Author: Becki Watson

This Thursday, a group of Bangor University students gathered in Bangor City Centre to protest against the “honour killings” taking place in Kurdistan, and to call upon the UK Government to raise this matter with the Kurdish government. The protest, which was led by Kurdish students studying at the University, took place in solidarity with simultaneous protests occurring in Kurdistan, and was sparked by the most recent murder. On Saturday 23rd May 2014, Dunya, a 15 year old child bride, was brutally murdered by her 45 year old polygamist husband in Iraqi Kurdistan – district Kalakji. The husband is then…

There’s no way to write about Paris without sounding cliched. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, walks along the river… it’s all been said and done a million times. But strangely, it’s exactly these things that drew my housemates and I to Paris in the first place. The only time any of us had been to the French capital was on school trips, an environment that tries to open your mind, but in reality is kind of stifling. There are definitely good reasons for this (I can picture my old Head of Year’s horrified face at the idea of any of…

New Sabbs will be first team to take residence in Pontio building The Student Union Sabbatical team has been elected for the next academic year.  The recent election, which had the third highest voter turnout in SU election history with 1758 votes, saw the re-election of two current sabbs – Rhys Taylor and Nicola Pye – and the appointment of two new sabbatical officers into office. The election caused some controversy when it emerged that Rhys Taylor, the current VP Education and Welfare, would stand uncontested for the role of SU President. However, Rhys won convincingly with 960 votes. Speaking…

Bangor University are set to build a £30 million housing development that will transform the disused St. Mary’s site into a new student residential site. In response to growing demand from second and third year students who wish to move into university halls of residence, the development will refurbish some of the older buildings on the site in addition to constructing new ones. Speaking to Seren about the project, Pro-Vice Chancellor Carol Tully talked about the reasons why the university have decided to create more student accommodation: ‘Every year we get a lot more applications from second and third year…

You were here last year playing in Bangor in PJ Hall. How do you enjoy being in Bangor, and what’s it like as a venue? It’s a big venue and it has it’s own characteristics soundwise because of that. It’s always interesting do a sound check but people come in and change the sound. It has such great character, with all that wood and it’s beautiful, and nice people run it. But more than that I’ve spent a lot of time in Bangor myself, having fun and I have friends living here, so I do love coming back to Bangor.…

Students have been affected by more strike action by the university unions this week. On Tuesday 3rd December, three unions – UCU, UNISON and Unite – went on strike in protest against low pay offers. One picket line was staged outside the Main Arts Building with approximately fifteen people – including university lecturers, as well as many other picket lines at other Higher Education buildings across North Wales and the rest of the country. The strikes affected lectures and seminars across the university, however many schools remained largely unaffected by the union action, with scheduled teaching hours going ahead as normal.…

A couple that have been selling illegal Zippo lighters with licensed logos on, have been given suspended sentences. James Humphreys and Paula Ellis both appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court on December 2nd and were ordered to carry out unpaid community work. The couple, from Abergele both pleaded guilty to a charge of Fraudulent Trading under the Fraud Act 2006. Humphreys was given a suspended sentence of a year along with 250 hours unpaid work, his wife was handed a lighter sentence of 36 weeks in jail and 200 hours unpaid work. The business being run by the two was an…

With the UK railway system covering nearly 10,000 miles across the country and over a billion journeys per year, the British Transport Police (the police force specific to the rails) has their work cut out for them. Seren Editor Becki met up with Sergeant Tony Stamp, PC Carol Stamp and PCSO John Steele form the Bangor Team to find out more about how they’re working to make travelling on the railways safer for students. What is the British Transport Police and what are its main aims? The British Transport Police is basically the national police force for the railway system…

Recent plans for a new science park project in Anglesey are set to increase graduate opportunities in North Wales. The Menai Science Park was given the go ahead by the Welsh Government after last year’s budget negotiations secured the future funding of the park, with the pledge of £10m capital to be raised over two years. The future of the project has also been assured further by the appointment of Ieuan Wyn Jones as project director, who will step down from his role in the Welsh Assembly in order to take on the job. The aim of a science park is to…

A fire in Upper Bangor has caused a number of residences to be cordoned off by the emergency services. Local residents report that at approximately 4pm this afternoon, a property in Hill Street, behind Patrick’s Bar, had a gas leak that resulted in a small explosion and has been on fire since. Residents in the area have been told to keep to the back of their houses to avoid gas fumes, and people outside of the cordoned area are unable to return to their homes. Power has been turned off on Hill Street and the surrounding block, affecting houses on…

As everyone who is a regular user of the site will know, it’s hard to log into Twitter these days without One Direction being the subject of a trending topic. While their huge internet presence is mostly down to the band’s massive success, it can also be attributed to their rabid online fan base, which was subject to a documentary film last week. Channel 4’s Crazy about One Direction exposed some of the most neurotic behaviour of the Directioners’ (the name for fans of the band), from girls practically stalking the band in their efforts to meet them, and hoards…

Tired of reality shows giving their home towns a bad name, a group of Welsh locals have started a campaign to show what Wales is really all about, while showcasing their local heroes and bringing the community together.  All there seems to be on television these days is one reality show after another; if it isn’t The Only Way is Essex, it’s Made in Chelsea or Geordie Shore. But MTV’s latest outing, The Valleys set in Wales, has proven to be the last straw. A few of the locals have decided enough is enough, and have struck back at the…

Kaya Festival kicks off in Bangor this weekend, a month back Becki got the chance to talk to organiser Thabani to find out a little bit more. What inspired you to start up your own festival? I’m a musician myself, so it’s something I am passionate about. I’ve been going to festivals for years, and thought I could add something to the market by creating Kaya, a world music festival with good vibes in a beautiful part of the world. What made you choose Bangor as the location for Kaya? I’ve been coming to Bangor for years for student gigs…

North Wales Police are investigating an incident near College Road in which a 50 year old man has died. The man fell from a top floor flat on Prince’s Road on Friday night, and later died after being taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd. The police are treating the death as suspicious and have held three people, two men and one woman, at Caenarfon Police station for questioning. The area around the incident has been cordoned off, and the flat is being subject to forensic investigation, with local residents reporting heavy police presence, as well as other emergency vehicles. North Wales Police…

(contains spoilers for all series of New Who) Like many a Whovian, I was overjoyed when I found out that Steven Moffat would be taking over the role of Doctor Who show runner from Russel T. Davis in Series 5. Moffat is responsible for many of the most fantastic episodes from Davis’ time, such as the mind-blowing and terrifying Blink, the incredibly creepy The Empty Child (‘Are you my mummy?’),  and the heartbreaking ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’, so I was sure he would be able to take that brilliance and create the most stunning television show of all time.…

Sunday 10th of March brought us the tantalising final episode of the popular drama, Being Human. The show had humble beginnings when the pilot episode was aired in 2008; despite a great reception from viewers, poor reviews from critics meant that a full series was not commissioned. After much internet campaigning, a series was finally made, though actors Guy Flanagan and Andrea Riseborough were replaced by Aiden Turner and Lenora Crichlow for the roles of Mitchell and Annie. The only original cast member to continue was Russell Tovey, continuing his role as George. Other cast changes include Herrick the vampire policeman,…