As someone who has only been dancing for just over a year, I was apprehensive about sharing the floor with those who have meticulously trained for 10+ years, but despite my initial apprehension, I enjoyed the challenge and found a pure joy and spark in trying new dance styles. The positive attitude of the instructors created a beautiful atmosphere to dance in, and I particularly enjoyed the masterclass hosted by Debbie Paul. Her energy and encouragement were infectious, creating a safe and supportive space. I was exceptionally impressed by how quickly but effectively she taught the fast-paced choreography in just a 1-hour slot. Another highlight of the day was the musical theatre-based masterclass hosted by the exceptional Travis Kerry. You may not recognise the name however, you will certainly recognise the musicals he has featured in. These include: Hercules, Hamilton, Evita and Aladdin. Fun fact: He also holds the world record for the world’s longest bear crawl! He was a truly special instructor, and despite the challenging choreography, it was my favourite class of the day, and this was down to his incredible attitude towards the mindset of the class. He encouraged a certain level of confidence where mistakes were no longer mistakes but a chance of freedom with the choreography. 

The CYD? convention is a truly special event which I am exceptionally grateful to have been able to attend. It’s busy, vibrant, and a celebration of exceptional talent from all genres and walks of life.

France

What started as a protest from teachers from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry High School in Créteil because of a lack of teachers , has now led to thousands protesting across France for the bettering of the French education system.

I spoke with a student from Paris, who wishes to remain anonymous, about how the protests they have attended in the past weeks have unfolded from their perspective and why they are protesting.

They described the use of police force against them during these recent protests

We were ushered into an avenue with police on both sides which led to around a 1000 protesters being cut-off

The police would throw tear gas, sting ball grenades (ASSD Grenades) and shoot water cannons at us and we were not able to leave until the crowd had calmed

After a while, the police began letting protesters go in small groups which took almost an hour for everyone to be evacuated

Why are you protesting?

The education system for High- Schools within France has been stagnated for too long with no real development

We want better classrooms and heating as it has become unbearable

During our interview, I was also told about Parcoursup, a similar way of applying to University through UCAS in the UK, that has caused a lot of tension among students in France.

The students feel there is too much pressure when applying to University

Violence from both police and protesters seems to grow over each new protest, leading to injuries on both sides, and buildings and shops being greatly affected.

Serbia

The Student List was formed in 2024 following the “Students in Blockade” railway station canopy collapse on the 1^st of November which sadly saw the loss of 16 lives.

On the 22nd of November 2024, in a central square in Belgrade, over a hundred thousand students joined in a gathering to show respect to the individuals who lost their lives. However, students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade were attacked during this silent vigil which led to a blockade of institutions in the following weeks.

The Student List was formed following these attacks on students as they felt the government was silencing them. The newly created party was formed to counter the cult of personality that they believe is prevalent within Serbia, focusing on the use of plenums instead. With these plenums, all students would be able to speak and vote.

On the 25th of October, the Student List beat Aleksander Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the Serbian election. Vučić called the snap election in September after resigning to rerun for prime minister, following a request from the Student List in May of last year.

Now many are wondering how the newly elected party will govern the country.

Bangor

On the 15th of October, the students of Bangor protested against the newly proposed AI data centre in Caernarfon. I spoke with many students after the showing of the People’s Emergency Briefing about how students can make a difference, with the students having many ideas on what they could do change. Days later, the AI protest went ahead, with the aim to halt the construction of the data centre.

It seems more evident now that students do hold the power to protest for what they believe in, with the ability to make real change.

Last week, the Student’s Union informed various societies that John Phillips Hall, the rugged drama building tucked away next to the management centre is to be closed for the rest of the semester.

A little history: the building, named after the first Principal of Normal College, opened in 1963, and has since then been used for anything you could think of, from theatrical performances, lectures, conferences and even the Beatles visit to Bangor in August 1967.

So what actually happened? It appears that the University discovered a heating problem in JP Hall at some point last week, which has resulted in all bookings up to Christmas needing to be relocated.

I contacted the University’s Press Office, who elaborated further:

John Phillips Hall is currently out of use following a boiler failure, which has left the hall without heating. As a result, our Student Services has relocated activities to alternative venues until repairs are completed and heating is restored.

We understand that this disruption may be disappointing and inconvenient for students and staff who use the hall regularly, and we apologise for the impact this has had.

Given the nature of the work required, however, it is not yet possible to provide a reliable timescale for completion. We will provide further updates when available and thank students and staff for their patience and understanding.

Its worth noting that rumours of JP closing are not new: it hasn’t always been given the care that it deserves over the past few years. An annex on the lower level of the building has been closed for several years for unknown reasons, the recording studio has been closed since the start of this calendar year due to a water leak, and the offices which once housed lecturers have been left empty by the relocation of the media department.

Its not surprising then that many members of staff working in other buildings believe that JP has already been closed for some time: it would be a similar fate that has befallen some other buildings owned by the University, such as Bryn Afon, Penbre, or Ogwen, which have been listed for sale, or the Memorial Building on Deiniol Road, which appears to be mostly unused. Similarly, the Alun Roberts Building, otherwise known as the Chemistry Tower, was demolished in 2023 after the closure of the Chemistry Department.

Still, until this week, it was definitely not closed. Nursing students used the theatre on most days, as lecturers need to accommodate large amounts of students, and other rooms had similarly been used for a wide array of subjects.

I myself, a law student, have previously had lectures in this building. Today, some of my lectures are regularly moved around the campus, sometimes even ending up in Brigantia, the medical building! The modules which were once in JP have now met a similar fate, being moved to University buildings far and wide. Students in these modules have been informed that JP Hall will be closed until further notice.

Giving credit where credit is due, the Timetable Unit has found at least somewhere for most lectures to go, and it seems that most lectures will be able to continue without significant disruption.

Aside from lectures being impacted, so have been some societies. Rostra and BMTS have both been using the theatre for their rehearsals, and have obtained licences to put on productions in November and December respectively. Western Cowboys also use the space for their sessions twice a week, and the Bangor University Dance Club intended to use the space for a show in early December. These societies have now been told that the space is no longer usable.

Societies in Bangor have been through similar situations in the past: until 1975 Bangor didn’t even have a proper theatre, with student productions occurring primarily in PJ and Powis Hall in Main Arts, venues which are not wholly suitable for modern theatre.¹ In 2001 the Lloyd Theatre closed, forcing student societies to move to JP Hall, then recently acquired from Normal College.²

Bad luck has manifested itself recently as well, and in 2024 Rostra’s production of Saving Persephone was threatened by the University telling the Society three days before the opening night that the theatrical lighting would be unusable as PAT testing had been five years overdue. In this case, a petition with Undeb managed to save the production.

The Student’s Union has also released a statement regarding the closure:

We understand the frustration and disruption that the temporary closure of JP Hall, following a boiler failure, is causing for our Clubs and Societies, and recognise the impact this is having on the groups affected.

The Students’ Union team has been working closely with the University to find alternative spaces for affected student groups while JP Hall remains closed. We recognise that these alternatives are not always suitable and that our groups have had to make difficult compromises.

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has been flexible and understanding during this time, but we also recognise that students deserve access to the spaces and facilities they need to run their activities.

We are in regular communication with the University about the situation and understand that the Estates team are treating the issue as a priority. We are hopeful that JP Hall will be available again as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we will keep advocating for our Clubs and Societies, making sure their concerns are heard and pushing the University to minimise the impact on students as much as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this together.

In the meantime, we can be hopeful that the University is able to rectify the issues with the boiler, as the displacement of lectures and societies to other parts of the University will only make it more difficult for staff and students at large to obtain spaces such as PJ or Powis Hall, and the loss of such a crucial performance space could present grave consequences for the University.

1. Some productions occurred in JP Hall when it was still owned by Normal College, and in even earlier years Penrhyn Hall (now used by the City Council) and the New County Theatre (now Trilogy nightclub) were also used. Theatr Gwynedd opened in 1975, and was replaced by Pontio in 2015. ︎
2. Covered in Seren’s February and June 2001 editions. ︎

The answer is simple, the fruit and veg market in the UK lies in the hands of very few people. In fact, only 8 retailers control over 90% of sales. This can be attributed to two main factors, Supermarkets preferring to work with larger corporations for ease of purchase and the seasonality of apple growth in the UK. There is a demand for fruit all year round now, which excludes most UK-grown apples for 9 months of the year. Cox and Bramley apples are the only readily available variety that have any sort of history or heritage within the UK; The remaining varieties consist mostly of New Zealand and Australian varieties that have taken over British orchards or are imported from elsewhere.

This is where the conservation charity Common Ground comes in. Founded in 1980’s, Common Ground do more than conserve local landscapes and wildlife, they aim to help communities celebrate what makes their local area distinctive whether it be local plants, cuisine or history of buildings. They realised just how spatialized apple varieties truly were in the UK, specific from counties right down to individual estates. With this information and the rapid disappearance of species sold around the UK Common Ground came together to create National Apple Day (21st October).

Apple Day at it’s core (haha) is about more than just apples though. Common Ground intended the holiday to be a celebration of the richness of culture, landscape, ecology and food. It is also a stark reminder of what we are in danger of losing should we disregard our environment. The apple is used as a symbol for people, incredibly diverse with rich histories if we just take a brief pause to appreciate them. National Apple Day has rapidly become a staple for many local villages and has helped to build belonging and pride for communities, while highlighting food miles and traceability of the foods we consume.

Personally, I’m ‘Jazz’ed to celebrate what makes our local area unique! Below are two local apples to Wales that I’ve had the privilege of eating recently courtesy of Treborth Botanic Garden.

Trwyn Mochyn / Anglesey pig snout

The Anglesey Pig Snout originates from the 1600’s and gets its name from the odd elongated shape of the apple.

As with most green apples it is sharp and tangy and works best for cooking. It is incredibly disease resistant and is best picked in early October. If you like Granny Smiths or Bramley apples I recommend!

Nant Gwrtheyrn

This apple gets its name from Nant Gwrtheyrn, the derelict quarry in North Wales, it was discovered growing from the ruins of the site. Despite the trees old age it still produced fruit every year!

This apple has quite an earthy flavour, described by some as fennel-like. If you are a fan of golden russets this is quite similar.

Using apples as an example, this article aims to highlight our ever diminishing biodiversity and the importance of engaging with your local community to celebrate where you live. I’ll leave you now before my laptop runs out of juice.

Happy Belated National Apple Day!

Formed in 2023, the Exeter based band blend influences from post hardcore and power pop bands, such as Cap’n Jazz and Teenage Fanclub. In doing this, they put a British spin on the American alienation often expressed by the Midwest emo bands they are inspired by, perfectly capturing British teen angst. Instead of petrol stations and 24/7 diners on route 66 from Ohio to Illinois, its corner shops and Toby Carvery’s on the national express from Carlisle to Crewe.

Their new EP “Little Bastard” is a continuation of this theme. Lasting for a short 8 minutes, the EP features punchy choruses, vigorous riffs, and emotive outcries that makes it impossible for the listener not to be consumed in this short and sharp outburst of passions. Kicking off immediately with the aptly titled song “pure hate”, which builds from a jangly opening riff to screams of frustration, as if no one is listening to what they have to say. Very poignant for a band on the brink of stardom. Another highlight for me would be the penultimate song “I am the pilot”. In this they combine anthemic Melodies with the repetition of the lyrics “some day I will get on a motorway, some day I will drive”. Almost as if they are imploring the listener to escape their stagnant hometown. 

Instead of reinventing the wheel, Pushbike incorporate multiple past genres to achieve a unique and original sound that feels completely out of place with the rest of the current music scene but totally relevant to young people in 2026. A perfect summary for them can be found in the title of Michael Azerrard’s book “Our band could be your life”, based on the alternative music scene from 1981 to 1991. They may not achieve mainstream success, but for those who care (me), they will be followed endlessly.

In finishing this, I highly recommend you check pushbike out. If not for their brilliant music, then for their despise for backwards kangol hats (do not wear these to their shows).

Anyhoo, lets get into the long awaited review. I ordered a Sgt. pepperoni pizza, and a cheesy garlic bread. The price is a bit steep for what you may expect to get, a pizza will averagely set you back about £14. The delivery was very bizarre, we were expecting it to come within 15minutes as it said on the app, then all of a sudden, it changed to 37! TWELVE EXTRA MINUTES?? Delivery, 4/10.

The presentation was lovely, box had beautiful patterns that should be seen in a museum of greek tapestry.

Now the main event, the food! I must say, the feel of the doughy crust was extraordinary, I could feel the realness of the bread alongside the love put into it. When I took a bite, I felt an array of emotions all happening in my mouth at once. The meaty saltiness of the pepperoni slices was perfect, I could argue it is up there with the best pepperonis I’ve ever personally had, and if you knew me this time last year, you would know that I have eaten a LOT of pepperonis in my lifetime.

 

Next, the mozzarella blanket the pepperonis were laid on. In all honesty, it was bog standard mozzarella, nothing too special, quite hard to mess up mozzarella but then again, you would be surprised. Now the star of the show, that tomato base, oh my goodness, it was scrumdiddlyumptious. It was a perfect mix of tangy and sweet whilst still having that natural tomatoey flavour in the background. Very, VERY tasty. I did have one tiny problem however, the pizza did not look anything like the pizza in the photos on deliveroo. In fact, it was a lot smaller than expected. Whilst the taste of the pizza was a massive 8.78/10, the size made it a 7/10. The garlic bread was okay, could be better, the mozzarella did not unstick which made it a messy experience, the dough did not disappoint, 5/10.

I know some of you are waiting for my ZINGER moment, and I would make a pizza joke here, but it would be too cheesy (think about it… there we go)

Anyways, ‘Wood fired shack’, you were great but the prices and the size of the pizza made my overall experience a 7/10.

Thank youse for reading my review, and as always-

BOOYAKASHA 

Bangor came out of the second half with renewed energy and a distinctive drive to claw their way back into the game. Their persistence proved fruitful as a well placed shot found itself nestled in the back of Manchesters goal. The momentum shift was short lived as Manchester responded almost immediately with a powerful strike from outside the box into the top corner of the hosts goal. Going into the late game Manchester met added two late goals in succession to wrap up their dominating 6-1 victory.

I then spoke with Solomon Cohen, the Manager of the mens 2nd team for a short post match interview of their game earlier on in the day.

Congratulations on the win, How do you think the match went?

Yeah its a tale of two halves, first half I think it was a but sloppy from both teams to be honest, we let them dictate the play too much. Second half we came out strong, played our football and won the half. A good second half, slow start.

Who would you think was the Man of the Match of that game?

Joe Jones, absolutely bossed the midfield in the second half. So many of the goals, so many of the plays started with him so Joe Jones MOTM

Do you think you can keep this up and keep winning?

I think the second team has come a long way since last year, a lot of fresh faces and a lot of people stepping up from last year…its just about keeping the momentum and keeping it going for the rest of the year.

Good luck to the lads for the rest of the season. GO Lions

What events can you expect from Pontio in the coming weeks? Well the Cinema is hosting a wide range of different films from family to romance to horror and more. To name a few that might pique interest: The upcoming satirical comedy “Digger” starring Tom Cruise follows the world’s most powerful man proving that he’s humanity’s saviour; screening from the 16th to the 22nd of next month. From Wednesday the 14th to Thursday the 15th of October, you can catch the new Resident Evil film, a thrilling horror for fans of the franchise and newcomers alike. A switch of genre next, as a screening of the Hades Town musical is showing the evening of the 13th; using american folk and new-orleans inspired jazz to retell classic the love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone.

Pontio is also hosting plenty of exciting musical events soon, such as “This Flight Tonight – The Songs of Joni Mitchell”. An acoustic tribute to the incredible works of Joni Mitchell, Welsh band ‘Zervas & Pepper’ will be delivering a full performance of her iconic album ‘Blue’, as well as some highlights of Joni Mitchell’s first eight albums for their second set. Catch this tribute to an incredibly influential late 60s/early 70s artist on Saturday the 17th of October. Another upcoming act is Breabach, an award winning contemporary-folk act. Experience the unique and energetic sound of progressive folk music with deep celtic and highland roots as this five member band is performing on the 16th of October. The last event I’ll mention is that a screening of the Metropolitan Opera is coming to Pontio with Macbeth as part of “The Met: Live in HD” series of cinema transmissions. Watch as Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Louisa Proske’s new production of the legendary Shakespearean play on the 20th of October.

Overall, some incredibly exciting shows, events and opportunities are coming up in Pontio in the next few weeks, don’t miss out on the student deals on cinema tickets too!

Revolutions, war and geopolitics may not be the first thing that comes to your head when you think about the small paper rectangles you put on your postcards, but time and time again they have depicted some of the biggest moments in history. It helps to think of a stamp as a tiny piece of art, every line of those illustrations is just as intentional as brush strokes on a canvas. This gives them meaning and allows them to be analysed from a historical lens.

Independence movements after WWII provide many excellent examples of this in action. For example, In September of 1945, Indonesian revolutionaries managed to take control of the Central Post Office in Bandung as they tried to gain sovereignty back from the Dutch and Japanese. From there they were able to retake the countries postal system and use stamps as political imagery to further their independence movement. They would print over leftover stamp stock from their colonial rulers with ‘Repoeblik Indonesia’ and later create their own stamps

These later stamps featured a Banteng (a bovine that was a figurehead for the fight for independence) breaking free of chains, an obvious allusion to Indonesia breaking free of colonial grasps.

Not all political messaging has to be so direct, the USSR during the Cold War would print millions of ‘used’ stamps just to use as propaganda. These would be put into albums and sold internationally. Propaganda included, glorified depictions of Soviet regimes, pictures of Soviet buildings (some not even built) and portraits of Russian artists with wide appeal to construct a more favourable view of the USSR globally. There is debate as to whether these stamps even circulated within the Soviet Union or whether they were just to capitalise on the boom of philately (the study of stamps and postal systems) at the time. 

These are just two examples in a sea of hundreds showing the intrinsic link between stamps and political expression. The very nature of stamps tends well to it because  not only the recipient  will see the stamps messaging but all the postal workers in chain before it reaches them.

The modern day is where problems start to arise, stamp sales are declining globally, countries such as Iceland and Denmark have ceased stamp production and philatelic counters at post offices are closing; making it harder than ever to procure stamps

Within the UK , the Royal Mail have been leaving more and more gaps in their stamp calendar for pop culture and nostalgic collections like Pokémon or Stranger Things. These of course sell much better than heritage animals or castles and bring younger people into the hobby but at the cost of neglecting modern British culture and arts. The UK still has incredible modern artists, writers and TV but looking at our stamps, they are not celebrated. It is indicative of our society that this nuanced art form celebrating culture is becoming an evermore capitalist cash grab.

This of course is still political in its own regard, reflective of the ever neoliberal and globalised world that we live in. By no means are we saying stamps have lost their political messaging. Hell, the Royal Mails stamp calendar this year features tiny pictures of the Concorde, a feeble attempt to grasp on to Britain’s waning power of years gone. Stamps are still political, but their messaging and impacts have changed.

In years to come these stamps will still be looked upon with the historical lens that we have briefly demonstrated in this article but will stamps even still exist in that future?

As we slowly lose this form of art, we should look back and realise just how much stamps have contributed to our understanding of culture, history and politics.

Dozens of students march around the Bangor University Pontio and Main Arts site, before making their way towards the high street.

The protest, scheduled for 11am and threatened by the dreary weather, was rampant with life by quarter past the hour; dozens of students gathered outside the main Pontio site entrance, the Bangor arts and innovation centre funded by the University where many student lectures are held, to listen and chant in opposition to plans to develop a controversial new data centre on Caernarfon Road, replacing the derelict Ferodo factory which faced the Menai Strait.

Developers claim that the 101-acre site will create 950 new local jobs during development, with a further 210 purported to be created upon operation.¹

The protest comes less than a week after a similar protest held in Caernarfon drew hundreds of residents to the town centre, in support of the same issue.²

Seren had the opportunity to interview Gabi, who organised today’s protest:

Benjy – Tell us about the protest and what you’re protesting for.

Gabi – “We’re protesting the Menai Data Centre. It’s being proposed to be built opposite Anglesey Sea Zoo. It’s a 100-acre data centre and it’s estimated to use 12 million litres of water daily and 5.7 million litres of diesel annually, which will be detrimental for the marine life, the wildlife and the local communities around it.

We’re already facing a significant increase in energy bills across the uk, but data centres will significantly increase these costs for local communities because they take so much electricity, so much natural resource from the local communities that are trying to live.

Also, the electricity that this data centre will require is the equivalent to the electricity that would be required to run 350,000 homes in Wales, which is a quarter of the Welsh population.

So, it’s a significant energy, electricity cost. It’s just crazy.”

What difficulties have you faced organising?

“It was a very last-minute protest because I went to look at one in Caernarfon and then I thought, why, like, hasn’t Bangor? There’re so many ocean and natural science students that are passionate about this topic so I thought we should have one in Bangor.

I’ve had to cooperate with them (Bangor University), obviously, and the police. The police were very supportive. They thanked me for contacting them and they did say a couple of their members would be present today, but I think they probably just realised that they probably don’t need to be here.”

What can people do if they’re interested in the cause and how can they help, themselves?

“There is the petition that you can sign if you just Google or search, the Menai Data Centre, you can find the petition through that; you can also object to the council.

Eve Goodman is a lovely Welsh lady who’s created a website handing out QR codes today for everyone to scan, it takes you to her website where you can learn about how to object to the data centre.

You can write to your council, to the local Welsh council, you can email them about the petition and all the information about the impacts and effects it will have on the community as well as the wildlife and marine life.”

Finally, is there anything you want to say to the university specifically? Or is this more of a general protest involving university students?

“It’s honestly a bit of both because I organised it, because I found it shocking that the university haven’t spoken up about it because we pride ourselves on being an ocean natural science university.

We won University of the Year award last year for sustainability, but data centres aren’t sustainable.

I just questioned why; even if we just had the QR code around the university for people to scan and become aware and to sign the petition. We do so much research along the Menai, our ocean science labs are on the Menai, and it would just be detrimental to not only the education for everyone here, but also all the jobs of everyone here.

If the Menai is affected, everyone in the local vicinity is affected too.

So as much as it is to raise awareness around the data centre, it’s also just to put a level of pressure on the university for them to act; it just makes me question what they’re gaining from not speaking up, because I don’t understand why they wouldn’t.”

Last week Bangor University Student Union Officers promoted a petition against the data centre plans and offered ways that students could protest the plans at their annual AGM, delivered to students of the University.

As of October 15^th, a change.org petition opposing the data centre development has 25,000 signatures.

1. https://canolfanddatamenai.com/ ︎
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm78pwq47vp1o ︎