All that glitters…

This Christmas Costume jewellery steals the spotlight. The bigger the better… statement jewellery is BACK!

With all the twinkly lights on the tree this Christmas be sure to make yourself stand out with some sparkly decoration of your own.

This season is all about glamour, and what could be more glamorous than big, brash sparkly neck wear?

With the likes of Chanel show casing over sized neck wear, new designers such as Allumer are on top form with their statement neck wear, which in more ways than one spells out what the wearer is thinking! Read more

More time on facebook for a successful career in Media

Students spending more time on facebook could find it beneficial to their future careers in media it emerged. This comes as good news for students right across the media department within the university, as their large amounts of time spent on the social networking site could actually be doing them the world of good.

The Journalism and PR students of the university received a talk recently from the Sunderland Echo’s digital editor Lee Hall. Lee talked to the students about how newspapers are becoming big online and that social networking is key. On the internet newspapers are certainly making their presence known and are receiving many more viewings than the newspapers themselves. This shows how big the internet has become, however Lee says how students shouldn’t become hung up on the technology side of it all. Read more

Middlesbrough recover to draw with Arsenal.

Southgate was delighted with how his team performed.

Middlesbrough came back from 1-0 down to earn a well deserved draw with Arsenal and leave Gareth Southgate praising his players.

Arsenal went ahead after 17 minutes when Emmanuel Adebayor headed in a corner from Cesc Fabregas, but Boro responded and Jeremie Aliadiere equalised in the 29th minute.

Read more

Sunderland vs. Newcastle…not your typical match.

Soccer AM treated viewers to an early Christmas present on Saturday with the much anticipated Tyne and Wear dance off.

The dance was battled out between the ‘Mackem Mover’ and the ‘Geordie Dancer’ to determine the ‘King of Dance’ in the North East.

After the weigh in, the Mackem Mover, otherwise known as Stephen Turner, battled it out dancing to Chad Jackson’s ‘Hear the Drummer Get Wicked” while Dave Johnson, the Geordie Dancer, ‘danced’ to Billy Idols, ‘Dancing With Myself’.

Even though both men performed to top standard and no doubt gave the Soccer AM viewer’s great entertainment, in the end it was the Mackem Mover who took the crown.

The Geordie Dancer has been around for almost 5 years, and has even performed at St. James Park; but the Mackem Mover was only discovered this year when he was caught on cameras entertaining the crowd with his killer moves at this years Sunderland - Newcastle Derby!

To watch the hilarious dance off click on the link below

Tyne and Wear Dance Off

Twilight Book Review

In my last post you may have gathered my burst of excitement for the upcoming film Twilight. As promised I’ve read the first novel and eager to share my thoughts.

To recapture, Twilight is about a 17-year-old girl, Bella Swan. She moves in with her dad to the gloomy town of Forks, where the sun literally doesn’t shine. Her life flips upside down when she meets the alluring Edward Cullen. Read more

Sunderland Racers talk with engineering institution

Both teams told the group of IMechE senior members about the competition, and how their teams are organised. They also spoke about how they plan and design their cars, as well as the building process, demonstrating how the Formula Student competition encourages innovation.

Kate Jones, the Formula Student project leader, told the audience, severely reduced because of bad weather, that the competition, open to universities worldwide as well as the UK, was an important asset that not only gives engineering students the chance to develop valuable real world skills in both design and manufacturing, but also develops their business skills, in areas of marketing; along with budget and time management.

The IMechE, as well as sponsors that includes Shell, Toyota and Airbus, supports the competition as it is a useful way to encourage school leavers to study engineering, an area were there has been a drought in graduates for several years.

Newcastle team members Ryan Broadhead and William Smith

Newcastle, represented by its team leader, Fiona Finlayson, along with William Smith, Ryan Broadhead and Johnny Knox, all 4^th year engineers, lead the way. The team of 16 people, split into two groups, work on separate cars. While one group worked on the 2009 car, NR6, the second team worked on designing next year’s car. Their methodology is one of constant evolution, and “intelligent, affordable, innovative design.”

Their car is an improved version of the one they competed with this year, making improvements to the design, reducing weight and replacing the gearing, now using a high speed sequential gear box that utilises a paintball mechanism, while also hoping to improve reliability. It uses a Ducati Monster 600cc motorcycle engine, with fuel injection, air intake and exhaust improvements added on.

SU Racing, represented by team leaders John Wood and David Meyerowitz, along with Chris Greaves, also presented designs for their newest car, the SU09, nicknamed ‘Trout,’ a completely new car for this year, using a new engine, a 600cc Honda CBR motor that replaces the team’s venerable 400cc one-cylinder Suzuki dirt bike engine, that will be combined with a steel space frame, with honeycomb panels to improve torsion stiffness. It is hoped that this design will not only be more powerful, but will also be lighter, weighing less than 250kg.

The team also discussed what it was like to be involved with Formula Student, highlighting the strong elements of social bonding found not only in the team, but also the camaraderie found when interacting with other teams at the competition itself, held at Silverstone in July.

IMechE examines SU08, alongside Durham's solar car, DUSC

The differing strategies between only two teams highlighted the reliance on innovation and original thinking that the competition was designed to encourage.

Both teams were also able to share stories of their particular woes during the event itself, with Newcastle telling the audience about the problems it had with loose drive shafts, leaking valves and a heavy, unreliable gearbox; while Sunderland related the incident when a drive shaft became loose, ripping out the differential and twisting the chassis, with major repair work being performed over night by Wood, a qualified mechanic.

Geoff Clack, a Formula Student judge also spoke, highlighting how important this, and other competitions held in primary and secondary schools in partnership with Learning Grid, such as the ‘K’NEX Challenge’ and ‘F1 in Schools’ were important to attract youngsters into engineering, as well as giving them important experience, saying, “Formula Student is more than just racing. It is also beneficial to the students.”

Formula Student, originally developed in the USA in 1981, was brought over to the UK in 1998. The competition itself asks the students to simulate building a prototype autocross car that if successful, would be a basis to produce a 1000 such cars each year.

The next competition, to be held at Silverstone in July next year, has already attracted over a 110 teams from 23 different countries. This year’s competition will also highlight the competitions environmental aspects, such as its encouraging teams to use E85 bio-fuel, as well as its newest category, class 1(A) a low carbon competition.

SU Racing and The Frog

Doug Cartwright, a Fellow of the IMechE, and chairman of the Automotive division had been impressed by both the teams work, and SU08 ‘Frog,’ Sunderland’s old car, that had been on display in Durham’s wind tunnel, particularly its front suspension system, as he himself had been a racing driver.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by local IMechE chairman Syd Croft, who had attended Sunderland Polytechnic, as well as Newcastle and Durham Universities. He said he had enjoyed the stories told by the teams and added, “If Formula Student had been around during my time at university, and I would have certainly joined the competition.”

Links:

SU Racing: http://www.formulastudent.sunderland.ac.uk/

Newcastle Racing: http://www.nracing.co.uk/

Formula Student: http://www.formulastudent.com/

IMechE: http://www.imeche.org/

Learning Grid: http://www.learninggrid.co.uk/

Blur reform, headline Glasto?

Britpop heroes Blur have announced that they will reform during the summer of 2009.

Singer Damon Albarn has been prolific since the split, first spawning cult cartoon band Gorillaz, then forming supergroup The Good The Bad & The Queen, and then working on his Africa Express project, but he has clearly decided now is the time to resurrect the Blur juggernaut.

Two live dates have already been announced for mega-venue Hyde Park in London on the 2^nd and 3^rd of July, with the Thursday show still having tickets available to buy from the usual outlets for £45.

And it looks like the Sunday slot at Glastonbury is free for them to play, meaning they could close the three-day bash in Somerset.

Since the band’s split five years ago, the four members have had mixed fortunes. While Albarn’s career has gone from strength to strength, guitarist Graham Coxon has battled through a well-received but not commercially-successful solo career. Bassist Alex James has become a cheese farmer, written for various publications and presented a Panorama programme on cocaine in Columbia, and drummer Dave Rowntree lost an election as he bid to become a councillor.

During the summer Albarn was quoted in an Argentinian newspaper as claiming that ‘Blur are over’. Coxon retaliated on an internet form by stating “Damon didn’t consult anybody else before he took it into his own hands to make this comment. Therefore I think it is nonsense. It isn’t for him to decide.” Coxon and Albarn had fallen out after the former’s alleged alcohol problems had threatened the future of the band. Blur then went on to record their final studio album, Think Tank, without Coxon.

A month ago Albarn did a U-turn on his comments, changing his mind to say that “It’s very possible I’ll go back to Blur. It really is very possible.” He continued by saying “Graham and I have been hanging out together a bit. We had lunch the other day. He’s great, it’s fantastic to get my old friend back. So it’s good, but I can’t really say any more than that.”

And then two weeks ago Albarn revealed that the band would reunite next summer. Coxon and Albarn then gave an interview to the NME, in which the Hyde Park dates were announced.

Fans are now waiting to hear about tiny warm-up dates before the pair of huge London shows. It remains to be seen whether or not the band will record any new material.

Credit doom for travel boom?

Credit doom for travel boom?

The North East travel industry has seen staggering drops in passenger numbers compared to this time last year.

The credit crunch, an economic downturn affecting all of the country, has led to people cutting down on luxuries due to significantly less disposable income- which means for a lot of households the first thing to go is holidays.

“300,000 passenger drop”

Newcastle airport can report that there has been an incredible 300,000 passenger drop from 5.7 million passengers in 2007 to 5.4 million in 2008-the first time this has happened in over a decade.

“Leisure spending being the first thing people choose to cut down on.”

According to Newcastle Airport this rapid decline is due to two forces: increased tax rates for airlines thus higher, increased fares for airline passengers and the other force being the “passenger’s propensity to fly” with “leisure spending being the first thing people choose to cut down on.”

The biggest area of the airline market to be affected is the weekend break market, often perceived as an additional holiday to the traditional summer holiday, but in previous years it had appealed to the public with cheaper fares from budget airlines and cheaper tax meant there was more cash to spend.

However now it is the main type of holiday in the airline market to be culled.

It is not just the airline sector of the North East travel industry that has been particularly affected by the credit crunch. The local sector of the travel company National Express, have seen a shocking rise in passenger numbers over the past year for the coach service and are actually making a profit compared to its travel industry rivals in other markets.

According to National Express, there is “no definitive answer” to why there has been an increase in profit in these most tumultuous of times but did say that “it is a result of the eco-friendliness of the coach and it being cheaper than using a car due to higher petrol prices.”

However they did say that “the credit crunch has significantly affected National Express’ profits this year”

Therefore it looks like for the North East airline industry; troubled times are still ahead whilst for the coach industry, well things couldn’t be better.

Free night out at Independent

A group of 6 Sunderland students have teamed up to offer the students of Sunderland a free night out at city nightclub Independent this Friday (Dec 5).

The promotions company is called Northern Hype and is partly organised by Orkney-born Rory Auskerry. Northern Hype has been putting on nights at the club for fifteen months.

Northern Hype was born out of flat parties at student halls of residence Panns Bank and when the parties started over-filling the flat, in September 2007 Northern Hype took over a Friday night residence at Independent.

Rory said: “We decided that it would be more advantageous to do it in a club. We decided it would be better to do it on a monthly basis this year as well because we’re all third-years and have an increased work-load. We’re expecting 100-200 people on Friday.”

Entry to the Holmeside club is free to students before midnight and there will also be free absinthe distributed throughout the night.

And Rory quashed any concerns people may have over the free distribution of absinthe, a highly alcoholic anise-flavoured liquor, nicknamed the ‘Green Fairy’.

He said: “If people are going to drink irresponsibly they are going to do it whether it’s free or not. We aren’t going to be giving out large quantities of it.”

Northern Hype has previously been named as Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq’s ‘Indie Night of the Week’. Rory will be DJing under his alias DJ Mashup and he will be joined by two of the other members of Northern Hype, DJs Scratch & Sniff.

The music party-goers can expect is current and classic indie, as well as some rock and some funk.

Burnley’s youngsters give Arsenal’s kids a footballing lesson

Burnley 2-0 Arsenal

Carling Cup Quarter-Final, Turf Moor, December 2.

Arsenal don’t like coming to the North. They famously bemoan the fact that sides like Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn Rovers bully them off the park. But on Tuesday night Burnley went one better than that. Yes, they beat Arsenal, but they did it with considerable style and panache. Read more

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