The Grand Tour was the Seventeenth Century equivalent of a gap year: an itinerary of European travel undertaken by young, male members of the British nobility which provided exposure to cultural artefacts, as the culmination of a classical education. Now, visitors to York’s historic centre can expect to be similarly culturally enlightened as a result of The National Gallery’s project of the same name.

Astonishingly realistic reproductions of forty-five pieces from their permanent collection, as well as four from York City Art Gallery’s collection, are adorning the streets of York until the end of September. Renoir’s ‘The Skiff’, Velázquez’s ‘The Rockeby Venus’, Michelangelo’s ‘The Entombment’ and Monet’s ‘Water-Lily Pond’ all feature, each handsomely framed and wittily captioned.

The public reaction has been one of excitement. The day the pictures were hung, crowds blocked the pavement in front of Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’ on High Petergate, and a car screeched to an amazed halt outside ‘Christina of Denmark’, by Hans Holbein the Younger, currently hanging on Bootham.

The project has certainly been constructed with a sense of humour. ‘A Grotesque Old Woman’ by Massys hangs between two beauty salons on Grape Lane, the eroticism of Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars’ is placed playfully next to Orgasmic Bar and Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ hangs behind the St Helen’s Square flower sellers.

At the project’s press launch I had a chance to speak to some of the people behind the venture. Natalia Yanez-Exner, from The National Gallery, told me “Our aim is to bring art to people, as opposed to people having to actively seek out art. Hopefully seeing these great works will draw new people into galleries as well.” If the Tour’s overwhelmingly successful London leg is anything to go by, The Grand Tour will succeed in its aim of getting more people visiting art galleries.

Gary Alden, a representative from Hewlett Packard, who provided the technological know-how which made the venture possible, tells me that the machine used to make the reproductions “is essentially a scaled-up version of a normal ink-jet printer, set in super-wide format.”
The paintings are UV- and water-resistant, could withstand outdoor conditions for up to 7 years and are, importantly, graffiti-proof. It is, perhaps, a shame that no contemporary art is included in the collection and that the organisers have not used the opportunity to promote new ways of thinking about art of a more diverse cultural agenda, choosing instead to stick to established European classics. However, viewing these famous images surrounded by bricks, mortar and the bustle of the city is a new and exciting experience in itself.

The opening line of Simon Amstell’s show, “One year ago, I went on a painful journey of self-discovery, and discovered that the self doesn’t exist”, set the tone for a show in which philosophy and comedy combined to ego-destructing but hilarious effect.

Amstell skilfully weaved together anecdotes from his failed relationships, middle-class eco-angst, and confessional tales of his own lack of empathy.

Central to his show is the idea that we are a lot less important than we think we are. He recounts his reaction upon receiving an elated friend’s news that she is going to have a baby. “Oh really,” replies Amstell. “You know who else had a baby? Everyone.”
Amstell has described his comedy as “the comedy of guilt and awkwardness” .

Even his experiences of being in Thailand when the Tsunami hit are tinged with feelings of embarassment. “I would’ve run when I saw it coming”, he tells us, “but what if it had turned out to be nothing? That would’ve been really embarassing! So I waited.”

Occasionally, it seemed that Amstell, whose York performance was part of an exhausting tour, stuggled to remember exactly where his set was going. But even those moments were handled with perfectly balanced mix of self-deprication and sharp humour.

Getting there:
British Airways flies to Belgrade from approximately £60.

Where to stay:
The perfectly positioned Green Garden Hostel also offers a shady garden for relaxing. Prices from £10.50 pp/pn.

Three of the best:
>> A visit to the Kalemegdan fortress is a must, especially for the views over the city where you can see the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers etched into the surrounding landscape.

>> The military museum housed in a section of the Kalemegdan fortress contains artefacts from NATO actions against Yugoslavia in the 1990s, including cluster bomb shells, depleted uranium ammo, and graphite bombs. The uniforms of dead soldiers with blood still on them are displayed, as trophies.

>> A series of barges on the river act as the city’s night clubs. Essentially floating marquees, beer costs a mere 25p a pint and you can feel the planks of the boat vibrating under your feet to the beat of the music. Escape the dance floor for a breath of fresh air on deck, complete with views of Belgrade lit up at night. Steer clear of the first barge: as soon as they realise you are foreigners they instantly up the entrance fee.
Helen Citron

From Woodstock to Fusion, Langwith Arts Festival to the Battle of the Bands, there are opportunities throughout the year for the University’s performers to showcase their talents on campus. On Sunday May 4th, however, York Carnival will descend upon the streets of York offering the chance to enjoy University groups, alongside local ones, in the surroundings of the city’s historic centre.

Established in 2004, the carnival is the brainchild of Jess Brand, a Music MA student, and has become one of the city’s flagship events. Beginning with opera and ending with tango, this year’s carnival, the highlight of the council’s ‘Fiesta’ weekend, promises to be the most ambitious yet, taking over the streets of York for a colourful day of parades, performances and a general celebration of North Yorkshire’s arts scene.

Current Carnival Chairman, Duncan Piper, tells me ‘The primary aims of the event are to provide a platform for creative talent and to build bridges between the University and the City’. Piper initially describes York Carnival as an ‘independent organisation in collaboration with the City of York Council and the University’ but it soon becomes clear that an impressively wide array of groups have been involved in funding and supporting the project in its evolution.

Aside from this year’s main sponsors (York Community Pride Challenge Fund, York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation and the Vice-Chancellor, Brian Cantor), it was originally Active York and the philanthropic Shepherd Group that supported it in its pilot year. Even more remarkable is the range of performers that the twelve-strong committee, made up entirely of University of York students, have managed to attract to the event.

Perhaps the most ‘carnivalesque’ feature of the day, an ‘Around the World’ themed parade, will snake through the city from the Minster Gardens at 1 pm, incorporating samba drums and stilts and bringing a splash of colour to the city centre. In addition, the stage on Parliament Street and a marquee on St Samson’s square from 10.30am will play host to a variety of events. Groups such as Revelation Gospel Choir, DramaSoc, Capoeira and Footnotes, familiar to anyone who has enjoyed campus arts events, are interspersed with diverse performances from local groups displaying talents such as belly dancing, morris dancing and hand drumming.

King’s Square will also be a hub of activity, where face painting and henna tattoos will be on offer – as well as a spot of Shakespeare! The day will finish with a ceilidh, for anyone wishing to indulge in traditional barn dancing (from 6.30 pm).

Piper is determined not to let the threat of rain dampen his spirits, assuring me that all event spaces are undercover. York Carnival is entirely student run and, if the chairman’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, is going to be a terrific day. So, go on, get out of bed, head into town and enjoy a Sunday of free and exciting entertainment.

Find out more at www.yorkcarnival.org.

Fancy being a steward for the event? Please contact manager@yorkcarnival.org.

The wit of Alan Bennett descended on the Drama Barn for the latest production of “Habeas Corpus”. A cleverly-directed production brought a bit of light-heartedness to an otherwise serious run of plays this season.

The exploration of middle and working class cultures of 1960s Britain were cleverly paralleled throughout. The mischievous Mrs Swabb played by Laura Henderson with tongue-in cheek characterisation and brilliantly sculptured
facial expressions, was a marvel. Ironically placed alongside the middle classes, her satirical approach to the character’s actions provided tireless amusement.

Mark Smith carried the cast as the quick-witted, desperate doctor Arthur Wicksteed. Smith perfected the role of the witty doctor with his quick delivery of lines, cheeky expression and knee knocking creepiness. Deputants Polly Ingham exuded sexual energy with ease and Gethin James carried off the pompous nature of Sir Percy Shorter to perfection.

The sparse set of 3 chairs were cleverly frequented by the cast particularly as the spot for Neil Forster’s farce hanging. The touches of music, particularly “Sexual Healing”, added to the comic moments
brilliantly as we watched Suz Mason as Muriel Wicksteed seduce an unaware Denzil Shanks, Dan Kinninmont, a “carry-on” moment which saw Kinninmont spend the majority of his part in boxer shorts. In contrast, the incepts of
Second World War sound bites added to the satirical dramatic nature of the action.

The play’s charm came from the mixture of of relief, comic farce and moments of “carry-on” clarity. Overall, a night of fun and frolicks, a far cry from the misery of the Febrary night or the usual Drama Barn offerings.

From the famous Hay Festival, established in 1988 and described by Bill Clinton as “the Woodstock of the mind”, to a recent event for the celebration of crime-writing in nearby Harrogate, literature festivals are flourishing. Providing a stimulating atmosphere for readers is the main aim of such events; however, with the ever-increasing marketability of literature, festivals are also important market-places for writers and booksellers.

This diversity is reflected in the programme for York Literature Festival 2008, taking place between March 1 and 15. It is run by a City of York Council initiative called ‘Read Write York’. Miles Salter, the organiser of the event, tells me he is keen to get students involved: “The relationship between the university and the local community seems rather polarised at the moment. Support from the student body would be really appreciated from us and the link could be rewarding both ways. The festival has a lot to offer students looking for something a bit different to do and gives them an opportunity to explore the creativity of the community among which they are living”.

Salter hopes the festival “will bring a new awareness of the amazing array of different groups in York involved in engaging in the processes of reading, writing and exploring literature”.

Looking through the festival’s brochure is certainly eye-opening. For instance, on March 4, an event entitled ‘Beat’, with the exciting if perplexing tag-line “Absinthe and Cola-roonie”, will take place in City Screen’s Basement Bar and promises to “mix classic 60’s beat poetry and vers libre with percussive bass-beats.” It is one of several events to combine the performance of poetry and music. On March 13 locomotives will be added to this combination in an event called ‘Trains of Thought’ in the National Railway Museum.

These offerings are balanced by events where budding writers can learn how to navigate the publishing industry and attend writing workshops to hone their skills. On March 11 at 8 pm, Dean Court Hotel plays host to an event in which three York-based writers discuss the modern world of writing and reveal how they “turned their consonants into cash”, whilst Borders is the location of a panel discussion entitled ‘The Art of Self -Publishing’ on March 15 at 2 pm.
York has provided inspiration to many novelists and poets, and on March 8 at 2 pm York Walk presents ‘The York Literary Walk’ around locations which have inspired authors such as Charles Dickens, WH Auden, the Bronte sisters and Kate Atkinson.

The most high-profile event is happening here on campus. Celebrated poet Carol Ann Duffy will be reading a selection of her work in the Jack Lyons Concert Hall on March 6 at 7pm. Other events connected with the University include a talk in King’s Manor on March 3 at 8 pm which will ask ‘Where are the poets of World War II?’. On March 6 the university’s Creative Writing Group will share their work from 7 pm at York Central Library.

Visit www.yorkfestivals.com for listings and more information

Award-winning author Tracy Chevalier talks to Helen Citron about finding the literature in visual art and why writing should be for the reader, not the writer.

“I love it,” Tracy Chevalier cries when I ask her what she thinks of York. “There is a tremendous sense of history here but the city wears it very lightly.” Her enthusiasm is just as well; she has just been appointed ‘Writer in Residence’ at York City Art Gallery and in taking up the role is setting a precedent – this is the first time a writer has taken a residency at a UK art gallery.

“My work has engaged itself with art in two main ways,” she explains. “There’s the art itself, and then there’s the creation of the art.” It is, of course, for her novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, or just “Girl” as Chevalier refers to it throughout the interview, that she is most renowned. Inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s famous painting, the book offers a fictional interpretation of who the mysterious girl in the painting is and how she came to be painted. Chevalier says that she tried to recreate in prose the painting style for which Vermeer is revered. “I wanted it to be a simple story, simply told, and to imitate with words what Vermeer was doing with paint: simple lines, simple compositions, no clutter, no unnecessary characters.” Although not all of her novels have found their inspiration in art, medieval tapestries, the poetry and paintings of William Blake, and even gravestones have provided the basis for her most successful works.

Meeting Chevalier is a refreshing experience. On her website I was struck by the lengths she went to to explain the origins of her work and her creative processes. She tells us what she’s reading that month, how she is progressing with her current novel and even records her thoughts about her father’s death. Given the hype and extensive PR that surrounds the book trade, the cynic in me speculated that, despite this apparent openness and keenness to engage with her readership, Chevalier would have a specific agenda to pursue, and would perhaps be cautious about monitoring her public image. Instead, she quickly puts me at ease; chatting about her days as an English Literature student before stopping herself and saying “Go ahead, ask me anything you want.”

I begin with the question of readership. What is her attitude towards those who buy and read her novels? With an energy that demonstrates her aptitude for storytelling, she begins to tell me a lively anecdote about a fellow pupil at UEA, where she took an MA in Creative Writing. “There was this Irish guy who wrote quite Joyceian, stream-of-consciousness stuff – very experimental – and I remember somebody saying to him in class, ‘I don’t quite understand what’s going on here’, and he always said, ‘That’s your problem, not mine’. I was too timid at the time, but now I’d just give him a good smack across the face and say that of course the reader matters… you want to be published!”
Chevalier clearly relishes communication and feedback from her public. “I get lots of emails from people who have read Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lady and the Unicorn, and some of the other books where I engage directly with art and the making of art, saying, ‘I look at art differently now that I’ve read this book,’ and I love hearing that.” She goes on to stress how important an audience is to her in terms of literary creativity: “I always think a book, or any piece of writing, is not complete until somebody has read it and said, ‘I understand or I feel something about this.’ You could say the same about a gallery actually. What’s the point of putting up an exhibition if no one comes to look at it? Or what’s the point of painting a painting if you just leave it in your studio? Yes, you can do it just for yourself, but I just don’t think that’s enough.”

It is this attitude, she tells me, that will inform her approach to her role at the art gallery. “If I can help people to have a more fulfilling experience in front of a painting, as opposed to just feeling flat, then I’ll feel that I’ve done my job.” Her novels are a testament to this desire to bring art to life through narrative, a skill she will be demonstrating as part of several ‘Writer in Session’ events in which she will choose paintings from the gallery’s collections, and, with the help of visitors, use them as a starting point from which to compose prose. She hopes these events will “give people a chance to see how writers work… how I make the leap from the visual to the verbal. I see something that inspires me and turn it into words.” She continues, “I just like the fact that I can be so public about writing. I think people aren’t going to know what to make of me and it’s going to be tricky to break down barriers and get people involved. You’re meant to be silent in art galleries and I’d really like to get around that somehow. I’m certainly not very quiet.”

She is keen to emphasise, however, that she is no expert. “I’m not an art historian and I’m not an artist,” she tells me. “I’m just Joe Public who happens to like art.” Aware of this, some have protested that referring to a book such as Girl with a Pearl Earring as a historical novel is misleading. Of her critics she says, “I think the concept behind my novels is pretty clear before you pick them up. If you don’t want to speculate about history or art, don’t read my books. I like mixing fact and fiction; it gives people something to hang on to.”

In any case, research is an important stage in Chevalier’s writing process. “I do quite bit of research before I write because I need to feel comfortable being in the time I’m in. You have to immerse yourself in the period and find out as much as you can, and then you’ll feel much easier writing about it and won’t have to keep looking things up.”

When I ask Chevalier if she would consider herself a historical novelist, she replies: “For want of a better phrase I guess I am.” She continues with characteristic pragmatism, “I’m always a little hesitant about labels because I find them limiting rather than helpful.” What, then, does she make of the suggestion that she is a feminist writer? “I write about women because I’m interested in women, and I am a woman so it’s easier. Also, because I write about women in the past I tend to be writing about young women who are going through change of some sort, or who come up against difficulties in their lives. There’s often conflict between them and the men who surround them… Writing about these things certainly doesn’t mean I’m trying to make a political statement, it’s just what I find most interesting.”

When the book was given the silver-screen treatment in 2003, Scarlett Johansson was famously cast as Griet, the titular girl with a pearl earring. Interestingly, although it seems almost the critical norm to presume that any film adaptation of a book is bound to be inferior to the literary work, Chevalier was very open to the idea, seeing it as “an amazing opportunity to see something that was in my head being made flesh. It was as if one art work had given birth to another.” This is not to say that she was entirely without her doubts. “When you’ve got to get US studio money on board they often want to change things… I think Hollywood is very blinkered and stupid. They’re obsessed by that 18 to 30 market, but there’s a huge population of people over 40 who want to see films which have relevance and appeal to them, and the big bosses just don’t seem to get that.” Although Chevalier had very little input into the film, she tells me that she did have a “really healthy” relationship with the British production company, Arthur Street Productions, and visited the set on several occasions. “I really trusted the company we eventually chose to produce the film… I had one request, which was that [the protagonists] not sleep together because the whole point of the book is that they don’t. If you’re not aware of that then you just don’t understand the story. Luckily, in the end, the producers found a studio that was sensitive to this.”

The film propelled Girl with a Pearl Earring to cult status and now Chevalier even has plans for a stage play based on the book. When I ask her who is behind the project, she is coy. “It’s only in the pipeline at the moment,” she says, “so I can’t say exactly who’s interested in it.” Nevertheless, Chevalier’s enthusiasm over the project is clear. “When they asked me about the stage play it just made so much sense.” Musing on the advantages of stage versus film, she seems positive about the potential of this undertaking: “I guess a disadvantage of the film was that it could have spun out of control. A play is a much smaller budget and you are a lot more limited with what you can do on a stage.” The only reservation Chevalier seems to have about the stage is whether it will be an adequate medium through which to convey the intensely visual nature of her writing. “The film’s cinematography was perfect, really excellent. The visual stuff will have to be thought out really thoroughly before it goes to stage.”

Chevalier is cagey on the subject of who may take the leading roles. “Their feeling about the casting is that they need to get Vermeer and then everything else will fall into place. That’s kind of opposite to the film where the question was: ‘Who’s the girl going to be?’ I think their assumption is that they’ll find an unknown actress for the girl, but as they won’t be able to rely on her to pull in the crowds they will need a well-known Vermeer… I think that the chemistry between the two principles is going to be really important. You have to get that right, because if you don’t it just won’t work at all, whereas with a film you can kind of fudge chemistry. Somebody can be looking passionate but they may not even be looking at the other person.”

Currently, the plan is for the play to start in London, before moving to Broadway in her native USA. “When I first became successful it was a real prodigal-daughter-come-home situation,” she laughs, “You know ‘Oh, Tracy… she’s out there in Europe kicking some butt!’ But that’s gradually turned into ‘Oh, right, another book set in Europe.’ Or, ‘William Blake? Who’s he?’ I can definitely feel a levelling off. But,” she adds almost apologetically, “the US made ‘Girl’ what it became, so I am very grateful.”

London, where she lives with her husband and young son, is clearly the place she calls home now. I ask about her new novel, Burning Bright. “It’s mainly set in London,” she tells me, “but the bits set in the country are all in Dorset… Actually, one of the reasons I accepted the residency is that I love the process of becoming acquainted with a new place, and York is somewhere I could really fall in love with.” So, I venture, now that she’s spending more time in York, can we expect to see a novel set here? She replies with the vague and mysterious admission that, “the temptation to set at least some of a novel here will be very strong.”

Walking back home past the Minster and through The Shambles, I am struck by how perfectly the city of York would lend itself to a Chevalier novel. I just know she won’t be able to resist.

I have to admit, I did not have high expectations of this week’s Drama Barn play, a production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things. The knowledge that it centred around a nerdy student whose girlfriend makes him over into a ‘cool’ guy, and that it was made into a Hollywood film starring Rachel Weisz, invoked awful visions of a cross-between a staged version of a teen movie, with all the cringing stereotypes and cheap sexual gags to go with it, and Pygmalion. I was proved totally wrong. The central question asked by the play is how far can art go before it crosses a moral line? This question is tested to its limit, with unnerving results.

The floors and walls of the Drama Barn were painted in dazzling white and three pieces of installation art were placed on stage. This scenery provided the setting for the play’s opening scene in which Adam, an awkward English Literature student meets Evelyn, a wilful and pretty sculptress. The clean whiteness of the set seemed more and more apt as the play progressed: it began to feel like a laboratory in which Adam’s imperfections were scrutinised and dealt with by Evelyn. Indeed, perhaps the height of Evelyn’s control over Adam’s physical appearance comes when she takes him to a plastic surgeon to have a nose job.

Geoff Gedroyc, who plays Adam, was especially well cast, manipulating his imposing physical stature to great effect. He was an initially cumbersome presence on stage but as his transformation progressed, so did his charisma and poise. Even so, we were constantly aware that Evelyn (Lucy Whitby), unrelentingly confident and never missing a beat, was subtly preying on him. Whitby exuded an enigmatic sense of control which meant that the play’s conclusion seemed disturbing yet somehow inevitable.

Certainly, the first play on the bill, Berkoff’s adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, is likely to live up to this exciting tag line. The play charts the misfortunes of worker Gregor Samsa, who finds himself quite literally dehumanised when he wakes up one morning to find himself transmuted into a massive insect. Charting the experiences of a paralysed car-crash victim, Whose Life is it Anyway also considers the experience of losing control over the body.
The theme that dominates the season, however, is that of body image and the sexual body. In week four’s play, The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, the attractive but manipulative Evelyn takes on average-looking Adam, attempting to mould him into a more attractive person, a process in which the body is seen as central; even suggesting plastic surgery. The power of the female body will come under scrutiny in week nine’s The Balcony by Jean Genet. The Barn will be transformed into a brothel where the prostitutes participate in role-plays, manipulating their bodies to fulfil their patron’s fantasies of authority. Next, another Genet play The Maids, sees three male actors – Tom Powis, Ed Duncan Smith and Jonathan Kerridge-Phipps – take on the task of playing women, further challenging our perceptions of the gendered body.
There are, however, two plays which one feels stretch the theme a little too far. Alan Bennett’s Habeus Corpus, a lewd farce about breast size and frustrated marriage, certainly offers a focus on the body but is not really suited to the dramatic and startling ideas suggested by ‘Bodyshock’. Furthermore, although Martin Crimp’s Cruel and Tender does deal with disability and physical violence, considering the play under the ‘Bodyshock’ title places a rather strong importance on these aspects of the play, perhaps to the exclusion of the play’s important reflections on betrayal and corruption.

Overall though, the decision to have a theme is helpful, giving a sense of cohesion to the term and making sure that all the plays are considered under the DramaSoc umbrella. Jamie Wilkes, the DramaSoc chair, was keen to stress that these plays were not chosen specifically in order to fit the theme. “It happened by accident,” he explains. “We noticed the reoccurring importance of the body and decided to bring them together under the title of ‘Bodyshock’.” I ask him if from now on every term will have a theme. He explains: “DramaSoc could never pick plays to fit specific criteria as that would be against our constitution.”

Wilkes is keen to push the idea of seasons, rather than terms, as part of a plan to change the image of the society to reflect its increasing professionalism. “We need to start pushing the DramaSoc brand; a logo on every poster, season tickets, a strong sense of identity.” He finishes, however, with the observation that “pushing for higher standards and quality is essential, but we need an atmosphere where people can make and learn from mistakes because that’s what being a student is all about.”

I’m stressed, I’m sweaty and I’ve just spilled soup onto a businessman’s crotch. ‘Why on earth am I here?’ is a question that runs through my mind on a not infrequent basis during my shifts as a waitress at one of York’s upmarket eateries.

The answer for me and for most students who choose to get a job during term-time is, of course, primarily financial. Being a student is an expensive business and for those that receive no financial help from parents the student loan simply doesn’t suffice. I do count myself lucky; for me a job is not a strict necessity. Having one means I don’t feel anxious about dwindling funds come the end of term and keeps the bottom of my overdraft at a reassuring distance.

The general consensus seems to be that getting a job at university will be damaging both academically and socially and this can be true. Obviously each case is different. For those with heavy academic timetables, factoring work shifts into the already loaded equation of lectures, assessed work and revision can be tricky. I would argue that Arts students such as myself, who only have around six hours of teaching a week, can’t really say they don’t have time for a job. But as long as you cast off the lay-in-bed student stereotype by exercising a degree of organisation and time management then holding down a job, a degree and a social life shouldn’t be a problem. Keeping shifts limited to weekends, when the pace of university life slows, and ensuring that you are clear about when you cannot work should ensure a healthy balance.

Aside from the financial gain, my job has bought quite a few less expected benefits. Being a waitress is by no means relaxing, but it does provide something of an antidote to university life. Having to answer customers’ questions about whether the rib-eye steak comes with chips or what the soup of the day is, is strangely refreshing after a day cooped up in the library struggling through two hundred pages on some obscure Icelandic war poet. Also, as a student it’s sometimes easy to forget what it’s like to function in a group of people who are not well-educated 18- to 25-year-olds. At my work, communication with surly kitchen boys, temperamental French chefs, a slave-driving manager and fellow, equally harassed waiting staff is essential if you’re going to deliver any kind of service.

Being part of an industrious, practical, profit-making environment is stimulating in a different way to the academic rigour of university life and is good preparation for the majority of graduates who will enter the business world. Many of us hope to achieve a good final degree mark whilst working part time. If, despite the apparent difficulties inherent in maintaining a job alongside studies, we manage to do this it is surely indicative of an industrious and organised character.

It may be difficult to believe, but work can also be fun. Never have I experienced so much gossip, rumour and intrigue circulating amongst one group of people. The manager and his deputy have an amusingly tempestuous relationship and I can’t wait for the fireworks that will erupt when the owner finds out that three of his chefs are planning to defect to the restaurant next door.

Ultimately, though, there’s no denying that being a waitress – or, I imagine, a shop assistant or barmaid – is for the most part pretty tedious. I only have to face the endless demands of customers and the boredom of polishing cutlery twice a week, but for most of my colleagues it’s a full time career. It may sound cheesy but having a job has really made me appreciate what I’ve got. That it’s really important to pursue a career that is stimulating and challenging is something that doing a bog-standard job brings home like nothing else. I’m hoping that with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, I’ll be the one sitting at the table being served in a couple of years time.

Making the most of your time at university should not include pulling pints, says Henry James Foy

Let’s get one thing straight here. Jobs are bad things. They get you up early, they’re demanding, time-consuming, stressful, infuriating. And the worst thing about jobs? As soon as you graduate, you’re going to have one. Forever.

Sure, I can hear those aspiring bungee-jumping instructors or computer-game testers shouting that jobs can be fun and yes, some jobs are more fun than others. But believe me, even Shane, who earns his living taking tourists scuba-diving off the Great Barrier Reef has mornings when he can think of nothing worse than getting in the water.

There’s the infuriating colleague who screws up even the most basic tasks, or the demanding boss who shouts for the sake of it. I haven’t even started on dealing with the public.
So coming to University is a three-year cushion of not-really-work-but-kind-of before taking the big plunge, and getting a job is simply wasting the time you have here.

For sure, many students feel the pressure of having to pay for their education. Tuition fees, accommodation charges and living costs all need financing. But why pay for it now? Put it off, live a little – there are loads of schemes and fancy finance packages out there to help. The trusty student loan is naturally the best example. That system has been designed to allow us to concentrate on enjoying university, rather than worrying about how to pay for it. You are safe in the knowledge that it only needs to be paid back after graduation, and only when you are financially secure. As a student, you’re expected to be a ‘burden on the state’. So be it. Milk the government for every last penny – that’s exactly what student loans do. The exchequer picks up the tab while you’re playing Ultimate Frisbee or joining LawSoc, and then you pay it back, when you can afford to. I wouldn’t knock it, that’s the best loan deal you’ll ever get.

As far as I see it, two things will suffer as a direct result of getting a job during your degree. The first is your educational experience, and by that I really mean the all-important grade. The second is your social life, including the number of societies you can join, the number of people you can meet and the amount of time you have to enjoy these great new friends.

Students who engage in employment during their degree take precious time away from study – and this has an adverse effect on their grades. A study in 2005 found that the chances for students working 15 hours a week of achieving a first or upper second class degree were only 62% of their non-working peers’ chances. Of those who worked, 80% said they had less time studying and preparing for assignments. So there you go; get a job, and you’re already 38% less likely to get a top degree than the chap sat next to you in lectures.

And what about all your mates? Even more importantly, what about all those great people you could be meeting? This is especially pertinent for freshers – meeting friends and developing bonds with people is crucial to enjoying university. If you’re out serving pints while the rest of your block are out drinking them, you may well find yourself drifting apart from them. Simply put, if you spend your evenings and weekends in employment, you will end up with a less enjoyable university experience than everyone else.

Our time at university is precious. It’s a time to expand horizons, stretch knowledge and get involved with things that you might never get another chance to try. So go play quidditch, run for President, learn how to pole-dance, drink your weight in snakebite, or – god forbid – learn that Poetry Anthology off by heart. You’ve got decades to pull pints or flip burgers if you really want to, but make the most of your time here first. It’s all about priorities.

My personal favourite has to be the ingenious chicken caesar bagel that adapts this favourite salad dish as a yummy sandwich filling. I can also recommend the grilled halloumi bagel, which is light yet filling. And, of course, there’s the classic smoked-salmon-and-cream-cheese combo, which Bagel Bite does better than anyone else.

The more adventurous may wish to go for a sweeter option – perhaps involving peanut butter on a cranberry flavoured bagel. The smoothies are worth a try too and are a tad cheaper than those available elsewhere. Those with a sweet tooth, however, may be disappointed as the seletion of cakes and pastries is pretty pathetic, mainly involving dry cookies and packaged muffins. Another issue is that service can be comically slow. It took a staff of three 10 minutes to assemble my prawn bagel. Overall, though, Bagel Bite is a worthwhile stop-off.

Sex, alcohol and drugs are all features of his first year. However, these typical temptations are merely the background to something far more sinister. Richard becomes part of an elite group of Ancient Greek enthusiasts and discovers that their passion for the classical world extends dangerously far beyond the classroom. At York, student parties tend to constitute a good old piss-up with nothing more serious to show for it than a complaint from the Badger Hill Action Group. At Hampton, Richard discovers that, having reached the summit of classical knowledge, his fellow students have attempted to recreate a bacchanal, resulting in the mutilation and murder of a local man.

Tartt carefully and slowly crafts her characters, each of whom stands out distinctly. Their quirks, weaknesses and short-comings slowly become apparent, and as the group becomes increasingly embroiled in guilt and intrigue the relationships between its members become ominously fraught. The Secret History may be bleak but it is also brilliantly written and totally addictive.

After 10 minutes of questions, St George’s led by 60 points to 35. York however steadily gained confidence, eventually overtaking the London university.

A round focussing on Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ was greeted with elation from the York team, which consisted of two English Literature students. At one point, Paxman reprimanded York’s team as Waddington, conferring with his team-mates on a question about politicians said, “Nigel Lawson was a drinker”, leading Paxman to warn: “watch out for the libel, will you.” Another notable moment came as Quelch interrupted Paxman, providing an answer to a question which had barely been asked.

St George’s, a medical school, fared well on science-based rounds with questions on blood and black holes proving particularly fruitful. However, despite persistent efforts to regain the lead, York’s team remained on top with Paxman concluding by congratulating York on their the final score, winning 175 points to 130.

Dramasoc’s run began this term with a production of Lear’s Daughters. The play is the result of a collaboration between Elaine Feinstein and The Woman’s Theatre Company. This is feminist writing at its best; the script explores the multiple possibilities of Shakespeare’s original text and is also imbued with startling contemporary relevance.

York’s production used the intimacy of the Drama Barn to impressive effect. The rivalry between the three women was highlighted from the play’s very beginning, with even the Nurse’s (Fran Trewin) stories causing friction between the sisters. Story-telling plays a crucial role in the play. The fool, played dynamically by Tania Chinje, is at the forefront of every scene as a kind of narrator, drawing the audience into the story with clever sets of repetition and puns.

Particularly striking was Emma Charley’s portrayal of Cordelia, whose initial naive joy became more and more tinged with notes of despair. The play also gives the two elder daughters – Goneril and Regan played by Jess Hill and Lydia Vas Nunes – a depth to their characters, providing some degree of explanation for the seemingly mindless cruelty and aggression their Shakespearian counterparts display.

The production emphasised the restriction of the daughters and conveyed their passions with dynamic intensity.

Ishaq A. Mian, an Environment graduate, was the only candidate to stand for the Welfare Officer but lost to ‘RON,’ an acronym for ‘Re-Open Nominations’, 47 votes to 40.

Jennifer Winter, the current GSA President, said the situation was “awful, to say the least”, and “unprecedented in GSA history… there’s not even a clause in the constitution to advise us on how to deal with it.”

A member of the GSA executive, who wished not to be named, said the result was understandable as Mian had “no policies” and “his answer to every single question was mumbling something about negotiation. He was running for the post of Welfare Officer, whose main job it is to defend students’ welfare, but it was apparent he didn’t have any of the skills to do the job well or even at all.”

Mian had apparently showed no prior interest in the GSA and “looked as if he was only running because he wanted the money that the part-time sabbatical officer gets paid”.
Voter turnout was around 12% of graduates, a number described by Winter as “disappointingly low”. Nominations for the position are being reopened next week.

Sergeant Andy Haigh of the area’s neighbourhood policing team has said that although crime at the University has gone down by nearly 25% since 2005, more still needs to be done.

Rob Little, the University’s Security Operations Manager, said, “The most prevalent crime on campus at the moment is the theft of bicycles, with almost one a day being stolen. We work closely with the police on this and have tried a number of initiatives.”

In a bid to further reduce crime, Haigh and his team have improved the efficiency of their existing resources with undercover and uniformed officers making patrols on campus when they feel it is necessary. Community Development Officer PC Sam Bolland has also been allocated to the University campus, which has proved to be a crime hotspot for the south of York.

Communication between campus security teams and the local police force has been tightened through the creation of a radio link.

Four bike-tagging events have taken place on campus in the last twelve months alongside a sticker campaign involving warning stickers being given out to be put on open windows and doors. It is hoped this will highlight the danger of burglary.

First year Hannah Elliot, of Goodricke college, has recently been a victim of bicycle theft. “I don’t think these initiatives will make a difference,” she said. “It’s not possible for there to be police by every bike on campus.”

According to Little, sneak-in burglaries occur more during the summer term, due to students and staff leaving windows and doors open. Students are urged to report any suspicious behaviour, secure their windows and doors and lock their bicycles through the frame in a well-lit area on campus.

The gild roll, belonging to the influential York-based Pater Noster Gild, had been lost for 100 years before it was found among a collection of historical documents donated to the University. It is thought to be the only surviving roll of its kind. The 4ft-long parchment contains records of the accounts of the gild for 1399 and 1400.

The details it supplies about the Pater Noster Play, believed to be the forerunner of the famous York Mystery Plays, fill a gap long puzzled-over by scholars. Dr. S. Rees Jones of the University’s Centre for Medieval Studies explained that “Scholars have long known that the renowned York Mystery Plays were not the only religious plays staged in the city. The York performance of the Pater Noster Play – which taught the essentials of the Christian faith on avoiding sin and living virtuously – was first mentioned by John Wyclif in 1378”.

On behalf of the English and Related Literature Department, Prof. Linne R. Mooney explained that whilst mystery still shrouds the content of the plays, the information gleaned from the rolls is a huge step forward for literary scholars: ‘Its rediscovery brings back this bit of York history to the city of its origin. For literary scholars its text is important because it offers us insights – however limited – into the content of the plays.”

The roll gives information about dues collected from members and of rents paid and received. It also gives details of the annual gild feast at which 12 suckling pigs, 29 dozen doves, 800 eggs, 30 geese and 198 gallons of ale were consumed by the gild’s members who, according to Jeremy Goldberg of York’s History Department, ‘probably rarely consumed meat, purchased spices or drank wine’.

The untimely death of a woman and the resulting grief are not, perhaps, the obvious subjects for comedy. But Ollie Jones’s production of Epitaph at the Drama Barn had audiences laughing from beginning to end.

The play is a series of cleverly linked sketches following friends Cory and Warren as they attempt to cope with the death of Georgia, a woman they both secretly loved. The character list far outnumbers the cast list, requiring the two actors to constantly flit between colourful roles, including an overdramatic French travel agent and a rather ignorant doctor.

Epitaph’s wit is brilliantly absurd, highlighting, for example, the lunacy of our consumerist society as we witness a brainstorming session in which pharmaceutical representatives consider naming an ambiguous orange pill ‘boobs ‘n’ pussy’. However, its most effecting moments come when comedy chimes darkly with grief, exposing the depth of loss.

The intimacy of the Drama Barn and the stage’s absence of props or scenery, save two chairs, meant that a stumble or missed beat in this incredibly fast paced piece would have been painfully noticeable, ruining the dazzling fluidity and offbeat comedy of the writing.
However, Nikolaus Morris and Chris Bush provided flawless performances, injecting complex scenes with spontaneity and capturing the moments of beautifully dark comedy perfectly.

The Dalek is built to deter rowdy student behaviour

The existence of the Dalek has been confirmed by a University of York student who sighted the replica on the Hull Road, outside the playing fields of York St John, during a driving lesson. The student’s driving teacher, Pat Winterton, said “I presumed they were filming or something. It made me laugh but I doubt it’ll be effective – I dread to think what drunk students would do if they did come across it!” Dave Stockton, President of York St John’s Students’ Union, responded angrily to the news that the metal monster had been sighted in the vicinity of his university saying that Simpson’s actions were “no better than those of Abu Hamza” in that he was using abusive language against students, who he describes as a minority group.Stockton acknowledged that students often caused disturbance but pointed to their social and economic contribution to the local community.

Stockton urged local residents to make efforts to liaise with York’s relatively small student population instead of continuing to produce such “vitriol”. However another York St John student said “I think its really funny, this guy probably just wants to get revenge for students waking him up after Toffs on a Wednesday night.”

A more orthodox protest against students was recently seen in the Badger Hill area, when residents launched an action group and circulated a petition against letting out family homes as student accomodation in an estate situated near by campus. Paul Hobman said the influx of students “is changing the whole make-up of the area” claiming that up to one is five houses are student homes.

>>COMMENT: Exterminating stereotypes

Despite these setbacks, the production remained a success. The lead performances were very strong, with Anouska Flower playing the sparky Steph and newby Alex Forsyth as the predatory, middle class Alain – justifying his popularity with this term’s directors.

Dead Meat is the latest theatrical work from student writer Sam Haddow, who provoked controversy last term with his violent re-telling of Electra. And violence is certainly on the agenda again this time, with directors Hana Morgan and Mark Kelleher, anticipating complaints, defending the piece against accusations of gratuitous violence in their programme notes. In practice, the violent scenes are not in the least shocking. Although death-by-lasagne is certainly unexpected, in these post-Tarantino times violence no longer has the impact it once did.

Haddow is clearly a very intelligent and talented writer and hopefully he will prove able to move past this technique and find some new and more challenging taboos to break in his future work.

The Music Department also proved a success this term, selling out both of its performances of this year’s practical project, Paul Bunyan, in the Sir Jack Lyon’s Concert Hall, and with good reason. Omar Shahryar and Dr John Stringer’s thrilling revival of this under-performed operetta, was truly a testament to themselves and the musicians involved.

Paul Bunyan is the result of a collaboration between composer Benjamin Britten and poet W. H. Auden. The opera tells the story of giant lumberjack Bunyan and the colonisation of America. Bunyan is an allegory for the complexities of the American Dream, with the lumberjacks clearing the forest to make way for the emerging modern America.

The most striking thing about this production was its contrasts. Characters like the narrator (Tom Appleton), who delivered lines of rhyming couplet with aplomb, and his grinning sidekick (Edward Winslow) created an effect which can only be described as kitsch, with the cartoon-like set design backing this up. However, there were also sobering moments, with the heartbreaking ‘Quartet of the Defeated’ reminding us that the American dream also led to downfall and ruin.

The chorus were enthusiastic, involved, and as you’d expect from the department, highly talented. York’s musicians provided a witty, colourful performance, which made for a wonderful evening.

The Dixon Drama Studio is rarely used for student drama productions, but recently housed three performances of Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9. This peculiar two act play, which explores the relationship between colonialism and sexual oppression, is a heady mixture of British Africa and late 1970s London. Act One, directed by Will Bowry, instantly highlighted the play’s central themes of role reversal and stereotype. Bowry teased out the farcical hilarity and dark sincerity of this scene with pace and wit. Music, costumes and some priceless comic timing were delivered with professional flair, in particular by Marcus Emerton as the hilarious Clive.

The second act, directed by Beth Pitts, surprised us completely with its dramatic change of style to explore changing sexuality in modern times. Out of the brassy confidence of the first act, Pitts crafted nuanced relationships driven by sexual politics and set just the right tone of uneasy oddity. A bare set and directive lighting opened up the stage for reflection on the politics of the piece. Special mention must go to Becca Morgan who held us rapt as Betty, with beautifully detailed confidence and style. Let’s hope the Dixon sees more high-quality student drama sometime soon.