Retro - January 2010

1www.uwicsu.co.uk Retro January 2009

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RetroUWICSU - www.uwicsu.co.uk/retro

January 2010A UWIC Student’ Union Publication

Facebook - Search “Retro Newspaper” Twitter - www.twitter.com/uwicsu_retro• •Keep in the loop with Retro:

What’s in a Name?

Brand New Monthly Club Night, D-Floor Launches in January 20106

UWICSU Launches Brand New Video Webite, SU TubePage 4

Illustration by Jake Eldridge

Board of Governors of UWIC to go through another consultation process for UWIC’s name change with the second choice of Cardiff Metropolitan University. Full Story on Page 3

Retro2 January 2009 www.uwicsu.co.uk

RetroWelcomes

By Claire RaffertyUWICSU President

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, enjoyed the central heating, the fully stocked fridge and of course the presents...oh the benefits of going home!

It’s that time of year again when we make those famous resolutions... give up chocolate, don’t drink for a month, start

Retro Contacts

RETRo STaFFEditor - Terence [email protected]

assistant Editor - Gareth [email protected]

Music Editor - Jake [email protected]

Photographer - Kieran [email protected]

advertising - Gavin [email protected]

RETRo NEWSPaPERUWIC Students’ UnionWestern AvenueCardiff, CF5 2YB

Tel: 02920 416335

RETRo CoNTENT STaTEMENTContent printed in the Retro is not the opinion of the Students Union, but of the persons who submitted it.

Retro ContentsSabb Welcomes 2

Feature Stories

What’s in a Name?More news on the name change of UWIC.

3

SU TubeUWICSU Launch new video website.

4

Let The Game BeginIntra-mural sports are up and running.

5

ReFreshers FayreAnother chance to get acquainted with Cardiff’s local business’.

6

Tell the University What You Really ThinkThe NSS Survey allows final year graduates to provide feedback ontheir course.

7

Regulars

Music 12

art & Design 14

Movie Reviews• Avatar

16

Take-a-BreakSome light entertainment to keep you...entertained?

17

Sport

BUCS Results & Fixtures

18

BUCS Photography 19

Scholar of the MonthBryony Raine

20

Sport News 21

UWICSU Staff Contact Details

Students’ Union PresidentClaire [email protected]

Students’ Union Vice PresidentAlex [email protected]

athletic Union officerIan [email protected]

Events & Marketing ManagerGavin [email protected]

Events & Marketing assistantMallory [email protected]

Membership Services ManagerFfion [email protected]

Property Letting ManagerMarc [email protected]

Centro Bar MangerRobert [email protected]

The Loft ManagerSteve [email protected]

Tommy’s Bar ManagerKarl [email protected]

UWICSU - CYNCEoD CaMPUSTel: 02920 416190

UWICSU - LLaNDaFF CaMPUSTel: 02920 416335

Student President’s Welcome

Vice President’s Welcome

“Back in the Diff & Raring to Go!”

By alex HalesUWICSU Vice President

Hellooooooooo!! So the festive season has been… and gone! Now we’re all back in the Diff and raring to go.

It’s 2010 people! What are you going to do this year; what are your plans/goals?

Coming up this term we have the Refreshers fayre in Centro (13th Jan), nominations and elections for the new sabbaticals will begin, and no doubt a lot of you will be on the hunt for houses this term. Don’t forget to come and see our in-house house guru at CLC (Campus Letting Centre), Marc Morrish, who can guide you in everything you need to know about getting your student house for next year. Don’t panic about getting a house straight away – there are so many student houses

around Cardiff and there’s no chance of you and your friends not being able to get one, even if you start looking in July!!! As ever, we’ve been working hard to put together the Retro with enough info to keep you going until next month’s issue. Feel free to pop in any time if you are having any issues that you think your School Reps or StARs may not be able to help you with. We are here to represent you the students. It’s all about your voice and your opinions! R

Happy New Year UWIC!

coursework when its set.... Pah! No one keeps them. Why not this year set “achieve-ments”..... Play in a team, make a new friend, enhance your CV, organise a stu-dent event, complete the half marathon

for charity (that’s mine, any takers?), it can be anything. We can help .... intramural sports are now up and running, why not play in a five-a-side team, make new friends as well as getting off that sofa. The training and development programme is commencing in march to give students a head start over other uni-versity graduates, improve your CV as well as gaining interview and leadership skills for free. We are always looking to hold student events and fundraisers so any “

ideas, or if you would like to take part in any of the above pop into the office or drop me a line. Hope you’ve all enjoyed the snow, have a fab Year and enjoy this term.

“.... intramural sports are now up and running, why not play in a five-a-side team, make new friends as well as getting off that sofa.


RetroNews

ChaplaincyCornerBy Rev Paul FitzgeraldUWIC Chaplain

I do hope that you have a really good New Year and that now you are ready to start the new term.

My diary of students who are seek-ing help is however already starting to fill and experience has taught us in Student Services and the Chaplaincy that this can be a very difficult time of the year for some with academic, home and often money problems becoming serious. I am sorry to bring you down especially when you are returning from what I hope was a really fantastic holi-day but some of you may need to hear what is in this article. Most of the problems that students have between now and Easter can be dealt with IF the student concerned asks for help early enough. We have counsellors, mental health

workers, personal tutors, welfare offic-ers, Chaplains, disability workers, finical experts, Nurses, complaints dept and welfare officers, as well as the really excellent help from the Student Union offices. The sad truth is that far too many of you leave things far too late. It is so much easier to help before things hit crisis. This may not apply to you but even so please do not stop reading; one of the real joys of working in UWIC is seeing how strong and supportive many of the Student friendships are and a lot of our referrals come because of sound advice from them, so please do look out for each other. If you get into trouble, or know someone who is - just pick up an internal phone and ask to speak to the Chaplain, Student Services or the Stu-dent Union. We may not be able to help everyone ourselves but we are almost always able to find someone who can!

FEaR!

By Sam Williams

Plans to announce the pro-posed new name for UWIC took a blow last year when a major objection was made to the proposed name of Cardiff City University which resulted in the decision being made by the Board of Governors of UWIC to go through another consul-tation process on the second choice of Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Students who were consulted on the pro-posal voiced their opinions stating that a name change would bring about a loss of identity, which UWIC has worked hard to achieve, this name would describe UWIC as the lesser university in the city of Cardiff and would cause a negative reputation with the associated name and the football club, there was also the apprehension about the amount of money which would need to be spent on the rebranding. So whilst Cardiff City University has been thrown out and Cardiff Metro-politan University is in (or at least trying to get in), there are concerns of a different nature that this name is now outdated and would be a significant disadvantage in recruiting overseas students who feel that the term “metropolitan” does not reflect an appropriate status for a Higher Education institution. For UK students there is an awareness that there are a number of Metropolitan Universities in the UK, they will also be aware that London Met has had almost as much negative publicity as

the banking industry, Leeds Met approved a change of name last Summer only to put it on hold until their new VC was in place and will probably revert to the more historic “Carnegie” title; and then there is Swansea Metropolitan. When interviewed by Retro, a leading education specialist pointed out that there are positives to be had from a name change if it reflected the improve-ment or development of an institutions status. The question needs to be asked does “metropolitan” reflect what UWIC has achieved over the last 14 years, are we really a metropolitan institution and does it reflect where it is going with its own degree awarding powers. Manchester Metropolitan is the remaining “met” which is ranked 31 places below UWIC in the Guardian’s 2009 University rankings, and the others do not rank much better .Leeds Metropolitan, is ranked 37 universities below UWIC accord-ing to the University rankings. Many of the issues with the name Cardiff City University also apply to the name Cardiff Metropolitan University. The loss of identity, the loss of the UWIC’s brand, Cardiff Met will be viewed as a lesser university, the negative reputation which the name has with international students, and of course the amount of money which will be spent. This institution has had a number of names over the years which did take place to reflect changes in status or developments which arguably justified the changes. UWIC itself may not have had its fans at the time of introduction but it is now established both here in the UK and Internationally , it is not the best name as admittedly it does not reflect where it ac-tually is , but without doubt it does stand out and for some unexplainable reasons its students feel particularly loyal to it.

If the name has to change ( and does it?) it should be a name which reflects a Univer-sity that has a high academic and student service reputation and one which will stand the test of time. If it does not and another change is pushed through in a few years time we would lose all the hard earned reputation and credibility that has been built up. Marketing specialists in corporations realise the importance of taking a decision to change the name of an established product, they will usually carry out detailed customer surveys and implementing the name change will attract a massive marketing budget. How-ever if you get the name wrong in the first place it can also attract a certain suspicion from customers (current students) and prospective customers (future students) about the reasons for the change and as someone with a much better grasp of the English language put it( as supplied by a UWIC Fresher !) “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” Romeo & Juliet. W. Shake-speare. “But I do not agree, a name carries history, it carries identity and all the merits related to the same name, when a well known name is changed there is a loss of understanding and knowledge.” UWIC Fresher.

If you feel strongly about this, let the students union know how you feel email:[email protected]

or alternatively you could visit our face-book group and leave your comment:www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=166736556439&ref=mf

What’s in a Name?


RetroNews

UWICSU Launches SU Tube

Current Videos on SU Tube

UWIC Name Change Update Llandaff Learning Centre Development

Polluted Mind: Illustration Exhibition Review

By Terence RosomanRetro Editor

UWIC Students’ Union’s Media Centre in Llandaff has taken a huge leap in it’s efforts to deliver up-to-date, entertaining news to its UWIC Students. 2010 sees the launch of our new news video website, SU Tube.

This year saw the welcoming of our new employee Ephraim Lewis. Ephraim, who is studying BA (hons) Media Studies & Visual Culture at Llandaff campus, has been appointed as our new Web and Media editor, and is responsible for the creation and management of SU Tube. SU Tube will only cover major issues within UWIC and the Students’ Union, ranging from anything from Student Presidential elections to UWIC sport. When we can, we will also feature interviews from the people in the know, giving you the students, the latest news straight from the horses mouth rather than relying on the infamous UWIC hearsay. SU Tube is up and running right now and can be found on our website:www.uwicsu.co.uk/sutubeSo log on, check it out, you might be missing out on some valuable UWIC news.

Below: Ephraim Lewis our new Web & Media EditorPhotography: Carl Sutherwood

tubewww.uwicsu.co.uk/sutube

UWIC Tesco Tuesdays

as a late Christmas present, we thought you students would like a little treat that will go a long way, in fact this present will go all the way to Tesco!

I’m sure you’re sick of trying to balance those shopping bags to make the trip home, as well as missing out on those special offers which are just too heavy to carry, so UWIC are introducing the new UWIC Shopper; a FREE bus service which will take you from your halls of residence or private student house to ‘shop till you drop’ at the largest Tesco in Europe on Western Avenue. This Tesco store has a massive range of products as well as cheaper prices and many in-store promotions. The buses will run from 6pm – 10pm every Tuesday, giving you plenty of time to write your shopping list, scoot around the shop and back home to make a slap up meal with all your new goodies. The bus route will encompass all UWIC used halls of residence as well as going through Studentville via Roath and Cathays. Look out for flyers around the campuses and the UWIC media screens for more details, as well as Tesco student promotions. This free service will start running on Tuesday 19th January so get your bags for life ready… Please note that UWIC Rider and Fast Track services will be unaffected by this new edition to the UWIC fleet.


RetroNews

By alex HalesUWICSU Vice President

Intra-mural sport is more for those who want to take part in sports, games and activities but aren’t too concerned about the outcome or having to commit loads of time and money. Intra-mural sport is all about getting your own teams together – maybe a group of friends or people living in the same halls – or simply saying you’re up for some of the action and joining on to someone’s team on the day. It’s all about having fun, getting out and about and meeting like-minded people up for a laugh.

Watch this space for…SQUaSH

Squash is going to be holding an Intra-mural tournament sometime in February (watch this space for times and dates). If you fancy getting a bit of training in be-fore then, you can join in for a bit of a prac-tice (and free coaching!) every Wednesday (12-2) and Friday (3-5) at the squash courts at Cyncoed.

Watch this space for…NETBaLLNetball is just for women…says who!?! I would like to introduce you to mixed netball Intra-mural competitions at UWIC; the opportunity to take place in one of the only mixed team competitions here. After the successful first tournament of its kind in UWIC for some time, the mixed tournament saw men and women coming together to see what they could achieve as one. The result? An amazing atmosphere,

Let The Games BeginUWICSU is trying to raise the profile of Intra-mural sports and get it up and running for all StudentS.

lots of laughter, and a few goals scored at either end of the court! Building on this we will be set-ting up more tournaments of this nature, and depending on turn-out and popular-ity we may put together a friendly flexi-league where teams will be given dates to complete their fixtures by (meaning you can organise it between yourselves the time and date that is best for everyone). Keep a look out for the next tournament – coming to you this January.

Intra-mural sport really is all about taking part; it doesn’t matter how good or bad you think you might be. If you want to get active and try something new then come and have a go. Get those running shoes dusted off now that you’ve had that lovely Christmas break. I look forward to see-ing you there. For more information or to put forward any ideas please contact Alex Hales: [email protected].

“The World is a Book & Those Who Do Not Travel Read only one Page”Introducing your UWIC International Department and some of thier travelling experiences.

John PhillipsDean of International affairs

Michelle GrimesInternational Student Language & Study Skills Support Tutor

I always thought Chinese students were very polite, they don’t ask questions during the class! Even though they didn’t appear to always understand the classes, I thought they must do…that was until the end of the class when all the students came to the front of the class and started to ask me lots of questions. In their culture it would seem wrong to ask questions of the teacher, during the class. This would not normally be a problem but when you have to attend another class, dealing with approximately 10 questions can be problematic, especially when its often the same question! Polish students rarely speak or respond to questions unless they are absolutely sure of the correct answer and the correct tense to reply in.

Japanese students do not often use facial expressions and it’s difficult to teach a group of students who don’t give you any visual feedback.

Dr. Lisa DaviesDeputy Head of International office

Whilst travelling to Mexico City, I once confused the word for tomato with the word for a particularly hot type of chilli (the words are actually quite similar)!! I had made a point of telling the waiter how much I liked them and so he asked the kitchen to make sure that I was given a particularly large portion in the dish that I had ordered. When I began my meal, I realised my mistake but out of pride I felt I had to eat every last mouthful of the hottest and most spicy food I have ever tasted!! I feel very fortunate to work in the International Office and thoroughly enjoy the contact I have with students from all over the world. You can learn a great deal about your own culture by looking at it from the perspective of anther culture.

Kirsty BirdFinance & Projects officer

During my first visit to Brunei, I was lucky enough to have a little spare time before travelling home to visit the water village. I was accompanied by one of John Phillips regular drivers. Once we were successful in getting into the water taxi, he then gave us a guided tour of the most interesting sights explaining about the history of the village. Once the taxi ride was coming to an end, he then pulled up outside one of the houses and invited us both in to look around his home. Once I successfully managed to get out of the taxi and into the house without falling into the water J– his family made us most welcome by offering us food and drinks. I thought that this was such a generous offer and amazing to get to see inside his home.

anna Dukesassistant International Student Welfare officer

In Peru, it’s tradition to crack a raw egg

on someone’s head on their birthday. It is also tradition to push someone’s face into the birthday cake whilst you blow out the candles. I was lucky enough to have my birthday fall during my time spent in Peru. I was extremely shocked at having a raw egg cracked on my head first thing in the morning, but it was extremely amusing for my British friends, particularly when it came to the third birthday cake!

Siobhan RobinsonInternational Marketing officer

In Libya they use a word ‘Bukra’ (this is the best spelling I could get using the English alphabet) which translates as tomorrow. So for example, when I handed my passport into the hotel to get the approval stamp I asked when it would be ready. The reply was ‘Bukra’ - tomorrow. The next day I returned to collect it and they laughed. Bukra doesn’t actually mean tomorrow, it means ‘tomorrow and a bit later’, so I expect my passport to be back sometime but Im not exactly sure when!

UWICSU Spreads The Safety MessageBy alex HalesUWICSU Vice President

The week beginning No-vember 30th saw UWIC SU’s SMaRTER SaFER STUDENT Campaign.

The President and Vice President, Claire-Louise and Alex, travelled around each campus during the week giving out safety information and freebies. The sabbaticals worked with the Community Police and Premier Taxis to deliver this campaign to make it more relevant to students. The key areas of safety that were targeted were personal safety, alco-hol awareness, travel safety, sexual health and advice on living in Cardiff. The aim of this student safety campaign, titled “Smarter Safer” is to promote awareness and give advice to students, especially those first years that have moved to a new city. The campaign was conducted close to the end of last term, as the nights are drawn in and the party season was soon to begin. The SU felt that it was the perfect time to bring in a student safety campaign as the students had settled and the Christmas party sea-son was upon us. We will be carrying out this campaign on a yearly basis so that all first year students and ex-isting students have the information they need to stay safe in and around Cardiff.” This campaign follows the recent incidents that have occurred at Glamorgan University and Aber-ystwth University where students’ safety was jeopardised. It is therefore important that the campaign really hits home to students. Although Cardiff is one of the safest cities to live in, incidents can happen. We all have to think about

our safety, if we can be smarter then hopefully we’ll be safer! If you have any questions about the campaign or general safety queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Students’ Union.


RetroNews

The Society of all SocietiesBy alex HalesUWICSU Vice President

We are on the search for students to set up a society to create more varied networking between students that might not necessarily have met otherwise.

Students have been telling us that they want to feel there is more to a student’s social life other than drinking the bar dry. Are you interested in helping to set up a Friendship Network Society at UWIC? Do you have a particular interest that you would like to share with others? Would you like to make more friends outside your academic group? If so, let us know!! If this sounds like something you’d be interested in then contact Alex Hales (SU Vice President) at [email protected].

t

Student Identification& Discount Card

Student Identific

ation

& Discounts

For full details about th

e SID card please visit:

www.sidcard.co.uk

If found, please return to: UWIC Students’ Union,

Campus Centre, Cyncoed Rd, Cardiff, CF23 6XD

Name: David JonesD.O.B. : 20.01.90

Course: Graphic Communication BA(Hons)

Card No.: 00001Memberships:Expiry: 1st June 2010

Student Identification

& Discounts

SiD Sale starting in January 2010For more information or to purchase a SID cardplease visit:uwicsu.co.uk/sid

•

In association with:

ReFresher FayreWednesday 13th January 11:00am - 4:00pm

The Campus CentreCyncoed Campus

COMPANIES ATTENDING:ENDSLEIGHPOWERLEAGUEBOULDERS CARDIFF BLUESCARDIFF DEVILS DOMINO’S PIZZA PIZZA HUT DELIVERYFUTSAL CARDIFFOCEANA PREMIER TAXI’S

REVOLUTION STA TRAVELSTUDENTS UNIONCAMPUS LETTING CENTRESID CARDSUPERDRY CLOTHINGTHE PARK PLAZA HOTELYR URDD TRAVELINE CYMRU UNIVERSITY OF WALESUWIC RIDER

Featuring Huge

Clothing Sale from:


RetroNews

REaD Need Your HelpBy Emma Parr

REaD International has founded a new initiative this year called the Campus Book Drive and need student volunteers.

The aimTeams of student volunteers will col-lect thousands of books of ALL sizes, shapes and subjects on each and every UK university campus! Volunteers are needed at UWIC to sort through the books and send the best, most relevant, up-to-date books to Tanzania/Uganda. Those we can’t send, we’ll sell or recycle - it’s that simple. This project is entirely student volunteer led and we’re recruiting at UWIC now.We need people to give up time to help collect books; donate books; sort through them; help fundraise etc.

VolunteerIf you would like to volunteer to help with READ international’s new project, Campus Book Drive please email Megan on:[email protected]

NSS begins onJanuary 18thRemember, it is your chance to have your say about your student learning experience during your time in higher education.

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an important questionnaire which allows final year undergraduates across the UK to provide feedback on their courses in a nationally recognised format.

The survey which was introduced in 2005, comprises 22 questions relating to various aspects of the student learning experience, namely: teaching, assess-ment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, personal development and overall satisfaction. Students are also given the opportunity to write positive and/or negative comments on their learn-ing experience at their university. These comments are then passed on anony-mously to universities and, in UWIC, they are examined thoroughly in order to help identify areas for improvement. In response to previous NSS surveys, a number of important changes have been implemented at UWIC. For example, in 2007 students commented on the need to modernise some of the

university buildings. Since this time sig-nificant refurbishment of the university’s estates has taken place (including the Cyncoed Student Centre and the new Cardiff School of Management building) and this work is continuing. Also some students were concerned about library fa-cilities. As a direct result of such feedback, UWIC significantly increased investment into library services. Last year saw a con-siderable improvement in feedback on library resources and, although improve-ments are still being made, some very positive comments were received about the IT and library facilities such as “the IT room and library are always available with good resources” and “the library facilities are excellent and e-journals are always available”. The results of the survey are also used to create university league tables which are published nationally and are also made available on Unistats.com to help prospective students make informed choices of where and what to study. Since 2007, UWIC student satisfaction over the 22 questions in the survey has increased by an average of 6%.

Let The University Know What You Really Think


RetroNewsIllustration by Ed Fairburn

By Helena Bourke

It seems that Cliff developed an elabo-rate formula which takes in the consid-eration the hideous weather, debt left from Christmas extravagance , time elapsed since you stuffed yourself on turkey, failed new year resolutions, motivation levels, and knowing that the next holiday is months away. However try not to despair as there are a few ideas which might keep you from throwing yourself in to oncoming traffic just yet.

oneThe cold weather gives you a legiti-mate reason to stay in bed the entire day. Pile on the extra blankets, cozy up with whoever you wish and enjoy the excuse to lazy. Everyone else is so cold as well that they won’t judge you.

TwoYou might be well in to your overdraft and your credit card bills may be huge but holidays are cheap! £171 for seven nights in Spain...dissertations aren’t due in for months yet so treat yourself to some sun before you get your head down.

ThreeSince most students break up (latest) by the end of June, it’s only 150 days until summer; BBQs in the park, drinking in the sun and knowing that you look that tiny bit hotter with a tan. Everyone’s favourite season is just around the corner.

FourThe sales are still on and despite the tangled hangers and the occasion elbow to the ribs from other eager

hunters, it is all still worth it for the satisfaction of finding an absolute bargain.

FivePity from the parents. Play on the sympathy for your lack of heating and guaranteed they will supply you with some desperately needed provisions. Throw in a few tears and watch your cupboards ‘magically’ fill with delicious foods all courtesy of the bank of mum and dad. Thank you very much!

SixYour student loan is in your account!! And yes you may have gone a bit mental with it that first week but you are still nowhere near as skint as you were a month ago plus you have a brand new tv, impressive wardrobe and a million hazy memories to keep you smiling.

only 150 Days Until Summer...The days of winter tick by and it just seems to be getting colder. Snow fights provide mo-mentary bursts of adrenaline but you quickly realise that you can no longer feel your feet and after losing a glove your hand has turned an unnerving shade of blue. Inside the house the heating has broken & you’ve run out of milk for a cuppa. Sound familiar? Well then brace yourself as 24th January is looming and according to Cliff arnall of Cardiff University it’s the most depressing day of the year.

Take Care of Your Stick

By Terence RosomanRetro Editor

a staggering amount of USB data sticks are left behind in UWIC’s computer rooms every single day. Consid-ering they are probably carrying some of your most important university work they are suprisingly easy to lose, so here’s a helpful tip to keep track of your little friend.

Hot Tip

Add a Word Document or Notepad Document to your datastick with your name and contact details in its main directory. This way if anyone picks it up they will be able to return it to you.


RetroNews

Illustration by Jack Bayliss

Illustration by Mark O’Gorman

By Jake May

When you compare the taste of bottled water, especially if you live in certain areas of the coun-try, to tap water, the difference is often minute. Chuck a water filter into the equation and I’d bet a fair amount of money on you not being able to tell the difference between the two. So why is it that we as a nation buy a staggering two billion litres of bottled water per year, espe-cially when water is often as expensive as petrol?

Why People Boycott…Bottled Water

By Benjamin Parker

There’s no time to act like a Sheila; it would be best to put down your surfboard, grab a lager and wear your cork hat because this January sees the celebration of the annual australia Day.

If a night out is being planned on Tuesday the 26th of January then chosen glad rags should reflect the heroes of Down Under: perhaps a Steve Irwin-inspired urban out-fit? Or a more glamorous Kylie Minogue

frock? However you decide to mark the occasion you can be sure that any of the Australian-themed pubs and clubs around the city, and many other none Aussie establishments, will be running special of-fers and events on and around the 26th. It’s likely not many people know why there is such a thing as Austral-ia Day. The actual roots of Australia Day go back to 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales and commander of the First Fleet of convict ships from Great Britain, arrived at Sydney Cove. Although the tag of ‘Australia Day’ wasn’t adopted by the country until over a century later there is evidence to suggest celebrations on the 26th of January as far back as 1818 under the guise of different

names, such as ‘Foundation Day’, ‘Anniver-sary Day’ and since 1935 all the states and territories have called it Australia Day, the name still in use today. Forgetting stereotypical views of our Australian cousins, understand-ing the point of Australia Day means one has to understand what it means to be Australian. Obviously there could be many different answers to this question but what ties Australians together culturally? Australian journalist William McInnes says basic Australian values are “a sense of the fair go, mateship, a laconic humour, irreverence for authority, an adventurous spirit, a disdain for pretence and snob-bery, a willingness to pitch in help others less fortunate”. Is it for this reason that

Australia can come together and celebrate its sovereignty? Why does Britain have so much trouble with a national identity? However, Australia Day is not without its controversies. For some, par-ticularly Indigenous Australians, Australia day has become a symbol for the negative effects the British settlement of the coun-try had on the Aboriginal people. In 1988 a mass gathering of Aborigines led an ‘Invasion Day’ commemoration on January 26th, marking the loss of indigenous cul-ture, and almost each year ‘Invasion Day’ protests coincide with Australia Day. The response to this has been positive, with of-ficial celebrations trying to include indig-enous people. Even as early as 1957 there were talks to move the date of Australia

to something appropriate, although this has not materialised and even as recently as 2009 the Australian Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition expressed resist-ance to change. Most nations have a day when families and friends come together to celebrate their country in a proud, positive way. I think it’s time Britain took a les-son from Australia and showed a more patriotic side. A start to this would be celebrating the British Commonwealth; on the 26th of January go out, grab a Fosters and get some Australian in you!

Shove another Shrimp on The Barbie....

What buyers usually don’t consider is how the water got to the shelf. Not only the energy it takes to produce one billion bottles, but also the transportation of the filled bottles over hundreds or thousands of miles and then issues of clogging up landfill sites unnecessarily still remain. Even if you sit on the other side of the fence for the gas emissions and global warming row (in that it doesn’t cause ‘global warm-ing’), you can’t argue against the waste of resources that is being used to make water bottles rather than other plastic essentials, such as afro-combs or Tesco clubcards. I jest. But come on, there are better uses for crude oils than making bottles filled with the stuff we get from our taps for a frac-tion of the cost! Save the world and some money, fill up your bottles at one of UWIC’s water stations.


RetroNews

By UWIC Nursing Dept.

Most of you have probably spent the holiday period eating too much rich food and drinking too much alcohol, so, here are some suggestions on healthy eating, to help you clean up your systems and make this a healthier new year, with kind permission from the Food Standards agency:

The two keys to a healthy diet are:1. Eating the right amount of food for how active you are.2. Eating a range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet.

A healthy balanced diet contains a variety of types of food, including lots of fruit, veg-etables, carbohydrates; some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils; and some dairy foods. If you have any queries or need advice on healthy eating or any other health related issues please contact a Nurs-ing Officer at Howard Gardens or Cyncoed or email [email protected].

Do you have a good quality landlord who provides you with good quality

accommodation?

Does the landlord treat you well as a tenant?

Is the letting agent not doing a good job of managing the property, and you’re in contact

with the landlord direct?

Do you feel that your landlord would benefit from an exclusive position of having their

property marketed by UWIC?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, then you could benefit from:

CLC’s Referral SystemTo submit a referral or to register your property requirements for the next academic year. Please contact Marc on:

Tel: 02920 417073Email: [email protected]

If you supply us with details of your landlord, any successful referral will be awarded a£10.00Gift Voucher

Campus Letting CentreNo Student Fees!Located at the Cyncoed Campus Centre is CLC.A Letting Agency provided by .

www.1stclc.co.uk

UWIC Student

Housing Fair26th January 2010

10am-3pm

Campus Centre, Cyncoed

•Freeinformationandadvice.

•AVOIDFallingintothetrapofsigningacontract with a Housing Agent too early!

•Don’tfallforHousingAgents’flyers/leaf-lets that they’ve dropped around UWIC campuses

Come to the housing fayre first and find out more.

DON’T GET STUNG!Speak to US first! Confused?

Visit us or Telephone and Speak to the UWIC Accommodation Team:

Tel: 029 20416189

Looking for a property?

around this time of year some people begin to think about searching for properties to live in private rented accommodation but DoN’T RUSH. Slow down, slow down its WAY too early to be concerned with looking for a property. Don’t be pushed into sign-ing an agreement. Houses become available all year round. Please be aware of agents who insist that all good houses go early. DON’T PANIC – house hunting before the easter holidays is not necessary as there is more supply than demand for houses, it’s a renters market. Landlords and Letting Agents tend to charge top rent earlier on and then drop it as time goes by. So wait-ing until March will get you a better deal! Also beware of set up charges that some agencies charge..... CLC don’t charge at all!

New Year’s Resolution: Healthy Eating


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Summer Accommodation available throughout July and August

www.victoriahall.com

welcome to your future

For more information contact the Victoria Hall Management Office on:


Retro Recommends...By Jake MayRetro Music Editor

Release of the Month:

25th January 2010

First aid Kit Big, Black and the Blue

Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg are barely out of school and yet they are already causing a huge stir in the worldwide folk scene. Signed to Wichita, the duo release debut album ‘Big, Black and Blue’ exactly a month after Christmas and will do wonders at lifting your back-to-uni blues by providing you something special to look forward to in January. Expect heartfelt harmonies and perfectly plucked acoustic guitar in each of the eleven tracks on this album, which takes influence from the likes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Oh, and be prepared to shed a tear at the beauty of it.

other Recommended Releases from January:

11th January:

Vampire WeekendContra(File next to: Ra Ra Riot, Animal Collective, MGMT)

adam GreenMinor love(File next to: The Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, Jeffrey Lewis)

18th January:

Good ShoesNo Hope No Future(File next to: The Maccabees, Mystery Jets, Bombay Bicycle Club)

Fyfe DangerfieldFly Yellow Moon(File next to: Guillemots)

Cold War KidsBehave Yourself EP(File next to: White Rabbits, Kings of Leon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah)

25th January:

Magnetic FieldsRealism(File next to: Belle and Sebastian, Beat Happening)

RetroMusic

Bands and Solo Artists Wanted!

Each month Retro gives its students a chance to get acquainted with a band or artist from UWIC.

So, are you in a band/artist? Are you a current student at UWIC? Do you want to be seen in 3,000 Retros distributed across Cardiff for UWIC Students? Of Course you do!

Then get in touch with our Music Editor Jake May and show your interest!

[email protected]

Ronnie RubeUWIC Artist of the Month

By Jake MayRetro Music Editor

armed with an acoustic guitar, and sometimes with the sup-port of a few friends, Ronnie Rube, aka Graphic Communica-tion student James Cox, makes bedroom crafted songs about drinking, smoking, girls and other miscellaneous rock n roll tomfoolery. We caught up with him via the wonders of the in-ternet over the Christmas break to ask him about his life, his music, his hometown of Wrex-ham and more. Do read on…

Ronnie Rube. That’s an unusual name. Does it come from a childhood nick-name or did you choose it or a particu-lar reason? Well me and my mate where just sitting in my room and I was offered my 1st solo gig but I didn’t have a name. We were a little drunk and I needed a name for the poster, we were just saying random names based on anything we saw or were doing and my mate was fiddling with a rubix cube. I had said Ronnie, and he said Ronnie Cube, and we were just going off that and then he came up with Ronnie Rube!

You cite a range of influences, from Johnny Cash to David Bowie to The Libertines. Do you feel these sounds come across in your music, and are you interested in a wider range of music than this?

Yeah I like to think I have a wide range. My collection goes from Frank Turner to Frank Sinatra. I suppose my influence comes from every genre of music. I like quite a lot of rap music and I don’t mind a bit of dance music when I am out but I draw the line at Dub Step! I can’t stand it!

Where do you take your lyrical influ-ences? Drugs drink and girls pop up a fair amount. are these personal experi-ences or are you telling stories?I try to tell stories; a lot of them are a mix of both real stuff and me elaborating the truth. A lot of the people in my songs are people that I know of and I try to work on that really.

one of your tracks is ‘Elle’. Writing songs about girls, I always feel, is a personal and risky thing to do, especially if cir-cumstances change. Have you had any awkward moments from it? No I haven’t really which is a bit boring. Sometimes when I am playing a song about a girl and there is someone I know in the audience, I’ll change it to the girl I know there. Just to be a knob though, more than anything.

The majority of your tracks, on your MySpace at least, are quite lo-fi in terms of production. Have you chosen this feel for your music, or would you have a bit more going on in different circum-stances (i.e. more money and the use of a recording studio)? I’ve never had a need for a studio really but I think that I would like to go into a studio and do the whole process, but only once I had the right songs. The tracks were mainly up for people to get a feel for my music. I suppose the essence of

a song stays the same regardless of the recording, but yeah, those tracks would be much better if they weren’t all recorded in my mate’s bedroom on a mac, but it’s all good.

You and your acoustic, plus the odd bit of backing vocals, work alone on your recorded tracks. Is it always a one man band, or do you ever add a drummer etc for your live shows? I tend to do most of my gigs and that by myself but, in Cardiff, sometimes my mate who is studying in Newport comes down and plays a few songs with me. We used to be in a band together. When I play in Wrexham my friend Danny Gruff usually plays towards the end of my set and we do a few covers and always finish with the song we wrote together. I prefer playing with other people I guess.

You’re a Wrexham boy but obviously are studying in Cardiff. How do you feel the two cities compare in terms of music scene and live opportunities? I’m more involved in the Wrexham scene as I know everyone who’s going to be playing and I regularly get involved myself. With Cardiff though I guess I don’t know as many bands or promoters to get as involved as I am in Wrexham. This is why some friends and I in Wrexham have just started up our own promotion com-pany called The Gashienda. We did this so we can put on our own music and bands that we like around Wrexham. We are now bringing it to Cardiff and the first one is on the 22nd of Feb in Ten Feet Tall.

In a perfect world, where would you be in ten years time if you focussed on your music completely?

Well, probably nailed out 4 cracking albums, and about to go on my 3rd world tour and having one last big blow out party/gig in Cardiff for all my friends until I get back, drinking Sailor Jerry’s and coke!

To hear James’ music and to find out more information about the nights he and some friends put on in and around Cardiff, head to his MySpace at myspace.com/ronnierube.

UWIC LifeWhat is your real name?James Cox

What course at UWIC are you studying (and what year)?2nd year of Graphic Communication

You’ve played a fair few gigs around Cardiff (Barfly, Teen Feet Tall etc). What advice would you give to others trying to bag sup-port slots for bands? Just keep on blagging the clubs and the promoters really. Just get involved, talk to people, start your own event, be heard.

Do you ever find housemates getting annoyed by your practise sessions, or do you have any secret tips to avoid any arguments? Force them to start playing too. I was thinking they might start getting annoyed so I got my house mate to start learning bass. Now were always telling him to stop playing!


RetroMusic

UWIC Artist of the Month Gig Reviews13th November

owls/The afternoons/She’s Got Spies/oK Tommy’s Bar

By Rory Wilkinson

Friday the 13th is notorious for bad luck, but it turned out not to be the case this time in Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens. Never having been to Tommy’s I didn’t know what to expect in terms of a venue but it definitely ticks all the boxes for those who like the small intimate gigs. Also the beers only two quid so it’s hard not to be happy! The first band up was ‘OK’ who went down rather well. They weren’t amazing but they weren’t bad, they were...OK (surprisingly). They opened the night nicely with their happy folkey style, kind of like the an acoustic version of The Coral. They certainly couldn’t have built the crowds hopes up anymore for the second band. ‘She’s Got Spies’ took the stage armed with a mini keyboard and a tambourine and, well, you could say they failed to capture the audience to much with their welsh infused, tell-it-like-it-is, simplistic style. The whole honest, basic thing does work most of the time, but in this instance it was not to be. Imagine ‘The Moldy Peaches’ without any talent, humour or appeal. The real highlight of the night were ‘The Afternoons’ who were next up. An incredibly well balanced and profes-sional bunch from Cardiff managed to bring back the audience from the brink of boredom and entertain with punchy and powerful numbers. Definitely worth a listen I’d say. The headlining act was ‘Owls’. A

kind of Welsh/American blend who were well fitted into the Green Day mold. They kept the crowd happy but just like ‘OK’ they weren’t much to shout about. The night itself went well. It’s always enjoyable to be able to hear new music and you couldn’t pick a nicer environment. Keep the Friday nights coming I say!

Grade

2:1

20th November

Houdini Dax/I Was a King/CwmbientTommy’s Bar

By Rory Wilkinson

The second Friday Night in a row for me at Tommy’s Bar and the word had definitely got around about the gigs judging by the crowd. That, and the calibre of the bands gave a sense of a special night in the making. The first band up was ‘Cwmbi-ent’ and the ambience was definitely in abundance with them. A very enjoyable local band whose sound gave the impres-sion that a lot of planning and work had gone into their tracks. One of them even sounded like a new version of Albatross by Fleetwood Mac (That’s the Marks and Spencer’s music by the way). Next up was ‘I Was A King’ all the way from Norway. I was looking forward to these quite a lot maybe due to my previous disposition towards Scan-dinavian bands (‘Sigur Ros’ are of course legends) but I was somewhat let down by the unadventurous nature of their music. It was a strange mix, all their songs had

10th December 2009

High ContrastBuffalo

Thea Wise

At first sight, Buffalo Bar was more remi-niscent of a school disco than a setting for one of Cardiff’s trendiest born and bred high profile DJ’s… I for one certainly wasn’t convinced. When Mr High Contrast finally took centre stage, his audience was more than welcoming. To the fans amusement, Lincoln Barrett aka (High Contrast) was in a cracking mood with a beaming smile on his face. Blessing our ears with some of the paramount beats and drops of the noughties, it really took me right back to

amazing intros that really thought some-thing spectacular was going to happen, but then all of that was lost when the song carried on. The final band was ‘Houdini Dax’ who were in as an emergency replacement, and what a good decision that turned out to be! The guys in the band, who initially seemed scared and shy, delivered a blinding performance. It’s hard to describe their music properly; blues infused rock that bristled with origi-nality, face-melting solos, and a whole load of raucous choruses chucked in to boot! A fantastic end to a good night. Make sure you take your chance to see ‘Houdini Dax’ if you can.

Grade

1st

being in the dance village at Glastonbury Festival 2009. Big artists of 2010 made a prime appearance too, with mixes from Deadmau5, Ellie Goulding and Jakwob. It was definitely one of the best sets I’ve seen of his to date. Not only was he clearly looking and feeling fresh for the year ahead, he constantly titillated his audience with excitement and glee in a way only he knows how. People left buzzing, chatting about the lucid flow between tracks and how High Contrast can make even the worst Oceana tunes transform magically into dubstep delight! Overall, I don’t see the success and creativity of Lincoln Barrett fading anytime soon!

Grade

2:1

Photo: High Contrast


UWIC Students’ Union listens to Nation Radio - 106.8 & 107.3 FM, www.nationwales.com UWIC Students’ Union listens to Nation Radio - 106.8 & 107.3 FM, www.nationwales.com

Hello! First things first lets get some background info on you. Where do you hail from? What college did you attend? And what course are you currently studying here at UWIC?My name is Amie Marie Salt from the city of Oxford. Before my move to university I lived in a town called Banbury and studied a 2 year art and design BTEC course at Oxford and Cherwell College. I am now currently in my third year of contemporary textiles, and have chosen to specify as a textile maker, where I get the chance to create one off conceptual pieces, rather than a textile designer.

In your opinion, what is the best thing about studying an art and design degree at university?In college I loved the freedom you had to experiment and play with a huge range of different media’s and techniques, but by the end of my time in college I really wanted to be more specific in the design area of textiles. I now get the chance to be creative in my specific field, learning the topic I love, surrounded by people who feel the same, making great friends and hopefully great contacts for the future. In such a close environment, the feedback

we can give each other and advise is not only helpful, but reliable and trusted. In university, I have had the chance to meet a lot of people not only have I met great textile artists, but I have had the chance to live and be close to people on other art courses who’s input has always been very appreciated as it is a view from a different perspective.

What inspires your work?The things that inspire me the most are world issues, since doing this course my eyes have been opened to a lot of issues and things that I probably would have never thought about or taken into consideration. It is this that has given me the drive to try and teach people about these issues through my art. I also use recycling as a main part of my projects. Living in a house full of artists helps, we all give each other inspiration and bounce off of each others creativity.

Looking into the future, where would you like to be in 5 years time?As I have not had a gap year, I am starting to feel like it is about time I had a break. Next September I’m going to climb Mount Kilamanjaro for charity, and hopefully

from there, carry on traveling the world. I want to use my time traveling as an opportunity to carry on learning about textiles and craft and hopefully be able to bring back a wide knowledge of skills. When I come back to the UK I plan to start working in a studio as a textile artist/maker.

What is the most important piece of advice you would give to someone thinking about starting an art and design degree course? Any words of wisdom?Make sure its something that you love, and really make sure you understand the courses background, art and design is very time consuming and sometimes even if you have put your heart and soul in to it can be a little unpredictable, but you just need to use these times to help you learn and grow. University is a great time to create a contact list and a portfolio, with the help of very knowledgeable people. I’ve loved every second I’ve had here, I just wish it didn’t have to end!

Amie and her fellow students have an exbition in January called ‘In Transition’.Keep your eyes peeled!

Happy NewYear ya’ll!By Gaz DuntArt and Design Reporter

Welcome to the Art and Design section of Retro. Here you can find plenty of inspirational stuff to get your creative juices flowing. My name is Gareth Dunt. I’m the Assistant Editor and Design Reporter for Retro. I’d like to thank Ed Fairburn, Mark O’ Gorman, Jack Bayliss and Jake Eldridge for their hard work this month. Their illustrations can be seen throughout this issue. I spend a lot of time looking for interesting things in the world of art and design. Some of which I put in Retro, but most end up on my design blog due to the sheer amount of it. So if you have 5 minutes and want to check out whats happening in the world of art and design, be sure to take a look at my design blog at -

blackmaths.com

Furthermore if you have a question or would like to have a chat about anything featured in Retro, feel free to contact me on the email addressbelow. [email protected]

Express Yourself Comp Results!

POLLUTED MINDS SUCCESS

The Polluted Minds exhibition rolled into town last month featuring the work of four illustration students from UWIC. It was located over at the international art space Tactile Bosch and was the brainchild of Bill Giles, Adam Travers, Dave Hazelgrove, and Richie Lee. Upon arrival, you’re first impressions of the building are of somewhat confusion – a cold and leaky building in a dark corner of a housing estate in Llandaff North. However through the doors lay a vibrant, dynamic illustration exhibition boasting the

unstoppable talent we have here at the Cardiff School of Art and Design. Towering cityscapes merged with sinister characters, elegant floral illustrations entwined with abstract shapes. It really was an attack on the senses. There were numerous pieces in the exhibition- broadly collaborative works based around the theme ‘pollution’. A great congratulations goes to the artists that made the exhibition possible! Furthermore a big thank you to all that pitched in with helping them- that includes you girls who made the food! You know who you are!

Photographs: Top - Darragh MurphyLower - Carl Sutherwood

By Gaz DuntArt and Design Reporter

Photograph below: Carl Sutherwood

Left to right: Adam Travers, Richie Lee, Bill Giles, Dave Hazelgrove Designer of the Month

AMIE SALT

Calling all UWIC Artists and Designers!

Retro want to hear from you!

If you fancy featuring as the next Retro Artist/Designer of the Month, submit an article or advertise an exhibition please get in touch with our Art & Design editor -

Gareth [email protected]

TaLENTED staff and students across UWIC have battled it out to be crowned the UWIC winner of the hugely popular Express Yourself competition, sponsored by CyMaL.

And after some difficult deliberations for the judges the winner was named as Leah Crossley for her poem Les Mots. Organised by Library Division, the UWIC leg is part of a national competi-tion with the university’s winning entry going through to the next stage to be considered as the overall winner.

Well done Leah!


UWIC Students’ Union listens to Nation Radio - 106.8 & 107.3 FM, www.nationwales.com UWIC Students’ Union listens to Nation Radio - 106.8 & 107.3 FM, www.nationwales.com

Hello! First things first lets get some background info on you. Where do you hail from? What college did you attend? And what course are you currently studying here at UWIC?My name is Amie Marie Salt from the city of Oxford. Before my move to university I lived in a town called Banbury and studied a 2 year art and design BTEC course at Oxford and Cherwell College. I am now currently in my third year of contemporary textiles, and have chosen to specify as a textile maker, where I get the chance to create one off conceptual pieces, rather than a textile designer.

In your opinion, what is the best thing about studying an art and design degree at university?In college I loved the freedom you had to experiment and play with a huge range of different media’s and techniques, but by the end of my time in college I really wanted to be more specific in the design area of textiles. I now get the chance to be creative in my specific field, learning the topic I love, surrounded by people who feel the same, making great friends and hopefully great contacts for the future. In such a close environment, the feedback

we can give each other and advise is not only helpful, but reliable and trusted. In university, I have had the chance to meet a lot of people not only have I met great textile artists, but I have had the chance to live and be close to people on other art courses who’s input has always been very appreciated as it is a view from a different perspective.

What inspires your work?The things that inspire me the most are world issues, since doing this course my eyes have been opened to a lot of issues and things that I probably would have never thought about or taken into consideration. It is this that has given me the drive to try and teach people about these issues through my art. I also use recycling as a main part of my projects. Living in a house full of artists helps, we all give each other inspiration and bounce off of each others creativity.

Looking into the future, where would you like to be in 5 years time?As I have not had a gap year, I am starting to feel like it is about time I had a break. Next September I’m going to climb Mount Kilamanjaro for charity, and hopefully

from there, carry on traveling the world. I want to use my time traveling as an opportunity to carry on learning about textiles and craft and hopefully be able to bring back a wide knowledge of skills. When I come back to the UK I plan to start working in a studio as a textile artist/maker.

What is the most important piece of advice you would give to someone thinking about starting an art and design degree course? Any words of wisdom?Make sure its something that you love, and really make sure you understand the courses background, art and design is very time consuming and sometimes even if you have put your heart and soul in to it can be a little unpredictable, but you just need to use these times to help you learn and grow. University is a great time to create a contact list and a portfolio, with the help of very knowledgeable people. I’ve loved every second I’ve had here, I just wish it didn’t have to end!

Amie and her fellow students have an exbition in January called ‘In Transition’.Keep your eyes peeled!

Happy NewYear ya’ll!By Gaz DuntArt and Design Reporter

Welcome to the Art and Design section of Retro. Here you can find plenty of inspirational stuff to get your creative juices flowing. My name is Gareth Dunt. I’m the Assistant Editor and Design Reporter for Retro. I’d like to thank Ed Fairburn, Mark O’ Gorman, Jack Bayliss and Jake Eldridge for their hard work this month. Their illustrations can be seen throughout this issue. I spend a lot of time looking for interesting things in the world of art and design. Some of which I put in Retro, but most end up on my design blog due to the sheer amount of it. So if you have 5 minutes and want to check out whats happening in the world of art and design, be sure to take a look at my design blog at -

blackmaths.com

Furthermore if you have a question or would like to have a chat about anything featured in Retro, feel free to contact me on the email addressbelow. [email protected]

Express Yourself Comp Results!

POLLUTED MINDS SUCCESS

The Polluted Minds exhibition rolled into town last month featuring the work of four illustration students from UWIC. It was located over at the international art space Tactile Bosch and was the brainchild of Bill Giles, Adam Travers, Dave Hazelgrove, and Richie Lee. Upon arrival, you’re first impressions of the building are of somewhat confusion – a cold and leaky building in a dark corner of a housing estate in Llandaff North. However through the doors lay a vibrant, dynamic illustration exhibition boasting the

unstoppable talent we have here at the Cardiff School of Art and Design. Towering cityscapes merged with sinister characters, elegant floral illustrations entwined with abstract shapes. It really was an attack on the senses. There were numerous pieces in the exhibition- broadly collaborative works based around the theme ‘pollution’. A great congratulations goes to the artists that made the exhibition possible! Furthermore a big thank you to all that pitched in with helping them- that includes you girls who made the food! You know who you are!

Photographs: Top - Darragh MurphyLower - Carl Sutherwood

By Gaz DuntArt and Design Reporter

Photograph below: Carl Sutherwood

Left to right: Adam Travers, Richie Lee, Bill Giles, Dave Hazelgrove Designer of the Month

AMIE SALT


RetroFilm Reviews

By adam Chubb

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen LangDirector: James CameronWriter: James Cameronoriginal Score: James HornerRunning Time: 150 Mins.

James Cameron, as we all know, is the self-proclaimed king of the world but which world might that be?

Not so much the Earth but more the king of actually “creating” worlds, there is no denying the infamously control-freakish director has a knack for immersing his audience in a world from the bottom up, whether it be the post-apocalyptic future of the Terminator films, an Alien (s) planet or, indeed a great big (doomed) Titanic sized ship. So it would be prudent to as-sume that in creating a whole new world (called Pandora) for his latest opus, topi-cally named Avatar, that he would once more succeed in bringing this Pandora to fully immersive, believable and most

importantly, entertaining, life. Couple Cameron’s past reper-toire with the tools he has at his disposal, most notably a totally new way of shoot-ing in 3D and hugely advanced motion-capture techniques that put Zemeckis’ Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol to shame, and you should have a product well worth the 11 year wait even in the face of an insurmountable level of hype... So, does the final product add up to the sum of its parts? Well, to answer diplomatically, yes, and no, you see for all the strengths Avatar has, it also has equally as many weaknesses, some you can overlook while others prove too pertinent for even lush visuals to paper over. And what visuals they are, and always were destined to be the crowning achievement of Avatar, in creating his Pandora James Cameron has brought to life a world as lush and most importantly realistic as anything you have seen on-screen before, in the same way that Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings, from a visual point of view at least, we are transported to the world inhabited by a vast array weird and wondrous creatures.It is obvious, even to the most oblivious viewer, that Cameron has spent the last decade crafting this world with meticu-

lous loving care, enhanced furthermore not so much by the 3D element (more on this later) but more the emotion con-veyed by the Na’vi, the blue skinned in-digenous population of Pandora, always a strong writer of female characters Avatar presents yet another fine example of this, with both Sigourney Weaver and particu-larly Zoe Saldana’s Na’vi, Neytiri, as the stand out performances. Though kudos must go to Sam Worthington, surely now destined to become one of the biggest A-List action stars following his promise in Terminator: Salvation, and now a much more nuanced performance here. That these three stand out so well is purely down to performance and charisma, and not script, for this is the film’s biggest failing, in crafting Pandora, its look and inhabitants Cameron seems to have neglected to write a script that matches the technical achievement, at its worst it invokes the weakest parts of the Star Wars prequels (no good thing I assure you) and at best it’s simply clichéd and predictable. The story itself is so hackneyed and has a terrible “seen it all before” air about it. and yes the question as to what is truly “original” nowadays in film remains, but there are ways around making things feel not so stale, and in-jecting something you have seen before

with a bit of energy can liven it up. However here the suggestions that we were being faced with Dances With Wolves or Pocahontas in Space, and Ferngully with blue aliens are fully deserved, not so much in a derivative way but more disappointingly. The best example of this stere-otyping comes in Stephen Lang’s villain-ous General Quarritch, he isn’t an actor lacking in menace but simply written so two dimensionally you can play dot to dot with the plot and his character arc, so badass he can breathe in the usually lethal air of Pandora this is the closest we get to characterisation. Though to be to down on the film for a lack of good script may seem harsh given its achievements but without substance behind the sheen I simply cannot endorse something on the same level as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings or even Cameron’s own Titanic, which suffered the same stereotyping but overcame with real emotion. Even the final 40 minutes of action fail to hold a single stand out scene, which is gravely disappointing in the face of the fact that a.) this is the man who gave us Terminator 2: Judgement Day and b.) the potential that exists in the film’s world, hopefully in the suggested sequel these issues can be

rectified... On a final note much has been made of Avatar’s 3D, and it is true this is the best example of it yet, however it still has a rather needless feel, given the version of the film I saw was digitally presented the hi-def alone does enough to enrich the world of Pandora and the 3D aspect left me feeling more distracted than in awe by the supposed revolution-ary advances, something not helped by the increased hike in price for the privilege of this new technology.

VerdictAvatar has a stunning outer shell, and there is no question as to the amount of time and effort that has gone into mak-ing it look good with or without the 3D “upgrade”. However what lay underneath is greatly lacking, meaning that while your eyes will be in awe your brain will wish that Cameron had spent as much time scripting as he did on the “mind-blowing” visuals.

cineworldC I N E M A S

aVaTaR (3D)

Grade

2:2


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aCRoSS1. 1961 Charlton Heston epic (2,3)3. Mention (5)6. Ex Chancellor of the exchquer (6,5)8. Clarinet mouthpiece (4)11. Sketched (4)13. Fish eating mammal (5)14. Shock (4)16. Short, sharp cry (4)19. Annual work gathering (6,5)20. More than usual (5)21. De-clothe (5)

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RetrodokuEasy: Medium:

Hard:

Dear aunty archer,I’m in my third year at UWIC, and I’ve seen a few posters and flyers around the campuses on the National Student Survey. I’ve also heard people mentioning that it’s a survey for final year undergraduates?! Can you tell me what the purpose of this survey is and whether or not I will need to fill one in?Tim

Hi Tim,The NSS is a chance for students across the UK to provide feedback on their courses. It’s an important questionnaire as final year students are given the op-portunity to say what they liked and did not like about their student experience. The results of the survey are used to identify areas of improvement within the University and are also used to create Uni-versity league tables which are published nationally and are made available to help prospective students make informed choices of where and what to study.The survey will go live on the 18th Jan, so as soon as you get a chance, fill it in – as your feedback is very worthwhile. Aunty Archer

Dear aunty archer,The completion of my degree is fast approaching and soon I will need to start thinking about polishing up my C.V. and practicing my interview skills. However, I’m not sure where to start! Could you tell where I can go to get this kind of help please?Rosie

Hi Rosie,It’s good that you’re thinking about your future employment. The ‘Your Career e-module’ on Blackboard delivers interac-tive career development skills sessions on self-assessment, CV writing, Job Ap-plications, interviews and many more. The module can help you to design a CV for a job in your specified area and to meet employers’ needs. Workshops/talks are also delivered across all Schools which are designed to support initial career path planning and transition into the workplace or further study. If you haven’t yet looked into this section on Blackboard then I’d advise you to do so as your first option, as it contains a massive amount of helpful information. Aunty Archer

Dear aunty archerIt’s just hit home how soon dissertation hand-in will be once this term gets going! I’m finding it hard to see if my work’s any good and I’m getting fed up of reading it over and over to check for mistakes. Is there anyone that can help?Jessica

Hi Jessica. Don’t worry, help is at hand! UWIC offers help with academic skills; this comes in very handy with dissertations or any essay or coursework that you would like someone to look over or give you some helpful tips on. You can visit www.stu-dent.uwic.ac.uk/academicskills through the student portal. There are people that can help you with your work; be it on how to construct an essay, help with referencing, or-ganising your time and much more. You can find these people by asking at the Library, Careers Services or Student Services.Aunty Archer

Evil:

across: 1. Elcid, 3. Refer, 6. Gordon Brown, 8. Reed, 11. Drew, 13. Otter, 14. Stun, 16. Yelp, 19. Office Party, 20. Extra, 21. Strip. Down: 1. Eager, 2. Carve, 4. Flour, 5. Renew, 7. Neptune, 9. Eat, 10. Don, 11. Dry, 12. Eel, 14. Shive, 15. Unfit, 17. Error, 18. Payup.

DoWN1. Keen (5)2. Sliced meat (5)4. Powdered grain (5)5. Give fresh life (5)7. 8th planet from the Sun (7)9. Consume (3)10. University teacher (3)11. Moistureless (3)12. Slippery fish (3)14. Push roughly (5)15. Out of condition (5)17. Mistake (5)18. Settle a bill (3,2)

aNSWERS:

Do you have a question for aunty archer? Please email [email protected]

Plum of the month

If you have a picture of UWIC Plum then we want to know! You can either email your pictures to the Retro editor:[email protected]. or you could upload your picture to our facebook group. Search for Retro Newspaper.

This month’s

Plum of the Month is

JonnyMorris

Sent in by

anonymous.

Retro ClassifiedsDissertation Questionnaire HelpFrom Shaun Bartlett

Please could you help me with my dis-sertation and fill in my questionnaire. The questionnaire intends to discover the relationship between people’s atti-tude, knowledge and perceived barriers to exercise and how it relates to their inactivity.

If you would like to help and fill in the questionnaire please contact Shaun Bartlett on:[email protected]

If you require any further information then please do not hesitate to contact the project supervisor Dr D. Wasley on:Tel: 02920417192or email: [email protected]

If you have anything you would like to advertise in the Retro Classifieds please contact:[email protected]


British Universities & Colleges SportRetroBUCS Fixtures & Results

Badminton l (W2a)

Badminton W (Prem)

Basketball M (W2B)

Basketball W1 (Prem)

Basketball W2 (W2a)

Football M1 (W2B)

Football M2 (W2B)

Football M3 (W3B)

Football W1 (Prem)

Football W2 (W1a)

Golf (Prem S)

Hockey M1 (W2B)

Hockey M2 (W3B)

Hockey W1 (Prem)

Hockey W2 (W 2B)

Hockey W3 (W3B)

Lacrosse (W1a)

Netball 1 (Prem)

Netball 2 (W2B)

Netball 3 (W2B)

Netball 4 (W3B)

Rugby Union M1 (Prem a)

Rugby Union M2 (Prem B)

Rugby Union M3 (W1a)


Rugby Union W (Prem)

Rugby League (Premier S)

Squash 1 (W1a)

Squash 2 (W2B)

Squash W 1 (Prem)

Tennis M1 (W1a)

Tennis M2 (W2B)

Tennis W (W1a)

Volleyball M (W2a)

Volleyball W (W2a)

January 2010UWIC BUCS Fixtures

December 2009UWIC BUCS Results

For more BUCS fixtures & results www.bucs.org.uk

Badminton l (W2a)

Badminton W (Prem)

Basketball M (W2B)

Basketball W1 (Prem)

Basketball W2 (W2a)

Football M1 (W2B)

Football M2 (W2B)

Football M3 (W3B)

Football W1 (Prem)

Football W2 (W1a)

Golf (Prem S)

Hockey M1 (W2B)

Hockey M2 (W3B)

Hockey W1 (Prem)

Hockey W2 (W 2B)

Hockey W3 (W3B)

Lacrosse (W1a)

Netball 1 (Prem)

Netball 2 (W2B)

Netball 3 (W2B)

Netball 4 (W3B)

Rugby Union M1 (Prem a)

Rugby Union M2 (Prem B)



Rugby Union W (Prem)

Rugby League (Premier S)

Squash 1 (W1a)

Squash 2 (W2B)

Squash W 1 (Prem)

Tennis M1 (W1a)

Tennis M2 (W2B)

Tennis W (W1a)

Volleyball M (W2a)

Volleyball W (W2a)

25th Nov8 - 0 Glos 1 (A)

94 - 80 Bristol 1 (H)

150 - 9 Portsmouth 1 (H)

82 - 40 UWE 1 (H)

0 - 2 Brunel 1 (A)

3 - 1 Swansea 1 (H)

6 - 2 Glos 2 (H)

0 - 3 Bristol 1 (A)

11 - 0 Glam 1 (A)

0 - 0 Glos 2 (A)

0 - 24 Bristol 2 (A)

25 - 43 Bath 1 (A)

57 - 25 Bristol 2 (H)

28 - 21 Swansea 1 (H)

36 - 43 aber 1 (A)

9 - 6 Hartpury 1 (H)

12 - 17 Hartpury 2 (A)

18 - 35 Hartpury 3 (H)

7 - 33 Exeter 2 (H)

5 - 0 Bristol 2 (H)

3 - 2 aber 1 (A)

8 - 2 UWE 1 (H)

5 - 5 Cardiff 1 (A)

8 - 2 Gloucester 1 (H)

2nd Dec5 - 3 Soton 2 (A)

142 - 41 Bristol 1 (H)

2 - 3 Hartpury 2 (A)

3 - 2 Gloucester 2 (A)

1 - 3 Hertford 1 (A)

10 - 1 Bath 4 (A)

6 - 4 Cardiff 3 (H)

2 - 1 oxford 1 (H)

1 - 1 Swansea 1 (H)

2 - 2 Medics 1 (A)

56 - 33 UWE 1 (A)

41 - 38 UWIC 3 (H)

38 - 41 UWIC 2 (A)

Newport 1 (A)

23 - 5 St Mary’s 1 (A)

0 - 48 Nottingham 1 (A)

4 - 1 Bath 1 (A)

5 - 0 Glamorgan 2 (H)

4 - 0 UWE 1 (H)

6 - 4 Bristol 2 (A)

5 - 5 aber 1 (H)

7 - 3 Bath 2 (A)

9th Dec

3 - 5 Bath 1 (A)

10 - 0 Bath 1 (A)

1 - 2 Exeter 1 (A)

39 - 31 Bristol 1 (H)

32 - 8 Bristol 1 (H)

7 - 20 Cardiff 1 (A)

10 - 41 Exeter 2 (H)

7 - 33 RaC 1 (A)

53 - 0 Exeter 1 (H)

3 - 2 Exeter 1 (H)

13th Jan

Oxford (H)

(H) - Home(A) - AwayRed - Conference Cup

20th Jan

Gloucester 1 (H)

Oxford 1 (A)

Bath 2 (H)

Swansea 1 (A)

27th Jan

Cambridge 1 (H)

Swansea 2 (A)

London Met 1 (H)

Brighton 1 (H)

Southampton 1 (A)

Cardiff 1 (A)

Exeter 1 (H)

Brunel 1 (A)

Exeter 1 (H)

Ox Brookes 1 (A)

Bristol 2 (H)

Glamorgan 1 (H)

Brunel 1 (A)

Loughborough 2 (H)

Southampton 1 (H)

Bristol 2 (A)

Bo’mouth 2 (A)

Swansea 1 (H)

Exeter 2 (H)


RetroBUCS Photography www.uwicsu.co.uk/au/gallery

Photography By Carl Sutherwood

Photography By Kieran McManus

Photography By Kieran McManusPhotography By Kieran McManus

Photography By Kieran McManus


RetroSport

Bryony Raine Sport: Athletics, I am a pole vaulter. Sporting achievements:My best sporting achievements are probably all from this year to be honest! I started the year with a number of do-mestic wins, including the Birmingham games, the Midlands Championships and the BUCS Championships, that indoor season was great fun and I added 25cm to my personal best. I was really excited moving into the outdoor season and managed to gain another 10cm on my PB when I jumped 4.05m at the UK Championships in July and finished up with a bronze medal. Course of Study:Well I am on MSc Sport and Exercise Science but also did my undergrad, BSc Sport & Exercise Science at UWIC. When did you first start playing your sport and how long have you been involved? I came to UWIC as a gymnast but quit after the first term as I felt I was getting too old, then within a few weeks a friend

had recommended I try pole vaulting, something I hadn’t even heard of at the time! So it was 2005 that I started, and I’ve been really into it ever since. Who is your biggest sporting influence?That’s a tough one, and a lot of people would expect me to pick a gymnast but Id have to say it was my coach, Scott Simpson. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of work and coaching hours he puts into the group’s training, and anyone who is so dedicated to some-thing is certainly a worthy role model. He was a great international pole vaulter himself and that makes such a difference because he knows the solution to every problem and he knows how to keep us motivated. What does an average week of training consist of?In a normal week at this time of year (we are not competing yet), I would had have three pole vault sessions, working on the technical parts of the jump, and one of these sessions is on our new downhill run up. Two weights sessions, three running sessions which include a speed endurance one, a session for speed and a more chilled tempo running session. A core stability session, three gymnas-

tics sessions - two of which are more conditioning based, and one being more about skills. One plyometrics sessions and a swim session which constitutes our rest day. Do you have any pre-competition rituals?I wouldn’t say I have rituals but i am very superstitious and I really wish I wasn’t. I can’t compete without my yellow rubber duck which marks my run up, and I am quite particular about what socks I am wearing and the way I have my hair. I tend to fiddle about with my spkies as I worry that they are too tight or too lose, and I always find time before I compete to listen to some Britney or McFly! What are your hopes for the future after your time at UWIC?I would like to see what happens in the next couple of years, I hope that all the hard work I am putting in at the moment will pay off and that I will be jumping even higher this time next year. Most of all I aim to be enjoying the event as much as I am now, and I know that’s what’s given me such an improvement in the last 12 months.

Scholar of The Month


RetroSport

UWIC Women RFC 53

Exeter Women RFC 0

By Kylie WilsonWomen’s Rugby Head Coach

on the 9th December, the last game of last year, UWIC welcomed Exeter to Cyncoed in a game which promised to be hard fought after a close encounter on the away leg.

After receiving her first welsh interna-tional cap last weekend against Sweden, UWIC were lead superbly by Lisa Newton who combined well with fellow back-row players Sioned Harries and Hannah Newport. However, the UWIC platform was established by an outstanding scrum-maging performance from front row players Katie Hutchins, Lowri Harries and Abbey Constable. The set piece work of Olivia Robinson and S. Harries at lineout

UWIC’s Women Hoping to Repeat Success of Last 4 Years

also provided a wealth of ball for the back line to exploit; whish resulted in tries for Kiri Bennett, Yazmin Leung and Levi Hallett. Excellent linking play by backs and for-wards saw scrum half Larissa Muldoon give a deft pass to put L. Harries into the corner for an excellent team try. This perform-ance sets UWIC up as Premier South league leaders with only a few fixtures remaining, which should give them a favourable home draw for the knock-out stages. The squad are hoping to repeat the success of the past four years by reach-ing the final to be played at Twickenham on 21st April. The team has trained hard over the Christmas period and are looking to step up a gear over January and Febru-ary to ensure they are prepared for the stiffer challenges that face them. Head coach Dr. Kylie Wilson was full of praise for her squad “today we put some pas-sages of play together which gives me the confidence to really believe we can make the final this year, players stepped up to the challenge and a as a squad, we look the strongest we have this season, so we are definitely moving in the right direction.


RetroSport

By Caroline Harvey and alex WalburnBadminton Team Captains

Badminton is one of the smaller athletics clubs in UWIC but what we lack in numbers we do not lack in performance.

The club consists of one Mens and Womens team with 6 players on each team, the Wo-mens team play in South Premiership and the Men in West 2A. The Womens team has moved up into the Premiership this year and this compared to the previous years competition is very tough. The team has stepped up to the mark consisting of two fresher players, Fiona Sheppard and Claire Hannah who have made their mark in UWIC Badminton. The other players include the four players that helped to move the team up to the premiership Tanya Chick, Lauren Hughes, Natalie Bailey and Caroline Harvey. So far the season has gone well

being 2nd in the league with 1 win, 3 loses and a draw with an overall goal for the one remaining game of the league this season to not to be relegated from the league. The girls have all played really well and are competing well in the premiership. Coming up to the Christmas break the boys were sitting second in their respective league chasing down UWE for promotion. So far the team has experi-enced a mixed start to the season with some outstanding wins and some poor performances. New members of the team include Tom white, Craig Swann and Sam Roberts, all of whom have been perform-ing well in their debut sessions and have fitted in with ease with the regulars; Mark Gillard, Krish and Alex Walburn, oh and not forgetting our very own Christmas Grinch; Oliver Hartrey, who provides hours of en-tertainment and earache (when he decides to play). Hopefully the New Year will bring renewed vigour and energy to the

UWIC’s Small yet Mighty Badminton Club

team, and see us challenging for the top spot, promotion and success in the upcom-ing cup matches, providing we didn’t eat or drink too much over Christmas. A highlight of the uni badmin-ton year is BUCS championships in Not-tingham which is all fun and many games. This year a team of 12 were entered in all disciplines, with Caroline Harvey reaching the quarter final in the singles and losing to the overall winner from Leeds Met. The players all fought well in their games but the competition was very tough. I am sure other than the games the Saturday nights entertainment in Oceana Nottingham was also thoroughly enjoyed, with a few stories to tell from that. So far this season has been a good one with prospects for the second half being interesting and busy with re-maining league matches and cup matches, keep up the hard work on court everyone and good luck for the rest of the season.


Cardiff Secondary Schools Girls TaG ‘09

On Thursday 26th November the annual Cardiff Secondary Schools Girls Tag tournament was held at Cardiff International Sports Stadium organised by Sport.Cardiff/Cardiff Blues/UWIC. The tournament aim was to help promote and raise the profile of woman’s rugby within Cardiff sec-ondary schools whilst also providing a Club exit route to Cardiff Quins RFC Girls & Women’s Section. Leading up to the tourna-ment and via a new exciting partner-ship creation, 14 members of UWIC Women’s Rugby Squad were qualified with a WRU Community Tag Leaders Award and accredited as Sport.Car-diff/Cardiff Blues/UWIC Community Rugby Coaches (CRO’s). Plasmawr successfully won both the U14’s & U18’s age group categories. Plasmawr as a result progressed to represent Cardiff Schools at the WRU National Schools Tag Rugby Tournament 2009 held at Llandovery RFC.

National Girls TaG Tournament

Llandovery RFC was this year’s venue for the National Tag Tournament with 17 Under 14s and 15 Under 18s teams attending from across Wales. In the U14s competition, the semi finals were between pool winners Cardiff (Ysgol Plasmawr) and Carmarthenshire East (Tregib) while RCT (Bryncelynnog) played the best pool runner up, Carmarthenshire West (Caedcae) with Carmarthenshire East and RCT the eventual finalists. In the U18s competition, the semi finals were between Neath Port Talbot (Neath Port Talbot College) and Pembrokeshire (Ysgol Dewi Sant) while Cardiff (Plasmawr) tackled RCT (Treorchy). Pembrokeshire put up a great fight against a strong Neath Port Talbot team which included Welsh under 20s players Jess Smith and Rosie Fletcher, but were lost eventual lost out by 4 tries to 3. Cardiff (Ysgol Plasmawr), coached by current Welsh Internation-al Catrin Edwards, proved too strong for RCT and won decisively 6 tries to 2. The final was a fast and physical en-counter. Both teams showed fantastic athletic ability and exceptional rugby skills but at the final whistle Cardiff took the title 6 tries to 4. Jason Lewis, Welsh Women’s Head Coach, spent the day at Llan-dovery and expressed his excitement about the standard of players coming through the Schools Tag Programme. “The tag event at Llandovery was a great success. It was good to see so many girls playing rugby. What was apparent was the real natural ability many of the girls possess,” he said. “The final of the U18’s competition was a fantastic game with end to end attacking play. The handling and support play was sublime at times. I’m sure all teachers present will have seen what a great game rugby is for girls.

UWIC’s Men on Target For 2010 League DoubleBy Terence RosomanRetro Editor

Halfway through the winter season and our UWIC Men’s Rugby Team 1st’s are riding high at top spot in both the WRU SWaLEC league and the University’s BUCS League. Could this be the season that sees them bringing back a dou-ble league title to UWIC?

At the very start of the BUCS campaign you would be forgiven for thinking that this possible wasn’t going to be UWIC’s year. In the first three games they only picked up 4 out of a possible 9 points, drawing with arch rivals Hartpury 14 -14, beating St Mary’s College but losing to Bristol University by 3 points. That loss to Bristol University seemed to kick start UWIC back into their winning ways. Since the game back in Oc-tober they have failed to drop any league

points, with vital wins against Hartpury University and local rivals Swansea Uni-versity. Entering the new year, UWIC are sitting pretty on top of the BUCS Rugby Premier division with only a hand full of games left, starting with a crunch match against Exeter University which will no doubt determine this years league winners.

Last year in the SWALEC WRU league One East UWIC ended up coming a respectful 4th, however this year they seem to be well and truly in the driving seat. With 9 wins out of possible 10 and suffering only one defeat to 2nd place Bargeod, UWIC are two wins away from equalling last seasons win count half way through the season.

With a string of games coming up in the new year against bottom of the table teams UWIC look very comfortable and confident of a Welsh League title this year. So this year, make your new year’s resolution to help support your UWIC rugby team and aid them in bring-ing back the 2010 double, and with the BUCS Championships approaching in March we could be looking at an historic UWIC trophy treble.R

BUCS Rugby UnionPremier Division 2009/10

P W D L F a Pts

UWIC Men’s 1st 8 6 1 1 199 83 19

University of Exeter 1st 7 5 0 2 149 108 15

UWE Hartpury Men’s 1st 7 4 1 2 136 94 13

University of Bristol 1st 8 4 1 3 189 173 13

University of Bath 1st 7 3 0 4 128 132 9

Swansea University 1st 7 1 1 5 131 136 4

St Mary’s University College 1st 8 1 0 7 64 270 0*

Accurate from 7th December 2009* Point deducted / awarded

Welsh Rugby UnionSWALEC League One East 2009/10

P W D L F a Pts

UWIC Men’s 1st 10 9 0 1 275 128 41

Bargoed RFC 9 8 0 1 258 149 36

Newbridge RFC 9 7 0 2 243 184 32

Blackwood RFC 9 6 0 3 266 160 30

Llanharan RFC 9 6 0 3 264 173 29

Rumney RFC 8 4 0 4 195 182 22

Merthyr RFC 10 3 0 7 210 267 16

Ystrad Rhondda RFC 8 3 0 5 188 223 16

Tredegar RFC 9 2 0 7 163 250 13

Bedlinog RFC 7 2 0 5 108 126 11

Caerphilly RFC 9 2 0 7 158 315 10

Beddau RFC 9 1 0 8 123 294 6

Accurate from 7th December 2009Photography By Kieran McManus

RetroSport


RetroSport

Scholar of The MonthJanuary’s Scholar of the month is Bryony Raine, UWIC Pole Vaulter.

Page 20

By Damian JenningsUWIC Archers Head Coach

To close 2009 reflecting on the last three and a bit months I would have to say this has been an incredibly testing period. It’s hard not to be too result driven when your own and your teams expectations of ourselves is so high; but losing to Leeds and Sheffield on the road in the EBL & then to leave the National Cup in the semi-final to Notting-ham Wildcats away from home has us very disappointed.

Up to now and no different to the last 2 years BUCS looks after itself until we

get to the Final 16/8’s and meet some of the competition from the north premier league. Wednesday can become very frustrating blowing out teams that are supposedly premier division level but really are anything but. It could become very distracting to us but of course we would rather be in our winning situation than not, and the players have acted very maturely under the circumstances and we always seem to be able to take at least something performance-based away from each mid-week contest. If aspects of final performances in December are anything to go by then 2010 could see the bedding-in process of new players complete and a real chemistry and sync on court take shape. People of-ten comment that it is better to peak late in readiness for the Play-Off’s, but to be honest in contest that last for 6-7 months I would rather just peak for every Saturday. We are off to Belgium to play

Archers Norwegian import and MSc Sports Psych student Mia Spasowska on route to basket versus Sevenoaks Suns in the Archers Arena.

We need to turn the corner…

Head Coach, Damian Jennings reviewing his tactics. some very high level European competi-tion in the shape of 3 professional clubs from the some of the best leagues across Europe. The aim is that this prep will take us into the latter part of the season better prepared than the rest and give us further opportunity to fine-tune what is either missing or just simply needs more time and quality reps. Don’t forget to checkout www.uwicarchers.com to see when we are playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham. We have them all at home in the Archers Arena so you really could play a special part in ensuring retribution for road trips is gained and push your Archers to league & play-off success…the title race is still very open!

Retro - January 2010

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Transcript of Retro - January 2010