Category: Features

Browsing: Features

Revealed: The Bangor Fishman

By Caroline Cartmill on April 8, 2020 Interview, Social

In November 2019, Bangor was struck by a social media sensation, ‘Fishman’; a mysterious figure who reportedly went around Bangor posting frozen fish through students’ letter boxes. But was Fishman a genuine prankster? Or was the whole thing made up to test how far fake news could spread in Bangor? Well, I can now reveal all the answers because for the first time ever, I managed to secure a real life interview with the famous Fishman, live from the Academi ball pit … So here he is: a 3rd year history student, Rugby league player, Seren film editor, and Fishman himself…

People's Vote March - October 2019 By Sinclair Davis

Brexit Day: Message from the Vice Chancellor

By Alec Tudor on January 31, 2020 Features, UK News, Uni News, World News

Students are ‘encouraged to continue to enjoy studying, working and living’ at Bangor, as the UK leaves the EU today. No immediate effects are to take place, as the UK enters a transition period until December 2020. An email was sent to staff and students earlier in the morning from the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. The message, recognising the contribution of staff and students, acknowledged the ‘uncertainty caused by ongoing discussions’. It also emphasised the University’s desire for students to continue enjoying their time at Bangor. The Vice-Chancellor has also reminded staff and students to apply either for settled or pre-settled status…

ROSTRA PRESENTS ’TWELFTH NIGHT’ IN PONTIO – REVIEW

By Alma Nordstrand on November 24, 2019 Arts & Culture, Features

Photo Credit: Rhys Churchill Directors Calee Sears and Sian Billington must be incredibly grateful for having such a talented cast at hand. Ema Lewis (Viola) and Lenita Mathias (Olivia), especially, are full of potential and it’s a joy to watch them perform. Their performances are subtle but poignant, and despite the difficult and archaic script they manage to keep a sense of naturalism. Lewis’s strengths are her timing and brilliant facial expression, while Lenita effortlessly pulls of the regality of her character. It is her first attempt at theatre and I truly hope to see more of her in future…

Thespianage in Pontio: An Interview with Antony Butcher

By Alec Tudor on November 18, 2019 Entertainment, Features, Interview

We’ve talked with Antony Butcher, Bangor alumni, SU President 2012-14, and member of Thespianage Productions, a comedy group based in Manchester who regularly rehearse and perform Improv, Stand-up and Sketch comedy. Thespianage is performing in Pontio on the 19th November for a 10-year anniversary of the Bangor University Comedy Society, where most members, including Antony, met and performed. We’ve talked about how it feels to come back after so long, how Antony joined the Comedy Society, and about how Thespianage started. Tickets for the show can be found here. It’s been 10 years of Bangor Comedy. How does it feel…

EU Settlement Scheme – Marcel Clusa INTERVIEW

By Alec Tudor on November 14, 2019 Features, Interview

It is a troubling time for university students in the UK. What is your advice for dealing with the stress and confusion caused by Brexit uncertainty? What we did, for example, until now, is try to remind the students to keep informed. It is difficult to not get tangled in the whole thing. What we do in our office is work with what we’ve got, and don’t get too tangled into it. Now, it’s very easy to say, but obviously, we’re all in the same boat. I had to apply for the settlement scheme myself. What we did is we…

Alec Tudor (left) with Professor Iwan Davies (right)

INTERVIEW: Your New Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iwan Davies

By Alec Tudor on September 16, 2019 Features, Interview, Uni News

Tell us about your academic past before you became Vice-Chancellor Well, I’m an academic lawyer, although I also practiced at the Bar. Essentially, my whole life has really centered around finance law, with a particular emphasis on asset finance. I was, for a number of years, an advisor to various UK government bodies and also internationally. One body in particular, was a body based in Rome called UNIDROIT, and that was a very exciting project because it involved really looking at ways in which you could codify international commercial law. So that was interesting. Part of my work also was…

INTERVIEW: International Student Society Chairman – Frederick Walters

By Finnian Shardlow on March 16, 2019 Features, Interview

Tell me briefly about the International Students’ Society? The International Students’ Society is a group of diverse students that meet on a weekly basis to socialise and get involved around Bangor. We are open to anybody who is interested in different cultures, languages or people; whether from the UK or abroad. We try our best to make people feel at home at university and help them fight against problems they might be experiencing whilst studying abroad. Most of the time we just offer a platform to send queries to, form connections at, and get involved at events across Bangor, be…

INTERVIEW: Rory Farmer – Ex-Bangor Student And Award-Winning Film Maker

By Finnian Shardlow on February 19, 2019 Entertainment, Film, Interview

For those who don’t know you, tell us about yourself and your links to Bangor? Hi, my name is Rory Farmer. I studied both my BA in Creative Studies and MA in Filmmaking at Bangor University. Since then I’ve also been lucky enough to teach for the School of Music & Media for a semester and currently work in the local television industry, so I’ve got really strong roots here in Bangor. You studied the Filmmaking MA here at Bangor, how crucial was it to progressing as a filmmaker? The MA in Filmmaking was so vital in preparing me for the…

INTERVIEW: Student Protest Organisers, Owen J Hurcum & Kayleigh Lavornia – “A lot is riding on this.”

By Finnian Shardlow on January 15, 2019 Interview, News & Politics, Politics, Uni News

Students are set to stage a protest against Bangor University’s proposed cuts this Friday, 18th January. The protest will take place in the Quad at Main Arts from 12PM and will feature talks from lecturers and students until around 2:30PM. As it stands, over 1000 people are listed on the event on Facebook. To build up to the event, Seren spoke to the organisers of the event, Owen J Hurcum and Kayleigh Lavornia. The event has over 1000 people going or interested – how has it felt for you? K: Surreal. A lot is riding on this. It’s a bit…

The Importance of Being Earnest : Rostra Raises The Bar

By Alec Tudor on January 2, 2019 Creative Corner, Features, Lifestyle

With Rostra’s second show of the semester, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, ticked on the to-watch list, one must wonder how to prepare to review such pleasant and surprising performances. Shifting from cocktail bar comedy to high society humour, Rostra greets audiences with a well-chosen cast, a well-staged play, simple and clean directing, and a lot of energy. There is much to be observed: Oscar’ Wilde’s unique style of comedy and use of language is delivered smartly. The lighting and decor are kept simple and to the point and the acting is vibrant and natural. Although 500…

INTERVIEW: Stephen K Amos – “The people who were the butt of the jokes have now got a voice and they’re fighting back.”

By Finnian Shardlow on November 17, 2018 Entertainment, Features, Interview, TV

From Hammersmith Apollo to Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Stephen K Amos is coming to North Wales. Seren spoke to the comedian ahead of his performance in Mold, Flintshire about his new show, free speech and not being known as ‘the black, gay comic.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9UZUAYL8Gs How much are you looking forward to performing in North Wales? Jesus, I haven’t been to North Wales in a very long time. I’ll be honest with you. I do Cardiff, Swansea – I’ve even been to Llandudno. But I haven’t been to North Wales for such a long time so I’m looking forward to making an…

INTERVIEW: Ruth Madoc from Calendar Girls

By Laura Pätäri on October 22, 2018 Arts & Culture, Interview

Sparkly, energetic theatre virtuoso Ruth Madoc talks with Seren about Calendar Girls the Musical in Llandudno, life of acting and her visions of the industry Let’s get started. Calendar Girls has enjoyed touring already in Leeds and Canterbury, and now at Newcastle. Tell me, what has it been like to perform in and around Yorkshire, where the story is famously set? It’s very interesting. We started off in Leeds which of course went absolutely swimmingly. But we thought, how will it go down in Canterbury in the south? Well, of course it was amazing, because it is a universal story.…

INTERVIEW: Alex Boss, Bangor City FC

By Finnian Shardlow on October 15, 2018 Interview, Sport

Give us a brief introduction on yourself? My name is Alex Boss, and I am a winger at Bangor City FC. I started playing football from a young age, around 4-5. My dad always used to take me to the park for a kickabout, and I ended up joining in with a training session at a local side in Brighton. It was from then on I found a love for football. I’m an attacking winger, with a lot of pace, which helps me get past defenders. I can get past defenders by just knocking the ball past them, or using…

The Cosplayers of Wales Comic Con

By Jesse Young on April 19, 2017 Features

It’s been around for almost ten years, but Wales Comic Con is livelier than ever, as is the burgeoning cosplay community. What used to be a more niche interest is now enjoyed by a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and lifestyles, so we talked to just some of those people to learn more about the hobby’s appeals. The Cosplay Expert Masubi, as she prefers to be known, began cosplaying for fun ten years ago. She chose her name when she began modelling as a hobby, and even as her focus changed to photography her penchant for cosplaying stuck. “I love…

Bangor takes ‘gold’ for Clubs and Societies in WhatUni Awards 2017

By Emma Victoria Jewkes on April 9, 2017 Features, Local News, News & Politics, Societies, Students' Union, Uni News, Union News

Bangor University is the 3rd best university in the country according to the WhatUni results which were announced in London this week. Hosted by David Mitchell, the awards are special in that they are only voted for by students; people who have a genuine first-hand experience in using the nominated institutions and services. In addition to picking up ‘bronze’ in the best University category, Bangor took ‘gold’ for its clubs and societies as well as further ‘bronze’ placings in the Courses and Lecturers and Giving Back categories. The University was also placed in the top ten of all the categories…

INTERVIEW: Jack Ritchie A.K.A Bearcubs

By Finnian Shardlow on March 31, 2017 Interview, Music

Wavy, candid, sleek. Bearcubs strikes an engulfing balance between indie-pop song structures and rippling, densely packed electronica. We spoke to him about his back catalogue, discovering singing and his new EP, Underwaterfall. I saw you back in 2015 at Bestival around the time you released single, Paper Walls. Since then you’ve released an EP, and now you’ve released another. Have you stopped to have a breather at any point? There was a period after Paper Walls where I was reflecting on how to go forward. But it wasn’t really a break. I was mainly writing and trying to get as many…

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