BROWNS - The Founder

the independent students’ newspaper of royal holloway, university of london 

Campus talent 

we speak to 

‘Handshake’ 

pages 8 & 9 

WIN! 

6 tickets to give away, 

visit our website! 

400 students 

without halls? 

‘The Page of No Importance’ finds its new home in thefounder p. 21 

Special Report: 

How safe are we? 

p. 3 

BROKEN HOMES 

“My time living 

on the Brunel 

campus was 

the worst time 

I’ve had since 

I got to Royal 

Holloway, I’m 

glad to be out of 

t h e r e .” 

thefounder reveals why Holloway should win Runnymede bid 

ANY PIZZA 

ANY SIZE 

News Editorial Media Sports 

£7.99 

PHONE 

01784 471999 

ANY PIZZA 

ANY SIZE 

£8.99 

(for valid NUS cardholders only) 

PHONE 

01784 471999 

Intelligent 

Design? 

p. 11 

New feature musical 

project from RHUL 

students 

pages 12 & 13 

the independent students’ newspaper of royal holloway, university of london 

Monday 26 February 2007 | www.thefounder.co.uk | Issue 8 free! 

FULL STORY, PAGE 2 

The Oscars 

p. 18 

RAG 

Triathlon! 

p. 24 

PHOTO: DAN LOCKTON 

CARS (Egham) LTD 

“The Caring Taxi Company” 

01784 

47 11 11 

All calls are recorded for 

quality and training purposes 

BROWNS 

E S T A T E A G E N T S 

You get the rent, we’ll get the rest... FREE broadband FREE cleaners FREE gardener!!! 

After much excitement and anticipation, 

Holloway loses Brunel’s Runnymede campus 

to Oracle Homes with a £46.5m bid. 

What does this mean for RHUL? 

• 400 students without halls? 

• 150 people turn up for residents’ 

meeting 

• 350,000 sqft of buildings in green 

belt land in the hands of private 

developers 

• University and residents are “united” 

01784 439 242 

office@browns-sales-lettings.com 

www.browns-sales-lettings.com 

(on selected homes only) 

free! 

wednesday 30 may 2007 

CARS (Egham) LTD 

“The Caring Taxi Company” 

01784 

47 11 11 

All calls are recorded for 

quality and training purposes

2 BRUNEL CAMPUS Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

Holloway loses Brunel campus bid 

to private developer, Oracle Homes 

Tim Ruffles 

News Editor 

Royal Holloway has lost its bid to 

purchase Brunel University’s Runnymede 

campus. On the 18 th of 

May Brunel University announced 

that it had agreed to sell the site 

for £46.5 million to Oracle Group, 

itself acting on the behalf of “overseas 

investors”. At this stage no information 

is available on the purchaser’s 

plans for the site. 

The figure has been described by 

Stephen Hill and Andrew Wathey, 

respectively the Principal and Senior 

Vice-Principal of Royal Holloway, 

as “well above the advice on 

[the site’s] market value that the college 

received”, and “considerably in 

excess” of Royal Holloway’s offer. 

The campus is currently used by 

Royal Holloway to house 400 of its 

students. Prof. Wathey informed 

The Founder that the loss of the bid 

will not cause additional problems 

with student housing as the opening 

of Tuke, Williamson and Butler 

halls next year will increase overall 

capacity by around 460 rooms. Although 

this represents an improvement 

of the situation on last year, 

The Founder received confirmation 

from the Students’ Union’s welfare 

officer, Tina Rainer, that some first 

year students will again have to find 

Marisa Heath, 

Conservative 

counsellor said 

local residents 

should not be 

disheartened by 

the loss of the bid. 

accommodation in the local community 

due to insufficient capacity 

in the halls of residence. 

Prof. Wathey previously told The 

Founder that to win the bid would 

have been a “transforming moment” 

for Royal Holloway, “important 

for 30-50 years in the development 

of the university”. Dan Hamilton, 

conservative councillor for 

Englefield Green East and student 

at RHUL said, in an interview with 

The Founder, that the loss of the bid 

threatens the university’s ability to 

grow, which may result in RHUL 

being “relegated to a second or 

third class university”. When asked 

about Dan’s statement, Prof. Wathey 

disagreed, stating that the university 

will simply look elsewhere for directions 

to grow, and that a university’s 

ranking was decided by educational 

quality “not success in property ac- 

quisitions”. 

With the bid accepted, any question 

of Royal Holloway retaining 

some use of the campus will be decided 

in debate with the developer, 

and by the decisions of the local 

planning department. 

A meeting of the Englefield Green 

Village Resident’s Association (EV- 

GRA) was held on May 21 st to dis- 

cuss the implications of the bid for 

the local area. Around 150 attended: 

a number the mayor described 

as “extraordinary”. Many concerns 

were raised by residents about the 

possible implications of the site’s 

development for local transport, 

health and education provisions. 

Alison Denyer, Press and PR ManManager for RHUL, told The Founder 

that the meeting demonstrated that 

the local community was “united” 

with RHUL, and strongly supported 

its bid. 

Local political reaction is seemingly 

unanimous in its support for 

Royal Holloway’s bid. Jonathan Essex 

spoke to The Founder on behalf 

of the Green Party, and described 

the purchase as a “classic case” of 

“government giving into big business”. 

He urged the local community 

to “stand together”, and said that it 

was important for any possible development 

to “preserve the past, by 

ensuring that the developer’s maintain 

the character of the current site; 

work for the present, in considering 

the problem of student accommodation; 

and look to the future, 

by ensuring that any development 

is sustainable and environmentally 

sound”. Marisa Heath, Conservative 

counsellor for Englefield Green, 

said that local residents should not 

be disheartened by the loss of the 

bid, saying that “we can do a lot: 

when you see how many people are 

involved its clear we’ve got a fair 

amount of power, especially considering 

the site’s C2 and greenbelt status”. 

She told the meeting that she’d 

already sent a letter to Alan Johnson 

and other ministers, and that she 

was planning to lobby government 

on behalf of the university. 

Above: residents at the EVGRA 

meeting on Monday 21 May 

which was hosted by Royal 

Holloway in Founder’s Main 

Lecture Theatre, left: members 

of the local council remain quiet 

in anticipation of developer’s 

proposals

thefounder Wednesday 30 May 2007 NEWS 

An interview with Students’ Union President, Rob 

Coveney, in the wake of the loss of the Brunel bid 

What was your immediate 

reaction to the failure of Royal 

Holloway’s first-round bid for 

the Brunel University site? 

I, like many people, am very 

disappointed that Brunel University 

has decided not to short-list Royal 

Holloway in it’s bidding process. A 

successful bid would have given a 

great opportunity to the College to 

increase in size and provide a number 

of great facilities for our students in 

future years. An opportunity to buy 

a campus such as the Runnymede 

site doesn’t come around everyday, 

and I think that it was quite a large 

blow for all involved in the delivery 

of the bid. 

What do you think it’ll mean for 

the university? 

The failure of the bid means that the 

College is having to think carefully 

about how it will utilise its estate. The 

Facilities Management department 

is in the process of drawing up a 

new 10 year Estates Strategy, and 

this will help the process. It must 

also be remembered that Brunel 

has not yet announced who the 

successful bidder for the site is. If the 

successful bidder wishes to use the 

site for an educational C2 purpose 

then I’m not sure how much we 

will be able to abject. Should it be 

a housing developer, for example, 

I should certainly hope that the 

community of both the College and 

Englefield Green will take action 

against the site being developed. 

No matter what the outcome of 

the bid is, however, I am sure that 

the College will continue to keep 

an eye out for potential sites that 

could be developed to expand Royal 

Holloway as an institution. 

Would you agree with Dan 

Hamilton, student and local 

Conservative councillor, who 

stated the loss of the bid 

threatens to relegate Royal 

Holloway to a “second or third 

class university”? 

No, I very much disagree with 

Dan. Regardless of the bid for the 

Runnymede Campus, the College 

has climbed up the league tables in 

recent years, obtaining 12th position 

in the Times University Leagues. A 

couple of years ago, Royal Holloway 

came 5th in the country for student 

satisfaction according to the 

National Student Survey, and this 

year it has been announced that 

the College has come second in the 

country for producing employable 

graduates. Further to this, Royal 

Holloway is coming to the end of a 

campus development programme 

that has seen millions being spent 

on new facilities such as Gowar, 

Wedderburn, Tuke, Williamson and 

Butler Halls, The Windsor Building, 

the extension to the School of 

Management and the refurbishment 

of the Bourne Building. The College 

has also embarked on a programme 

to recruit and invest in world-class 

teachers and researchers in the 

past five years, and applications 

to study at RHUL have increased 

dramatically in the past couple of 

years. It’s this work that is bringing 

Royal Holloway such success, not 

whether it has an extra campus or 

not. The College is very different 

now to when I started here five years 

ago, and although I think that it still 

has a lot of work to do to get it to the 

standard that I would like to see it 

at, you have to admit, it hasn’t done 

too badly recently, and I hope that it 

continues in this fashion. 

Do you think the bid to keep 

the site’s C2, educational, status 

will succeed in reserving at least 

some of the site for use by Royal 

Holloway? 

I hope that a campaign to keep the 

C2 status of the site will succeed in 

all of the site being used by Royal 

Holloway. I really don’t think our 

dealings with this site are over yet. If 

the successful bidder for the site aims 

not to use it for a C2 purpose, then 

I really hope Royal Holloway and 

the wider community will engage 

with authorities further. In the notto-distant 

past, the Government 

announced that it would work to 

expand higher education, and open 

up university level study to more 

of the population. Supporting the 

C2 use of this site would be a good 

way for local authorities to help the 

delivery of this pledge. 

BY TIM RUFFLES 

• 

• 

• 

• 

What’s all the fuss about? 

Brunel University’s Runnymede campus currently houses 

approximately 400 of Royal Holloway’s students, it is also 

home to a number of facilities that simply cannot be housed 

on Royal Holloway’s main campus such as a boathouse and 

golf course 

As the site currently stands, private developers could convert 

it into around 600 flats/apartments. This would undoubtedly 

have a tremendous effect on the local infrastructure of 

Englefield Green, the local monuments such as the RAF 

Memorial and the National Trust site at Coopers Hill 

The site is designated as a C2 listed area, meaning that it 

should be used for educational purposes only. Although the 

developers may apply to have this changed, local residents 

feel that the area should carry on being used for educational 

purposes as that is what it was developed for originally 

If there were no potential buyer, it is likely that the developers 

would have much less opposition 

3 

Left, the site of the Brunel 

campus which currently holds 

buildings covering 350,000 sqft 

and is home to 400 of Royal 

Holloway’s students 

What 

do you 

think 

about 

the 

Brunel 

campus? 

Share your views with 

us on our new improved 

website: 

www.thefounder.co.uk 

...or why not drop us an 

email at: 

editor@thefounder. 

co.uk

NEWS Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

Students’ Union announces acts for Summer Ball 

Natalie Edwards 

After much anticipation and excitement 

the Students Union announced 

on Wednesday 16th May 

the acts that will be taking to the 

stage at this years Summer Ball. 

The headline slot will be taken by 

the Welsh four-piece band, The Automatic, 

whose smash hit ‘Monster’ 

always proves to be a floor-filler on 

union nights. Describing their music 

as “electro-disco-metal-rock” the 

band should provide entertainment 

for a variety of music tastes. They are 

also well known for their energetic 

live performances, ranging from set 

trashing to crowd surfing. 

For the more pop lovers in the audience 

there will be a set from The 

Vengaboys who are likely to bring 

back a few (perhaps embarrassing) 

memories flooding back. The band 

first hit the charts in 1997 to fill our 

music collections with cheesy dance 

numbers such as ‘We Are Going to 

Ibiza’ and ‘We Like To Party’. Also 

secured are X-Factor runners-up 

Journey South, who can entertain us 

with their one single release and nodoubt 

a few more covers for good 

measure too. 

To help bring the party atmosphere 

to a climax, Pete Bennett 

winner of Big Brother 7, will also be 

taking to the stage to tell the audience 

what he really think of them (!) 

The Tourettes-suffering personality 

released his debut single ‘Cosmonaut’ 

earlier this year after splitting 

from his band Daddy Fantastic. 

Summer Ball organiser, Mark 

Austin, has responded to criticisms 

of whether Journey South 

and Pete Bennett are value for 

money: “Sadly it’s the nature of 

the world that you only speak up 

when you’re angry. If there were 

two thousand complaints, then I 

would be worried. A small number 

of people, as far as I can see, 

want to turn the ball into a Glastonbury 

and that’s not what the 

ball is about. It’s a good mix. Were 

you to take one or two away and 

fund something bigger then you 

lose people off the stage and do 

not have enough cash to fill the 

spots. I for one would not like 

Students Union DJ’s on stage from 

8pm until 1am, have The Killers, 

then DJ’s again from 2am until 

4am and then the tribute acts... 

that’s what would happen!” 

Furthermore, it has been confirmed 

that there will not be three 

hundred extra tickets for the event 

going on sale. 

Right, The Automatic, Summer 

Ball stars at universities 

around the country and 

the headline act for Royal 

Holloway’s Summer Ball, 

the band will be playing in 

Founder’s South Quad on 

Friday 8 June along with The 

Vengaboys, Journey South and 

Pete Bennett of Big Brother 

fame 

Summer Balls around the country 

Leeds University 

Price | £35 

Line-up | The Automatic, Trevor Nelson, Kate Lawler and The Scratch 

Perverts amongst others 

Reading University 

Price | £35 

Line-up | The Magic Numbers and Radio 1’s Zane Lowe amongst 

others 

University of Hertfordshire 

Price | £40 

Line-up | Sandi Thom, The Magic Numbers, Westwood, Pendulum, 

Liberty X and Colin Murray amongst others 

University of Bath 

Price | £29 

Line-up | Matt Willis and The Wurzels amongst others 

University College London 

Price | £39 

Line-up | Chesney Hawkes and Trevor Nelson amongst others 

University of Leicester 

Price | £40 

Line-up | The Automatic, Bjorn Again and East 17 amongst others 

Recycling on campus 

There is now finally somewhere to throw your copy of The Founder when you’re done with it! 

There are two new recycling sites, one can be found next to Gowar and Wedderburn halls and 

the other next to The College Shop. 

Recycling bins 

1) Plastic bottles only (PET (no .1) and HDPE (no. 2), e.g. Coca-cola 

bottles, milk bottles) - see bottom of bottle to determine type of 

plastic 

2) Cans (aluminium and steel cans) 

3) Newspapers and magazines 

4) Glass recycling bins can be found outside The Hub, Medicine 

and behind the Students’ Union Building 

Good practice for recycling cans and plastic bottles 

1) Wash 

2) Dry 

3) Flatten 

4) Throw

thefounder Wednesday 30 May 2007 NEWS 

Memorial to a student 

Robyn-Ellen France 

On the 7th of April, Robyn- 

Ellen France, a Media Arts 

Student of Royal Holloway, 

was killed in a tragic road 

accident involving three cars. 

Her Facebook page has become 

a wall of tribute to her life and 

a place where her friends have 

bid her farewell. 

On the 4th of June, students of 

the College are gathering for an 

event at Kingswood halls which 

is being held in her memory, 

with all proceeds going toward 

the Guildford Intensive Care 

unit. All are welcome. 

General Meeting roundup 

Joe Fitzpatrick 

Campus News Editor 

The first General Meeting of Royal 

Holloway Student Union in the 

new term took place slightly after 

8 p.m. on the 8th June. This penultimate 

meeting of the year, and 

ever, was both brief and weakly attended. 

Not rising above 80 members 

the first general meeting that 

new officers of societies and clubs 

were mandated to attend was a 

little quiet – this was also down 

to the lack of microphones or personal 

address system. After a quick 

explanation of the problem (the 

technician failed to show it seems) 

the business of the meeting got underway. 

The ‘Old School Sports Day’ was 

announced for the 30th May on 

Nobles Field, starting at 2.30p.m. 

This event seemed to grab the most 

attention and promises to be a success. 

On to the agenda Gordon Sockett, 

VP Comserv, and Rob Coveney, 

SU President, spoke on the issue of 

bus fees. Mandated by the previous 

G.M. to investigate into the fees paid 

by Brunel and Kingswood residents 

for the bus service they found that 

indeed the College had acted in a 

possible illegal way. The £180 charge 

contravened measures of due notice 

to residents, and Brunel University 

was also implicated. They promised 

further progress at later G.M.’s. 

Students were asked to support 

the 24hr library times on the Royal 

Holloway website, gaining student 

feedback would help further opening 

time expansions it was claimed. 

The awarding of Ordinary Life 

Membership to six members of student 

staff, and Honorary Life Membership 

to Mrs Linda Reghelini and 

Prof. Jane Broadbent, were passed 

with no objections. 

The imminent Smoking Ban was 

also discussed, with plans to turn the 

area outside the front of the Student 

Union building into a dedicated 

smoking area. This would have to be 

arranged through the College however 

as it was under their ownership 

as a separate property. The beer garden 

outside Stumble Inn was indicated 

as the smoking area for that 

premises. This seemed strange to 

seem attendees. At previous meet- 

ings the possibility of an early ban 

was discussed, with these areas 

raised as alternatives for smokers. 

Both the president and members 

of the executive committee spoke 

against this measure, citing costly 

and difficult problems with issues 

such as access and footfall on existing 

stairs. It would seem the money 

has been found from somewhere in 

time however. 

In all the G.M. was incredibly 

quick only lasting forty minutes and 

poorly attended. This mixture of difficult 

presentation and low turnout 

is surely what the new governance 

structure is intended to remedy for 

future meetings. We wait until next 

year to see if this will be true or not. 

Want to get involved in 

thefounder in any way 

shape or form? 

Drop us an email at: 

editor@thefounder. 

co.uk 

or visit our new 

improved website: 

5 

www.thefounder.co.uk

6 EDITORIAL & OPINION Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

& Editorial Opinion 

editor@thefounder.co.uk 

thefounder 

Cameron is a threat to Grammar Schools and the Conservative Party 

Henry Phillips 

I 

would like to inject a good 

deal of common sense into the 

debate on grammar schools, 

which David Cameron is trying 

to smother, by highlighting the 

yawning gap between what he 

labels the ‘ideological self-indulgence’ 

of the Tory grass-roots wishing to sustain 

them and the real rational reasons 

that people hold such schools in high 

esteem. 

There are four established major criticisms 

of the grammar school. The first, 

being the fact that they appear to cater 

for a disproportionately large number of 

the middle classes. Secondly, that they 

invest an unhealthy sense of superiority 

in a small number of the population 

at an early age. Thirdly, that they have 

outlived their purpose training young 

men or women for white-collar jobs and 

so the syllabus is outdated. And finally, 

that even if all the aforementioned are 

untrue, that the selection process per se 

is flawed. 

To address the first criticism, in the 

past boys that received education were 

restricted to the few that had rich parents 

or were fortunate enough to be subsidised 

by patrons. It was this fact that 

prompted Juvenal to write ‘Nosse volunt 

omnes, mercedem solvere’, or ‘All want to 

learn, but none to pay the bill’. Grammar 

schools cater for that great number who 

share these sentiments and have the 

talent to follow them through. The values 

of grammar schools do not pander 

to any class. Grammars Instil cultural 

tastes, respect diligence, encourage correct-speaking 

and the extension of the 

vocabulary. These are not values that be- 

long to any one class, they are academic 

values. Education in itself is classless; it 

is the system or Establishment that put 

values on it. As T. S Eliot wrote ‘Education 

less creates culture than reflects it’. 

The concept of class, until given historical 

and political significance by Marx, is 

essentially a neutral one. People of similar 

interests, backgrounds etc. naturally 

develop similar tastes. It is the feeling of 

superiority of one over another that is 

wrong. ‘One can be class cognisant without 

being class-conscious’. 

To address the second criticism, the 

fact that a minority of kids get special 

treatment or are ‘creamed off ’ is best 

explained by Georges Clemenceau who 

argued that democracy had succeeded 

in ousting other models of government 

because instead of descending into the 

demagoguery Plato had predicted, it 

had simply elected responsible elites. It 

was only how these elites were created 

that differed. He personally advocated a 

regime where ‘the elite should be drawn 

from all sections of the nation’- A process 

that grammar schools facilitate. A 

good read would be R. Davis’ Socratic 

dialogue which emphasises how perverse 

it is to withhold special treatment 

from the mentally advanced when we 

so readily give it out to those physically 

superior e.g. athletes, or physically disabled 

or those mentally handicapped, 

how we can select in sports and music 

etc. Is it because they arouse our envy? 

Is it not as big an injustice for the academic 

minority to be influenced by the 

unacademic majority at school as it is 

for the unacademic to feel inferior? 

Concentrating on the fourth criticism, 

the grammar school syllabus is the 

victim of its history (one that stretches 

back to antiquity) when education was 

the preserve of the Church and Latin its 

lingua franca. When we criticise the syllabus, 

we invariably mean the concentration 

of it on the Classics. But whilst 

the cutting down size of the Classics was 

overdue in the twentieth century, its total 

extinction is another matter. I believe 

that whilst it is advantageous to study 

how we can better operate a financial 

committee, what kind of society the Fijians 

live in, and the lyrics of Bob Dylan, 

we shall be the intellectual losers if study 

these over the success, failures and character 

of Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catallus 

or the philosophies of the ancients. 

The Classics form a bulwark protecting 

the advance of culture in case we fall into 

the Rousseau-esque trap when technology 

and science advance leaving civilisation 

in its wake. It sustains culture and 

civilisation by reminding people that 

their philosophical, artistic, political, literary 

and scientific disciplines all share 

a common origin in ancient Greece, and 

that it is a shared origin thanks to the 

Roman Empire. 

To tackle the fourth criticism. Nobody 

is really very sure how to define intelligence 

but the link between academic 

success and IQ is a strong, proven one. 

The closest we have come to defining intelligence 

is the separation of its idea into 

convergent i.e. logical, and divergent i.e. 

creative spheres. The former is tested 

with questions such as ‘hat is to head 

as shoe is to what?’ And the latter being 

tested with questions such as ‘what uses 

are there for a hat?’ The fact that border 

line cases exist e.g. the boy with 110 IQ 

goes to a comprehensive whilst the boy 

with 120 IQ is grammar school material, 

is not enough reason to drop the 

borders. Besides, if the results are that 

close an interview with the headmaster 

Nobody is really very 

sure how to define 

intelligence, but 

the link between 

academic success 

and IQ is strong 

usually follows and is the deciding factor. 

The best criticism involves the questioning 

why youths are only tested once 

and so much emphasis can rest on such 

a test. The simple answer is that it would 

be better for more tests to be taken regularly 

but that, you, the taxpayer, are only 

willing to fund one. 

I now have three criticisms of David 

Cameron and his education policy. 

Firstly, I think that the general populace 

are left flabbergasted by the outright 

hypocrisy of wanting to abolish schools 

based on merit (sweat & brains) whilst 

upholding the notion that schools where 

the only qualification is the amount of 

wealth in the family is some how acceptable. 

Many newspapers have picked 

up on the fact that over half his cabinet 

come from private schools. Perhaps, 

he also remains blissfully unaware that 

most prestigious public schools such as 

Eton, Harrow and Charterhouse were 

indeed founded as grammar schools. I 

think G. M Trevelyan, a Harrovian himself, 

best summed up the contribution 

grammar schools have made to recent 

history when he wrote that ‘the Battle of 

Britain was won not on the playing fields 

of Eton but in the grammar schools of the 

thirties’. 

Secondly, the ‘streaming’ solution, 

increasing setting by ability from 40- 

80%, is not a solution that compensates 

for the loss of grammar schools in the 

slightest. The act itself creates unhealthy 

divisions within the school instead of 

healthy inter-school rivalries. Streaming 

is ultimately the act of putting different 

students in different classrooms under 

different teachers under a different syllabus 

learning at a different speed under 

different standards and expectations. 

In fact, so different it could be called a 

school within a school. 

Thirdly, politically, Cameron is a buffoon. 

He says ‘I don’t follow my party, I 

lead it’, and the rest of us think, ‘yes but 

you’re leading it away from its supporters’, 

who won’t be impressed at either 

your volte face on the leadership election 

promise to keep grammars or the fact 

that you are leading the party away from 

its meritocratic ties that produced such 

Tory heavyweights as Powell, Mcleod, 

Heath, Thatcher and Major and which 

are supported by former leader Michael 

Howard, Front benchers David Davis, 

Liam Fox and finally William Hague 

who in 2000 made a speech addressing 

the PM Tony Blair in question time, a 

speech that might now be very suited to 

some one else: ‘…he has betrayed every 

cause he believed in, contradicted every 

statement he has made, broken every 

promise he has given and breached every 

agreement that he has entered into... 

There is a lifetime of U-turns, errors and 

sell-outs. All those hon. Members who 

sit behind the Prime Minister and wonder 

whether they stand for anything any 

longer, or whether they defend any point 

of principle, know who has led them to 

that sorry state’.

thefounder Wednesday 30 May 2007 

Acts of deplorable stu- 

pidity and foolishness... 

Holloway’s most tragic 

A WORD FROM TERRY 

Dear Royal Holloway, 

It is a time of reflection. Many of you are finishing exams and a lot of you 

will be graduating at the end of the term and it is a time to look back, not 

only at what you’ve achieved but at the sheer acts of deplorable stupidity 

and foolishness you have participated in over the last year. As I always 

say, a problem shared is still a problem, but then at least everyone knows 

about it so we can laugh at you. As always, I have changed the names to 

protect the identity of my subjects, but you shall rest assured that they are 

all true and we all know that you are exclusive in being Royal Holloway’s 

most tragic. 

Love and disrespect, Terry O’Toole 

I HAD SEX WITH A LESBIAN 

Dear Terry, The other night my friends and I went out drinking 

and I ended up in bed with this girl. It was all a bit drunken and 

inappropriate, but it could have been worse. However, after I told my 

friends what happened it turns out that the girl is actually a lesbian. I 

really don’t know what to think. What should I do? J. London 

Dear J, Oh gosh, well this is interesting. I haven’t heard of this happening 

before. I wouldn’t worry about yourself to be honest. Go and get 

yourself checked out if you’re worried you’ve caught anything, but aside from 

that what can you do? At the end of the day, sleeping with a lesbian hasn’t 

infringed your masculinity, in fact, if anything it should reaffirm it. You’re 

the man who can turn gay girls straight, quite an achievement indeed. So, I 

guess a ‘well done’ is in order but I suggest sticking to straight girls; less of an 

emotional minefield and less hair gel to contend with. 

ADDICTED TO TEEN CHAT 

Dear Terry, I have recently discovered a website called teenchat 

where you can chat to lots of people on the internet. Everyone on there 

is well up for cyber sex and I always end up giving these people my msn 

address and I chat to these strangers who show themselves to me on 

webcam. It really turns me on seeing people on the webcam. I seem to 

spend more time on teenchat than I do on facebook and I’m afraid I’ve 

become a voyeuristic perverted maniac. George, Englefield Green. 

Dear George, Well, we’ve all been there. Since when did a bit 

of cyber-msn-sex hurt anyone? So long as you don’t take it all too seriously, 

I think its utter hilarity when people get themselves naked on webcam to 

complete strangers; if not slightly desperate. However, as they always say, 

never give out personal details in case one of these people turns out to be a 

sex crazed perverted weirdo, but in this case it sounds like you’re the bigger 

weirdo, so I don’t really think you have anything to worry about. 

Like, totally, ROYAL HOLLOWAY 

Subject #2: UNION SECURITY 

Union Security...that stalwart and dedicated bunch who 

put your safety, wellbeing and enjoyment before their 

own, for ready money. 

They’re always there, standing by, in the thick of it. 

Appearance: They come in all shapes and sizes, recognisable 

by their black or red shirt, dark trousers, big 

sensible shoes (no trainers) and robust expression. 

Dear Terry 

THIEVING 

HOUSEMATE 

Dear Terry, My housemate 

always borrows by stuff without 

asking. I’m not usually bothered 

by this but she never gives 

and of it back or it comes back in a 

very sorry state. Jo, Egham 

Dear Jo, I say have it out 

with her. Tell her she’s a thieving 

piece-of-work and you won’t stand 

for it and if it keeps happening you’ll 

phone the police. 

MY LONER FLATMATE 

Dear Terry, A guy in my 

flat doesn’t appear to have any 

friends. He doesn’t really go out 

a whole lot. I’ve tried talking to 

him, but what else can I do? Robbie, 

Reid. 

Dear Robbie, Fact of life; 

some people are just loners. They just 

prefer their own company. It sounds 

like you’ve already tried to make the 

effort and they aren’t bothered so stop 

worrying and let them get on with 

it. He isn’t your responsibility; he’s 

an adult and needs to sort himself 

out. Don’t spend your time worrying 

about strangers, go to the pub. 

A Word of Warning 

Life is turbulent and sometime advice, kind words, 

support and reassurance are desperatly needed. 

However, this is not the place to find any of 

those...consider yourself forewarned, be 

prepared and don’t take this too seriously. 

Taking Terry’s advice seriously may 

be harmful to your health and the 

wellbeing of those around you. 

LIKES: Getting paid, Fit bar staff, Promotion to 

Supervisor, Using the radios. 

DISLIKES: Medicine staff & security, stumble 

staff & security, cleaning spillages or vomit. 

QUOTES: “Union card, please”/ “Step back, 

please”/ “Left hand, please”/ 

“Code Red!” 

NATURAL HABITAT: 

Tommy’s, where else? They do favour their 

staff parties. 

DEAR TERRY 

terry@thefounder.co.uk 

PUBIC PROBLEMS 

Dear Terry, My boyfriend recently suggested that I shave off 

all my pubic hair because it turns him on. I’m not really convinced, but 

he keeps mentioning it. Lucy, Egham 

Dear Robbie, Each to their own. As I always say, try anything 

once and if it’s tragic at least it makes an amusing after dinner anecdote. It’ll 

grow back, so for the sake of a little experimentation, why not? If you’re not 

keen, ask him to do the same and see how you get on with that. 

TOO FAT TO BE A FITTY 

Dear Terry, Recently I seem to have been putting on a lot of 

weight, even though my diet hasn’t changed much and I’m thinking it’s 

becoming a bit of an issue. What should I do? Alice, Founders. 

Dear Alice, First rule; don’t panic. We’ve all been there. It’s awfully 

easy to get a bit chubbs at university. That’s just part of the fun. However, of 

course, with Holloway being as competitively gorgeous as it is, I can understand 

your desire not to look especially obese. Simple answer; just eat less and 

it’ll drop off. Just watch your alcohol units, that’s usually the culprit that leads 

to a bit of a paunch. A few sit ups won’t hurt either. 

MY BOYFRIEND WHIFFS 

Dear Terry, My boyfriend has B.O. Yes, I understand the masculine 

thing, but sometimes it’s just a bit too much to take. Thing is, I 

don’t think he knows he smells; I’m afraid to mention it because it’s just 

a bit of a difficult subject. Jen, Runnymede. 

Dear Jen, A bit of a masculine musk at the end of the day should get 

your pulse racing. But if he just stinks you’ve got to say something. If you’ve 

noticed the stench then everyone else will have too and I’m sure everyone else 

isn’t as considerate and are probably having a right good laugh at his expense. 

Just tell him he smells and to get it sorted out or you’re becoming celibate. 

I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE... 

Dear Terry, I’m a third year and I’ll be graduating in a few 

weeks. The thing is, is that I really don’t want to leave university yet 

and I know that I’ll really miss all my friends and I worry that we’ll 

lose touch and just enter the rat-race of office work which I’m really not 

looking forward to. Faye, Egham. 

Dear Faye, Time passes and that’s the way it is. For most of us 

university is strictly a three year affair. Yes, people can drag out the pain by 

doing an MA, but that’s not for everyone. You stay in touch with who you 

want to stay in touch with. The real world isn’t a choice, it’s a reality. So stop 

whining, pull your socks up and get out there start earning your taxes and 

paying society back for the 21 years you’ve been sponging off it. 

7

8 FEATURE Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

Presenting... ‘Handshake’ 

“music mixing melody with meaning” 

“...the handshake is both a sign of respect... but also explores the 

second 

Lara Stavrinou 

Assistant Editor 

Handshake has caused quite a stir 

at Crosslands unplugged and, with 

the help of their steadily growing 

fan base, it’s not hard to hear about 

them as you walk about campus. 

The band began to take form at the 

beginning of this academic year 

when Bob Groves and Beth Turrell 

came together to duet on a handful 

of songs. Before they knew it, 

they were recording in Essex with 

Joss Lartaud on double bass. Their 

guitar based alternative folk sound 

included short bouts of harmonica 

and gained a new dimension when 

Fiz Pearmain joined them with 

her violin. George Benson was the 

final addition to the line-up on 

piano and accordion. 

Each member of the band is a 

great musician with influences heralding 

from their personal tastes in 

music. Together, they have created 

catchy songs and a style that is completely 

their own. They pride themselves 

on having meaningful lyrics 

and sing about anything from our 

connection to the earth to terrorist 

bombings. They also sing about 

break ups and even give a voice to 

the first dog sent into space. 

Songs such as ‘Shackled to the 

ground’ are sung in the style of an 

old sea shanty. This song in particular 

features a strong choral duet by 

Groves and Turrell in which their 

voices blend beautifully. 

Folk song is often seen as the authentic 

expression of a way of life, 

and their songs, such as ‘Empathy’ 

in particular, capture this. ‘Empathy’ 

not only epitomizes the melancholic 

elements of Handshake’s music, but 

also discusses the current devides 

between East and West that we are 

experiencing in both politics and 

society. Turrell’s voice has a clear 

Irish ring to it that is complimented 

by Fiz’s earthy solos on the fiddle. 

‘Afraid to Sleep’ joins the previously 

mentioned songs on the 

band’s EP and comments on our 

way of living and loving by giving us 

a heart felt view about the ending of 

relationships. ‘Travistock’ and ‘Laika’ 

complete this EP and show just 

how varied this band and their lyrics 

are. They too, focus on the mix of 

melody with meaning. 

Handshake recently performed 

at the Betsey Trotwood in London 

and are scheduled for several 

gigs during the summer (such as 

the Brownstock Festival in Essex). 

Their second EP will be done in August 

but for the time being you can 

check them out on myspace.com/ 

handshakemusicuk or www.handshakemusic.com 

and email them on 

handshakemusic@hotmail.co.uk. 

And now some words from the 

band: 

LS: Why do you call yourselves 

Handshake? 

Bob: Primarily, it’s taken from a 

Bad Religion song on their 1994 album 

“Stranger than Fiction” called 

The Handshake. The song is describes 

how the handshake is both a 

sign of respect when greeting someone, 

but also explores the cheapening 

of the handshake in such things 

as business, where sincerity is second 

to personal gain. 

LS: What musical genre would 

you classify yourselves as? 

Bob: Folk/ alternative, it’s pretty 

standard really, it’s the words that 

are interesting and the melodies. It’s 

all about the melodies. 

LS: So what do you write about? 

(Themes, songwriting process) 

Beth: dogs (Laika). 

Bob: All things that mean something. 

The lyrics are quite influenced 

by history and the difficulties 

we face in everyday life. For 

example “Bears are back in London” 

is about espionage in London. The 

song has a Cold War theme and was 

triggered by the events of November 

2006 with Alexander Litvinyenko. 

George: It’s all down to earth stuff, 

people can relate to it. 

Fiz: Scary stuff too close to home. 

LS: Is this all your own stuff? If 

not what have you covered? 

Fiz: Yep! 

Beth: We covered the Coral’s 

“Dreaming of You”, and gave it a different 

treatment, and are planning 

to cover some more crowd pleasing 

songs that have a bit of edge 

to them- Dolly Parton’s Jolene, the 

Stones. 

George: Diverse we know! I’d like 

to something by the Spice Girls. Do 

it in a completely different style. 

LS: What are your influences? 

(From politics to other artists) 

Fiz: Bob and Beth and especially 

George! 

Beths: Talking to people influences 

me and current eventssocial 

commentary, especially on stuff that 

is wrong and needs shouting about. 

George: We have individual influences 

and so there is no major thing 

or artist that influences us, it’s a sexy 

mix of all our tastes. 

Bob: Political musicians are the 

nads, they inspire me with words 

about serious issues (as folk traditionally 

does) and give you that 

feeling of belief that you’re not alone 

through the music e.g. Joe Strummer, 

Billy Bragg, Bad Religion. 

“ It’s the words that 

are interesting and 

the melodies. It’s all 

about the melodies. 

.” 

“ 

Folk song is often 

seen as the authentic 

expression of a way 

of life.


FEATURE 

cheapening of the handshake in such things as business, where sincerity is 

to personal gain...” 

“ Political musicians are 

the nads, they inspire 

me with words about 

serious issues. 

.” 

“ Talking to people influences 

me and current eventssocial 

commentary, especially 

on stuff that is wrong 

and needs shouting about. 

.” 

LS: What image do you aspire to 

have as a band? 

Beth: In terms of other band’s image 

and presence, would have to be 

someone that is unique and encourages 

a broad audience and earns respect 

through their work. 

Bob: It’s hard to think of a band at 

present, but The Levellers stage performance 

is wicked and their music 

is great. 

LS: How has working together 

changed the way you approach music? 

Fiz: Coming from a classical 

background where the performance 

is more set out for you, with us (the 

band) there is more improvisation 

and freedom I suppose. 

Beth: I have a deeper understanding 

of songwriting now, having had 

to consider other people’s inputs. 

And change my own ideas after negotiating. 

Bob: Yeah, Beth- totally! 

LS: How is it to travel around together? 

Fiz: Really fun because we meet a 

shit load of new people in the London 

area (Farringdon et al). 

Bob: yeah-totally. 

LS: Have you had any outrageous 

experiences whilst gigging? 

Bob, Fizz, Beth, George: not really! 

George: Except once on the way 

back from a studio in Essex, Bob 

and I saved a rabbit from near death 

on a B road. He was so god damn 

cute. 

Bob: And once we managed to 

travel up to Hornsey, North London 

with a great bunch of supporters 

including our legendary mate 

Matt Chorley and we managed to 

miss our train from Egham, and we 

pushed his wheel chair from Surrey 

to North London just in time for the 

gig, played and just made the last 

train home. Wicked times. 

WHAT DRIVES “HAND- 

SHAKE”? IN THE WORDS 

OF THE BAND... 

“Thee arts are a valuable form of 

expression in which the soul can take 

refuge from the world be it literature, 

visual arts or music. Thus anything 

in art that challenges important issues 

warrants respect for the bravery 

to comment upon issues without 

fearing the need to water down the 

ideas. It is said that the written word 

has more power than the spoken 

word and music is the combination 

of both! Music can inspire, just think 

how people associate the 1960’s with 

with disco, glam rock and punk- 

because of the images and sounds 

in their heads. World views in the 

1960’s could have been altered a lot 

more if musicians weren’t so stoned 

off their f***king faces. Which is why 

nobody needs Pete Doherty prancing 

around like drugged up pony for the 

London paparazzi. (It’s all been done 

before Pete- you are a knob end). In 

recent musical history The Levellers, 

Billy Bragg, Bad Religion, Bob Dylan 

and The Clash- are bands that inspire. 

It is the impassioned sound of 

reason from their music that Handshake 

takes influence as well as a 

whole host of others. Remember, 

these words you are reading are an 

insight into what triggers song writing 

and motivation in Handshake, 

it is not building them up to be lords 

of anti establishment and a bunch of 

self appointed do gooders- hell no. 

The music is humble and melodic 

played with traditional instruments 

and sung with lyrics from the heart 

and mind. 

You may think the tone of these 

words has been peddled for decades 

and it is especially typical coming 

from a student newspaper on behalf 

of a young band, but is it recycled 

tripe? The answer is no! In a world 

ruled increasingly by superstition 

and intolerance, socially aware music 

seems about as necessary now as 

ever before”. 

HANDSHAKE’S 

World Won’t Wait EP 

Second EP Coming 

THIS AUGUST 

BIO 

The band has been in 

existence since October 

2006. When Bob Groves 

recruited Beth Turrell 

to duet with him on a 

handful of songs. One 

thing led to another and 

they recorded in Essex 

in December with Joss 

Lartaud sessioning on 

double bass. The songs 

were all guitar based 

and specialising in deep 

and meaningful words 

with short bouts of harmonica. 

This changed 

slightly in the new year 

with the addition of Fiz 

Pearmain on violin driving 

the music into a folk 

groove with the focus of 

earthy solos on the fiddle. 

George Benson was 

the final addition to the 

line-up on piano and accordion. 

Each member of 

the band is a great musician 

with influences heralding 

from their tastes 

in music and origin. 

MUSIC 

The process of song writing 

is a continuous one, 

taking inspiration from 

many influences. The 

music mixes melody with 

meaning. 

NEXT GIG 

Brownstock Festival. 

Essex. 14/7/07 

NEWS 

Currently looking for 

management. 

Recording New EP 

For More Information: 

www.handshakemusic. 

com 

handshakemusic@hotmail.co.ukmyspace.com/handshakemusicuk 

tf 


9

Students’ Union 

Royal Holloway 

University of London 

Membership Services Co-ordinator 

£18,387 pro rata inclusive of London Weighting 

Actual salary per annum £14,497 

40 hrs/week term time (30wks) 17.5 hrs/week vacation periods 

Membership Services Co-ordinator is a new position within the Students’ Union, designed to offer administrative support to the Sabbatical Officers and to the 

membership as a whole. By doing so, the successful candidate will help to ensure consistency and continuity throughout our Membership Services. 

Duties include taking minutes during key meetings and general admin support for membership events such as the Student Development Programme, volunteering 

schemes and providing assistance during elections. The successful candidate will also be responsible for the provision of transport services within the SU and for 

co-ordinating our team of drivers who get students home safely at night. 

We are seeking a highly organised individual with excellent administrative skills to join the permanent team of staff at the Students’ Union. Candidates must be able 

to take clear and concise minutes and be comfortable within an office environment. The successful candidate will also be able to demonstrate the ability to mutitask 

as this position will provide administrative support to many different areas of the membership. Experience of supervising a small team of staff would also be 

highly advantageous. 

For an application pack giving further details about this position and an application form, please contact the Students’ Union reception on 01784 486300 or email 

reception@su.rhul.ac.uk. Closing date for receipt of applications is midday 12 th June. Please send your completed application form to: 

Lisa Archer 

HR Advisor 

SURHUL 

Egham 

Surrey 

TW20 0EX 

lisa@su.rhul.ac.uk 

SURHUL is an equal opportunities employer. Applications are welcome from all sections of the community. 

www.su.rhul.ac.uk

Student Accommodation Listings 

Tel: 01784 470270 Mob: 07870 870270 

Think you might have missed the boat? Don’t panic! 

We’ve got loads of top student accommodation left. All these and some more. 

£1600 (£320 pp) PCM 

Elmbank Avenue 

Newly refurbished 5 bed student 

house. Spacious communal area 

and easily maintained garden. 

£2100 (£350 pp) PCM 

Mooregrove Crescent, Egham 

6 bedrooms. Short walk to 

campus and Egham town centre. 

Off-street parking. 

£1860 (£320 pp) PCM 

Larchwood Avenue 

6 bedrooms situated fairly close 

to all local amenities and BR 

station. Large gardens and 

allocated parking 

£1200 (£300 pp) PCM 

Almond Close 

4 bed property with fully fitted 

kitchen and large communal 

room 

From £2200 (£370 pp) PCM 

Nightingale Shott, Egham 

5 beautiful 6 bedroom properties in a prime 

location in central Egham, close to RHUL 

campus, BR station and all local shops and 

amenities. All bedrooms are extremely spacious 

and the master rooms have an ensuite 

bathroom. Each house has a fully fitted kitchen 

and large, airy communal rooms. Off street 

parking, double glazing and GSH 

£2220 (£370 pp) PCM 

Mooregrove Crescent, Egham 

Centrally located 6 bedroom house, ideal for 

students being a short stroll to both Royal 

Holloway campus, Egham Town Centre and 

station. It consists of 6 good size bedrooms, 

2 bathrooms, communal living area and fitted 

kitchen, OSP for at least 3 cars and garden 

area 

£2660 PCM 


7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms - 

1 ensuite. Huge communal 

room and fitted kitchen 

£1700 (£340 pp) PCM 


5 bed property in Englefield 

Green, close to all amenities. 

Large communal area 

£1160 (£290 pp) PCM 

Pooley Green Road 

4 bedroom semi-detached house 

situated close to the centre of 

Egham with garden and 

fitted kitchen 

£1800 (£300 pp) PCM 

Ashwood Road 

6 bed home with fully fitted 

kitchen, spacious communal 

area, double glazing 

£1500 (£375 pp) PCM 

Hummer Road, Egham 

4 large bed property with a big, 

modern kitchen and communal 

area. Excellent central location

2 SPECIAL FEATURE Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefoundert 

Review by: 

Luke Moody 

About: 

Robert is in his first year 

at Royal Holloway and is 

signed to the Slowfoot record 

label. 

See also: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ 

music/release/9b54/ 

‘Cognessence’ by Robert Logan 

Cognessence, Robert Logan’s debut 

album - but, by no means his 

first foray into music production 

(he’s been writing since the tender 

age of 15 after extensive classical 

training) - is a sonically visual 

masterpiece. The album’s artwork 

(an entanglement of wire brushes 

at once smooth, almost liquid like, 

at another sharp and threatening) 

presents a paradoxical balance 

between ambient, meditative photography 

and a dark, ocular nightmare. 

And the same goes for the 

album itself. Textures, emotions, 

ideas, and dreams weave in and 

out of each other, communicating 

their constituent parts to the album’s 

whole to create an ethereal 

musical journey. 

Cognessence opens with one of its 

strongest tracks. “Lost Highway” is 

a wraithlike inauguration, blending 

filmic textures with extraordinarily 

Presenting 

A groundbreaking musical project from students at Royal Holloway 

presenting the best of new student music. 

The following reviews are of music made and released by musicians studying at Royal Holloway. They are part of the Nomadi program, keen to promote, and set up a discourse between, 

student artists, and not only that, to facilitate collaboration between acts on a larger scale. We hope to support and make available exciting new projects in music, film, theatre 

– the arts as a whole – providing a forum for intelligent criticism and dialogue along the way. Future plans include a season of remixes, artistic contact between different producers, 

writers and instrumentalists, as well as filmmakers, photographers and visual artists. To follow Nomadi please join our group on Facebook, which will keep you updated until 

the website is functioning. Anyone interested in getting involved, or with any ideas to throw around, please get in touch at our current email address - nomadimusic@gmail.com. 

octuary’s opener is positively 

xplosive. A torrent of liquid misellany, 

‘Emmet’ (a remix of a Nocurnal 

Breaks number) assaults the 

istener with its perforated pop, 

eeting lines and hooks wanderng 

about the stereo range with an 

lmost psychotic enthusiasm. From 

he start, then, Noctuary premises 

n ability to manipulate, perhaps 

ather to tyrannize the mood and 

ind-state of its listener. This reord 

is a barrage of uninterrupted, 

eemingly formless, yet dynamially 

symmetrical soundscapes, that 

sks anyone pulled within its limits 

o allow themselves somehow to be 

oth ‘washed-over’ and compelled 

o attention. ‘Nightmares Finished’ 

s a vortex of this sort, interposed 

t one point with a spectral spoken 

oice-sample that could summon 

ear and anxiety in the coolest of 

ustomers, dragging you inwards, 

Nomadi’s Mission Statement... 

detailed cuts, edits and mangled audio 

streams, all linked together by a 

clock-like ticking. The vocals are by 

no means standard; entwined with 

the track’s most fundamental depth 

of perspective, they are reminiscent 

of Shrift’s whispered musings and, 

at times, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons’ 

captivating vocal passages, 

bouncing off the scalic bassline in 

the most natural, melodic 7/8 timing 

I’ve heard since Tool’s “Schism” 

or “Ticks and Leeches”. “Lost Highway” 

seamlessly blends into “Budapest”, 

a dark meditation of nightmarish 

perceptions. “Cloud of the 

Unknowing”, however, is by far the 

most fantastical track on the album. 

Logan expertly blends spiritualesque 

chanting, an emotive violin 

performance that speaks of Eastern 

improvisation, and a heavily reverbed 

dulcimer to create a beautiful 

ambient soundtrack to an imaginary, 

self-reflexive cinematic mas- 

terpiece. In contrast to this, “Pop” 

sounds like the bastardised child 

of RJD2 and Jazztronik, its lurching, 

interrupting beats bouncing 

around among deep atmospherics. 

There is a surrealist beauty running 

throughout the album that underpins 

each and every track. Whether 

it’s the breakdown in “Budapest”, the 

emotive meditation of “Cloud of the 

Unknowing”, or the foley, beat-less 

nature of “Proto Lexicon”, Logan always 

manages to impress. 

The most important thing about 

this album, however, is that it 

sounds completely organic. Unlike 

some electronic music, there are 

no forced glitches (IDM, anyone?), 

no boundaries of pure electronica 

that inhibit the sound of Cognessence. 

Instead, the album twists and 

evolves through expertly executed 

musical ideas, each of which lives 

and breathes as if its only purpose 

was to completely explore its own 

‘Nothingness and Eternity’ EP by Noctuary 

though all the while sinking unnoticed 

into your skin. Of course, 

this sort of pleasure is arguably an 

esoteric one. Audiophiles are likely 

to revel in this – deeply consumed 

albeit by their immense and unfathomably 

expensive headphones 

– whilst anyone browsing the personal 

ads to find someone to ‘walk 

in the park’ with might want to say 

well clear. There is an innate violence 

to Noctuary’s music, but one 

so compellingly irresistible that, for 

all the bruises, you come out looking 

for more. The saving grace for 

aforementioned romance-seeking 

dog-walkers is that this collection 

is also fantastically eclectic. Those 

in that category might want to skip 

ahead to ‘The Awakening’, a track 

that joins up to its successor ‘The 

Reawakening’ with the curious continuity 

of a patchwork quilt, making 

a journey through ambient, melodic 

reverb and energetic House, that 

then grows playfully into a sweeping 

piano waltz, squeezed through 

an oceanic digital mangle, camera 

shutters or mechanized insect 

mutterings infecting the backdrop, 

and meditative cello lines undulating 

and passing through like great 

blue whales. The closer ‘Angel’ then 

picks up the mantle of its predecessor 

by unravelling an openly tuneful 

venture through unabashed, but 

inoppressive, hooks - phrases that 

appear to take turns in holding the 

floor, swapping around fleetingly, 

and thus refuting any tendentiously 

‘Pop-like’ fancies accumulating in 

the wake of the song, and relaxing 

the track into ambience rather than 

a pretentious self-parade. This last 

piece is certainly the ‘single’ of the 

collection, and, perhaps, should 

therefore feature somewhere prior 

to its place at the end, although its 

‘last word’ is still surely deft and 

well-placed. 

Sometimes it can be a worry for an 

artist or producer to be spinning out 

eclectic sounds, and yet the latter 

half of this EP is certainly the most 

original and enticing part of the 

record, while apparently the most 

varied. The openers, on the other 

hand, may be a little impenetrable 

for some listeners for their length 

and similarity, and therein lack that 

innovative pulse and presence that 

gets music sold. If Noctuary’s next 

release is willing to explore these 

more uncertain locales then it will 

definitely be making positive new 

ground, and perhaps even achieve a 

‘somethingness’ rather than the bromidic 

‘nothingness’ of the EP’s title. 

You can hear Noctuary’s music @ 

http://www.myspace.com/noctuarysmusic 

existence. 

This is experimental electronica at 

its best. But don’t let the genre deter 

you, this is not just “noise”. For those 

new to such music, Cognessence is a 

superb album that speaks of Aphex 

Twin’s Drukqs and Selected Ambient 

Works, the soundscapes of 

Amon Tobin heard on Out From 

Out Where, and, at times, the music 

of Boards of Canada. Above all, 

though, Robert Logan has produced 

an original sound; whilst comparisons 

can be made, Cognessence 

is definitely in a league of its own. 

Logan makes full use of his classical 

background throughout, defying 

pretension to create a hugely atmospheric, 

dream-like venture into the 

boundaries of electronic music. I 

cannot recommend it enough. 

You can hear tracks from this 

record @ http://www.myspace. 

com/robertlogan 

Review by 

Jamie Russell 

About: 

Written, performed and produced 

by RHUL English 

student Luke Moody. 

Influences: 

Noisia, Amon Tobin, Andy 

C, Hype and all the other 

DnB nuts, Squarepusher, 

and Aphex... 

L 

a 

w 

C 

t 

m 

o 

i 

a 

d 

i 

r 

a 

e 

s 

– 

a 

P 

fl 

i 

b 

i 

a 

b 

t 

i 

o 

i 

o 

b

hefounder Wednesday 30 May 2007 

About: 

Written, performed, engineered 

and produced by 

Royal Holloway finalist Tim 

Hassall. 

Review by 

Jamie Russell 

Influences: 

Coco Rosie, The incredible 

string band, Devendra 

Banhart, David Bowie, 

Ben Harper, Elliot Smith, 

Jeffrey Lewis, Pearl Jam, 

SquarePusher, Iron and 

Wine, Death Cab for Cutie, 

Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, 

Bob Marley, Dispatch, The 

Kinks, The Beatles, Bonnie 

Prince Billy, The Stones... 

oyalty Point have been an almost 

rchitectural presence at Holloay 

over these last three years. 

hildren of the Founders womb, 

hey’ve gigged about more than 

ost, delivering their own brand 

f indy-folk to a faithful followng, 

and now, a couple years and 

bassist on, they’ve released their 

ebut album - First in Queue, Last 

n Line. 

The first listening reveals well-arested 

guitar and string lines, guarnteeing 

fidelity for acoustically orintated 

tracks that might otherwise 

uffer from poor production values 

it is, after all, this unequivocally 

coustic tactility that defines Loyalty 

oint, and, without it, the band’s inuences 

would surely rise too promnently 

to the surface. However, the 

ass suffers from a little fall-out in 

ts reduction to such a naked state, 

nd so would definitely benefit from 

eing fed and fattened-up (given 

he opportunity to demonstrate its 

nnate prerogative as a bass), or, 

n the other hand, from assimilatng 

the kind of rich lilts and bends 

ne can get out of a double-bass. To 

e brief, in production it is wanting 

‘Lions in the Shade’ is a beautifully 

genuine and intimate piece of production, 

wading intently through 

elements so curiously drawn, and 

captured so unflinchingly close, 

that they swim inquisitively in 

and out of each other, ebbing and 

flowing as an animated whole. It is 

likely to appeal, certainly lyrically, 

to the Devendra Banhart and Joanna 

Newsom 

generation, although 

its delivery 

and the 

character of the 

writing cannot 

be said to betray 

quite such 

an unequivocal 

parade of idiosyncrasy, 

while 

its production 

dimensions are 

more distinctly 

emphasised. 

What you get is thoughtful folk 

with a collective edge; never digging 

into the more troubled and private 

places of introspection, but always 

offering sentiment for the sharing, 

and toying, furthermore, with 

a broad society of sounds rather 

than taking rest in the confines of 

a single voice. The saxophone line 

that weaves through ‘Monkey Song’, 

for example, is somehow intrusively 

appropriate - drifting into the track 

as if played beneath an underpass in 

character, weight and presence. 

The lead guitar and violin arrangements 

are quite exquisite and 

relentlessly entangled, and probably 

the biggest selling-point of 

this record, perhaps even the band 

as a whole. Propelling ‘Why Can’t I 

Be With You’, for instance, is a violin 

track that might well warrant a 

good sampling at some point, and 

that becomes a fertile origin from 

which the song then winds delicately 

out layer upon layer. And the 

progressive certainty with which 

the guitar line on the whole proceeds 

is not only truly compelling, 

but also makes up, to some extent, 

for the decidedly curious absence 

of drums. It’s not so much that this 

music doesn’t need the solid influence 

of full percussion, it’s more that 

it just doesn’t have it. This could well 

be a point to remedy. 

Marsden’s lead vocal is remarkable 

for its impressive gusto and 

power, though admittedly a little bit 

of a loose canon at times. General 

volume and stylisation (throwbacks 

to Green Day ostensibly) occasionally 

override control and undermine 

precision, although his voice surely 

the urban distance, a wistful continuity 

drawn between discrete ingredients. 

Despite such miscellany, 

then, the EP cannot fail to suggest 

a prevailing sense of direction. On a 

fundamental level, the distantly generic 

folk patterns the guitar track 

flirts with provide stability (although 

any danger of overbearing gravity is 

dispelled by the delightfully lethargic 

pace and technique with which 

melodies are spelled out) while the 

songs all exhibit much the same 

pulse and energy, and are clearly 

derived from the same lyrical miseen-scene. 

The language we travel through is 

a catalogue of child-like verity, sensory 

moments and nursery rhyme 

metaphors, which, if a little limited 

in scope, are nothing but truthfully 

communicated and convincing. 

The title-track ‘Lions in the Shade’ 

evokes the pleasant stupor of a summer 

afternoon drunkenly-spent in 

the company of friends, a collectivity 

stripped down to delightfully 

infantile perceptions – “my heart’s 

filled with wine/I like your beard, 

it’s longer than mine” – initiating 

a mood crystallised by the unruly 

sing-along chorus that closes the 

song. It is because these lyrics refuse 

to fear their own modesty that they 

are so profoundly succinct. There 

may be no ‘deeper insight’ for those 

who listen more searchingly, but 

there is a completely earnest and 

discovers a certain strength on the 

softer tracks (the album’s namesake 

‘First in Queue, Last in Line’, for instance) 

where its range becomes a 

potential that fulfils, and not a prerequisite 

hard to eclipse. Perhaps 

what the more feisty songs are asking 

for is a stabilized use of vocal 

harmonies, to generally establish 

a sense of character that could distinguish 

this group from the crowd, 

and maybe to echo the way the violin 

track interacts with chords and 

single notes. We are, arguably, in 

need of an injection of the sort of 

subtle temperament that connects a 

voice to a lyric, a song with a singer. 

Such disposition definitely surfaces 

at times, but too infrequently. 

The song-writing is at its best 

when it acknowledges its own unambiguous 

simplicity, when the 

lyrical hooks rest largely on the 

power of instrumental manoeuvres 

and effortless sentiment, as in the 

final track – the most mature and 

subtly placed of all the writing – 

and its simple refrain “I don’t want 

you near me/Don’t know what you 

came for”, justified by the song’s 

magnetic rhythm and pace. How- 

navigable truth to the writing that 

could bypass no one. 

The biggest strength of the EP is 

the sheer character and quality of 

the production, which constructs 

a watertight platform to hold the 

writing and instrumentation. Its 

opener ‘Lips’ builds with such a collective, 

yet esoteric, character that it 

gives the impression of something 

anthemic stripped to acoustic beginnings, 

the sensual inquisition of 

musical phrases and voices, independent 

yet absolutely unified. The 

simply beautiful ‘Wings’, in addition, 

is so perfectly entwined with 

its string track, reliving and wandering 

about the vocal melody, that 

it’s impossible to imagine the song 

another way, which is, arguably, the 

essential aim of any recording. It is 

this through-line, the embroidery 

pulling everything together, that 

makes this an exciting and promising 

release from a young outfit likely 

to grow into something well worth 

looking out for. 

The only cloying concern is that 

the record, though it never falls 

short of its targets, is still left searching 

for its own unique voice. ‘Lions 

in the Shade’ wears its influences 

immaculately on its sleeve, deftly 

synthesizing pieces of a preceding 

generation of innovative folk, but it 

is reassembling rather than renewing; 

it cannot lay claim to a new 

landscape, just a new mode of nego- 

ever, this track appears to subside 

in a new phase of the Loyalty Point 

canon - at a counterpoint to a few of 

the others, which seem sometimes 

lyrically a little crude and conceited 

– and suggests a new and brighter 

age of material. In fact, I would go 

as far as to say that this whole record 

is likely to be a pivotal moment for 

the band. Essentially, it appears on 

some level to be exorcising older 

work, putting certain songs down to 

fight for themselves, while enticing 

new breath into the folds – a combination 

of closure and inquiry. I 

would hope that the next release explores 

itself a little more, exceeding 

the impulse to simply testimonialise 

songs as they are, and sounding the 

greater depths of the studio. With a 

new producer, perhaps, who could 

directly bring challenging new 

voices into the mix, and a fresh set 

of songs, this group could pool their 

talents and release something decidedly 

more provoking. 

Hear tracks from this record at 

http://www.myspace.com/theloyaltypoint 

& purchase the MP3s at 

http://www.tunetribe.com. 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

‘Lions in the Shade’ EP by Dogs on Leash 

‘First in Queue, Last in Line’ by Loyalty Point 

Pick Up Our Next Edition For More From NOMADI... 

13 

tiating already established contours. 

As such, the way forward is likely to 

involve a complete surrender to all 

the indulgent impulses that musicians 

often instinctively resist. Of 

course, the important thing to recognize 

is that any limitations in this 

record seem also to be the sum of 

its strength, that these songs are in 

themselves accomplished, wholly 

fulfilled promises. For instance, I 

can’t see the EP’s formula stretching 

out to fill the obligatory ten tracks 

of an album, but this is no failure, 

it is rather part of its achievement. 

The charming lethargy of ‘Lions in 

the Shade’ pervades the EP in such 

a way that it seems as if the record 

would simply roll over and fall asleep 

rather than scratch out any more 

songs - that these tracks are but a 

brief interlude in a day-long nap, 

not a spectacle, and entirely content 

to be so. Perhaps any album to come 

from this company (in whatever arrangement 

they take) will be more 

decidedly ‘sleepless’, derive from 

tension rather than repose, and fill 

out into a new and provoking space. 

In short, I can only express a keen 

excitement at the prospect of seeing 

what happens when these lions 

leave their shade. 

You can hear tracks from this record 

@ http://www.myspace.com/ 

dogsonleash 

Review by 

Jamie Russell 

Band Members: 

James Marsden (Vocals/ 

Guitar/Percussion) Rich 

Morgan (Backing Vocals/ 

Guitar) Duncan Waugh 

(Violin) Sam Bennett (Bass) 

Influences: 

The main bulk of songwriting 

comes from James and 

Rich. Folk and acoustic 

music; Nick Drake and 

John Martyn. Also Stereophonics, 

The John Butler 

Trio and Muse such as Jeff 

Buckley and Conor Oberst 

(aka Bright Eyes)

4 ARTS Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

Paul Philo 

he Rose Tatoo VENUE: 

ost of Tennessee Williams other 

lays seem to draw from his Calinist 

background, where famly 

tragedy, guilty secrets, frustraions 

and rivalries are confined, 

or decorum’s sake, very much 

o the domestic sphere. Here, 

s a contrast, Williams taps into 

Catholic southern European 

ensibility (more Lorca country) 

here familial relationships are 

ery much on display to the wider 

ommunity. Under Pimlott’s and 

ytner’s direction, the pivotal event 

ere – the death of the husband of 

ur heroine Serafina delle Rose – is 

tripped of its gravitas but instead 

sed as the basis of an on-going 

arce. To aid and abet this comic 

trand is Zoe Wanamaker (as Serana) 

who readily engages in fierce 

rguments with her family – her 

et in Bolton, Rafta Rafta… is a 

odern adaptation, of Bill Naughon’s 

All in Good Time (written 

n the sixties) by Ayub Khan-Din, 

riter of East is East. Khan-Din 

ook the social issues in the origial 

play, which arose out of postar 

austerity and morality boiling 

own to a conflict between the 

enerations, and put them into 

context which we can associate 

ith today. To do this he has transosed 

the story into a contempoary 

Indian family, with all the imlications 

an Indian family brings, 

nd the result is comic genius. 

Rafta, Rafta… (Slowly, slowly) 

ells the story of two newly weds 

ho move in with the groom’s parnts 

until they can find themselves 

place of their own. As Atul, the 

room, played by Ronny Jhutti, apears 

to become more and more 

nhibited by his attention-seeking 

ather, his brother and friend’s 

hildish pranks and the pressure 

mother Assunta and her daughter 

Rosa and with the wider community 

including a Catholic priest; her 

prickly and relentlessly combative 

demeanour is comically expressed 

through English spoken with a 

marked Italian accent – at times 

of heightened emotion she reverts 

back into her mother tongue. Such 

a caricature also subtracts from any 

pathos we might feel for her for the 

lost of her husband and subsequent 

discovery that she had been unfaithful 

to him. 

Opposite to the daughter in The 

Glass Menagerie who is afraid to 

face the world even by her mid 

twenties, here we have Serafina’s 

15-year-old daughter Rosa who 

can’t wait to experience the adult 

pleasures of the world. Her wouldbe 

seducee (sic), the hapless sailor 

Jack, the local priest Father de Leo, 

and a passing salesman Alvaro, with 

whom Serafina has a fleeting liason 

that a new married life brings, living 

with his parents isn’t the only problem; 

nothing is happening in the 

bedroom. After six weeks, his stunning 

new virgin bride, the beautiful 

Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi, is 

still, well, just that, and their parents 

begin to panic! 

The result is side splitting comedy, 

and Khan-Din combines witty 

one liners with hilarious comic moments, 

perfectly timed. One of the 

issues the play deals with is that far 

too familiar generation gap between 

children and parent, and the play 

presents four caring parents, who 

just don’t seem to show it in the 

right way. Bollywood actor Harish 

Patel makes his first West End performance 

as Atul’s father Eeshwar, 

playing his role with comic precision 

and has wonderful moments 

simultaneously portraying a father’s 

naivety and ignorance. Meera Syal 

(Goodness Gracious Me and The 

Kumars at Number 42) also takes a 

lead role as Atul’s caring mother and 

despite the temptation to exaggerate 

a role that suits her so well, she 

all add to the gaiety of this piece. 

When you half expect the story-line 

to descend into a more harrowing 

tale of disillusion and loss or even 

madness characteristic of Tennessee 

Williams, it springs back into 

broad farce. This piece might well 

be subtitled: The Lighter Side to Bereavement 

and Marital Infidelity. 

It certainly surprised me that Williams 

could venture out into another, 

altogether more comic offering 

and reminds us that we shouldn’t so 

readily pigeon-hole playwrights into 

particular genres. A fun night out. 

Director: Steven Pimlott & Nicholas 

Hytner 

Starring: Zoe Wanamaker, Darrell 

D’Silva, Susannah Fielding & Andrew 

Langtree. 

THE ROSE TATTOO WILL BE 

AT THE NATIONAL UNTIL JUNE 

23RD. 

laying Happy Families 

Alex Turner 

played it with subtlety and tenderness. 

There are many truly touching 

moments in the performance, which 

are often spoilt by the father. 

We are used to seeing the Indian 

stereotype that is presented in the 

play in films such as Bend It Like 

Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, 

(the action might seem familiar), 

but when you experience it live on 

stage, it’s so much more awkward as 

Olivier, National Theatre, South Bank, 

London SE1 

DATE: Reviewed 28th April 2007 

PHOTO: ALASTAIR MUIR 

VENUE: Lyttelton Theatre, National 

Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 

you become so involved in the action, 

and although the production 

plays up on the Indian stereotype, 

which fits the action perfectly, the 

interactions and connections are 

seemingly real. It is impressive how 

the performance combines comedy 

and pathos so brilliantly, and at one 

moment there was a genuine gasp of 

surprise from most of the audience, 

demonstrating the power of live 

performance. 

Hytner’s intuitive set works superbly, 

as it succeeds in drawing you 

into the performance. The set takes 

the form of a colourful doll’s house, 

where the side has been removed, 

and we the audience are presented 

with the four central rooms of the 

house, the living room, kitchen, 

newly weds bedroom and the bedroom 

of the parents. We almost felt 

like a fly on the wall in their house, 

and you could almost smell the onion 

bhajis! This made the performance 

comfortable to watch, and 

the percussive soundscape of Bangra 

music did much to set the scene 

and delve you into the culture. 

This stunning piece of theatre 

does not just provide us with an 

insight into Indian culture and ideals, 

as the themes and characters are 

surprisingly familiar and not difficult 

to associate with! All you need 

have had in preparation to see this 

piece of theatre, are parents. 

Unfortunately it’s not in the National’s 

Travelex £10 season. But it’s 

worth paying more money to see 

this heart-warming production, and 

if you turn up 45 minutes before 

the performance with your student 

card, its £10 a seat if there are any 

left! One of the benefits of being a 

student! 

‘It’s life, son. It might make you 

laugh at your age, but one day it’ll 

make you bloody cry.’ 

This production, which explores 

the relationship between married 

couples and parents is a treat worth 

seeing, and it won’t just make you 

laugh – it will make you bloody cry 

with laughter. 

RAFTA RAFTA WILL BE BOOK- 

ING UNTIL JUNE 23RD.


Iolanthe Camps it up on Campus 

Savoy Opera Society takes off with its spring term production of ‘Iolanthe’. 

James Barry 

The production team of last term’s 

‘Iolanthe’ were clearly big fans of 

‘The Producers’, following one of 

its famous songs to the letter. ‘Iolanthe’ 

was light, it was bright and 

it was very, very gay. 

Gilbert and Sullivan are known 

for their witty, clever and often 

highly camp characters and songs, 

and the text of ‘Iolanthe’ is no exception. 

The titular character is a 

fairy, expelled from the land for loving 

a human and having his child. 

The (half-human half-fairy) child, 

Strephon, then falls in love with 

Phyllis, the daughter of the Lord 

Chancellor. Enter a cast of leaping 

lords, dancing fairies and a convoluted 

plot that ties everything up 

happily at the end as only Gilbert 

and Sullivan can. 

It is no wonder that with such 

material to work with they took 

the obvious route of adding further 

camp connotations to the piece, 

despite perhaps pushing it too far. 

The set and costume reflected this 

choice and were well done. Rachael 

Obin’s costume team worked in 

concert with René Holbach’s crew 

to pull out all the stops and make 

the production bright and colourful. 

Special mention must also go to 

the make up team, who had clearly 

invested a great deal of time getting 

the hair and makeup right with excellent 

results. With all this production 

talent on show it is a shame that 

it was channelled into such easy interpretation 

of the operetta. Making 

prancing lords and fairies camp was 

no great trouble for this team, who 

would have easily been capable of 

the subtle and insinuated. 

The actors too suffered from this 

problem, seeming at times misplaced 

and disjointed despite their best efforts. 

Dan Fletcher and William Branston 

pulled off their hyper-camp 

lords with ease and delight, high 

kicking their way across the stage 

together and jumping into each others 

arms at the appointed moments. 

Coupled with Phil Hooks’ depiction 

of the Lord Chancellor they were 

a riot, ribald and straight-laced by 

turns. Hooks also gave one of the 

key performances of the piece with 

an energetic and hilarious rendition 

about his dreams and nightmares. 

The comedy was crowned by Matthew 

Hallas, who’s disaffected yet 

engaging Private Willis stole many 

of scenes he was in. There was rarely 

a moment when parts of the audience 

was not laughing, though this 

came less from the dialogue or the 

actors themselves and more from 

their frolicking around on stage. 

Casual camp references and perfect 

tongue in cheek moments were 

overblown and gesticulated wildly 

to; much of the performance felt 

like someone was shouting “Look 

look! It’s funny because they are being 

camp! Wow!” at the audience. 

A little faith in the intelligence of 

the audience would not have gone 

amiss. 

First time Savoy lead James Pigeon 

(Strephon) gave as good as he 

got from veteran lead Kirstin Graham 

(Phyllis), and Charlotte Ferrin 

(Fairy Queen) and Jo Hargreaves 

(Iolanthe herself) did a great job for 

their first movement out from the 

chorus line. But the levity of the evening 

constrained their performances. 

The more serious, if they can be 

called that, passages of a Gilbert 

and Sullivan operetta only hold the 

necessary weight if they are a counterpoint 

to the comedy. Cordoned 

into such exaggerated camp-ness 

the actors struggled to give the plot 

based elements that thread the piece 

Webber’s sound is still ‘Alive’ 

Sarah Leaford 

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest 

West End offering, ‘The Sound of 

Music’ has had so much publicity, 

it is no wonder tickets are like gold 

dust. The most popular musical of 

all time, and then the best selling 

movie in film history, it was sure 

to do well at the Box Office. But 

throw in a clever reality TV style 

search for the lead role, and you’ve 

got a sure fire hit. Or have you? 

No one could have been more excited 

than me when I went to see the 

show last week. I’ve been a Sound of 

Music fan ever since I first saw the 

film, aged three, and it has become 

a staple not just every Christmas 

but at any other opportunity too. I 

own the video, the DVD, the two 

disc special edition DVD, the 40th 

Anniversary DVD, the book and the 

sound track. (Yes, I really am that 

cool.) I was also a big fan of the BBC 

hit ‘How Do You Solve A Problem 

like Maria’ which brought Connie 

Fisher to centre stage as Maria Von 

Trapp. So to say I went on Tuesday 

night with high expectations is 

something of an understatement. 

However, considering the expectations 

I had, the Sound of Music 

was overall a very impressive production. 

Fisher shone in her role 

as Maria, capturing the kind, playful 

and likeable spirit of the nunturned-nanny. 

Lesley Garret stole 

the show with her performance of 

‘Climb Every Mountain’, which she 

sang with a rousing passion and 

real emotion. Her close to the end 

of Act One was a definite ‘hairs on 

ESSENTIAL SUMMER READING 

‘Against Nature’ by J.K. Huysmans 

Will Sudlow 

‘Against Nature’ is one of the great 

novels of the fin-de-siècle, typifying 

all the ideals of the turn of the 20th 

century, anticipating many of the 

strains of modernism in its appreciation 

of Baudelaire, Moreau, Redon, 

Mallarme and Poe. The protagonist 

of this highly allusive work is des 

Esseintes, a neurasthenic aristocrat, 

who, now physically pained by the 

the back of the neck’ moment. Ian 

Gelder as Max was also fantastic, 

as was Lauren Ward as the Baroness. 

Even Christopher Dickins as the 

Captain was perfectly cast, despite 

actually being the understudy. 

In fact, no member of the cast 

stood out as weak. Weak elements 

of the show were more in Lloyd 

Webber’s arrangement of the music 

and Arlene Philip’s choreography. 

The poignant love song ‘Something 

Good’ was rushed and over too 

quickly and this seemed the way 

of many of the musical numbers. 

The famous musical interlude for 

a dance sequence in ‘I am Sixteen’ 

was cut and ‘Do Re Mi’ was missing 

that all too important reprise. But in 

fairness to Lloyd Webber, there is an 

awful lot to squeeze in such a short 

amount of time, and overall he did 

many plebians chattering in their 

ugly accents about mindless dross, 

shuffling aimlessly in their hunched, 

presumably Burberry clad, figures 

and having had his fill of the vulgarity 

of modern life, retreats from 

it absolutely. Accompanied by two 

tacit and unvoiced servants he pursues 

idiosyncratic and eccentric 

obsessions and ideas in isolation, 

speculating on artificiality and reality 

with exotic flowers, colours and 

together appeal. One emotional 

moment between Hooks’ Chancellor 

and Hargreaves’ Iolanthe was 

well played and you could see the 

two desperate to make it work, but 

through no fault of theirs the audience 

was waiting for the punch line 

as the scene was book ended with 

slapstick. 

The music was in a similar form to 

the acting; moving between the uplifting 

and the comic the score was 

light and enjoyable but hammered 

home in parts to make a point. The 

orchestra was perfect for the piece, 

with particular praise going to the 

clarinettist Vanessa Ball. Competent 

singing was also on show, and 

though some of the voices were not 

mind-blowing they all gave their 

best to produce a loud and pleasant 

sound. The choreography was at 

times spasmodic however, with several 

pieces working very well while 

others lacked any flair or originality. 

Indeed the movement and blocking 

of several scenes were copied 

step for step from other shows, even 

using in-jokes and references that 

felt clumsy and concrete blocking 

that did not sit well with the rest of 

the performance as a whole. At one 

point I found only one other audi- 

this very well. There was even time 

to look a little more at the political 

side of the story, something which 

is slightly sugar coated over in the 

film. This is actually of benefit to 

the show, because it gives it a bit 

of depth which – dare I say it – the 

film sometimes lacks. Captain von 

Trapp rejects his wealthy Austrian 

fiancee precisely because she is prepared 

to accommodate the Nazis; 

and it is a reminder of the opposition 

to any form of oppression that 

runs through all Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 

work. Sometimes this 

quest for depth is unsuccessful – for 

example, when Rolf (Neil McDermott) 

smokes a cigarette throughput 

his love scene with Liesl (Sophie 

Bould), but overall it is a welcome 

addition. 

I would have liked to see a big 

light, complex scents and perfumes, 

and rare jewels. He then engages in 

increasingly outlandish aesthetic 

experiments, the most notable being 

his decision to decorate his pet 

tortoise, encrusting its shell with excessive 

jewels, from which it dies. 

Yes, I know it’s not exactly in the 

lethargic spirit of the true decadent 

(so to is it against the typical student 

disposition) to rise from plush 

chairs to grasp with pallid fingers a 

book… but… the only remedy for 

the post exam boredom is to retreat, 

from this brusque world of disheart- 

tf 

ARTS 

15 

Arts Editor: 

beth@thefounder.co.uk 

Editor: 


ence member and myself laughing 

at a ‘Pirates of Penzance’ in-joke 

that fell flat with the rest of the audience 

who were rightly confused at 

its use. 

There is no denying that the 

performance was light, funny and 

enjoyable. A fun evening despite 

and often because of its quirks, it 

was clearly successful both with 

the audience and at the box office. 

However it seems to me that the 

Savoy Opera Society has gone from 

strength to strength in the last few 

years because of its understanding 

of the material and it’s ability to balance 

out the serious with the satirical, 

rather than by imposing slightly 

marginal reading of the text. Good 

performances, comic ideas and a 

very clear design seem to have hit 

the mark they were aiming for, with 

the result being pantomime rather 

than operetta, but very good pantomime 

come to that. It was funny, it 

was high camp and it tried hard but 

the question really is – was it Gilbert 

and Sullivan or Mel Brooks? 

For the full article and other additional 

articles and pictures visit 

our new and improved website at 

www.thefounder.co.uk. 

VENUE: London Palladium, Oxford St. 

WEB: www.soundofmusiclondon.com/ 

rousing cast number (I have, for example, 

seen ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ 

done as a village scene) and certainly 

a more convincing chemistry between 

Maria and the Captain, who 

seem to go from colleagues to lovers 

in the blink of an eye, wouldn’t have 

gone amiss. However, overall the 

show was fantastic. Really fantastic. 

It did a film, a story and a legacy 

real justice, was well cast, brilliantly 

performed and emotionally provocative. 

Admittedly, I cried once 

simply because I was that excited 

to be watching it (oh dear…), but it 

would take a heart of stone not to be 

moved by the finale. Tickets may be 

like gold dust, but do whatever you 

can to get hold of one, You won’t regret 

it. 

‘The Sound of Music’ will be 

booking 29th March 2008. 

ening bathos, to your rooms (when 

the weather takes another turn for 

the worse) and recline upon a capacious, 

buxom, upholstered chaiselongue 

and dive into this curious 

philosophy on the composition and 

disposition of base humanity. 

If this isn’t your sort of book you 

could always just read “The Very 

Hungary Caterpillar”. 

*** 

Against Nature (A Rebours) 

J.K. Huysman 

Penguin Books: £8.99 

www.thecollegebookshop.co.uk

6 MEDIA Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

Media 

Contribute to this section: 

dan@thefounder.co.uk 

michael@thefounder.co.uk 

Editor’s Note 

Last September I was approached 

by Jack Lenox, who was looking 

for support for what was then 

simply an enticing idea. He was 

picking out people who would 

become editors of the various 

sections of a weekly newspaper. 

The paper in your hands, the fruition 

of Jacks very idea, has gone 

from being sneered at to a publication 

which many people now 

see as a staple of printed media 

here at Royal Holloway. 

I wanted to use this week’s 

editors note to thank everyone, 

students and staff, for their continued 

support in this endeavor 

and also to thank Mr. Lenox for 

letting me be a part of this publications 

humble beginnings. But 

alas, after almost a year of being 

Media Editor of The Founder, it is 

time for me to say goodbye. It is 

not truly goodbye at all since I’ll 

be writing a few pieces a term for 

The Founder, but this is indeed 

the end of my tenure as Media 

Editor for the foreseeable future. 

To Royal Holloway: keep reading; 

to everyone who believed in 

Film News 

This week saw the first substantial 

signs for a while that the popular 

television series Sex in the 

City, which revolved around the 

lives, relationships and troubles 

of four thirty something Manhattan 

women, is the going to have 

a spin-off feature length film. Ever 

since the show came to an end 

the idea of a film has always been 

knocking about, but as Sarah Jessica 

Parker, Kristen Davis, Kim Catrall 

and Cynthia Nixon all went 

on to individual projects after the 

show ended things stalled almost 

immediately. Also, rumours of 

on-set tension between the costars 

plagued the possibility of a 

film actually ever getting off the 

ground. However, Mario Cantone 

(series regular and Charlotte’s 

best gay friend) while talking to 

MTV, said that Michael Patrick 

King, an executive producer, director 

and writer of the show had 

contacted him in regards to his 

availability in the autumn to start 

filming. The only concern is that 

none of the four stars themselves 

have officially signed up yet so 

things could still go wrong as it 

seems unimaginable to make 

a film of the series without all 

this publication from the beginning: 

The people who are crazy 

enough to think they can change 

things are usually the ones who 

do; and finally to my fellow editors: 

remember, we’ve done what 

some said was impossible, and 

that makes us mighty! (A prize to 

anyone who can tell me where 

that quote was from! – email address 

below.) 

This week, we have a smaller 

section than usual due to a smaller 

paper. Two reviews grace the 

film pages this week, as Michael 

Keating reviews the disappointing 

28 Weeks Later, and fellow 

Media Editor Michael Dean reviews 

the fun but ultimately 

bloated summer blockbuster 

that is Pirates of the Caribbean 3: 

At World’s End. 

I’ll be holding this post until 

the end of this academic year to 

edit and design this section, so 

keep sending reviews etc. in to 

my email address below. 

Stay classy Royal Holloway! 

Dan Nicholls 


fourof them appeaingin it. 

It seems that recently Hollywood 

has latched onto a new 

trend of movies; 80s kids cartoon 

shows. Yes, with Michael Bays live 

action interpretation of Transformers 

due to hit UK screens on the 

27th of July, and the recent CGI 

animated Teenage Mutant Ninja 

Turtles film, this week yet another 

nostalgia tinted animated show is 

apparently going to get the live 

action treatment. Producer Joel 

Silver along with Warner Brothers 

has reportedly show a great interest 

in bringing He-Man to the big 

screen. The intention is apparently 

to make the film using the 

same in techniques as the recent 

300. So that should mean it being 

shot on green screen sets and 

having an extremely stylised look 

and colouring. Although probably 

not the easiest hero to translate 

to film, anything can surely be an 

improvement on the dreadful 80s 

live action versions staring Dolph 

Lundgren in the title role. 

Michael Dean 


28 Weeks Later 

By Michael Keating 

Director: John Fresnadillo 

Starring: Robert Carlyle, 

Jeremy Renner, Harrold 

Perrineau 

Rating: 18 

Running time: 125 mins 

28 Weeks Later begins with Don 

(Robert Carlyle) making one of the 

all-time great relationship mistakes: 

running off and leaving his wife 

to get eaten by zombies while she 

screams for help. The start of the 

film follows his struggle to deal with 

the consequences of his actions as 

he is reunited with his son Andy 

(Mackintosh Muggleton) and his 

daughter Tammy (Imogen Poots) as 

Britain is repopulated. 

The film’s focus soon broadens and 

examines the American occupation 

of Britain, which is really a study 

of the American occupation of 

Iraq. Or at least, that’s what it could 

have been. The director seems to 

acknowledge that the comparison of 

the two situations could have taken 

place and given this film a striking 

discourse on the subject, but 

ultimately seems to ignore it. Things 

quickly start to go wrong all over the 

city as a series of events involving 

a few military errors lead to the 

contamination of District One, and 

it is at this point that 28 Weeks Later 

falls into the standard zombie movie 

pattern; the core group of characters 

meet up, and lots of people die 

various unfortunate deaths in some 

well-paced and frequently disgusting 

action set-pieces. Once the credits 

roll you can’t help but feel deflated. 

The film is hugely disappointing, 

but who actually thought that the 

film would be on par with the first? 

Where Danny Boyle relied on fear 

for the first film scares, Fresnadillo 

instead opts for making you jump – 

hardly something to be proud about. 

The gritty feeling is lost thanks to a 

production sheen that comes into 

play about a quarter of the way 

through the movie and the creeping 

silence experienced in the infamous 

London landmark sequence from 

the first film is overused to the 

point where it shows the director 

simply did not get what made it so 

unnerving in the first place. 

The atmospheric soundtrack that 

accompanied the first film stagnates 

during the running time of this 

sequel due to, again, Fresnadillos 

overuse of the main theme. One can’t 

help but wonder if the composer, 

John Murphy, actually showed up 

for work at all during production. 

My final remaining qualm with the 

film lays with the director and his 

inability to establish and/or maintain 

any sense of geography, which is 

pretty vital to any film. A sequence 

which exemplifies this is the films 

opening, in which rage-engulfed 

people attack several survivors in 

a farmhouse. The action is overly 

blurry and you’re left with no sense 

of what is actually going on, where 

the enemy is coming from or where 

the people need to run, which is 

surely a prerequisite for any type of 

anticipation? 

While it’s certainly 

bigger and faster than 

its predecessor, 28 Weeks 

retains the first film’s focus 

on the ways relationships 

endure though sadly (and 

predictably) simply doesn’t 

live up to its predecessor. 

But if we’re being honest, 

there should never have 

been a sequel to 28 Days 

Later in the first place, and 

this film proves that point. 

1/5


By Michael Dean 

Director: Gore Verbinski 

Starring: Johnny Depp, 

Geoffrey Rush, Orlando 

Bloom, Keira Knightley 

Running time: 195 mins 

Rating: 12A 

Film 

Vue Cinemas, Staines 

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End 

When Pirates of the Caribbean: The 

Curse of the Black Pearl was released 

back in 2003, it succeeded not only 

in reviving the genre of the pirate 

movie but, due to it’s undeniably 

entertaining nature, it also came as a 

breath of fresh air in what was a fairly 

stagnant summer for the Hollywood 

blockbuster (Hulk, Charlie’s Angels: 

Full Throttle, Terminator 3, Matrix 

Reloaded). Instantly it became a 

classic and was both critically and 

publicly acclaimed. This success 

though makes it all the more tragic 

that four years on with the third 

instalment the makers of the original 

have strayed so far of course they 

seem to be totally lost at sea. 

The plot carries straight on from 

where Dead Man’s Chest left off 

with Elizabeth (Knightley) and Will 

(Bloom) finding themselves aligned 

with the recently reanimated 

Captain Barbossa (Rush) in order 

to release Jack Sparrow (Depp) 

from Davy Jones’ locker. Beyond 

this the story becomes not so much 

confusing (though it does have its 

moments) as over-complicated. 

In an attempt not only to tie up all 

the series’ loose ends while at the 

same time introducing a plethora 

of new previously unmentioned 

aspects, the film simply ends up 

ferrying the characters all over the 

seven seas, bogging itself down in 

scene after scene of dull dialogue 

between the protagonists. This 

leads to the constant prohibiting 

of any of the same sense of fun and 

adventure that made the first film 

so entertaining. All these down falls 

can probably be attributed to the fact 

that the film started shooting before 

actually having a finished shooting 

script. Throughout the sense that 

the writers Ted Elliott and Terry 

Rossio are simply making it up as 

they go along is always frustratingly 

prominent 

The annoyance of these lengthy 

scenes of dialogue is not helped 

by the fact that many of them 

feature both Bloom and Knightley, 

whose questionable acting abilities 

may have been passable in the 

previous action heavy films but 

this time are painfully apparent. 

Knightley’s faultless features remain 

inexpressive during most of the 

proceedings, coupled with her 

trying theatrical English accent 

whilst Bloom simply flounders out 

of his depth, as usual, along side the 

more talented members of the cast. 

Luckily for the audience, both Depp 

and Rush keep the quality of the 

performances afloat. Though even 

as entertaining as they both are in 

their Pirate personas, they too suffer 

from the films overblown running 

time, inevitably leaving a slight 

feeling of saturation from both 

Sparrow and Barbossa. 

When the film does actually get 

around to providing its audience 

with some action this is only supplied 

in short fragmented bursts, leaving 

a total lack of fulfilment. After its 

joylessly slow pace, the sense that 

things are some how building to 

an electrifying climax is let down 

by the drawn out CGI showdown 

between the Black Pearl and the 

Flying Dutchman as they both fight 

whilst caught in a whirlpool. As 

visually impressive this half an hour 

battle may be, it becomes far to 

detached due to it’s over reliance on 

Competitions: Disney & Universal 

Who said the following line and where did they say 

it (actor, character and movie)? 

‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!’ 

We have two sets of prizes this time round, and they are 

as follows: 

From Disney: 

1 x Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Notebook, 

1 x Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End t-shirt. 

From Universal: 

1 x The Hitcher cap, 1 x The Hitcher t-shirt, 1 x The Hitcher 

shoulder bag. 

Answers to competitions@thefounder.co.uk 

computer trickery to create any real 

sense of amazement. Undoubtedly 

the special effect are some of the 

best seen recently but like so many 

things in the film they are blunted by 

an overly complicated and generally 

boring script. 

There is no doubt that Pirates of 

the Caribbean: At World’s End will 

be a huge success financially, that 

certainty was secured by the first 

films accomplished nature and mass 

appeal, but it does seem a great 

shame that through both the sequels 

the series’ creators have managed to 

lose hold of what essentially made 

The Curse of the Black Pearl so great; 

the fact it was just a fun movie that 

didn’t take it’s self too seriously. 

FILM 

Despite the usual foray 

of cutting edge effects 

and Depp doing what he 

does best as Jack Sparrow, 

Pirates of the Caribbean: 

At World’s End sinks to 

the ocean depths due to 

a messy, dull, and twisty 

plot that for the most part 

is devoid of any real fun or 

engaging entertainment. 

2/5 

17

18 MUSIC Wednesday 30 May 2007 thefounder 

By Guy Snowden 

Zenyth: 

Alone EP 

This slick 4 track EP showcases 

Zenyth’s potential as a fun-time 

Rock’n’Roll band, with a deep, 

crunchy guitar sound and a tight 

rhythm section. Rock and Roll 

you say? Yes, Rock and Roll is long 

dead. But with the pounding, offbeat 

opening to “Speak to me”, Zenyth 

firmly establish from the word 

go that they are not just some deluded 

bunch of 70’s rock revivalists. 

The juxtaposition of an eerie and 

downbeat verse and a big stadium 

filling chorus also washes away 

such presumptions, harking back 

to the days of late eighties and early 

nineties grunge. This theme is continued 

in “Second Time Round”, 

Crossword 

Su Doku 

which is the undeniable hook in 

this outing. All-in-all though, this 

probably won’t convince many that 

Zenyth are a force to be reckoned 

with, though it certainly shows that 

Zenyth have the potential to grow 

and have plenty more up their 

sleeve. 

Given that they were 

only signed to Fruitcage 

records merely 3 months 

ago, it would be perilous 

to write these lads off. 

The full album release 

planned for later this year 

may yet shove them further 

into the limelight. 

Rating 2/5 

Music 

w w w . c d - w o w . c o m / t h e f o u n d e r 

thefounder editorial team 

Editor-in-Chief 

Jack Lenox 

jack@thefounder.co.uk 

Assistant Editor 

Lara Stavrinou 

lara@thefounder.co.uk 

News Editor 

Tim Ruffles 

tim@thefounder.co.uk 

Campus 

News Editor 

Joe Fitzpatrick 

joe@thefounder.co.uk 

Media Editors 

Dan Nicholls 


Michael Dean 


Proof readers 

Veronica Paez, Helen Johnson 

Business Manager 

Simon Hepher 

simon@thefounder.co.uk 

Deputy Editor 

Will Sudlow 

will@thefounder.co.uk 

Arts Editor 

Beth Turrell 

beth@thefounder.co.uk 

Sports Editor 

Allison Ealey 

allison@thefounder.co.uk 

Want to write for thefounder? 

No problem! Just get in touch! 

Many thanks to Russell Signs, CDWOW!, Vue Cinemas and 

Philippa Johnson 

The Founder is the independent student newspaper of Royal Holloway, University of London. We distribute 4,000 

free copies per week during term time around campus and to popular student venues in and around Egham. 

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editor-in-Chief or 

of Three Wise Munkeys Ltd, especially of comment and opinion pieces. Every effort has been made to contact the 

holders of copyright for any material used in this issue, and to ensure the accuracy of this week’s stories. 

Please contact the Editor-in-Chief if you are aware of any omissions or errors. 

For advertising and sponsorship enquiries contact the Business Manager: simon@thefounder.co.uk. 

Post 

The Founder 

C/O VP:ComServ 

Students’ Union 

Royal Holloway 

University of London 

Egham, Surrey 

TW20 0EX 

Web 

www.thefounder.co.uk 

Email 


The Founder is published by Three Wise Munkeys Ltd and printed by quotemeprint.com 

All copyright is the exclusive property of Three Wise Munkeys Ltd 

No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or submitted in 

any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher. 

Designed by Jack Lenox, Will Sudlow and Dan Nicholls 

© Three Wise Munkeys Ltd, 2007. 53 Glebe Road, Egham, Surrey, TW2o 8BU


Sports 

Blair’s Sporting Legacy 

Barry de Silva 

As Tony Blair calls time on his 

premiership, members of the media, 

public and former politicians 

have started to contemplate his ten 

years in charge at number 10. In 

the sporting arena, has Blair been 

a gold medal winner or has he been 

awarded the wooden spoon? 

Some will certainly state that 

Blair was a crucial cog in winning 

the 2012 Olympic bid. However, he 

has stumbled at bringing through 

quality athletes at a grass roots level. 

This is mainly down to Blair’s inability 

to produce and nurture potential 

athletes for the future via the education 

system in the UK. This has 

been represented by the number of 

competitors coming from the independent 

sector (which represents a 

mere 7% of schools in the UK) and 

which is vastly superior to that of 

the state sector in terms of numbers. 

For example in 2003, 11 of the 

31 members of the Rugby Union 

World Cup winning squad were 

from public schools. Added to this 

45% of Britain’s medal winners at 

As the term draws near an end, 

and the typical end of school year 

articles are due to come out, clubs, 

societies, classes, and sports teams 

will no doubt reflect on this past 

academic year and the failures 

or successes that came of them. 

As Sports Editor, I am no different 

in this regard, as I sit and reflect 

on what I have learned about 

sports both from the perspective 

of Sports Editor, and as a first time 

student at a British university. The 

Royal Holloway website claims the 

university as “The University of 

London’s best sporting college”, 

but does anyone know what this 

means? Our teams are competitive, 

and our athletes excel, but at 

a university-wide level, how can 

Holloway improve? And from who 

can we learn? I think that American 

universities offer a lot to be 

learned about university athletics, 

but not in a way many might assume. 

Obviously, anyone at least marginally 

familiar with the American 

the Athens Olympics were privately 

educated, whilst over 90% of the 

England squad announced for the 

forthcoming test series against the 

West Indies have had a privileged 

upbringing. 

Even though Blair has pumped 

money into sport by a means of Na- 

tional Lottery funding, the finance 

has failed to be used constructively. 

The non existence of an independent 

drugs agency in the UK seems to be 

naïve as doping has become a controversial 

part of sport worldwide 

in the last decade, and with nations 

like Australia and the Unites States 

One that falls at the last 

hurdle? 

possessing their own, 

Britain seems to be still 

living in the dark-ages on 

this policy. The presence 

of Richard Caborn as 

minister for sport seems 

to overshadow any future 

development of an antidoping 

agency in the UK 

at present as he strongly 

opposes it. 

Blair’s introduction of 

academies of education 

up and down the country 

in the last 10 years were 

said to promote a message 

of a ‘strong and healthy 

competition’ for students. 

They have failed to do this. 

Instead sporting competition 

in the state sector 

is non-existent in some 

parts of the country with many 

heads taking a very old-fashioned 

left-wing view of ‘well done for taking 

part.’ This ideology is never going 

to encourage the sporting stars 

of the future. Instead, look at the 

Australian philosophy - sport being 

a part of everyday life and something 

to enjoy with friends and fam- 

ily. This hasn’t done them any harm 

looking at their sporting success in 

the recent past. 

Some may criticise Blair for not 

enough ‘change’ on the sporting 

field, nevertheless he will be remembered 

in years to come for his 

influential presence in Singapore 

when he swung a crucial 4 votes 

in Britain’s favour to win the 2012 

Olympics. Pat Hickey, an International 

Olympic Committee member 

in Ireland, said that Blair was “absolutely 

superb. The four votes that 

were in it were definitely because he 

was in town. If he hadn’t come here, 

those votes were lost”. Certainly in 

this case, Blair’s influence on where 

the 2012 Olympic Games went was 

monumental. 

Despite Blair’s late revival in his 

sporting legacy by securing the London 

2012 Olympic Games, it seems 

premature and unfair to deem it 

a success or a failure at this stage. 

Only time will tell as to whether or 

not Blair’s name will be written into 

the sporting history books for eternity. 

University Sports: An American Perspective 

Alison Ealey 

Sports Editor 

university athletics system, the National 

Collegiate Athletic Association 

(NCAA), realizes that comparing 

it with British universities is 

like comparing apples… and some 

fruit no one has even heard of. The 

money, participation, ticket sales, 

and facilities are, to use a sports 

analogy, in another ballpark from 

British universities. Many universities 

are based around their athletic 

programs, from the revenue it 

brings to the university, the notoriety 

a successful season can provide, 

to the way student life is completely 

dependent upon university athletics. 

Facilities are maintained and often 

have capacities holding 20,000- 

50,000 spectators, as Holloway is 

debating the usefulness of an Astroturf 

pitch. 

Aside from the differences in finances 

is, perhaps, a more important 

issue. The methods by which 

students engage in university athletics 

are drastically different. As 

opposed to serving as a source of 

student unification, university athletics 

appear to be disconnected and 

discordant. Through investigating 

for the paper, I was able to find that 

the university, until very recently, 

had no mascot. Yes, almost twenty 

years ago, there was a bear named 

Colossus, but even with the return 

of the Holloway polar bear, teams 

are still called a variety of things, 

from Vikings, to bears, to whichever 

they feel suits them best. There is 

no thread tying teams together, no 

icon for students to identify with, 

and this offers little opportunities 

for students to gain from this larger 

sense of community. Even the university’s 

colors are a bit of a guess to 

some new students. Purple, green, 

and white, are featured on many 

uniforms, but are not prominently 

featured elsewhere on the university, 

including signage, or on merchandise 

featuring the university. 

Information concerning athletic 

societies and teams is even scattered, 

at best. When attempting to 

hunt down team captains and society 

presidents for various Founder 

articles, the contact information 

for students is often out of date, if 

it is available at all. It appears that 

for students to become involved in 

sport they must begin at Fresher’s 

week, when they have face-to-face 

contact with team representatives, 

as there are little other opportunities 

to do so. If attempting to follow 

the success of a team, hunting down 

their record must be done through 

filtering through pages of results 

on the BUSA (British Universities 

Sports Associations) or ULU (University 

of London Union) websites. 

If one is so brave as to dig through 

the massive amounts of information 

on both of these athletic leagues, 

they must also be brave enough to 

learn the system in the first place. To 

know which team is in which union, 

playing games on which days of the 

week is quite a task for a non-participant 

wishing to remain informed 

about a team, or to show up and 

support one. Even in attempting to 

write an article about Colours Ball 

winners, it appears that to be in the 

know, one must be on a team, as the 

information doesn’t appear on the 

Students’ Union, university, or other 

relevant websites. American universities 

have athletic departments, full 

of full-time staff, maintaining the 

most up-to-date websites featuring 

game schedules, rosters, results, 

photos, videos, and news articles 

SPORTS 

19 

thefounder 

allison@thefounder.co.uk 

available to the public. Although the 

Founder, the students’ union, and 

other organizations have attempted 

to keep the Holloway student body 

informed of sporting news, it is ultimately 

the responsibility of the university 

to do so. Taking a note from 

our American counterparts, British 

universities should treat athletics as 

a business, one that benefits both 

the students and the university, and 

should treat them as such. By keeping 

students informed, interest will 

remain high, and Holloway athletics 

can evolve to a new position within 

student life. Perhaps then it will become 

a part of Holloway university 

culture to plan afternoons around 

rugby matches, meet up with friends 

to cheer on the hockey team, or to 

pop into a mixed martial arts tournament 

to see what its like. As students, 

there is interest present, but 

the methods of communication and 

of information from the university 

level must be addressed. When this 

happens, we can all walk away winners.

BROWNS - The Founder

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?