OMG Mag September 2009
description
Transcript of OMG Mag September 2009
OMG!
What a teaM?!www.omgstaffs.com
EditorsAlly Hanlon
Stephen Stringer
NewsKieran Jones
EntertainmentAdam Mallaby
AdviceSalma Nazir
LifestyleLaurence Mozafari
SportMark Perrow
Media DevelopmentTommy Hill
SupportStaffordshire Students’ Union
The views and opinions
expressed in OMG are those of
the individual authors and are
not necessarily those of
Staffordshire University
Students’ Union or of the
Editors. OMG is part of One
Media Group, the student-led
media team at Staffordshire
University. It is entirely funded
by the Students’ Union.
Hello and wel-
come to the new
look student
media brand.
After much delib-
eration and
stressful meet-
ings we came to
the conclusion of recreating the
brand, giving it a revamp and calling
it oMG!
This year the magazine will have two
editors: Ally and myself Steve. We
decided to take on the position as a
team to allow all areas of the maga-
zine some much needed attention,
with my area being design, hence, the
format and (hopefully), interesting
design.
So, what do we have in store for the
coming year...we want to make this
magazine something for students to
be proud of, as well as giving all a
chance to be involved.
Finally i would like to welcome some
new and old faces back to the editori-
al team, who have all been working
hard over the past few weeks to get
this issue together. Believe me, it has-
n’t been easy! So thank you guys and
keep up the hard work!
Steve!
This summer
has been pretty
hectic for all of
us at one
Media Group,
but we’re very
happy to finally
welcome you
all to the new print medium, oMG!
– Especially, those new to Staffs.
Firstly, i’d like to thank all of our
Section Editors who have worked
extremely hard over summer.
We’re really proud of you guys! Mr.
Tommy Hill - What can i say? i’m
really pleased to have you on
board. Thanks so much.
My area is content (i.e. words and
making sure that there is actually
something to read in the maga-
zine)! This year we’re really keen to
be creative and get EVErYoNE
involved. You can get involved on
any level you want – with words,
photographs, art, ideas of what you
want to see in future issues, feed-
back and much, much more.
our contact details can be found on
this page, along with our mug
shots. We can’t wait to hear from
you.
Enjoy!
Ally xox
EDiToriAL
CoNTENTS
- News
- Entertainment
- Advice
- Lifestyle
- Sport
www.omgstaffs.com
Ember Lounge staff have had to put
up with a small kitchen, angry students who
have had to wait too long for food and a very
dingey atmosphere.
Finally, the wait is over and your
Students’Union officers listened to complaints
and decided to get to work.
over the summer, the Ember Lounge has had a
massive amount of investment, allowing for a
much needed extension and refurbishment
works. The kitchen has been moved to a larger
area and more equipment installed, along with
a new food preparation area that is double the
original size. This will allow increased volume
and speed of food service, reducing waiting
times at busy periods.
There has also been an extension providing
more space, which will seat an additional 50
people. This will help ensure that people can
get seats even at the busiest times, like the
lunch time rush.
rebecca Mclellan, Commercial Service officer
said: “The problem was the facilities. The
kitchen area in the Ember Lounge, wasn’t big
enough for two members of staff to cook food
in there comfortably and within a reasonable
time, let alone the four members of staff that
had to be in their during the lunch period.”
These improvements were needed to deal with
the extra demand for food that the Students’
Union experienced last year, across all it’s
venues, but particularly in the Ember Lounge.
Many of the improvements have been made
behind the scenes and therefore, will not be
noticed, except by staff. There has also been the
introduction of a new food menu and extended
hours for food service, now serving late into
the evening.
The refurbishment has seen new furnishings as
well as new colours, fabrics and materials. This will
really help ensure that Ember Lounge remains
modern and attractive, providing a comfortable
place to relax.
rebbecca Mclellan also said: “For the people that
want to enjoy the newly decorated venue and it’s
menu, it means they now have more seating, and
with the new bigger and better kitchen fitted, wait-
ing 40-50mins for your food should be a thing of
the past”.
Student, Adam Joshua Cann, said: “i think the
extra space will go a long way to making it more
accessible to students on campus. At times it was
excessively busy and didn’t create the easy going,
relaxed vibe you would expect from a union bar.
With this extra space and new decor, however,
Ember Lounge has the potential to provide a far
more appealing space for students to chill out
between lectures”.
All the work is thanks to an investment partner-
ship with the university, allowing the union to
expand and develop Ember Lounge.
This investment should really help to further
increase the popularity of an already popular union
facility and provide an improved service for stu-
dents.
The Ember Lounge has seen better days, so union officers
decided a face lift was in need, ready for the new year! By Kieran Jones
NeWs
Ember revamp!
From Welcome Week 2009, LrV will
launch a new jewel in its crown with the opening of
a new second room and mini club.
For those who attended this year’s Summer Ball,
the new room may be familiar as the exclusive ViP
space – though it looks pretty different today.
Transformed into an urban-scape, complete with
wall-to-wall graffiti, it’s the perfect underground
partner to the sleek LrV next door and will play host
to a range of new niche nights and student-run
events to step up the programme of events on offer
at the Union.
Clash, the new indie, rock and alternative night will
run on Wednesday nights alongside LrV’s Gobble,
with Unfinished Business, a new hip hop and
r ‘n’ B night running each Friday along-
side the main room’s Super Friday.
Student-run events will also be hosted in the new
room, including the forthcoming Headbanger’s Ball,
hosted by the Metal Society on Halloween; the
new rock and rave night (keep your eyes peeled
for further details) and a Bhangra event on 22
october as part of one World week.
And we’re always looking for new events and
ideas to step up the programme of events on offer
in this fantastic new space, and Stafford as well. if
you think you can run a night your fellow students
will love then we’ll help you in setting up, promot-
ing and running the event – just email:
[email protected] for a chat or more details.
LrV Part 2
Who gnomes if lecturers do laugh atyour work...
A first year student studying Biology at Staffordshire
University made a major blunder whilst writing an essay. They
were meant to be writing an essay on genomes, which is to do
with the study of genes. instead, however, the student wrote
an essay on “the science of gnomes”.
This blunder was listed in the Times annual exam howler
competition, after the Biology lecturer sent it in. other blun-
ders from various universities included a student who said the
French resistance found the internet useful and a politics stu-
dent who talked about “first parcel post”, when referring to
the British electoral system, first past the post.
NeWs
Hello from your officers!
Hi we’re your new officer team! Each
year students elect a team to run the union and
stand up for students and represent them whilst at
University.
All Union officers are either students or have
recently graduated. The full time officer team is
made up of the President, Education and Welfare,
Student Activities, Commercial Services, and
Communications officers. There is also a student
council made up of 38 part time officers, who all
represent you and your views. Students are also
more than welcome, and are encouraged to come
along to council to get involved. if you want to
come along then check out the Union website for
info.
While you have been enjoying the summer we
have been working hard to make sure the first few
weeks of term and your time here is really exciting.
in August the real work began and in the short
time between writing this article and starting we
already have a number of campaigns we have been
taking forward. All the officer team are really excit-
ed and looking forward to the year ahead.
over the last few weeks we have been in negotia-
tions with the University over plans to re-open off
campus accommodation at Carlton house which
was closed in 2008 due to its poor condition. We
have successfully managed to get a better deal for
these students, with a view to alternative accom-
modation being provided by the end of the first
semester.
other campaigns that we are working on
include: better provision for student parents and
their children on campus, a safety campaign to
get students to think about their safety on their
way home, on nights out, and in their homes. We
are improving the academic rep system so that
you have a voice on your course and have a rep-
resentative who you know who can speak to the
university and the union on your behalf. We are
working to make improvements at the Stafford
campus and are campaigning to the university to
get new facilities and the funding for these. We
will be doing events during black history month,
one world week, green week, and many more. in
this next year there is also going to be a general
election and so we will be campaigning and work-
ing to get students registered to vote, and also
fighting the continuing and increasing threat that
the BNP hold over this area.
We, the officer team are really looking forward
to this academic year, and we hope that you are
too! if you would like to get more involved in the
Students’ Union whether it is working for us, join-
ing a club or society, coming to council, or helping
on our campaigns we would love to hear from
you. Pop into the Union or e-mail
[email protected] and one of the team will get
back to you.
Enjoy your years here at Staffs!!
Pictured left to right: rebecca, Vanessa, Assed, Gaz and Tim
NeWs
New record set by
Lloyd De Boltz, during his record breaking
attempt.
Stafford studenta WOrld record-breaking attempt by a
staffordshire University student ended in a new
european record.
Lloyd de Boltz who studies Motorsport Technology
was attempting to break the world record for go-
karting the furthest distance in 24 hours.
Lloyd started with perfect conditions at the race-
way in Suffolk and he was positive he would beat the
previous world record of 716 miles.
However, British weather began to diminish Lloyd’s
chances of breaking the world record as heavy rain
persisted.
Lloyd said, “i’m really annoyed i didn’t get the
record. We were on par to take it, but the rain put
the kibosh on any real chance of doing it, but hope-
fully i’ve put the fantastic work of the Spinal injuries
Association in the spotlight”.
Lloyd completed 1,019 laps but missed his world
record goal by just 51 miles. Despite obvious disap-
pointment, Lloyd was pleased to have made a new
European record.
Through the 24 hour challenge he raised over
£2,000 and gained much needed publicity for the
Spinal injuries Association.
The rain has not dampened his enthusiasm and he
is already planning his attempt next year to take the
record.
By Kieran Jones
editorial
the september issue can
only mean one thing: something new,
something exciting.
As you’re stuck with me for the next
year as your Entertainments Editor,
you’re going to experience the latest
games, the freshest films, the hottest
trends and the most up-to-date, emerg-
ing music.
This month we’ve got music reviews
including imogen Heap and Noah and
the Whale, and we’ve chatted to hip-
hop man (or should that be boy?) of the
moment, Tinchy Stryder.
As well as that we’ve packed Little
Comets, The Temper Trap and Wave
Machines in.
We’ve got both game and film pre-
views including ‘Fame’ and ‘The
Beatles: Rock Band.’
i’ve introduced a new fashion/music
crossover section, ‘Mum, Can we play
Dress-Up?’ (in octobers issue), as well
as the latest tracks for your ears in the
new-found snippet, ‘Speaker-Box.’
i hope this tickles your pickle.
adam Mallaby
dub Pistols - i’m in love feat. lindy layton & rodney P
Sunday Best Recordings throw forward a cool carnival-esque groove of a track
with Dub Pistol’s ‘I’m in Love’. Lindy Layton’s crying that she’s “in love and there
ain’t no doubt about it”. No one is disputing the fact, jeez. But, the sweet sug-
ary vocals do swoon over the bluesy brass, making this a summery reggae tinged
triumph. aM www.myspace.com/thedubpistols
review
incy, tinchy, stryder...
UNless you’ve spent
the summer living in a box,
you will already be aware of
tinchy stryder; the latest
artist to emerge out of the
UK grime scene and writer,
Kevin angel, got the chance
to have a quick chat...
The N-Dubz collaboration
‘Number 1’ spent several
weeks at number one in the
singles chart and his second
album ‘Catch 22’ went
straight into the top five. His
recent success, however, has
taken him completely by sur-
prise: “It’s almost like some-
thing that wasn’t meant to
happen for me you know? It took a while for the success to sink
in.”
Tinchy wasn’t born into success and didn’t buy his way to the
top. An east-London lad and proud, he says he has his brother
to thank for getting him into music. “My older brother is a DJ,
he used to practice in our house and I just used to pick up the
mic and that’s pretty much how it happened.”
Tinchy has not let success go to his head either and is deter-
mined to stay grounded and true to his roots. “It’s very impor-
tant to stick to where you came from because once you forget
your roots that’s when you lose direction”.
This month he embarks on his very first headline tour giving
many their first chance to see the man live. He is also taking
with him the cream of UK hip-hop in the form of Bashy and
Chipmunk.
Tinchy Stryder has certainly made an impressive mark on the
UK music scene. His unique sound and honest portrayals of
21st century life, blended with catchy hooks and choruses, are
just what Britain needs in time of a recession and long may his
success continue. Ka
eNtertaiNMeNt
imogen Heap’s recording methods for
‘Ellipse’, whilst a little obscure, are certainly
innovative; whether it’s the the use of a Game
boy or recording the sounds of her showering or
her friends jumping and clapping.
‘2-1’ sees Heap produce a song that wouldn’t
be out of place on an epic soundtrack: marching
drums and grinding tempos, with an ending that
feels like a dark victory. Whilst on ‘Bad Body
Double’, Heap should abandon the Kate Nash-
style chatting, the same way Madonna shouldn’t
rap (or wear leotards). The vocal harmonies and
catchiness of ‘Earth’ really proves Heap’s individ-
uality and the haunting orchestra of ‘Aha!’ hides
around every corner of her beautiful staccato
vocals and dark strings.
At times ‘Ellipse’ teeters on monotony, but with
every new sound, or arrangement, it brings it
back to reality. The album feels constructed as a
piece of art and, the beauty of the album cannot
be contested. GK
www.myspace.com/imogenheap
reviewimogen heap - ‘Ellipse’
reviewNoah and the Whale - ‘The First Days of Spring’
You may remember Noah and the Whale
being the up-tempo, chirpy, chaps who brought you
the slinky summer song ‘5 Years Time’. Well, aban-
don all previous notions because ‘The First Days of
Springs’ is something not even i planned for.
it all starts with the title track; a ballooning beat
overshadows a massive drum while Charlie Finks’
heartfelt vocals creep in. it’s mature, atmospheric
and the faltering lyrics give way to a whole new
meaning. That meaning? Love. Yes, ‘The First Days of
Spring’ couldn’t be any more about love if it was a
self-help guide for the broken hearted. it oozes the
stuff.
There’s star staring on the dreamy ‘our Window’
and Fink yearns for love over the sinewy strums of ‘i
Have Nothing’. Team this with ‘Blue Skies’ which
warns us “this is a song for anyone with a broken
heart” (as if we didn’t already know) and you have
possibly, one of the most poignant indie-folk tracks
of recent years.
‘The First Days of Spring’ is a mature risk that
works. The bluesy, summery, cinematic love-scape is
actually quite marvellous; broken hearted or not.
aM
www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale
review
Wave Machines - ‘Punk Spirit’
NME named them as one of 2009’s finest and the Wave Machines deliver with a
mellow and melancholic melody fuelled song. Verging on the edge of Athlete, with it’s
simple strum and daring drums, ‘Punk Spirit’ is very la-dada with it’s “ooh-a-ooh’s”,
but the fact that this is a song “to anyone who ever ran away from a fight, then day-
dreamed an epic victory”, gives it some depth. Not bad considering the track opens
with “i broke the neck of my guitar”. Bummer. aM
www.myspace.com/wavemachine
the Kindness – swinging
Party
With all the swagger of the
Magistrates, combined with
Datarock on a lazy day, the
Kindness throw forth their single
‘Swinging Party’ and it’s fair to
say that the title promises a little
more excitement than the track
actually delivers.
Vocally haunting, it’s intriguing
and pretty but occasionally con-
fusing. Prettiness comes with
lyrics such as “If being afraid is a
crime we hang side by side” but
you’re confused from the opening
line “Bring your own lampshade,
somewhere there’s a party”.
Perhaps i’m missing something
vital, perhaps i am old before my
time, but in my day there were
no lampshades directly involved
in a party. GK
www.last.fm/music/Kindness
don’t have a temper tantrum
the temper trap is a rare treat. Hailing from
Melbourne, Australia, they’re already making big waves over
here in the UK. if you don’t know who they are yet, you will
do very shortly. That song on the Sky HD advert; the atmos-
pheric, swirling one? Yeah, that’s them. That song in ques-
tion, ‘Sweet Disposition’ has already been nabbed by
Channel 4 to promote music, as well as being plonked onto
the ‘(500) Days of Summer’ sound track.
Having just released their debut, ‘Conditions’, the temper
trap are setting out on their first UK headline tour, taking in
all the hot spots from London to Leeds and back to
Birmingham. reading/Leeds, Glastonbury, Latitude and T in
the Park are also all under their belts after a big festival sea-
son for the band. aM
interested? www.myspace.com/thetempertrap
review
each month we’ll let you know what are
the top tracks played on our radio station,
OMG radio.
Jack Penate - Pull My Heart Away
Chew lips - Salt Air (Plastician Remix)
Matt & Kim – Daylight
ane Brun - The Treehouse Song
the temper trap - Sweet Disposition
lMFaO - I’m In Miami Beach
Maps – I Dream of Crystal
imogen heap - First Train Home
the Yeah You’s - Getting Up With You
Madonna - Celebration
eNtertaiNMeNt
Game Film Preview
Colin Mcrae: dirt 2
Codemasters Studios will completely trans-
form the Mcrae name this summer with the
release of
the most
extreme ral-
lying experi-
ence, DirT 2.
You can race
on gravel, mud or dirt, all over the world, as
well as taking part in international rallying
competitions. What makes this different? it
features real tracks, real competitions and
real cars. What more could a boy (or girl) ask
for? aM
11th September
the Beatles: rock Band
The Beatles are one of the greatest bands
in history, and the rock Band brand is one of
the biggest-
selling. So
what will
happen when
the two col-
lide? The
Beatles: rock
Band, is
what. The
premise: create records, conquer the world
and make rock history. Choose songs from
Hello/Goodbye to Helter Skelter, and play it
using Lennon’s rickenbacker 325 Guitar, at
The Cavern Club. A pre-night-out essential.
aM
9th September
dorian Gray
Starring: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Emilia Fox
Adapted from the huge oscar Wilde classic by
Toby Finlay, the charismatic, intricate, yet ulti-
mately, cursed tale of Dorian
Gray has now come to our
screens. Full of hedonistic
pleasures, artistry and beauty,
this is a must see for any arty,
literary types. aM
9th September
the september issue
Starring: Anna Wintour
The September issue follows the American
Vogue editor and icon, during the preparations
for the fall issue. Attention must be paid to
Wintour’s senior editor Andre
Leon Talley who provides a
buckets of wit. A fly-on-the-
wall documentary for fashion-
istas. aM
11th September
Fame
Starring: Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono,
Naturi Naughton
Take a bunch of unknown actors and an aged,
over-hyped musical; twist it, turn it, add a pirou-
ette, and what do you get? Fame - for the 2009
generation.
The premise is the same, the
music slightly different, and
this time they’re “gonna learn
how to fly”...hmmm. aM
25th September
interview - Petite CometeGeordie
four-piece,
little Comets
are slowly
creeping into
the cream of
the indie/rock
crop so we
grabbed a gin
and juice with
member robert
Coles..
You aren't very
little, so where
did the name
come from?
The name
comes from quite a daft place actually: my
friend had the messenger name as le petite
comete and i wondered what it meant so i typed
it into a translator and it came up as little
comet.... we added the plural-l-l-l-l.
And the music? What or who are the influ-
ences?
We get influences from all over the shop. We
rehearse in quite grimey places so i think we try
to counteract that in our music and also from
experiences we have or stories we hear.
You recently played Latitude Festival and radio
1's Big Weekend. How was that?
That was quite bizarre; Latitude was fun, but
we'd just decorated the van so we were trying
to show it off. We shouted to a few people to
come and have a look but they seemed a little
bit bemused, then we realised it was Thom
Yorke so Mark had to floor it to save our red-
nesses. Big Weekend was a bit surreal and mad.
What’s it like in comparison to playing venues
like Stoke's Sugarmill?
The best
ones are where
the audiences go
a little crazy -
that's what is
good about
Stoke; people are
crackers! We’re
jinxed - we've
played twice now
and once Mark
ended up in
casualty with a
bad knee and the
other time we
got manhandled
out of a bingo
hall.
And how about when you do these "guerilla gigs"
in lecture theatres. Are they really that sponta-
neous?
Yep, pretty much. Micky (our guitarist) comes up
with these occasional plans to do gigs in crazy
places. Normally it takes him about a week to per-
suade the rest of us, then we go for it. Matt has a
phone camera and amp, Mark has a snare and his
whistle, and me and Micky have a guitar each.
There have been some diasasters with wild-eyed
fist-swinging Scottish lady lecturers, but most of the
time, people are too baffled to react violently.
The question on most people's lips who love you
guys: What’s in the pipelines? And can we expect a
release soon?
We're going to release a song called ‘Adultery’ on
oct 26 and then maybe another, early next year if
people like it! Most of the songs are on the
Myspace, so have a look and that, innit? aM
“There have been some diasasters with wild-eyed
fist-swinging Scottish lady
lecturers...”
Little Comets Press Shot by Jazzy Lemon: www.myspace.com/littlecometsmusic
adviCe
it’s the start of a new era for all you new students
joining us at staffordshire University this year! so
as a little welcoming gift from the team here at
OMG, we are going to give you the low down to
diminish all your first year worries.
i remember when i started university and the
biggest worry that i had, and i’m sure it’s been play-
ing on your minds too (don’t deny it), was making
new friends all over again. So i’m going to help you
cut down the amount of time you spend worrying
about it by letting you know that EVErYoNE is in
the same boat. People are just as eager to be your
friend as you are their’s. The Students’ Union has a
lot of social events going on in Fresher’s Week
(check Plugged) which gives you the chance to min-
gle and meet lots of new people. i can guarantee
that by the end of Fresher’s Week your Facebook
friend list will have doubled!
For most of you this will be your first time away
from home. So what are you going to miss the
most? i know exactly what you’re thinking! Home-
cooked food! Don’t take the easy option though,
because although living on a diet of takeaways, pot
noodles and vodka seems like a great idea now...
you won’t make it through the first semester. Let
alone three years! Usually, within halls, flat mates
start up a rota so that everyone is assigned a day to
cook each week. Can’t cook? Student Cookbook
comes highly recommended. if worst come to
worst, stock up on mum’s lasagne next time you
visit. You’ll be saving your pennies as well as reduc-
ing the risk of getting food poisoning!
Talking of pennies! Everyone should be feeling that
extra bit richer because Student Loans have come
through! if you find that yours hasn’t then don’t
worry because The Money Doctors are on hand!
They are located in the Advice Centre in the
Students’ Union; they are there to provide you with
relevant information on student finance and to
check that you're receiving everything you're enti-
tled to. You can also apply for ALF which is a loan
that the university will give you to get by with until
your loan comes through. Be very careful with how
you manage your money. it won’t be fun when it
hits Christmas time and you’re too broke to buy
anyone presents or catch the train home. Trust me…
it happens! So budget, budget, budget!
if you have any other queries, just hunt down a
Welcome Week rep during Freshers’ Week or pay a
visit to the Advice Centre in the Students’ Union!
The First StepsHello and welcome to your new home. Here in the
advice section we will give you guidance on different
issues each month and where to go for a little help. By salma Nazir.
The Student Advice Centre is a good
place to get help on a wide range of
issues. The best thing to do is to get
advice immediately and don’t put it
off...Plus they do get busy! See the
opening times to make an appoint-
ment in person, or drop them an
email.
opening Times - Stafford
Monday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Tuesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Wednesday CLoSED
Thursday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Friday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
opening Times - Stoke
Monday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Tuesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Wednesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Thursday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Friday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm
Check out www.staffsunion.com/advice for
more information on services available
The Cop Shop is here to support you during your stay at Staffordshire University and offer services to help
you stay safe.
We deal with both crime AND crime prevention.
The Cop Shop is open Monday to Friday, during office hours and is operated by University Liason Police
officer, P.C. Keith Emery, with the help of student volunteers.
Feel free to come see us! We’ve got loads of freebies, information and advice to help you keep yourself
safe.
We’re based next to the LrV and Students’ Union shop, on Leek road, Stoke campus.
For those of you who are new to Staffs,
hello and welcome from all of us at the
Cop Shop.
For those returning to the university,
welcome back.
We felt a quick run through of general
safety tips, was most appropriate for this
time of year, so here goes………
- Carry a personal attack alarm at all
times. We have lots of attractive, dis-
creet alarms at the Cop Shop, for anyone
who wants one.
- Mark as much of your property as you
can. We can do this for you or you can
collect an ultra violet pen from us,
to do this yourself.
- in order to get to Hanley
City Centre, follow the
white footprints painted
on the floor, which begin
at the Film Theatre,
College road. This is
what we think is
the best route
to follow,
day or
night, to get to Hanley. The more people
using it, the safer it will become.
- if you must carry your laptop around
with you, try to disguise it. An old ruck-
sack or case, may help you to do this.
- Don’t buy a cheap laptop in the street,
as this is likely to be stolen. The contents
may even be a couple of house bricks.
This is a popular scam all over the coun-
try at this time of year.
- Do not leave valuables lying around in
halls or university buildings, as they may
go missing.
- remember you are in a new city, so it’s
important to stay aware when moving
around the area. Try to travel in groups.
- We can carry out a security survey on
your property and present the results to
your landlord, if you wish.
- Take full advantage of your security
guards, student wardens and other mem-
bers of staff at the university. They are
here to help and advise you.
For more information on how to keep
safe, read through the HELLo HELLo
HELLo booklet that you’ll see around the
university, drop into the Cop Shop for a
chat or get in touch using the contact
details…..
Most importantly, use your common
sense and take care.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
liFestYle
it’s been a long week. You’ve (probably)
worked hard. What’s better than knowing that
you have somewhere to go on a Friday night?
And as we all know, Super Friday is the place to
be on the night in question. Forget Gobble –
who wants to be stuck in lectures all day
Thursday with a hangover?
Aside from the obvious benefit in terms of
recovery time, Super Friday boasts more pros
than cons.
Firstly – the music. Super Friday’s playlist far
outstrips the monotony of the standard Gobble
tracks, and the addition of new DJ – DJ Karlton –
promises to keep the standards high. Super
Friday has a long history of offering a wider
range of music, covering genres other than
Gobble’s favourite ‘cheesy pop’. on top of all
this, r’n’B fans can check out the
‘Unfinished Business’ night in the LrV’s newly
opening room!
Secondly – numbers. it’s true to say that for the
first hour or so the Super Friday dance floor is
beyond sparse. Not always a bad thing, however.
it means you can get across the LrV in less than
ten minutes (a near impossibility at Gobble) and
no hour long waits at the bar. More importantly,
there’s enough room on the dance floor for you
to throw as many shapes as you feel necessary
without causing anyone an injury. Enough peo-
ple for a great atmosphere, few enough people
to have your own space.
Finally, whilst Gobble was originally a fancy
dress night, it’s become a rarity to see anyone
actually dressed up. However, Super Friday with
its weekly theme draws in the most imaginative
costumes – and the best thing is that everyone is
involved. With upcoming themes including
Heaven and Hell, Grease and 60’s night, it guar-
antees to provide a wide range of opportunities
to look silly and get away with it.
So if you’re after a stress-free night and great
music to dance to, along with the perks of drinks
at student prices, choose Super Friday!
By Gemma Kilby
Super
Friday V S
liFestYle
As Wiley famously put it: “Usually drink,
usually dance, usually GoBBLE”. Well that’s how
i like to think of it anyway. Any Staffs Uni regular
knows, Wednesdays mean one thing, Gobble; as
well as obligatory pre-Gobble drinks and post
Sweet and Spice shenanigans. The winning for-
mula sees loads of people in fancy dress, £1.50
pints and the infamous Gobble games. if you
have yet to experience the humiliating heights of
Gobble games, then you have oral sex on choco-
late bars, stripping races and dance-offs to look
forward to. if you’re not feeling classy enough to
straddle the stage, then by all means encourage
a drunken friend, to go throw some shapes and
dignity away on stage. Then boo them to death
and get them gunged, just for kicks. This may
sound harsh but the reward of free drink tokens
and the sought-after “i got gunged at Gobble” t-
shirt, always softens the blow.
Admittedly, music-wise, Gobble was lacking, to
the extent that describing the sounds of a
Wednesday as ‘music’ was generous. However,
last year saw the departure of equally loved and
loathed DJ Chris and the Bewitched back cata-
logue. Since then, DJ James stepped over from
Fridays and will actually (shock horror) accept
some requests!
Also new to Wednesdays is ‘Clash’ in the sec-
ond room, with DJ Scott Thomas from BBC
Subculture, satisfying all your indie and alterna-
tive tendencies.
in the past few years, Gobble has seen guest
appearances from the Shelia’s Wheels girls and
Coolio.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Gobble is the
atmosphere. it’s almost always busy and doesn’t
suffer from an agonizingly empty dance floor for
the first 2 hours, like Super Friday does.
Unfortunately, many students retreat home at
weekends and therefore, skip Super Fridays. if
you want the best atmosphere, best drink offers
and where all your best mates will be, choose
Gobble.
See you Wednesday!
By Laurence Mozafari
GobbleV S
liFestYle
• What’s
your name? (And the
embarrassing middle name)?
• Where you from? (Cue north
vs. south banter).
• What course you doing?
(Commence mocking of drama
and art students).
• What halls you in? (Begin
Wedgwood vs. Daulton banter
etc).
• if you spot some festival wrist-
bands - Which ones you been to?
(re-commence Leeds vs.
reading, North vs. South banter).
• What you drinking? How much
was it? (Begin taste testing and
pilfering free drink).
• How much does a Polar Bear
weigh? No, i don’t know either,
but at least the ice is broken.
• What’s this song called? (Begin
to chat about music).
• What team do you support?
(Begin the football banter).
• What are your plans for
Freshers’ Week? Go-karting?
Alton towers?
• Any sentence
that starts with: “i’ve been
watching you from across the
room all evening and…”
• "Heeeee-llo twins!!! (cup breasts)
Tell me if i'm wrong but...these surely
can't be real"?
• “What’s your favourite book?
Mine is ‘Mein Kampf’, you know the
book Hitler wrote when he was in
prison? You know, he was quite a
misunderstood chap”.
• “Pull my finger”.
• “You know who you look like,
that Marilyn…with the clothes and
the make up”. (Let them jump in with
“…Monroe?”) and say: “No, Manson”.
• “You like my outfit? it’s a uniform.
i'm a soldier for Jesus”.
• “Feel my shirt”. (Let them feel it).
“Does that feel like boyfriend materi-
al”?
• “Nice legs, what time do they
open”?
• “Guess my name” and refuse to
tell them until they finally get it, with
no clues.
• Smash an ice-cube on the bar and
say: “Now the ice is broken, what’s
your name”? This can fail if either
they don’t see you break the ice, you
fail to break the ice or they walk off
while you’re breaking the ice.
social etiquette ...at uni, of course
Going to a new place with new people can be a
dawnting task for anyone, so how do you
break the ice and get to know or rather
chat up the ones that catch your eye? By Laurence Mozafari.
The Good!
The Bad!
liFestYle
How much you’ll love Hanley’s
Monday student night will depend where
you hail from. Which are you?
A) Country bumpkin
B) City slicker
C) Suburbanite
Those of you originating from the dankest
moors and marshland Blighty has to offer will
revel in Hanley’s choice and being in civiliza-
tion again.
City boys and girls among you may be dis-
appointed with the size. However, the great
prices and atmosphere should swing you. it
is inevitable to see most bars heaving with
Staffs students on a Monday.
The remainders hailing from the terraces
and cul-de-sacs will be relieved; there are no
expensive taxi rides, to one club, in a retail
park. Taxis from campus halls are roughly £4
on the way there and about £6 return. if
you’re lucky enough to be accompanied by
students of the lady variety, the price often
drops. AutoCabs is always a good cheap
choice.
Hanley is effectively laid out as a strip,
almost like sun soaked clubbing capitals
abroad, except with less Pr’s and more harsh
northern winds. There are too many bars to
hit in one night, so here are some good
places to start, stay and finish.
starters for 10pm…
Varsity is always a good with £1 on most
drinks and decent electro and mainstream
music coming courtesy of resident student
DJs Adam and Davey P. Sometimes, it’s an
an idea to go later in the night, when the
bar is less busy and entry is free.
The main strip on Trinity Street
flaunts roughly around twelve bars.
reflex, on Brockley Square, satisfies all your
shameless eighties musical needs. The bar
sports the trademark disco dance floor and
stupid accessories for sale, as well as tanked-
up middle aged women and a Grease mega-
mix every 15 minutes. Prices come in very
reasonably with Becks, Bacardi Breezer and
VK at just £1.49
The next two bars down the road, Base and
JFK don’t run many promotions on a Monday
and therefore, don’t get many students in
there, unless they’re on the Carnage route.
Everyone’s favorite Australian watering hole;
Walkabout, is another good starter. ‘Quid’s
in’ has drinks for just one earth pound, from
8 til Midnight. if you’ve been to a Walkabout
before, you’ll know what to expect. All the
usual chart sounds, various extreme sports
and random TV shows on the screens, which
are even above the urinals.
Where everybody knows your name
Vodka revolution, always pulls in punters,
with indie rock downstairs and mainstream
upstairs, courtesy of DJ James, who you’ll
recognize as the resident Gobble DJ. revs is
always rammed to the rafters and rightly so.
Expect 2 for 1 on all drinks (with a revs
card).
Foundry Street, the road to the right of
revs, includes Chicargo rock Café and Zenn.
rocks Monday night ‘Pounded’, lists most
drinks at a quid, funnily enough. DJ Shaun
Sullivan heads up the music with rnB &
Dance. rocks is never particularly
Going up ‘anley duck?!A guide to the best places at Staffs.
By Laurence Mozafari
busy. However, it could be let
down by it’s location.
Newly refurbished, Manhattan bar, pre-
viously Spirit, hopes to grab your dollar
with ‘Trollied’, featuring DJ Matt Goodwin,
five bottles for £5 (including K2 and Carling)
and Trinity Street’s only heated smoking
area. How good it is, remains to be seen.
Aruba, nestled next door to revs, is often
busy and is a cool looking bar with some
horrifically strong shots. You have been
warned.
Finally, before you hit the big clubs, you
have ‘Touch’, which is a perfect micro-cosm
for the rubbish mini-clubs you get in every
town centre. Expect awful 90’s pop, dis-
gusting 99p drinks and really slutty old
women. on a much better note is the
Sugarmill, which the open-roof top bar of,
delights the indie and alternative crowd in
the summer months. Pricey drinks but
great music, shame the whole club only
opens Fridays and Saturdays.
last Orders
Zenn is a small nightclub owned by a
Stoke City player, which even featured in
the back pages of FHM recently; it may
have been amongst the sex chat lines and
naff clothes adverts but impressive none-
the-less. ‘Skint’ Mondays offers 2 for 1 on
pints but more importantly a free bottle of
champagne to groups of 10 or more.
Mondays normally see special events vary-
ing from ‘shoot popcorn into the crowd’ to
the local favorite ‘shoot foam into the
crowd’.
To cap off your big night in Hanley is
‘Fuzzy Duck’ at Liquid, which includes JJ’s
and Envy. This place is huge, with three
floors and a ViP bar with Karaoke, which
strangely is open to anyone a Monday. JJ’s
handles all the rnB, Hip Hop and Grime,
Liquid for all the chart and dance and
Envy for the indie.
Fuzzy Duck (a man dressed as
a big duck) patrols the club, dishing out
hugs. However, beware of his personal
bouncer who ushers him through the
crowds. it’s free entry and cheap drinks
until 11pm, although it’s much better to
drink in other bars and pay for entry to
Liquid later on, when it’s busier. Be warned
though, after 11pm drink prices become
astronomical.
Alternatively, is The Underground, a mas-
sive student favourite, located about a 15
minute walk from all of the other bars.
Expect an excellent selection of indie, alter-
native and rock - and not just mainstream
stuff either. it is quite small and grotty, but
that is all in the appeal for some, drinks
come in cans and shots come in cheap. if
you’re all about the music, this is most like-
ly where you’ll end up.
Another alternative is The Club, Stoke’s
biggest gay club, with £7 free bar (with a
voucher) from 8pm until 2am. it’s quite far
away from all the other bars so if you do
go, you’ll probably be there all night.
Expect two floors, gay anthems and some
decent chart music too.
stafford
Stafford’s best night is on a Tuesday.
Starting off at Wetherspoons, then on to
Casa, the Mediterranean bar/club and final-
ly Love to Love - A club with £10 free bar
from 9.30pm and 99p drinks all night.
Expect loads of blokes, commercial dance,
rnB, indie and a slice of cheese.
Apparently, things have been quiet on the
Stafford front since Zanzibar closed.
However, a new 2500 capacity super-club,
split into 2 clubs, with 3 rooms and a roof
terrace, is planned for this autumn.
Facebook ‘Stafford Student Nights’ for
more!
liFestYle
liFestYle
Your name’s
not down,
you’re not
coming in.Amongst the night out necessities are
the new loyalty cards.
Varsity’s VCard, costs £1, gets you in for
a quid and gives you 25% off drinks and
food in the daytime.
Vodka rev’s £4 privilege card is the
only way to get 2 for 1 shots and drinks
on a Monday. Best bet is to nab one at
the fresher’s fair, for free vouchers and
pants! (Pictured).
Finally, Walkabout’s £3 Boomerang
card very handily attaches to your keys,
making it hard to lose, but very easy to
snap, as i soon found out. (Pictured). it
gets you £1.50 Vodka red Bulls.
However, no card is required for ‘Quids
in’ Monday student night.
The all importantVodka Pants and my brokenWalkabout card after a night
out...woops!
sPOrt
By Phill Catterick
Who would have predicted that after two years
of under achievement and immense disappoint-
ment that Jenson Button would be leading the
2009 Formula one Drivers’ Championship with
just five races to go? Well, not me for one.
Button and Brazilian team-mate rubens
Barrichello didn’t have drives for this season’s
campaign, following the withdrawal of Honda
last season, but at the eleventh hour ross Brawn
came to the rescue with a takeover package, and
developed a car which has to date, won seven
events.
Considering the fact Brawn GP is a completely
new team, their success has stunned F1 follow-
ers, and the sport could well produce it’s first
back to back British champions since Jackie
Stewart followed up Graham Hill’s title win in
1969.
A 1-2 at the very first race in Australia set the
tone, and Button followed that up with wins in
Malaysia, Turkey and Monaco. only red Bull
have provided consistant competition with both
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber producing
winning drives.
However, Button’s title chances, although still
strong, are starting to waver slightly with the
Englishman retiring last time out at Spa, and fail-
ing to secure a podium place since the Turkish
Grand Prix in June.
With his closest rivals failing to take advantage
of this poor run of form, Jenson remains the
favourite to clinch the title, and will still be top
of the standings whatever happens after the
italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Speaking of italy, the tifosi will no doubt be dis-
appointed that their hero Michael Schumacher
will not be returning after having to cancel his
surprise comeback due to a neck injury. He has
since ruled out any future comeback.
Kimi raikkonen will, therefore, have the hopes
of italy on his ice cool shoulders for the team’s
home Grand Prix; although at the moment it’s a
complete mystery as to who his team-mate will
be.
Luca Badoer has partnered him for the previ-
ous two races, but considering he has all the
pace of a milk float, it might be a good time to
bring somebody else in who is capable of scor-
ing points.
A number of names have been thrown into the
hat with Giancarlo Fisichella and Nico
Hulkenberg the alleged front runners, but
confirmation has yet to come through and
Badoer may yet have a third chance to gain
some respectability.
As far as the championship is concerned,
Button will no doubt be feeling the pressure and
needs a strong points finish in italy to maintain
his strong advantage at the top of the table.
They say red Bull gives you wings.
if Jenson’s to be caught, their drivers may well
need them.
Button’s downfall: the Plot
sPOrt
the Urn returns to england
BY GArETH ALrED
A glorious finish to a great
sporting summer – as
England regained a dramatic
test win at the oval in August.
Andrew Strauss captained
his side to an extremely tense
2-1 series victory to recap-
ture the historic urn that was
comprehensively snatched
away from them in the
2006/07 whitewash Down
Under.
The Middlesex man was
named ‘Man of the Series’
leading from the front with
474 forthright runs, but will
forever owe a great deal to
his star man Andrew Flintoff.
The Lancashire all-rounder
provided many magical
moments with his bowling or
batting throughout the series,
but on his 79th and last test
cap he made the telling
impact with the run-out of
Australian captain ricky
Ponting on the fourth day of
the decider as England
stumped their critics.
The Aussie selectors may
rue the non-inclusion of a
specialist spinner in Nathan
Hauritz for the final test, but
their English counterparts
bowled them over with their
trump card Jonathan Trott
stepping in to top the aver-
ages chart.
it took 979 days to reclaim
the Ashes, a far cry from the
blues of Perth in 2006, but
this unforgettable triumph is
made the more remarkable as
England turned a recipe for
disaster into the sweet taste
of success this summer.
By Mark Perrow
Jessica Ennis announced
herself as the new golden
girl of British athletics
with a world-class perfor-
mance in Berlin.
Ennis, who claimed
Britain’s first ever hep-
tathlon World Champion-
ship gold medal, dominat-
ed from start to finish.
it proved a fruitful nine
days for Team GB, picking
up six medals in total –
our highest haul in the
event for 10 years.
Britain’s other gold went
to triple jumper Phillips
idowu, who produced a
lifetime best of 17.73
metres.
There were also medal-
winning performances
from middle distance pair,
Lisa Dobriskey and Jenny
Meadows.
By Daniel Houlker
Manchester United have been
handed arguably the toughest
draw out of the British teams
in this year’s Champions
League group stages.
Last season’s runners-up face
tough trips to Besiktas, CSKA
Moscow and Wolfsburg whilst
Liverpool also face tricky oppo-
sition in Lyon, Fiorentina and
Hungarian champions
Debreceni.
Meanwhile Chelsea will face
Portuguese champions and
2004 winners Porto, Atletico
Madrid and APoEL of Cyprus.
Having comfortably seen off
Celtic in the qualifying stages,
Arsenal have been grouped
with olympiacos, now coached
by the former Newcastle
United, Wolves and Dundee
midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia, AZ
Alkmaar and Standard Liege.
Scottish champions rangers
will come up against Sevilla,
Stuttgart and romanian cham-
pions Unirea Urziceni.
Elsewhere Samuel Eto’o and
Zlatan ibrahim-ovic will face off
against their former clubs after
inter Milan and European
champions Barcelona were
grouped together along with
Dynamo Kyiv and rubin Kazan.
Jess is a class act for
team GB
‘Big Four’ discover european Opponents