In collaboration with Preston College, the students will transform the Vincent’s Restaurant at Preston College in Fulwood into a jazz club and guests will be greeted with reception drinks and canapes before enjoying a three course meal to the sounds of jazz band ‘Quay Change’.

There will also be a gangsters and molls fancy dress theme to the night.

Emma Race, who will be hosting the event, said: “Fancy dress isn’t compulsory! We will just appreciate people coming out in support of Make-A-Wish.

Tickets are £15 and available only in advance by calling 07983 115317 ref.. Make-A-Wish.
27th Jan, 2009, Vincent’s Restaurant, Preston College
7.15pm for 7.30pm sitting.

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Popular local venue The Mad Ferret played host to some of the most promising bands in the North West in a fierce battle of the bands competition. The JD Set Unsigned rolled into UClan looking for some of the most talented university bands, and well, we may have found them.

It’s fair to say that The Mad Ferret isn’t the most attractive of places but there’s a certain charm that resonates well tonight with tonight’s crowd. Add to that the fact it’s been re-decorated with Jack Daniel’s merchandise-it looks like we’re set for a cracking night.

And from the off, that assumption looks to be correct. First band Too Many Heroes burst on stage with a sound so now it’s impressive that they don’t veer off into pastiche. Instead Blackpool’s finest deliver a short, snappy set that’s the natural evolution of Enter Shikari’s sound. Oh, and then that cover. Katy Perry’s monster-smash ‘I Kissed A Girl’ is transformed into an exuberant chant that sees the swelling crowd won over. Impressive.

Following on from Too Many Heroes are the much more melancholic Doal Drummer. Think shades of The Doves and Editors mixed in with a huge serving of Joy Division. There’s a superb brooding ache to ‘Talent Show’ and its refrain of “You should be in a talent show/It’s so big/Your ego”. In fairness Doal Drummer have managed to create an exciting wall of sound, and if only they had been willing to engage slightly more with the crowd, we probably would have had the winner.

Third on the bill were popular local boys Lazy Halo. The audience had now pretty much reached capacity and were waiting eagerly to hear a sound that was described as “Incubus, but miles better” by a reveller on the night. These boys used their obvious sense of humour to get through the set, that and a barrage of about five cracking tunes that wouldn’t feel out of place in a venue ten times this size. Lazy Halo delivered an eclectic mix of true rock’n’roll but with an almost-bluesy feel in certain songs that exceeded expectations for a mere battle of the bands contest.

The final band to throw their musical hat into the ring were Apogee, who provided a much more muscular feel to proceedings. Y’see these three specialise in intelligent post-hardcore music that basically…rocks. Tracks such as ‘Devolution’ allowed for a deep bassline to be ploughed through by Ed Jervis’ erstwhile vocals. Endorsed by the likes of RockSound and Metal Hammer magazines, they worked the crowd well and only lost the prize by a split-vote after the judges couldn’t come to an initial decision.

And that’s it then, the winner is… Lazy Halo.

In a night full of surprisingly good music, Lazy Halo triumphed to take the invaluable recording studio time. UCLAN Student Brand Manager for Jack Daniel’s, Gina Armitage said of the event: “Thanks to everyone who attended the event, it was a fantastic success. A massive well done to all the bands who played, they were awesome and congratulations to the guys of the winning band, Lazy Halo, I hope they enjoy their prize. I wish all the bands luck in the furture and for the JD Set Unsigned National Competition.”

For more information on the bands:

-          Too Many Heroes - www.myspace.com/tmhuk

- Doal Drummer - www.myspace.com/wearedoaldrummer

- Lazy Halo - www.myspace.com/oneandonlylazyhalo

- Apogee - www.myspace.com/apogee

Or for more information on Jack Daniel’s promotions and events, visit www.thejdset.co.uk

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1.  funny story: a funny story, anecdote, or piece of wordplay that gets passed round and repeated
2.  something funny said or done: anything said or done to make people laugh
dressed up the dog in a hat and sunglasses as a joke
3.  funny event: a funny event or circumstance, or something to laugh at
4.  something inadequate: somebody or something that is laughably inadequate or absurd (slang).

By any of those definitions, this is not a joke.

And, considering the violent xenophobic content of this particular brand of comedy, no it has not been blown out of proportion.

This wasn’t even an isolated incident… it happened twice.

The Asian community are right to be outraged because this backwards immaturity makes people question much more than their sense of humour, it questions their national identity and probably their safety too, in light of the second joke.

But then again there is no Asian community, because to the majority of right thinking people we’re all one society.

Kameron and Imran aren’t the only ones who should be offended. This joke insults everybody in Britain regardless of heritage or skin tone, because it makes us look like a nation of racists.
And people are already proving the point on internet comment boards. On the Daily Mail website, Mike from Dunstable says: “What have things come to in this country?
Sarah N, in London commented: ‘Mark Hendrick said the joke “would be found offensive by sections of the community.” Presumably he meant only Pakistanis - I am white and a Christian and I find it extremely offensive.’
Despite years of work in communities to aid assimilation, introduce social inclusion initiatives and Government and corporate drives to ban racism, one person at a private company has managed to undo all that good work in one fell swoop.

And no I’m not naively saying that racism doesn’t exist and our society is perfect and harmonious, but I am saying that racism is not something we’re famed for as a nation- it’s something a lot of us actively stand up against and join together to counter.

And who else can predict the parliamentary debates and emblazoned Daily Mail headlines that are no doubt on the horizon? Implying this is an accurate reflection of public sentiment and calling for change at the heart of Britain. Who else is also predicting new government legislation to “change how Britain thinks”?

In the light of such debates, I sadly doubt that many people will stop and think that actually no, the automated and (often rubbish) jokes that come from these services are not a reflection of general opinion or deep seeded problems in the fabric of British society. They are exactly what they are: a hideous blunder by an individual in a private company which, as 118 themselves have said “is a disciplinary matter”.

It’s also incomparable to the Englishman, Irishman, Scottishman debate. Kameron was asked by a journalist if he would laugh at or pass on such jokes, but what has that got to do with anything?

The EIS gags are part of our culture, they aren’t violent in nature and do not incite divisions in communities; divisions people have worked hard to overcome.
They don’t call for people to “go home” or suffer violence purely because of their heritage… that is racism.

So no it’s not a laughing matter; it’s an insult to every member of British society regardless of where they or their grandparents came from.

But by the same token, it’s not a gravy train either. Reports say solicitors are already involved in the case and it’s made headline across the country, something which doesn’t go unrewarded financially.

If money is offered and you think it’d help you smile again, that’s your choice. Just remember Kameron, you have nothing to prove.

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Not all Asians are Muslims, and vice-versa. So Muslims might feel the highlighting of the fact makes them a sort of positive-scapegoat. You particularly should be offended, because that’s the hot topic, the zeitgeist. Nicely prescribed outrage from the great white media pulpit.

Kameron implied on Rock FM today that had the joke been received by a white person, they would have had a right chuckle and promptly circulated it to their entire phonebook. And probably text the 118 service for another corker.

But this isn’t a fair judgement. I’d like to think that most white people would have been offended. Especially offended that some half-wit somewhere is texting in their name something that they wouldn’t text, let alone think themselves.

And then surely the argument would follow, that if an Asian person had been sent a racist joke about a white person, it would have likewise done the rounds… And so the paranoia continues….

People might argue that as British stereotypes are common-place in the UK, your parents, your hair colour, even your skin colour are all comedians fodder (Richard K. Amos, a Black comedian cannot appear on a panel-show without the frankly not even funny, ‘is it because I’m Black?’ post ironic hilarity), then so too can your ethnic origin.

Or are skin colour and nationality non-transferable humours?

And of the ‘entrenched, playful’ British stereotypes. Are Irish people all too pleased to be the butt of the national joke?

Earlier this year Caerphilly Council in Wales were given a leaflet on acceptable terminology for race relations. In a section on what words or phrases not to use to avoid causing offence, the leaflet informs: ‘The idea of “British” implies a false sense of unity – many Scots, Welsh and Irish resist being called British and the land denoted by the term contains a wide variety of cultures, languages and religions.’

Wandering a little away from words arranged for amusement, it seems I might have been offending people throughout. White and Asian-British alike would be tearing their hair out!

If the texts were intended as a joke, albeit wholly inappropriate and offensive, and obviously constructed by some bored call-centre working moron, I believe the accepted term is that they have ‘fallen flat’.

But what this could turn in to is an all-out attack on our society, which is unfair on the majority of people in the UK who take pride in their nationality, whatever it is, and are happy to live and work alongside each other.

Britain is a country struggling to encompass the different cultures and religious beliefs of its varied citizenry. Making mistakes and making advancements as we go. Bringing this into the public domain might make something out of what could just have been a disciplinary on the one, idiotic culprit.

And obviously any checks that were not being performed on what must be a joke database carnival are done from now on.

If recent standards are anything to go by, whoever wrote the joke should be shot, without pay. In terms of offensiveness, a playful nod towards murdering someone is worse than Brand and Ross’ answering machine messages.

But who’s to say it was a white person anyway?

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On December 3rd, Brook Building room 245 will play host to Prestons very own Buddhist Monk who will be on hand to help stressed out students or simply those with an interest, understand the art of meditation and positive thinking that works alongside it. The taster session held between 2-3pm, organized by The UK Progress team, will provide a brief insight into meditation and its benefits with a question and answer session to follow. The session will be lead by Gen Kelsang Pagpa, a Buddhist teacher of the Vajravarahi Buddhist Centre in Preston

If successful, there are plans to make the sessions a regular fixture next semester, offering UCLan students the chance to relieve tension, find inner sanctuary or simply relax! Best of all, those of you feeling the effect of the credit crunch (more likely the drain of resources on drinking funds), the session if free, although donations are welcome with any proceeds going towards the upkeep of the centre.

For more information please email either Katy Lawton (kllawton@uclan.ac.uk) or Lynsey Unwin (lunwin@uclan.ac.uk) and please feel free to come along, everyone is welcome.

No related posts.

If you’ve got a discerning ear then you may have been at 53 Degrees last month for a genre-splicing fusion of electronic and hip-hp. Tracks such as ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped’ and the Radiohead sampling morality tale of ‘Letter From God To Man’ give way to the scenester baiting brilliance of ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’.

Those lucky enough to have had tickets on 10th October in Preston will undoubtedly remember the Sugababes and Prince covers too. However, now the duo are now taking on libraries around the country in a scheme to open up all of the literary possibilities that youngsters don’t take advantage of.

Forget your local Barfly, libraries are now the venue du jour for the coolest of artists; Black Kids to The Wombats and Adele have all played sell-out gigs to biblio-crowds.

However as successful those aforementioned acts are though, none are as apt a booking as Scroobius Pip, whose lyrical ingenuity is both unique and extremely well-regarded. And when mixed with Dan Le Sac’s effervescent beats it creates an experience unlike any other- expect tracks from debut album ‘Angles’ and a few more odd cover choices as well.

Lancashire County Council’s award-winning Get It Loud in Libraries scheme is to take in dates around the country from Walsall to Lancaster with George Pringle providing able support.

Scroobius Pip said of the gigs - “I have effectively grown up in libraries since my mum has always worked in them! People don’t realise how lucky we are to have so much information and literature literally at our finger tips.”

For more information please visit www.myspace.com/getitloudinlibraries

Tickets are £6 but have £1 concession for library members.

Tour Dates are as follows:

The tour starts on Dec 5th at Walsall Library, then takes in

Dec 5th Walsall Library]

Dec 6th Lancaster Library

Dec 7th Burnley Library

Dec 10th Skelmersdale Library

Dec 11th Poole Library

Dec 13th Grays Thurrock Library, Essex

Dec 14th British Library, London

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Freedom of expression is now an entrenched part of our social and political makeup, guaranteed under the Human Rights Act 1998, so the fact that young academics are involved in exercising their right to uphold this is a positive example of student activism.

Entertaining those with an unfamiliar and controversial viewpoint is also useful in promoting healthy debate.

The British National Party are a legitimate organisation, and the fourth largest party in the United Kingdom. They also claim to have the most visited website of any political party, proving their popularity. So the decision is a good one then?

Many MPs in the past week have come out to say that they are a racist party, including Harriet Harman, the Women’s Minister, on the Channel 4 News.

The British National Party would argue that this is a witch-hunt between the liberal-left media and the mainstream political parties. Nick Griffin, the BNP leader and his colleague Mark Collett were acquitted on charges of inciting racial hatred after a retrial. They were secretly filmed by the BBC for Panorama.

However, their ideals are not tolerant, and their website makes no point of hiding it:

“IMMIGRATION - time to say ENOUGH!

On current demographic trends, we, the native British people, will be an ethnic minority in our own country within sixty years.

To ensure that this does not happen, and that the British people retain their homeland and identity, we call for an immediate halt to all further immigration, the immediate deportation of criminal and illegal immigrants, and the introduction of a system of voluntary resettlement whereby those immigrants who are legally here will be afforded the opportunity to return to their lands of ethnic origin assisted by a generous financial incentives both for individuals and for the countries in question.

We will abolish the ‘positive discrimination’ schemes that have made white Britons second-class citizens. We will also clamp down on the flood of ‘asylum seekers’, all of whom are either bogus or can find refuge much nearer their home countries.”

Simplistic answers, playing on peoples fears, and a lot of rhetoric. But inspiring to someone. Will the BNP get a surge in support if they speak at universities?

Alternatively, would banning them from speaking and leaving them out of the media force them further underground?

Much of their policy is trivial: they wholly support good old-fashioned imperial weights and measures, definitely something worth arguing over…

Some borders on ludicrous- the BNP calls for the selective exclusion of foreign-made goods from British markets and the reduction of foreign imports- a sure-fire way to stop other countries trading with us.

Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, has admitted over the weekend that the rise in support for the BNP is a result of failures by the three main political parties. The rebranding of Labour since 1997 into a ‘catch-all’ party, means grassroots Labour supporters, generally the white, working-class, feel unrepresented.

At the same time Nick Griffin became leader of the BNP and saw this as an opportunity to shake off the extremist image to make the BNP electable. They have been intensively campaigning in disillusioned communities asserting patriotism, Britain for the British, and to many people, answers where they thought there were none.

This has all coincided with the leaking of the personal details of the 12,000 members.
Why so secretive if they didn’t think they were doing anything wrong? Serving Policemen aren’t allowed to be members- what does that say?

Scarily, but unsurprisingly the Internet is allowing them to get their message to more people, and target young (and more impressionable) people.

But increased support for extremist parties always happens when a country is in economic turmoil, lets just hope someone gets their act together soon…

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A proposed change in the law on organ donations, supported by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, would mean that everyone in the country would automatically be considered a donor unless they opt-out. Or relatives object.

The change was called for by the Chief Medical Officer- Liam Donaldson, and has gained support from The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Pathologists.

It would be a welcome change for scientists who are currently appealing for people to leave their brains to medical science in an attempt to find a cure for the debilitating and degenerative brain disease- Alzheimer’s.

But a focus group have deemed the move too soon. Is it too quick and radical a change to the current system of opting in, or were the focus groups swayed by religious groups speaking on the issue?

The argument for what is termed “presumed consent” is that experts believe there are apathetic people amongst us who don’t think to opt-in, or don’t consider the possibility that they could die suddenly with healthy and potentially life-saving organs (who wants to?), but would donate their organs, and that they believe more people would opt-in, given the opportunity, if it was made easy and clear. Or automatic. This in theory means more people considered as donors.

If more people are considered, more organs will be donated and more lives saved through transplants and research. Nearly 10,000 people are currently on the organ transplant waiting list, more then three times the number of transplants that were performed last year- 3,100. This means some terminally ill patients are not even put through what will ultimately be a fruit-less wait.

So the proposal looks promising. Bingo?

Like arguments on abortion and euthanasia, there is a divisive battle between the religious arguments of sanctity of life against a liberal, progressive viewpoint. We must remember that the United Kingdom is all but a secular country, and Parliament should arguably be a place free from the constraints of often conflicting religious viewpoints.

Under the new system if there is a religious objection, the person can opt out, and people’s relatives could object to donation after their death. Which still leaves room for a final say on the part of the bereaved. Unless the apparent apathy is really an objection, even without a religious element, as death is still a personal and uncomfortable reality.

But could the change reveal, or hide a more sinister outcome? Could doctors begin to put less effort into saving someone if the costs of their treatment and rehabilitation would be more than using the organs for donation? Body snatchers ring any bells?

Presumably, the changes would be met with adequate legislation to prevent doctors from doing this? And to make sure they stick to only those who are opted-in. Although, looking at the most famous case in the UK of a doctor abusing his position- the prolific serial killer Harold Shipman- and the organ removal scandal at Alder Hey (now going by the name Royal Liverpool Children’s) Hospital, families of the victims and the public alike might be cynical.

The more conservative alternative is to drive for more people to become donors under the current system. Which for now, looks like the official line. There is conflicting evidence from different countries with either of the two systems as to whether opt-in or opt-out produces more donors. Only time will tell whether greater promotion of the cause will bridge the gap between those who need organs, and those who donate.

Ultimately some people believe that organ donation is a gift, and making it almost compulsory takes away that element. But surely most people would want to give the gift of life should they suffer an untimely death?

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There has been new-found optimism in the world of UCLan sport following this weeks results:

Badminton

Men’s 1sts 4-4 Manchester 1sts

Men’s 2nds 5-3 Chester 1sts

Women’s 1sts 7-1 MMU Cheshire 1sts

Fencing

Men’s 1sts 106-133 Liverpool 2nds

Football

Men’s 1sts 3-1 Liverpool 1sts

Men’s 2nds 1-1 Chester 1sts

Men’s 3rds 18-1 NEWI 1sts

Men’s 4ths 2-0 Bangor 2nds

Women’s 1sts 1-1 Sheffield Hallam 1sts

Women’s 2nds 4-0 Manchester 3rds

Golf

1sts 5.5-0.5 Durham 2nd

2nds 6-0 Keele 1sts

Hockey

Men’s 1sts 3-0 Chester 1sts

Men’s 2nds 2-0 Liverpool Men’s 3rds

Women’s 1sts 9-0 Manchester Met 1sts

Women’s 2nds 8-0 Salford 1sts

Women’s 3rds 0-11 Liverpool 3rds

Netball

Women’s 1sts 63-23 Keele 1sts

Women’s 2nds 42-12 Manchester Met 4ths

Rugby League

Men’s 1sts 40-4 Napier 1sts

Rugby Union

Men’s 1sts 32-3 Manchester 4ths

Men’s 2nds 12-15 MMU Cheshire 2nds

Women’s 1sts 0-46 Chester 1sts

Squash

Men’s 1sts 0-5 Manchester Met 1sts

Tennis

Men’s 1sts 10-0 Liverpool Men’s 2nds

Men’s 2nds 5-5 MMU Cheshire 1sts

Men’s 3rds 10-0 Liverpool Hope 1sts

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There may still be a long way to go in the season but another successful day for UCLan tennis shows signs that all four teams stand a great chance of promotion this season.

The men’s 1sts won all six of their matches to record an impressive 10-0 victory away to Liverpool 2nds, a score line matched by the thirds who also won 10-0 at home to Liverpool Hope 1sts.

1st team captain Nick Raper is delighted with his teams start to the season, having won

all four games emphatically to sit joint top of the table with Liverpool 1sts: “We’ve got great new players this year who are fitting in brilliantly. Mike Austin was superb again today in winning his match 6-0, 6-0 for the second week in a row and Matt Parsons and Pete Rosbottom have also been fantastic. Not one person has lost a set so far this year, we are excited for our chances in both the league and cup.”

In their first year in the league, 3rd team captain Tom Bosher was also full of praise for

his team who sit top of their league having also won all three of their opening matches:

“Today was another terrific effort from everyone, we have only dropped one point from a possible thirty this season. Promotion looks quite probable.”

The women’s team will move up to third if their application for a 10-0 victory against Liverpool Hope for failing to arrive on time is granted.

The only setback of the day came for the 2nd team who managed only a 5-5 draw against MMU Cheshire. Captain Patrick Bleasdale said: “They were a good team, we went 3-1 down but I was delighted with the spirit and determination all the boys showed to battle back and draw the match.”

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