Editorial - Queen Mary Students` Union
Transcription
Editorial - Queen Mary Students` Union
BARTS AND THE LONDON’S NUMBER 1 STUDENT NEWSPAPER: MARCH TO JUNE 2010 OFFICIALLY SPONSORED BY: Editorial Another monumental year comes to a close and a lot has happened since the experimental release of The Vulture back in February. We hope you enjoyed it. From general feedback, we have decided to bring you a regularly monthly issue of the newspaper in the new academic year, starting in September. However, we’ve accumulated a number of articles since February and it would be injustice if we didn’t publish such ground -bre a king l i te ra t ure . Therefore, we’ve put together a mixed bag of articles to develop this emagazine (probably not worth printing this since I’m currently writing this introduction having just realised that half the medical school are already on their summer holiday). So without further ado, we present to you, THE VULTURE REVIEW 2009-2010. Barts and The London Vultures 2009-2010 What Leopard? Unfortunately, we didn’t win the Merger cup this year. However, BLSA received an unlikely visitor on the eve of the tournament. As a welcoming medical school, we accepted the naked leopard and taught him the value of shame and presented him with some appropriate clothes before he went on a tour of all that Barts and The London had to offer. Unfortunately, due to not actually attaining the grades required to be a student at the medical school, he had to leave. However, the leopard did send me a facebook message before he left our grounds for good: “Twas the night before merger and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...not even a leopard... Oh hello eager reader, I didn't see you there. The name's Leopard, QM Leopard. You may recognise me from helipads such as the Royal London Hospital Helipad. Garth Marenghi-esque introductions aside, hello and welcome to the diary of me...QM Leopard. Now as you can imagine, typing up my diary entries with paws is no mean feat, so you must appreciate the work I (Leopard) will go through to ensure that Vulture readers are kept up to date with my thoughts, musings and general goings on from my headquarters; the QMSU office. A leopard writing for a vulture. When I told my good friend Gary the Griffin about this he said this happenstance was ironic. I nodded furiously in agreement, pretending that my futile leopard brain could comp r e he nd w hat t he wo r d 1 to set us all free was lost on a leopard being kept captive in a Mile End office. The malodorous stench of the office jobsworths still burns in my nostrils - they didn’t even crack a window open before they locked up. Yet I was still able to enjoy TV episodes of new Dr Who (the new assistant is the fittest ginger bird I’ve seen since Sarah O’Rourke) and new Jonathan Creek (La Danse Macabre still sends chills up my whiskers till this day). Thank you for reading, I’m due a feeding so I’m off to the wildly over priced Mile End student shop next door to my office. Please tune in next issue, where I give a step "irony" (and “happenstance”) by step account of what happened meant. When I eventually googled that momentous night before merger these words (Gary helped me with the spelling), I realised that he was referring to one animal being commissioned to work for another like someone mixed the jungle book and Alan Sugar's The Apprentice into one. The show would be hosted by Cat “Where is she now?” Deeley. with my Bartan liberators, who showed me that there was nothing to fear from BL- apart from the cold glare from the sallow eyes of John Le Bar, according to whom, this was in fact the 6th time I was set free from QM grounds and taken to see London. But we were talking about animal based irony. Leopards writing for vultures, during the Chinese year of the tiger after the holiday where bunnies bring us eggs despite not being able to lay eggs. Apologies for my Easter message on facebook, perhaps the irony of a holiday celebrating the resurrection of someone sent 2 The city was so beautiful that night. And in this leopard’s humble opinion, it is a city that Vulture readers should be honoured/relieved to call your term time home. This is QM Leopard, faithfully yours and still wondering...Where is Cat Deeley? Ah, there she is, by the canal. Ta-ra”. QM Leopard Secret Diary of a Fresher The Vulture set up a competition amongst the freshers just before the release of the first issue. The winner of the competition was published in the first issue and his/her second piece is as follows: “Since I have come to university, my perception of what are acceptable living conditions has definitely faltered. I realised this when the halls manager arrived in our flat to tell us we needed to clean our kitchen minutes after I had expressed how impressed I was at how tidy it looked! Apparently, having phallic symbols drawn on the fridge out of magnets and custard covered walls doesn’t go down too well with halls management. I sometimes forget that I live in London, considering my life virtually consists of one straight road. I someone was to pick up Mile End road and plonk it in Antarctica, it probably wouldn’t affect my life. It would just make the walk back from the union/ LHT a bit chillier, making me more inclined to pay the £1.20 for the 5 stops on the bus. I kid myself that I get the bus for security sake, but this is just a disguise for frank laziness. If I could pay a pound for a bus to take me from the East gate at Queen Mary campus to my flat door, I probably would. So, today I got hit in the face by a hockey ball and came out of the match with a one extra orifice, where I had managed to cleanly bite straight through my lip. I’m not sure what I was more upset about, not being able to eat my newly bought sandwich, or having to drink through a straw at tables (of course I wouldn’t miss it!). Through my medical hysteria, I diagnosed myself with Von Willebrand’s disease as it was still bleeding for several hours afterwards. This is not the first disease I have diagnosed myself with, but an addition to the list including; GORD, anaemia, leukaemia, pneumonia and cirrhosis of the liver, all since I’ve been at medical school, it’s been a tough few months. I gave up chocolate, flapjacks, beer and cigarettes for lent. I had a cigarette on the first night, one down. I had beer unknowingly poured into my glass of wine (naturally I don’t count this as a fail), but technically two down. And whilst talking to my friend about how I hadn’t eaten any chocolate yet, I sipped away at my hot chocolate. Apparently hot chocolate contains chocolate, who knew, three down. This was one of the 6 or 7 times that I have ‘accidentally’ eaten chocolate since lent began. As for flapjacks, my one and only success, if it wasn’t for this hole in my lip, I would be straight over the village shop, conveniently placed right next to my flat, to get one. Never leaving Mile End road meant that having an SSC in another part of London proved to be quite difficult. This was made clear when a friend and I arrived an hour early to a lecture and still managed to be 15 minutes late to a location that we had been to almost every day for the last week and a half. Navigation is not a strong point if the road to your destination is not straight and littered with perfect fried chickens. The two weeks ended with us all giving presentations on an area on forensics lated topic, the twin towers. I’m still waiting for my mark, but it doesn’t look promising”. From the many fresher diaries we received, there was another entertaining read, and we thought it would be appropriate to publish the runner up’s piece as well: “So, we got into medical school! Whether straight from school, graduate, gapper who vegetated in India for a year and forgot how to hold a pen, househusband with a sudden yearning to become a neurologist and everyone else: we have arrived and after the initial shock of all the new faces, BL customs, workload and ridiculous amounts of fun we have finally settled into our new lives in Blanc Chapelle. And what a start we have had! There we were, first year medical students, no real clue what to expect, off to the union for the first night of what was to be an immense fortnight. And as the fresher goss accumulated, friends were made, families extended, snakebite necking skills acquired and fancy-dress wardrobes were compiled. Jungle fever, Toga & Tequila, numerous excuses to work teeny skirts (I’m thinking ‘Back to School’ and ‘Pimps and Ho’s’) and many more events– they were weeks to remember (or not). Topping it off with a boat ball (shortly followed by alcohol withdrawal symptoms), we were convinced we had come to the right place! We were ready to rock a year of good fun, new friends, banter, sports, new experiences, learning and all look forward to amazing years to come at Barts and the Lonthat we found interesting. I gave mine don”. on a completely non-medically re3 As one reign ends... the downstairs of the union. That's just off the top of my head in a sleep derived haze. All in all I think we’ve done okay, honestly. I couldn't really be more grateful for being given the opportunity to do this. I love this job. I love the people, the staff and being able to work with you So its 4am. I’m still awake and wishing I could fall asleep. I've become almost incapable this year what with worrying about one thing or another. At the moment there are loads we’re trying to get done with bursaries and alumni bids amongst other things, and in the midst of it I'm sat here trying to work out what to say about this year. How to describe handing over the reigns to Laura, who I am sure will be brilliant and build on everything we've done this year. other medical school envies. That’s really all there is to it to be honest. My SPC, the staff and yourselves have not so secretly worked together lot. I will miss it more than I think to make this year a great one. anyone realises, and it will be hard to walk away (though I will.) and I’ll miss writing your BL messages (whether you read them or not.) Honest to god, its been emotional. We’ve had so many wins organisationally, a great events programme, huge RAG success, sporting success (don’t mention the merger), huge impact in London and nationally and won some battles down the road (though I've personally lost a couple. On things like accommodation for next year and funding, we have more money coming in to our societies, more involvement with our alumni, and more money for To be honest, I don't know what there is to say to most of you. My job is a joy (most of the time). Its made easy by the fact our students are so brilliant, so involved and so passionate about this place. We see the union as our home and we fight for it every day; we fight for our identity and bear it with pride. We have the support of incredible staff that share a strange and unique relationship with us, one I think every 4 Jeeves Wijesuriya (BLSA President 2009-2010) welfare as well as a new band room, a new newspaper, a new charities fayre, a new attitude to how our clubs and socs are run and a bid for ...another begins ing to put together a list of contacts so that communication next year between the SPC and Clubs/Socs can be improved. This ties in very much with my plan to hold a training day early next year, in which all committees will be shown how to do all of the above (hopefully with a free lunch included) and will inspire clubs to be more pro-active in their management. Dear Vulture Readers, I’m also looking forward to Hello! My name is Laura Bren- getting stuck into the redevelopment ner, and I shall be your president project for the Griffinn bar. Currently next year. I’ve been asked to give a I’m waiting to see the plans that have been drawn up, before they are presented to the SPC. Once the plans have been finalised, I plan to display them in the union so that any students with suggestions or proposed changes can have their say. Hopefully this will be happening in the next few months. This brings me nicely onto the re-opening of ready for Freshers fortnight! Obviously there are other plans, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you… and I’ve only got a page in here, so you’ll have to wait in suspense until July. Or just come and chat to me, I promise not to bite. I’d like to finish off by thank- ing all of you who voted in the elections this year, it meant a hell of a lot. There was a massive turnout and I’m proud to say that a greater proportion of BL students voted than QM (naturally). Luckily for me, the end result has made the torments of campaigning a distant memory- kind of like child birth…but I’m not gonna lie, it was a bitch! As some of you may know it snowed for most of the week and I managed to lose about 60 hours of my life to Library Square; however, I wasn’t alone in this and my respect goes out to Ankit and Laurence who put up a tough fight and made it the closest race since Jeeves vs RON. Lastly, I’ve always got time for your ideas and suggestions and really want to get the student body more involved in BLSA, so be it this year or next, my door is always open. sneak peek at my plans for world domination, so you can all prepare yourselves appropriately…making bomb shelters, stock piling snakebite etc. So far, I’ve been recovering from campaigns week and catching up on my firms; though I’ve still managed to squeeze a few presidenty things in. In my scraps of spare time I’m currently working on a handbook that will be given to all Clubs and Societies, detailing how to keep track of finances and subs online, information on booking fixtures and um- BARTS BAR! Or now tastefully repires, as well as booking events and named as “The Shield”, which de- Laura Brenner hosting nights at the union. I’m hop- spite constant delays is on track to be (BLSA President Elect) 5 The Barts Knight 2 fore “swiftly” returning to the pre- members. Unfortunately due to unsent, meeting an array of familiar foreseen circumstances, lyrics of said characters along the way. With sterling performance from Richard After much anticipation, this January saw the return of Barts and the London’s infamous “the just after Xmas, Xmas play – the sequel.” With familiar faces and an impossible plot, this year’s play seemed to be full of outrage and debauchery with a drunken twist. songs were only partially audible, but not to fear, as the audience were Healey playing Mark Carroll and a there to sing along….albeit the fantastic performance from Alice wrong lyrics….it was the though that Thomas, Dave Annan and Laurence counts. Chacksfield, the audience found themselves enthralled, if they were not already on the wrong side of a few due to copious amounts alcohol available for purchase, including the horrid Barts bucket which was consumed at ones own risk. With a special guest appearance on the final What was the plot of the play I hear you ask? Well that’s a good question. Due to the imaginative and slightly surreal brains of the directors, a synopsis of the plot would end up longer than I am allowed to write night, John Le Bar made his debut on to the big stage leaving the audience stunned in their seats…. Parodies of popular music were also present in the play. From favourites such as Monster to classics like Bart’s Life, the audience were enticed by the singing of various cast for, but it is safe to say that a hairy zombie, played by the one and hairy Yassir falls in love with a medical student portrayed by one of new additions to Barts, Lorrelle, ends up back in time, then in the future be- It is worth a mention to Tim Nash as sadly, this will be his last Christmas play, and even more upsetting, his last ever appearance as Nigel Winifred Yeatman. To Tim, we wish you all the best and will miss you torn stained shirts. So with another Christmas play over and done with, we bid a final farewell to Mark Carroll and Nigel Yeatman and the PRICS and wait in anticipation to what next year has in store. Sachin Shailendra Shah 7 BLAS: Elegance On the 1st of March 2010 an audience of over a 1,000 strong made up of parents, students and sponsors flocked to the prestigious Sadler’s Wells theatre in Islington for the latest edition of Barts and The London Asian Society’s ELEGANCE, this year being a ‘Cultural Show’ recognising the wide variety of talent rather than just a its previous title of a fashion show. For our efforts and the money raised towards the RAG total at the Association dinner this year I am proud to say that BLAS won the award for Bart’s Best Society. As always early on in the year we had several people from both Barts and QM coming forward to with their ideas for choreography for the show. In the end the show had 17 8 acts and over 150 students taking formances, Abi Sampanthan’s vocal part! This article could never do talent once again mesmerised the BLAS audience. them all justice. This year the show included some more theatrical productions, the crowd favourite being the story of Aladdin, an explosion of dance and drama that narrates the magical story in Agrabah. Barts and The London created its own version of high school musical, BLAS School Musical choreographed by Sadia Asan. As always the Asian catwalks and dances captivated the audience with the dazzling colours and costumes, The bridal catwalk choreographed by Shaheen Jogiat and Rebecca Kandasamy finished the show as well and a breathtaking dance production by Sonam Arora: Desi Dhamak. Two of the largest dance groups in QM and Barts performed Vibrant African wear by N’kya Design with exciting dance moves inspired by the wonderful culture and a taste of Barts and the London Afro Caribbean society who once again took part in the BLAS show. All in all it was one of the highlights of the year for all those who took part, and was by many accounts one of the highlights of the BL calendar this year. The committee for next has been elected and hopefully we can improve on the massive successes of this year’s show and elevate BLAS to new heights. Anyone wanting to get involved in any way in the show, LPD Bhangra & Gidha for next year contact myself or the Team and Flex FX, the dance group rest of the BLAS committee. recently featured in Britain’s got Talent. Masseh Yakubi BLAS also provided several (BLAS President 2010-2011) stunning dance acts including BLAS veterans Hoodfellas, and a new all female cast from I AM DIVA and Daan Malik’s group 8th Wonders. We had 3 western catwalks performances all choreographed beautifully with a variety of different clothing sponsors. Amongst other musical per- RAG: PULSE Diet plans had been formulated for months and Q-Motion membership had skyrocketed, yes it could only be time for the annual BL RAG Fashion Show. This year Pulse 2010 was held at Troxy, in our beloved east end as if there isn’t a vast selection of fried chicken outlets to choose from and the background threat of a stabbingwell, it just isn’t Barts! This year all profits went to Barts and the London Charity to fund the building of a new cancer diagnostic facility at Barts. After holding a gruelling round of auditions in November requiring strutting, posing, blue steel impression and the all-important topless photo; the cast was chosen. Then after Christmas the rehearsals started, and although most of the cast had over 20 years experience, walking actually turned out to require 6 weeks of practice! Everything kicked off in February with the pre-show party at the Hoxton Pony, where cocktails were served in teacups! Exciting stuff! With a great turn out and lots of money made to put on the show things were looking good for Pulse… And then as if from nowhere it was the weekend before the show… which unfortunately did coincide with the day after the Smoker, but luckily after all traces of Olly Sohan’s red vomit were scrubbed off the floor we were ready for a hardcore weekend of rehearsals… yes that’s right, more walking practice. Then as if we hadn’t practiced it enough the lovely folks from FM Models came along on Monday just to check that the walking was up to scratch. Then it was the day of the show, everyone was spray tanned, groomed, plucked, waxed and shavednot a stray hair was in sight, especially amongst the boys in the underwear catwalk. Hair was quaffed and bouffanted, makeup was applied liberally and everyone was looking their hottest ready for the show to start. Although, in true Barts fashion, everyone was an hour late! This seemed to work quite well for the students in VIP as due to some sort of massive champagne miscalculation everyone seemed to end up with about 5 glasses each. Jodie Harsh (angry man in a wig) took centre stage to introduce the show, which started with some amazing dresses by Brick Lane’s Dragana Perisic. Traffic People dressed the next catwalk, though Kim Van Winsen’s breasts overshadowed any of the clothes that were being worn. Next up was London’s hottest talent Mark Fast and All Saints closed the first half. After a lot of mid-interval sit ups, press ups and a lot of fluffing on the part of the gentlemen, it could only be the turn of the underwear catwalk; where Jon Nicholas sported his ‘Action Man’ physique to spark a fairly massive female following. Barts’ very own Zaiba Hashimi then showcased her amazing design talent. Next on stage was Danish favourite By Malene Birger with Jaeger and Ghost finished off alongside blazer designers Social Suicide. And then after all that work it was all over for another year and after one amazing night of playing supermodel, it was back to glamorous old medicine! Jonathan Kentley (RAG Fashion Show Co-president 2010-2011) 9 RAG for Victory drivers were beginning to look out for us in our blue scrubs and sticker covered buckets as they pulled into the station so they could kick us off before we even got onto the trains. Even with TFL hot on our tail, we were able to scrape a whooping £30,000 from the London commuters on the last day of RAG! The BLAS and PULSE fashion shows for RAG were both stunning successes, which everybody enjoyed. The ‘Dental’ Beer Race had more than a few people legless and stumbling down Whitechapel Road with tattered costumes, missing accessories and lost friends by the end of the night. BL Beach Party was also while getting very comfortable on the union floor.... All the way through RAG week, there were events at the union that were very messy, alcohol fuelled and fun-filled nights. In particular the This year, RAG at Barts and the London has been its most successful to date and so many thanks to everyone that got involved. Many of you got up at ridiculous hours to jump on the tubes and pounce on the unsuspect- highlights included “Scrubs, Shot pretty successful, despite it being and Shaving Foam”, where most near freezing in January, many people donned beach shorts, Hawaiian tshirts, tank tops, flip flops and the like as they headed down to the union for cocktails and vodka jelly shots. Some of the lads also thought it was far too bright and managed to get their hands on a few shades, ing public who hadn’t even managed to have their morning cup of coffee, but clearly it was worth the effort. However, towards the end of the week, people had smartened up as they began to formulate similar excuses, stick headphones in their ears and pretend to be asleep when they saw us coming. Some of the tube 10 people were covered after sprayed down in foam. The stunned looks on the faces of random people of the buses/roads were priceless. Those that didn’t quite make it to the BLAS fashion show ventured down to the union for a bit of beer pong. What was meant to be a simply a matter of getting as many So, with this year coming to chilled out night soon turned into a drinks as possible while the prices an end, I hope you all have an amazwere low. It was pretty difficult to resist the temptation of pulling up a stool and spending the night at the bar. Our RAG captain, Joy, was finally hauled home caveman-style ing summer and prepare yourselves highly competitive event where most for next year, because it will be bigpeople’s aims got progressively ger and better than ever! worse as the night wore on. One group took it one step further and Surekha Lysha Selvarajah found an alternative: “Vodka after spending the week in the RAG office. All in all, this year has been amazing for RAG, with all the effort that everyone has put into raising Pong”...no guesses as to how the night ended up for them! Prohibition Party/Bar FTSE was an eventful night and some people even managed to dress up in money and attending the events. A suits, dresses and pearls, feathers, special thank you goes to Joy Clarke lingerie..... and the RAG committee this year for It was definitely one night guaranteed to ensure no one remembered much of the night, with many cheap drinks on offer, from Jager- getting involved and putting in so bombs to Vodka mixers, there was much of time and effort to ensure something to suit everyone, it was that this was the best year to date. 11 BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER! It is quite simply the biggest night of top night when you predrink for a the year and one where students pub crawl. Dressed as nuns, we lit spend much more time and effort in our candles and equipped ourselves preparing their outfits than they do for exams. The famous Whitechapel carnival (AKA The Beer Race) was unfortunately cut short this year...by my memory. with a crucifunnel and premorbid bank accounts before hitting the ‘Chapel, only to be greeted at the start by a number of gorillas, cupcakes, crayons, Lucha libres, hoovers, Phileas Fogg (including the hot air balloon), Hare Krishnas, Ronald The evening kicked off early McDonalds, scuba divers and not to and you know you’re going to have a mention a giant phallus! 12 After 5 minutes, the designated route massively went to pot due to a tactical detour to the nearest offy for a cheeky bottle of Glen’s each. This somehow led to being taken into an underground dwelling by the Maltese Cosa Nostra, where Don [name of individual has been censored for the author of this article’s own protection] treated us to a few traditional beverages over a game of pool. After failing to convince one of the locals that I was dressed in a nun’s outfit and not a burka, he proceeded to chase me down the street with a two-by-four. I somehow managed to run off unscathed to be reunited with the masses at the Griffinn. A lot of strawpedos, boat races and chunder ensued in the usual fashion before continuing on to LHT for some similar, but more expensive shenanigans into the early hours. It was truly a night to remember (in an ideal world). Walking through Whitechapel the morning after was less than a treat as the stench of stagnant booze and sweat filled the air and battered remnants of costumes were strewn across the streets. I can only tell you my experience of this wonderful event. That’s why I’ve added a selection of photos of the spectacular costumes that were on display. Thankyou to the number of photographers whose facebook pages I stalked in order to rob these 13 14 15 Association Dinner 16 One of the highlights of the year, the annual association dinner recognises the student body’s group and separate accomplishments. As always, a champagne reception followed by an excellent 3 course-meal at the great Wright, Professor Tom McDonald, hall kick-started the night off. The Professor Mike Roberts and Jeeves. various clubs and societies took it in The association awards followed: turns to toast themselves before speeches from Professor Sir Nicholas Association Cup Football Rugby Cricket RAG (WINNER) Club of the Year Football (WINNER) Rugby Squash Netball Team of the Year BL Football 2nd X1 BL Rugby 1st X1(WINNER) BL Netball 4th Team BL Cricket 1st X1 Society of the Year BLAS (WINNER) RAG Dance Music Sports Woman of the year Sophie Lynch (WINNER) Alice Unwin Charlotte Trainer Hannah Devlin Most missed female finalist Esme Olivier-Hobley Vicky Dawson Katie Irwin Pippa Dwan (WINNER) Female Fresher of the year Amy Coulden (WINNER) Charlotte Trainer Kimberly Van Winsen Samantha Chessell Association Joker Libby Fellows Olly Sohan Ed Davis Partha Ray (WINNER) Nick White Academic Society of the Year Pathology (WINNER) CLASS Anatomy Medi-Share Most improved Club/Society of the Male Fresher of the year Mike Shaw Year Andy Balme Squash (WINNER) BL Womens Boat Club Mike Smith (WINNER) Lewis Raiman BLACS Anatomy Sports man of the year Kenny Olufemi Charlie Warburton Trevor Gaunt (WINNER) Most missed Male Finalist Mally Scott (WINNER) Chris Hall Toby Mitchell Seun (Kwame Prempeh 2) Aneyam Jz Best Pre-clinical Teacher Dr Burleigh Dr Carroll Dr Yateman Lesley Robson (WINNER) Best Clinical Teacher Dr Feather (WINNER) Rachna Chenoy Malcolm Fish Prof Parveen Kumar 17 After all the food was eaten; the wine students and staff headed towards ceipts were far from friendly the next was consumed; and all possible Smithfield’s Beduin bar to dance and morning! toasts were exhausted, the stumbling drink the night away. The bar re- 18 19 God made the world in seven days... BL makes ours every Wednesday Rugby The 2009-2010 season marked the most successful year for BLRFC as a club for the last 20 years, both on and off the field. The boys have worked harder than ever before under the tuition and guidance of our coach Tom Burwell and the leadership of our amicable first team captain, Charlie Warburton. It has been an exciting but gruelling season but all in all one to remember! Notable social events included the pre-season Chislehurst tour, the ‘Old Boys Beer and Curry’ and the brutal Nottingham Super hero NAMS 7’s tour, credit must be given to our two outstanding tour secretaries, Jenks and Nick, for all the hard work they put in throughout the year. and narrowly missing out on the 2nd team UH plate. Other successes included Will Dooley captaining the prestigious UH 15’s side and the club hosting their end of season dinner in the Bart’s Great Hall with special guests Simon Shaw MBE and Ex London Wasps captain Peter Scrivener. games of the campaign. This left them with a mountain to climb. Of this hypothetical mountain they only managed to make it to base camp at the end of the season with too many draws and not enough wins to recover from their poor start. However they did manage to get their biggest ever point tally in the league; the league was stronger than previous years and meant they finished bottom of ULU. However the fourth team’s lack of success on the field was not matched off it, with many socials and great banter to and from games, making this team surely one of the most friendly and social in the union. I thoroughly enjoyed being captain especially as we actually had enough players this year, and Unfortunately, in classic despite the results people kept wantBLRFC style key players were lost at ing to play! If we keep the same the tail-end of the season - we wish Jeff and Nick a speedy recovery! However the sheer grit and determination of the squad showed through finishing the season in style – top of the league, BUCS 2B champions! Bring on the new season! Alex Pickard bunch of boys together next year I’m sure the quality of the banter may finally be reflected by quality on the Since Christmas BLFC has been field. through a roller coaster of ups and Dave Sims downs competing in 5 competitionsBUCS, ULU, UH, The Merger cup The thirds have had a somewhat bipolar season. With the league slowly and NAMS. slipping out of their grasp throughout the year they concentrated all their energy on the UH vase. Gio’s tactics proved too much for the rest of the London medical schools by comfortably securing a place in the final at The Hive. On the day a few controversial selection decisions looked to leave questions asked as the 3rds had a shaky start to the game going one nil down from a looping shot. th The 4 team’s season unfortu- However the team came together and nately started slowly losing the first 6 pulled through to leave the game 2-2 Football On the rugby front, the 1st team finished the season 1st in the league (winning 12 of 13), being promoted to BUCS London 1, and winning the UH plate for the first time in years. The 2nd team battled hard throughout the year, under the guidance of their brilliant captain Chris Hay, winning 50% of their games 21 at the end of 90 minutes. In a spectacular extra time show man of the match Nick White scored a last minute winner to be carried off the pitch held in the arms of roaring Barts faithful. What a game. Unfortunately the team suffered a blow on the last day of the ULU season as they lost their vital relegation battle game. Some fingers have been pointed at the organisers of NAMS as a couple of vital players missed the 3rd team game for the tournament in Leeds. The 2nd team produced an equally cup orientated season as Imperial’s 4th team steamed away in the league with no hope of being caught. They finished a healthy 3rd in ULU division 1 but a mention has to go to Remi and Kosi who between them netted close to 40 goals. Camara (Dom) commandeered a great UH campaign as the team won the qualifying group to earn themselves a date at the UH reserve cup final. The Hive witnessed a great game of football as an outplayed Imperial 2s team melted under the pressure from an inform Kosi and Remi to win the cup 3 -1. The 1st XI’s season looked to be extremely promising with a very talented team under the reign of enthusiastic captain Adam Hexter. In the ULU premiership we struggled to keep up with a heavy fixture list and lost vital games to teams such as Queen Mary 1s and UCL 1s. This resulted in relying on a controversial last game of the season relegation battle against Royal Hollaway 2s. A relieved Barts team won 3-2 to keep them in the league. In BUCS South Eastern conference the 1st team showed their superiority with con22 vincing wins such as smashing University of Arts 5-2. The league came down to a two horse race but with a disappointing 10-2 drubbing against the league contenders Middlesex, the league title fell out of our hands. Captain Adam Hexter made it obvious from the outset of his reign that the UH cup was his priority. In the group stage Barts 1s dominated by winning the group with some brilliant team performances. The fixture against Imperial turned out to be one for the history books as while predicted by the bookies to be a close encounter, Barts dismantled Imperial’s organised defence to leave fort Chislehurst with a wonderful 8-1 win. On the day of the UH final controversy was circulating once again within BLFC. Much like other teams within BLFC the firsts were struck with a huge selection nightmare for their captain. This resulted in some angry responses from experienced faces within the club, however, the team pressed on. The highly anticipated final against RUMS unfortunately turned out to be a nightmare performance from Barts 1s. RUMS showed their superiority in front of a Barts dominated crown to crown themselves UH champions with a 4-1 win. Was it that our first team weren’t good enough or was it the pre match meal at Noodle King? With the season over it looked as if the only thing that BLFC had to look forward to was the annual tour to Tenerife. Due to a few mix-ups within the committee the club looked as though it had failed to qualify for the NAMS football tournament in Leeds. However, a couple of days before the tournament itself a delighted Barts learnt that due to Peninsula (weak) pulling out, we now had a place! In an intense day of organisation, Fish (Nick Wilson), myself and Smeltz (Stampy) put together a last minute pilgrimage to Leeds including car rentals, luxury hotels, continental breakfasts and a mix and match of Barts’ footballing faithful. We turned up to the tournament at 8.30am, Barts time. This meant that consequently we were 30 mins late for our 8.30 kick off which was luckily postponed. In all honesty at this time the whole team was still completely drunk. We kicked off with a fixture against an accomplished and very efficient Leeds 1s. With very little memory of this game it is hard to report on it but somehow with the whole team being in a drunken stupor we only suffered a 2-1 loss to a team vastly better prepared than ourselves. Luckily this acted as an incentive that we really should sober up and play football. The next game was a fixture against Edinburgh and Barts turned it on with an emphatic 2 -0 victory. Brighton were our next opponents and were shocked by being dominated by a now sober and confident Barts. We put them out of the tournament with a 3-1 win. The final fixture in the group turned out to be a nail biting encounter with Glasgow 1s, with Barts now only requiring 1 point to qualify. In the opening minutes of the game it was evident that Glasgow were a very good team completely dominating us all over the pitch. Consequently they went one nil up. They controlled the game until the final few minutes when a great show of Barts character allowed Remi to power through a tough, Scottish defence to set myself up for a last ditch equaliser. The crown went wild and Barts went through to the last 16. The look on the Glasgow players faces was priceless and such quotes as ‘I can’t believe we lost to those lunatics’ could be heard from their camp. A long wait to our next fixture resulted in massive influx of hangover induced ‘beer fear’. This combined with a pitch that made Chissy look like Camp Nou lead to an embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Liverpool. Barts left the tournament still feeling jubilant about their qualification from a very tough group and went on to have an awesome night out in Leeds. The man of the tournament was Adam Burt. Maximilian Julvé vantage of more races available at the Tideway. It brought valuable experience to a relatively novice first VIII and gave us the chance to race against the Cambridge Isis Crew. After the Christmas break, the “Silvertoe” Hatton and James “The Horse” Soldan. The weekend culminated in the first VIII maintaining a high position at the top and the second VIII bringing up the rear after Joe Smith in a Power Horse fuelled burst of energy broke his foot plate. The season was rounded off with the epic BUMPs party including Hog Roast and KY jelly wrestling. Special thanks to Professor Gerald Libby for keeping the club so well hydrated throughout the year and for devoting so much of his time to the club. Jon Cramphorn Women’s Rowing Men’s Rowing It was an exciting year for the boat club, not without its difficulties. The club relocated to the Tideway from the Royal Albert Docks to take advantage of the better conditions and longer stretches of water that it provided. The first VIII have been training hard all year, six times a week come rain, sleet or snow. Led from the front by Captain David Brooke, we have consistently been regular faces at the gym and Stepney Green Park. November brought with it Fresher Sprints and the annual Henley Tour, one of the biggest and most successful of recent years, fitting in meeting Olympians at Leander Boat Club and the customary skinny dip in the Thames. The Autumn term saw the boat club take ad- first VIII was back on it, with a successful showing in the winter sprints indulging in a couple of debauched socials courtesy of Joe Smith to get us back into the swing of the new term. Training continued hard, and with the advent of our new coach, things started to come together and our attentions turned towards the Head of the River and the all important UH BUMPs. In the summer term Ilia Kantsedikas organised the first ever 48 hour “ergathon”. The Boat Club was camped outside of Liverpool Street Station for two days solid, raising money and awareness for haemorrhagic and ischaemic strokes on behalf of the Stroke Association. Christopher “Lats” Millward kicked off proceedings, which saw the Boat Club raise an impressive £3250 pounds over the two day period. The season finished on a high with the mighty two day UH BUMPs. The first VIII saw the return of a couple of old members of the boat club to bolster numbers in the shape of Jon “El Big Unit” It’s that time of year again where spring teases you with a bit more sunshine during the day but a hell of a lot of rain as if it were trying to warn you not to get your spirits up too high just yet. The women of Barts and The London Boat Club however know better because we’ve had to toughen up more than ever before through the winter months when the time called for us to be loyal to our oars in strong winds, hailstones, heavy rains and even snow this year! The year started off with our annual tour in November. This was a lovely weekend away to the posh little town of Henley-on-Thames for a bit of rowing besides all the mingling! A week later came the UH Novice Sprints race where they came 2nd place just behind RUMS in the finals and this result was repeated again at the Winter Regatta in January. All in all, a very promising fresher crew! The seniors also had some en23 couraging results where they made it start when our GK Catherine was into the semi-finals at the Winter Re- taken out in the first quarter and left injured on the edge of the court. With one player down, it was a fight to the death. Every player gave their best performance of the season to keep ahead in the game. Unfortunately, having drawn the whole way through, the tiredness started to show and we came away with a loss of 2631. By some stroke of luck, Vets lost gatta but lost half a boats length to St their game too, meaning we were Georges. For the first time in 3 years still promoted!! A well deserved rethey have entered the UH Head of sult for the 1st team. Unfortunately, the River Race where they ranked playing a different team to our usual last amongst the women’s senior line-up, we did not have the same crews but are not about to give up luck in Merger. But there is always anytime soon. Next up is the Bumps next year….. races on the weekend of 22nd and It has been a pleasure to caprd 23 of May which is the season fi- tain the amazing girls in the 1st team nale in the UH rowing calendar and and see them to a promotion. (And what an event it is with fancy dress I’m so sorry I missed merger!!) being the dress code for the last race! Aisha Jalaly BLWBC has had a fantastic year so far with dedicated members working together to make our club a happy place for everyone to be and we’re only halfway through the year so watch out for more! Simerdip Kaur The Vulture apologises for the late publication of this article and has received good news that BLWBC got BUMPED UP TWICE in this competition! Netball match, which was close throughout!! I really enjoyed being captain of the thirds. They have been a very dedicated team and have loved playing with them. Lucinda Bell The 4th team have had a consistent first season with draws and unfortunately losses in the first part of the year but ending up winning the last matches of the season, coming up seventh in our league. We did however completely SMASH QM at Merger, winning 29-9, truly showing how much we have improved over this season. It has been amazingly fun being captain of the 4th team this year and I am proud of my team for how well we have done and hopefully have laid the foundations to have an even more successful season next year - ending hopefully in beating The 2nd team finished 5th in ULU QM by even more goals!!!!” with the same points as Royal Hollo- Abi MacLeod way and Imperial but unfortunately missing out on 3rd place due to goal difference. We had some great games and all the girls have improved loads over the season. I have thoroughly enjoyed being captain, even with all the issues it's brought with it! But none of them matter because we won merger so it was all worth it in the end! Yay!!!!! Christie Brennan Men’s Hockey The 1st team had a lot of drama towards the end of the season. Our main concern was BUCS, with one game left against South Bank, we needed a convincing win to ensure a promotion. We were off to a terrible 24 The 3rd team finished 6th in their ULU division, winning five matches and drawing one!! So a very good season in ULU, however we do not wish to comment on BUCS!! We would on the other hand like to make comment on MERGER; WINNING 19-13, in a very intense Seeing as though the men's hockey club missed the boat with the previous issue of The Vulture this is a brief insight to our season. We had a good intake of freshers with players coming in to help boost both the first and second teams in their season’s The next step for the hockey club endeavours. Freshers were welcomed was our annual tour to Doorn in Holland. This year 15 lucky tourists made up the now infamous 'BL Raiders' touring side which took part in the 26th International Dick Ruimschotel tournament. There was beer, hockey and of course, poorly spoken Dutch. The 15 members of the BL Raiders touring side returned victorious from the Netherlands having toured hard all weekend and winning the most sought after prize of the tournament, the Hans Schot Trofie. A prize awarded to the best team of the tournament both on and off field. Well done to all who toured so well. Winning tourists were; Alex with a curry alongside the women's 'Superted' Speight, Jon 'test tube' hockey club where much fun was Fenn, James 'PMT' Pittaway, Ed had by all. On the pitch the first team hockey was good in parts. When we played well we looked like a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately we were far to inconsistent and results suffered as a consequence. The best hockey from the first team came in the two weekends of the United Hospitals cup. Playing against strong oppositions from the other London medical schools, BL put in four solid performances and were unlucky to not be rewarded. This season saw the re-kindling of the annual old boys fixture which 'Quakers' Davis, Jon 'Sweaty Chuff' took place on the 7th of May down in Beake, Anthony 'Farmer Giles' Wapping. This was expertly arranged Thaventhiran, Will 'Haut de la Gafor the morning after the AGM so the renne' Selway, Max 'Flikker' Gibstudents were finely tuned for a game bons, Ha mish 'Za kke wa sse r' of hockey. A hard fought game took Fletcher, Andy 'Rufio' Balme, Mark place and the old boys clinched a 5-4 'Tyler Durden' Gregory, Ash 'Viagra' victory. Following the match both Patel, Sikander 'Kippen Neuker' Mateams ventured to the Captain Kidd jid, Jeeves 'Rose' Wijesuriya and for post match refreshments which Remi 'Dolph Lundgren' Adeyemo. As for next season, we as a remained civilised at all times and in no way were any pound coins club are hoping for another good intake of players of all abilities and are harmed. looking to build upon what we have learnt this season. Will Selway Women’s Hockey Another BARTS-tastic season for the BL Women’s Hockey Club. The 1st team had a promising start to the season with the addition of some bright eyed freshers in the form of Lucy Glasgow, Amy Coulden and Charlotte Trainer. We had a strong start to the season with some cracking striking skills from Lucy Glasgow who was later awarded top goal scorer of the season. The team began to struggle as the season drew on, in part due to our recent promotion to the ULU premiership. Nevertheless, spirits remained high and we reached the semi finals in both the ULU and BUCS Cups. Amy Coulden was awarded most commited player at the AGM for her constant dedication to the team and hardcore-ness, playing on even when she had a serious injury, quite rightly she was also awarded Fresher of the Year. Sophie Lynch, vice-captain, was most deservingly awarded player of the season for her dedication and persistant mad hockey skills throughout the season; this was reiterated in her being awarded Sports Women of the Year at the Association Dinner. Sophie takes over as 1st Team Captain for the 10-11 season and is sure to do us proud. The season drew to a close with the epic battle against QM for the Merger Cup. BL dominated from the start with our 16 strong squad. A fantastic performance from everyone brought the final score to an impres25 sive 3-1 win. In true BL Women’s Hockey Club style, the team hit the union in force, showing the QM girls how to perform both on and off the pitch. It appears not even the QMers themselves could disagree... ‘It seems Barts can show QM a thing or 2 not only about how to play hockey but also about how to session afterwards’ (QM hockey girl March 2010). My thanks to everyone who played in the 09-10 season, of which there were a great many! A fond farewell to our lovely finalists Vicky Dawson, Katie Irwin and Esme Oliver-Hobley. You will be greatly missed. In the mean time bring on TOUR!!! Much Hockey Love. Sophie Williams BL Women’s Hockey 2nd XI have had a not altogether successful, but very character-building season. We got off to a good start with a huge fresher intake and a very promising fresher’s trials, and an even more promising first tables. Somehow we managed to secure a 4-2 win against RUMS in our first match which was very ego-boosting, but alas, it was short lived. As the year went on and we lost finalists and many players to the 1st XI, we were often unable to field a team. As such, we successfully managed to be demoted from the ULU league we had just been promoted into ( a 13-0 loss springs to mind...) and are now back in the same division as the 3rd XI. Hopefully we will have a few more wins next season, and get our promotion back! 26 Despite all of that, every cloud has a silver lining; ours being the massive 15-0 and 9-1 wins against St. George’s 2nd XI. I had an amazing time as captain, but am glad to be handing the title over to a very worthy candidate, Cat Miles. She definitely earned her position after necking a jar of ‘pickled onion gin’ at the AGM. Finally, thanks to Jenna, my vice-captain and Sophie the 1st XI captain, who have been a great help, and thank you to everyone, from fresher to finalist, who put in even one performance for the 2s this year! P l a ye r ’ s p l a ye r : A l i c e Dewhurst Captain’s player: Cat Miles Most improved player: Kimberley van Winsen Most dedicated player: Katherine Gillespie. Nasreen Moini ing at times due to some cancellations but the team, now used to each other and established in our positions, was making definite progress towards the later part of the season with some close games and great chances. Spreading out better around the pitch we put together some lovely runs up the wings and started to really use the space and get the best out of some great individual talents. The UH Reserve cup was a fantastic way to see the season out in style - our team of face painted lions (plus zebra and giraffe!) battled valiantly in the sun against some great opposition, not to mention the gin fairies... An excellent fun afternoon. So from the outgoing team captain, a massive thank you and congrats to all those who were involved over the year, it was awesome fun and I have no doubts that next year is going to be even better for us! Emma Kedgley Tennis The 2009/10 hockey season got off to a fantastic start for Barts' Women's 3s with our best e ver re sult leaving us really enthusiastic for the season ahead. Score lines seemed to reflect the weather as we approached Christmas but we definitely made progress in the area of team spirit with everyone really looking forward to their Wednesday hockey whatever the result! The start of 2010 was frustrat- What a long year it’s been for the tennis club...I suppose our year began in Summer 09. After a very successful showing in the early rounds of UH, Men’s Tennis found our way, for the umpteenth year running, into the UH final, matched up against our arch nemesis St. George’s. Unfortunately, the good form that saw us to the final dissipated and we crumbled to a bit of an embarrassing loss… BAD TIMES! Luckily enough this mishap wasn’t a bad omen for the rest of the year. October 09 saw the return of BL Tennis’ tour! We packed our rackets, along with some bright and tight gear and other bits of random fancy dress (including a Jamaican flag mesh vest top), as we headed off to Majorca. We did play some tennis, in fact quite a lot of tennis, and had the time to have a bit of a tournament, but the tour will definitely be remembered by those present for the following things: intubations, the Magaluf night and the emergence of Juan, the captain using a chorizo sandwich as a pillow and the very organised girly breakfasts. aged to persuade our staff president to go to Tiger Tiger! And finally, a quick plug. As many sports clubs seasons end, the tennis club’s picks up. We meet every Wednesday at the tennis courts in Bethnal Green Park (walk down Cambridge Heath Road, under the rail bridge, the courts are just on the left hand side) at 2pm. Rackets and coaching provided; any standard most welcomed!! I’m looking forward to seeing some new faces grace the hallowed Bethnal courts this summer! Aaron Braddy Once again, The Vulture apologises for the late publication of this article and hopes that all budding tennis players bear Aaron’s final message in mind and take it up in the summer of next year if not this year. Merger was a bit 50:50 this year. After last years success where both Men and Women’s tennis picked up wins, this year the Men pulled of a victory, but unfortunately the women lost in a close tussle. Very recently, on 5th year results day, we had our annual AGM at Queen’s Club. After a couple of hours of tennis on their amazing indoor courts, we enjoyed an exceptional 3-course meal (and the odd glass of wine!) whilst deliberating over the election our new committee! For the next season, Minh Quang Lu will be Men’s Captain, Maddie Lightwood will be fronting as Women’s Captain, committed fresher Henry Collette will be looking after the money as Treasurer, Sarah Williams will be imposing her amazing organisational skills on our Socialities and I will be the general whipping boy in the role of secretary! All in all, the AGM was well attended by the student body and by our extremely committed alumni base. The night was concluded with a trip to a bar in Tower Hill, but I do think some of our graduate members man- Sailing the end of April, and even sailing tour to France aboard a 60ft Carbon fibre Farr racing yacht in the early summer, all at minimal cost!!! We can even set you up with people willing to take you cruising around the med on their yachts over the summer at minimal cost! Sound too good to be true? Get in contact through Facebook (BL Sailing) or drop us an email at [email protected] and we can get you out on the water! Happy Sailing! Mark Lewis If your club or society has not been published in The Vulture yet, please get in touch by e-mailing [email protected] with a clear subject, stating your club or society’s name. Please try and accompany any articles with appropriate photographs. The new sailing club always has stuff lined up for sailors of all or no ability! Starting mid spring, regular weekend trips down to the beautiful Burnham on Crouch in Essex as well opportunities to race with experienced dayboat crews, no experience necessary. All new Wednesday evening sailing, perfect for beginners and BBQ in the docklands starts towards 27 This section is an added bonus for all the readers who have stuck it through this edition of The Vulture so far. It is a light hearted section designed to put a smile on your face whether it be to relieve some stress if you are currently revising for exams or to keep you occupied if you’re already bored of your summer holiday. Whatever your reason may be, we hope you enjoy it. This edition includes some elements from the last issue such as lookalikes (we’ve provided quite a few since it was a while since the last issue of this publication) and a caption competition. New features of this section includes a youtube competition and Dear Fanny, our resident agony aunt. Please give your feedback on all of this on our facebook fan page...ENJOY! Ever looked at one of your peers and thought “hang on a minute, don’t they look just like...” If you have, then we want to hear from you. Send in your suggestions to [email protected] with the subject: LOOKALIKES and stating your name. If you have pictures to back up your claim, all the better. Send them in too. The best claim will go appear in next months issue. Jonathan Ross Lindsay Lohan A young peter jenkins Emma Presern Lea Michele Cristiano Ronaldo Nasreen moini Deepak Kumar 29 Alex Conran James “JJ” Berwin ryone to chuckle at. In the spirit of the GENUINE VULTURE VUVUZELA (so you credited in the next issue. The sender of lack of banter. Send your videos wisely CONTEST and stating your name. Dev Patel Olly Sohan This is a new competition where we’re asking readers to send in funny youtube videos for evefootball world cup, the funniest video entry will win a can annoy all of your friends) and will of course be acthe least funny video will also be named and shame for to [email protected] with the subject: YOUTUBE entries to [email protected] with the subject: CAPTION COMPETITION and stating your name. The winner will receive a mystery prize! Send 30 in your Hi ! My name is Fanny and I’m YOUR agony aunt. Whether you want a shoulder to cry on or some heartfelt advice, I’m your woman! Some say my advice is worse than rubbish. To that, I say whatever! Nobody’s making you take my advice. It’s there if you want it. And if you do, please don’t hesitate to send your problems (no matter how ridiculous) to [email protected] with the subject: DEAR FANNY and stating your name. Dear Fanny, I've fallen in love with a sim from the computer game, The Sims 2. He is called "Trevor Tonguewaggle" and I created him myself using Body Shop. He's a little over-weight and likes to set fire to his cat, but I love him anyway. I didn't realise I had feelings for him until he had an affair with another sim, Kerrie Kontwhistle. I was so jealous that I had to drown her by commanding her to dive into the swimming pool and then deleting the steps. I spend hours a day just watching Trevor eat pizza and kick pink flamingo garden ornaments, all the time wishing I could make woohoo with him. Do you know any cheat codes to make Trevor real? Mel (39), Bethnal Green Dear Mel, NO. Dear Fanny, I was examining a patient on my firm the other day (by the way, my consultant absolutely despises me and thinks I’m an idiot as it is). As I leaned in, the patient had a look of pain on his face, to which I asked "are you okay?". The resulting dialogue followed: A wide-eyed patient: WHAAAAAT?! That's a rather inappropriate question. How is that relevant? Me: Well, you looked uncomfortable. Patient: What's that got to do with anything? Me: I didn't want to hurt you so I asked if you were okay Patient: Oooh. I thought you asked me if I was gay. Me: God no. Absolutely not. An awkward silence followed, and it seemed odd that nobody was laughing. It turned out the patient was in fact gay. Needless to say, my consultant wasn’t impressed. So now I'm really worried about failing. What should I do? John Doe Dear John Doe, Sorry, but Fanny is away on annual leave. Gertrude (Fanny’s secretary) 31