying and the world is corrupt, 

This world we live in is simply abrupt. 

This war we fight is just too much, 

Why can’t we all just loosen life’s clutch, 

And now as I finish I just want to say, 

That it will all end one day. 

One Day. 

Chris Bridgeman 

Nayab G. D. Khan 

creative@seren.bangor.ac.uk

30 

For a Spurs fan, hope 

is always the greatest 

enemy. Years of false 

dawns have left many 

feeling jaded and sceptical. 

Tottenham were supposedly 

headed back to the top when 

Jacques Santini took over as 

manager in 2004 but then 

Martin Jol quickly succeeded 

him. With Jol then sacked and 

replaced with the fraudulent 

Juande Ramos. Hope dashed 

time and time again by poor 

decisions, a soft centre and 

defensive frailty. 

Eventually the chairman 

simplified matters. After 

Tottenham's worst ever start 

to a league season yielded 

just 2 points from 8 games, 

Levy got rid of the disastrous 

Director of Football, Damien 

Comolli, as well as Ramos. 

Suddenly, the new man 

in charge wasn't from the 

continent, wasn't anything 

fancy or exotic. Quite the 

opposite, in fact. It was Harry 

Redknapp. 

19 months later, Redknapp 

had achieved what so many 

before him had failed to do: 

taken Tottenham Hotspur into 

the Champions League. 

Admittedly, Tottenham 

already had a good squad 

at their disposal. Their 

goalkeeper, Huerelho Gomes, 

was a particular beneficiary of 

Redknapp's arrival. Regarded 

by many pundits and fans as 

something of a joke, Gomes 

recovered under Redknapp's 

guidance and helped marshal 

a once-leaky defence into a 

How do you make 

an idiot laugh on 

boxing day 

Tell him a joke on 

Christmas Eve ! 

force, aided by the always 

reliable Michael Dawson and 

the sometimes phenomenal 

Ledley King. 

The Champions League 

had been the holy grail for so 

long. For too long. It was at 

the point where Tottenham 

fans didn't know what to do 

once they got there. However, 

everyone knew what they 

must not do: lose in 

the qualifying round, 

like Everton in 2005. 

The odyssey 

began at the Stade 

de Suisse in Bern. It 

was disastrous. The 

stadium's artificial 

pitch, combined 

with the general 

complacency that 

often comes with 

playing so-called 

"inferior" opposition, 

led to the, comically 

named, opponents 

Young Boys taking a 

3-0 lead inside 30 minutes. 

Tottenham were once again 

a laughing stock. Thankfully, 

goals from Bassong and 

Pavlyuchenko brought the 

score to 3-2. In the second 

leg, on an actually decent 

pitch, Tottenham won 4-0. 

Hope was restored. The 

Champions League proper, 

for the first time in 50 years, 

beckoned. 

Tottenham were in the 

competition to play the best 

and that's what they got - 

last year's winners, Inter 

Milan. Alongside them in 

Group A were German club 

This year’s Formula 1 season was 

highly anticipated by its many 

avid fans. All eyes were on the 

British pairing at McLaren. Home expectations 

were high, with the 2008 

and the 2009 champions Lewis Hamilton 

and Jenson Button both 

in McLaren colours. 

The 2010 season saw 

some new arrivals: Virgin 

Racing, Hispania Racing 

Team, and Lotus Racing. 

2009’s constructor champions, 

Brawn GP, were transformed 

into Mercedes GP. 

Hoping to continue the 

success of 2009, Mercedes 

surprised the F1 world by 

bringing back seven time 

world champion Michael 

Schumacher, after a three 

year absence from the sport. 

The 2010 season started 

in Bahrain on the 14th of 

March and with no particularly 

dominant team, fans 

were excited, in anticipation 

of a close finish. Red 

Bull’s German superstar Sebastian 

Vettel took pole in Bahrain. However, 

he couldn’t close out the race after an 

engine misfire. This allowed Fernando 

Alonso to make his new managers, 

Werder Bremen and Dutch 

side FC Twente. Following an 

indifferent start to the league 

campaign, Spurs approached 

their first match, in Bremen 

, with some trepidation. 

This was quickly dispelled 

when Tottenham were two 

up within twenty minutes. 

Bremen would eventually 

claw this back to 2-2 but the 

statement of intent had been 

made; Spurs weren't there 

just to make up the numbers. 

A relatively comfortable 4-1 

win over FC Twente followed, 

before the clash every Spurs 

fan had been salivating over; 

Inter Milan, at the San Siro. 

Not much was expected. 

Spurs were delighted just to 

make the trip and to have 

the honour of facing the 

best side in the game at club 

level. This did not, however, 

justify what followed. Inter 

were irresistibly good, and 

ripped through Tottenham 

with consummate ease. They 

at Ferrari, confident in their choice 

to add the 2-time champion to their 

team. 

The Australian GP and Malaysian 

GP were won by Jenson Button and 

Sebastian Vettel respectively. At the 

next meet in China, Button became 

the first driver of the season to win 

more than one race. Red Bull’s veteran 

Mark Webber later became the first 

driver of the year to win back to back 

GPs, holding his pole to take the race 

in both Spain and the famous Monaco 

circuit. The 2008 champion Lewis 

Hamilton followed suit by winning the 

next two Races in Turkey and Canada. 

Eight races in, and it was anybody’s 

championship to win. The European 

GP was possibly the most exciting 

race of the season. It seemed to have 

everything: drive-through penalties, 

race officials in controversy, and a near 

escape for Mark Webber, who crashed 

with Heikki Kovalainen - sending him 

and his 6 million pound car spinning 

through the air in what could have 

been a fatal crash. Thankfully, the Australian 

walked away unscathed. 

The British GP was won by Webber, 

showing no signs of his accident 

affecting his driving. The British pair 

of Hamilton and Button performed 

well on home soil, finishing second 

and fourth respectively. Alonso won 

the German GP whilst Webber took 

the Hungarian GP with Lewis Hamilton 

again showing his class finishing in 

style on the wet surface at Spa-Francorchamps 

circuit in Belgium. Alonso 

then secured back to back victories in 

Italy and Singapore. 

Vettel, back firing on all cylinders, 

won the Japanese GP, before Alonso 

showed his form in the wet at a very 

soggy and rain delayed Korean GP. 

Nico Hulkenberg claimed Williams 

GP’s first pole all season in Brazil, only 

to be outshone and ultimately defeated 

by Vettel and Webber. This was Red 

Bull’s fourth one-two of the season. 

Abu Dhabi played host to the final 

round of this year’s calendar. Under 

the floodlights, all the competitors 

raced around this magnificent, 



Sport 

Tottenham’s European Odyssey 

led 4-0 at half-time. The 

second half turned it from an 

embarrassing loss to a heroic 

defeat, with Gareth Bale's hattrick 

securing a sensational 

4-3 final score. 

Then came a glorious night 

of White Hart Lane folklore; 

the reverse fixture against 

Inter Milan, with the Italian 

side making the journey 

to London. Few 

can remember 

Tottenham playing 

as well from the 

first whistle to the 

last as Tottenham 

did that evening. 

It was Tottenham 

grown up. No 

longer a joke, a 

laughing stock, 

pretenders; this 

time, Tottenham 

faced the best the 

continent had to 

offer and won. This 

was not a team 

with a soft centre, as had 

been the case for so long. This 

was a well-rounded team, still 

capable of playing scintillating, 

attractive football, but now 

with a spine. 

In this particular instance, 

Gareth Bale tore Maicon, 

regarded by many as the best 

right-back in the world, to 

shreds time and time again. 

Bale played with unmatched 

pace and enthusiasm, and 

Inter simply could not cope. 

This was to say nothing of the 

other star performers. One 

could talk for hours extolling 

the excellence of Luka Modric, 

Aaron Lennon or Tottenham's 

newest icon, Dutchman Rafael 

van der Vaart. 

The 3-0 win over Werder 

Bremen that followed was 

processional, professional 

and - dare I say it - easy. 

It was almost anti-climactic, 

but it did secure Tottenham's 

passage beyond the group 

stage and into the last 16. 

With a little bit of luck and 

a favourable draw, they 

might even advance to the 

quarter-finals. Then the semifinals. 

Then...who knows 

The odyssey continues, until 

February at least. 

Hope is a dangerous thing 

for a Tottenham fan. The first 

30 minutes in Bern reminded 

us all of that. And even now it 

could still yet be dashed once 

again; the precocious talent 

of Gareth Bale is already 

being chased by European 

giants Barcelona and Real 

Madrid, with figures of up to 

£50 million being regarded as 

genuine possibilities. Nobody 

seems to expect Van der Vaart 

to stay beyond two seasons 

at the most. Tottenham do 

typically sell their best players 

just when the going gets 

good, after all. 

Redknapp's arrival and 

the amazing results he has 

achieved have given the fans 

hope. Usually, Tottenham fans 

are wary of that. But maybe 

this time, just this once, a 

little bit of hope isn't such a 

bad thing. 

Matthew Cox 

Red Bull Gives You Wins: Vettel takes F1 Title 

purpose-built circuit. Vettel, Webber, 

Alonso, and Hamilton could all still 

mathematically claim the title. Despite 

a tremendous effort from Hamilton 

and Button, they could only manage 

second and third in the race. 

It was ultimately fitting 

for one of the Red Bull drivers 

to win 

First place went to Sebastian Vettel, 

and he was crowned the 2010 World 

Champion - becoming the youngest 

driver to win the Championship in 

the process, beating Lewis Hamilton’s 

record. It was an outstanding F1 season, 

and it was a testament to its unpredictability 

that Vettel was not ahead 

until he won the last race, though it 

was ultimately fitting for one of the 

Red Bull drivers to win. At times, both 

Vettel and Webber were outstanding. 

Nathan Chadwick



Sport 

31 

England Down Under: The Ashes 

2010-11 

It doesn't seem like a long time 

since England regained the Ashes. 

Though the 2009 series struggled 

to recapture the magic of four years earlier, 

where England and Australia were 

the top two sides in the world. Quality 

on both sides has slightly dwindled 

since, but England were able to win the 

urn back after the embarrassing whitewash 

in the 

06/07 series. 

The buildup 

to the series' 

opening 

contest, on 

the 25th of 

Novemb e r, 

was as intense 

as ever. 

While, England 

are considered 

slight 

favourites to take the series, it is seen 

generally as an even contest; and very 

difficult to call. 

The Gabba in Brisbane was the setting 

for the first match of the series and 

due to the nature of the pitch and the 

weather conditions, some considered 

it almost a good toss to lose. England 

won the toss, though, and captain Andrew 

Strauss followed WG Grace's 

philosophy of "When you win the toss 

- bat. If in doubt, think about it - then 

bat." So Strauss opened the batting and 

three balls into his innings, he was out. 

This was potentially a vital psychological 

boost for the Australians, claiming 

the wicket of the England captain so 

quickly. Strauss' replacement, Jonathan 

Trott, did not last much longer and 

England were suddenly 41-2. Wickets 

began to fall on a regular basis, before a 

hat-trick from Australian bowler Peter 

Siddle, on his 26th Birthday, reduced 

England to a poor 197-7. Eventually, 

thanks to the efforts of Ian Bell (76), 

England were all out for a decidedly 

mediocre 260. 

On Day 2, England tried to hit back. 

At one point, Australia collapsed from 

Bangor has a wide range of successful 

sport teams, unfortunately, 

one team is known more 

for its failure. The Bangor MudDogs 

American Football team is well known 

for its losing streak. The MudDogs were 

founded over two years ago. Since the 

University has never funded the team 

(unlike at other universities) the Mud- 

Dogs depend mainly on sponsorship 

from The Skerries, a pub in Lower Bangor. 

The MudDogs previously had never 

even scored a point during their 

matches. This year, though, the Mud- 

Dogs are fiercely striving to break away 

from their losing reputation. Over 40 

students are showing up to 10 hours of 

intense training per week, doubling the 

amount of interest from previous years. 

Due to lack of funding from the university 

and other sponsors, the average 

96-1 to 143-5, but Michael Hussey spent 

the rest of the day frustrating England, 

making 81 before the close. No more 

wickets fell after tea. His partnership 

with Brad Haddin continued until after 

tea the next day, in fact. Between 

them, they took Australia to a potentially 

winning total of 450-6 on Day 3. 

Though England quickly cleaned up the 

tail after that, 

Australia ending 

on 481, 

the damage 

was seemingly 

done. 

E n g l a n d 

survived the 

rest of the 

day without 

the loss of a 

wicket, but 

when play resumed 

on Day 4, they were 202 runs 

behind on 19-0. Fortunately for them, 

Strauss recovered from his duck in the 

first innings to post an outstanding 188 

partnership with fellow opener Alistair 

Cook, making 110. Strauss was the only 

wicket to fall throughout the entire day, 

and England left the field leading by 88; 

almost certainly securing a draw. 

And a draw it was. England did not 

lose another wicket, instead declaring 

on 517-1. The partnership of 329 

between Cook (235 not out) and Trott 

(135 not out) was outstanding, and a 

record for England in Australia - as well 

as the highest test partnership ever recorded 

in Brisbane. There was a token 

effort from Strauss to win the game, 

but Australia made a quick 107-1 to 

dispel any fears of that happening. So 

the game ended in a draw. There’s all to 

play for in the next four tests, but after 

that phenomenal fight back after a poor 

start, England could be said to have a 

psychological advantage. 

Peter Weale 

AU NEWS IN BRIEF 

The University’s Canoe and Canoe 

Polo Clubs enjoyed joint success at 

the BUCS WhiteWater Racing. Despite 

freezing temperatures in North 

Yorkshire, Bangor were very competitive 

and finished 6th overall. There 

was particular praise for the single 

Kayak team of Jon Ker, Sam Murphy 

and Graeme Haigh, who finished 3rd 

in the K1M Team Event. 

The Bangor Swimming Team had 

some success at the BUCS Short 

Course Championships in Sheffield, 

held from the 12-14th November. 

Congratulations to Daniel Pickup, 

Andy Waterhouse, Jess Trewin, Sam 

Taylor, Emma Couch, Sian Jones, 

Hannah Shepherd and Liz Burns who 

all did well in their heats and many 

achieved personal bests. 

Bangor’s Ultimate Frisbee Team (the 

“Reservoir Discs”) placed third in the 

Women’s Indoor Regionals, despite 

having no substitute players. This 

qualified them for the Nationals. 

Bangor Blues Blaze Trail of Glory 

Local Welsh Premier League side, 

Bangor City, have made a blistering 

start to the season. They 

have taken maximum points from 

their first 13 games, equalling a British 

post-war record. This superb run of 

form has made them clear favourites 

even at this early stage to capture their 

first league title in 15 years. “It’s phenomenal…there’s 

no such thing as an 

easy game yet we’ve managed 13 wins 

in a row. It’s hard to take in at times.” 

said Manager Neville Powell, speaking 

after their 5-0 rout of Carmarthen 

Town. 

Powell, a former Bangor player, has 

done a sterling job since replacing Steve 

Bleasdale, leading the team to three 

consecutive Welsh Cups alongside 

some respectable league finishes. Last 

season he was recognised as the Welsh 

Premier League Manager of the Year 

and it is plain to see that his hard work 

has paid dividends for the club, providing 

a solid foundation upon which 

to build this season’s title challenge. 

The ‘Citizens’ offer an attractive and 

affordable alternative when compared 

to the bloated, over-hyped drudgery so 

often shown on Sky, so it should come 

as no surprise that they are drawing 

in passionate crowds of all ages with 

an ever-increasing amount of student 

support. 

One quality that sets Bangor apart 

from other teams in the league is their 

willingness to play the ball to feet and 

avoid the kick and chase tactics so often 

resorted to at lower-league levels 

(although maybe I shouldn’t knock it: 

after all, Jamie Carragher has made a 

career out of it). Powell sets his team 

out to attack, with Alan Bull and Jamie 

Reed providing incisive and dynamic 

wing-play. Up front, Les Davies deploys 

a playing style that is old-school 

but effective. Some of the goals scored 

have bordered on the spectacular, providing 

fantastic entertainment for a 

home support that sense that this season 

could prove to be something of an 

annus mirabilis for the club. 

One quality that sets Bangor 

apart from other teams in the 

league is their willingness to 

play the ball to feet 

It does seem somewhat unlikely 

that the Manager will be able to keep 

the squad performing at such an outstanding 

level considering the limited 

resources at his disposal. He has 

assembled a strong first XI who have 

developed an excellent understanding, 

but beyond that the squad lacks depth, 

as evidenced by their 12-1 loss on aggregate 

to The New Saints in the Welsh 

League Cup when several first-team 

regulars were rested. With a few tough 

away fixtures to be played over the 

next month the side come to a critical 

juncture in their season. 

Bangor MudDogs Bite Back 

player has paid up to £300. If the Mud- 

Dogs were to become successful then 

this fee would decrease dramatically. 

dedication. Season after season of failure 

and mockery has united the players 

and coaches, who continue to believe 

have been established for decades and 

receive a vast amount of funding, they 

will continue to play and hopefully 

In their first match this year, against that they can win a game. 

climb up the league. 

Aberystwyth, the MudDogs scored For the first time the MudDogs The teams’ rise has not gone unnoticed 

either, there has been a vast 

their first ever touchdown. It came aren’t always last on the BUAFL (British 

from a pass from Quarterback Ben University American Football League) amount of publicity on forums about 

Archer to Wide-Receiver Kieran Clark, scoring table. Although they are playing 

one game every Sunday for the next teams have been shocked by it. A Shef- 

the sudden improvement and other 

giving them a fantastic start to the season, 

taking into account the fact that few weeks against the best American field Sabres player had this to say after 

the majority of the players had never Football teams in Britain, ones that 

their recent match: 

played before in 

“To be honest I 

their lives, and 

was impressed with 

that they only received 

their full 

Dogs have improved 

how much the Mudkit 

on the day of 

from last year. Plus, 

the match. 

they approach the 

The MudDogs 

game with the kind 

are held together 

of positivity that all 

by a strong sense 

teams should.” 

of passion, perseverance 

and 

ing hard, they 

As well as play- 

know 

Farrar Road, the stadium that Bangor 

have called home for more than 

eighty years, is certainly not the most 

imposing of fortresses. However, what 

it may lack in terms of size and facilities 

it makes up for in character. Somewhat 

bittersweetly, it is scheduled for 

demolition, to be replaced by a new 

Asda. The club is to up sticks, hopefully 

during the 2011/2012 season, to a 

new stadium in Nantporth, overlooking 

the Menai Strait. This development 

should provide a much-needed economic 

stimulus to both the club and 

the community of Bangor. 

“With the club performing well on 

the field, the new facilities at Nantporth 

will be a further boost,” said 

Chairman Dilwyn Jones. 

“We are very excited that there is 

now the very real prospect of Bangor 

Football Club having a new home.” he 

added. 

Bangor City is a club that is enjoying 

one of the most successful spells in 

its history, and they look to be making 

serious plans towards the future as 

well. I expect that some readers have 

already been fully indoctrinated, with 

replica shirts and commemorative 

mugs to prove it. However, if you’re 

one of those people who has walked 

past the ground and thought to yourself 

about attending then I strongly 

urge you to do so. Because, strange as 

it may seem, Bangor are making history. 

Craig Heffey 

how to party. The MudDogs have a very 

popular social night which is hosted 

every Tuesday. They can be found in 

The Skerries, usually in some sort of 

fancy dress. So far this year they have 

had Toga Night, doctors and nurses, pirates 

and more. 

They are convinced that they are 

going to win matches. With the improvement 

they have shown so far, this 

is starting to look like a genuine possibility. 

You can support the MudDogs by 

joining their Facebook page or if you 

are interested in joining, attend a training 

session or e-mail the team - necessary 

information can be found, again, 

on the Facebook page. You can watch 

the MudDogs play the Manchester Tyrants 

at 1pm on the 12th of December 

at Treborth. 

Catrin Morris

9th 

9th 

December 

December 9th 

December 9th 

December 

Dining 

Dining 

Dining from 

from 

6.30pm 

6.30pm Dining from 

6.30pm from 

6.30pm 

Christmas 

Christmas Party 

Party Night 

Night 

Christmas Party Night 

£9.50 

£9.50 per person 

per person 

£9.50 2 course per meal person 

plus 

mince course 

2 course pies 

meal plus 

mince pies meal & free 

free plus 

drink 

drink 

mince pies & free drink 

To book please call 

To book please call (01248) 38 2558 

(01248) 38 2558 

To book please call (01248) 38 2558 

FREE 

FREE BAND 

BAND NIGHT 

NIGHT 

FREE BAND NIGHT 

8pm 

8pm 8.12.10 

8.12.10 

8pm 8.12.10 

As seen in Battle of the Bands 

As seen in Battle of the Bands

INSIDE: - Seren - Bangor University

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