Articles by James Macdougald


James has written 18 articles for Nouse


YUSU doesn’t care about my self-definition

We are entering a golden age of university democracy. YUSU president Tom Scott is the first pirate to hold legitimate office since Antipope John XXIII in 1410. Furthermore, it is rumoured that Matt Burton is eager to run for a third consecutive term – a coup de grâce that not even Vladimir Putin, let alone George Bush Jr, entertained. Let us drink to the latest set of YUSU committee appointments because, questionable as some of the positions may be, they are hardly a burden on the taxpayer.

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J Baker’s Bistro Moderne

Jeff Baker was the first Leeds chef ever to hold a Michelin star. In 2005 he was named Yorkshire Chef of the Year, and both Jeff and his first solo project, J. Baker’s, score highly in UK gastro-polls.

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Red Chilli

I have had too many distressing encounters with lukewarm bowls of viscous compost; I am harrowed by apparitions of diced sludge; I have had surfeit of cashew nut. If Red Chilli might have changed my mind, it didn’t.

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L’Antica Locanda

L’Antica Locanda’s location in the Shambles makes it the perfect destination for a romantic dinner, even if the prices are a little high. Helen and James are in the thrall of phallic pepper grinders and authentic Italian food.

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Pivo

I have never been to a Bavarian beerhaus but, if my imagination serves me correctly, each one should have at least one long, knobbly, wooden bar-top carved from the bole of a great hornbeam, several hundred variety lagers flavoured with all manner of implausible fruit and veg and one winsome barmaid who is blonde and pigtailed, and built by the same company that did Munich cathedral.

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Morbid Curiosity

Postmodern drama poses a specific problem for the audience: nothing is ever the point. Dominic Allen sets his blackest of comedies in a dystopian near-future. Morbid Curiosity is decorated by many of the fundamentals that the term ‘Orwellian’ connotes.

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Carol Ann Duffy Reading

Carol Ann Duffy, like Paul Muldoon before her, has a soft spot for audiences.

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The Blue Bell

If you like pickled eggs, you’ll like The Blue Bell. If you’re not fond of pickled eggs, but you like the idea of a pickled egg, then you’ll certainly be agreeable to a stint in The Blue Bell.

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Coffee Culture

There was a single lonely window overlooking the street. Bronte fans might speculate that if the Rochesters had moved to town, this would have been ‘that room’: perfect for the secretion of embarrassing, unwanted lunatic relatives.

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Bad Poetry

Sunday 2nd March William Blake is notable not only for the very questionable quality of his poetry, but also for his paintings and engravings; efforts which are, to say the least, regrettable: what unspeakable anatomical study, for example, could have provided the musculature for Blake’s Newton? In the meantime, his poetry is massively overrated: rhymes [...]

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Hackwood: victim of the soap opera generation

The punishment should fit the crime, not be dictated by our obsession with drama and personality politics.

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Playing with numbers

The CU can be criticised for a lot, but not for their funds.

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Nineteen

Location: Grape Lane, Swinegate
Average Meal Price: £25

In the run-up to Christmas, Will and I decided that dinner at Nineteen would be the way to go when we returned after the holidays.

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This Edition’s Recipe: Nick Ashby’s Mum’s Pasta Sauce

Nick Ashby’s Mum’s Pasta Sauce 1 bag of spinach 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 2 medium onions 2 cloves of garlic 3 rashers of bacon 1/2 courgette When we decided to try out this recipe, Will and I were still a bit the worse for wear from our restaurant review the previous night. This pasta [...]

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Even we’re bored

This will be the least opinionated comment I ever write. Why?

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