CONTENTS4 FEATURE: Strange FruitAnne Gould examines the state of racism both locally and nationally; is it really necessary to define yourself by race?

9 MUSIC: Black Market MusicTaking a look into the depths of the musical world Marcus Siddall reviews the albums that only come out on the darkest nights.

12 FEATURE: Change of PerspectiveThis is a subject all over the media, but is the problem restricted to London or is Bristol now

falling victim? James Watts investigates.

18 FASHION: Ruby TuesdayBoutique fashion from two of Bristol’s most exciting market stalls. Vintage fashion from Got Potential in St Nicks Market and The Repsycho Stall on Corn Street.

24 FEATURE: Leaving Its MarkNow two of Bristol’s most up-market areas, Blackboy Hill and Whiteladies Road attract the highest class of residents, but has it always been this way and how

did the names originate? Selina Orrell investigates.

26 HIDDEN GEMS: Cafe CultureMarcus Siddall searches the depths of Bristol for thegems that go unnoticed. This issue he discovers two

hidden cafes.

27 WHAT’S ON: Campus GuidesFind out what events are on this term at your local campus.

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Cover Illustration by Bungo

Tel: 01173282842Email: publications@uwesu.net

Publications EditorSarah Pusey

EditorSelina Orrell

Creative DirectorJack Smith

ContentJames WattsAnne Gould

Marcus SiddallSelina Orrell

IllustrationJam GranthamJack Smith

Ed Maier from Bungo

PhotographyFay CurtisJack Smith

Michael McCabe

Proof ReadingClare Clark

Kirsty TomlinsonLouise O’BrienMartha JowettMark Foster

ModellingSammy Maine

Richard Whittle

EDITORIALSWelcome to Westworld, your university magazine, bringing you the Black & White issue. Once an award-winning magazine, we aim to get that status back by providing you with stories that tackle issues relevant to you and your world. This hard hitting first issue looks at race, knife crime, music and fashion in and around your city of Bristol. There are opportunities to be a part of the Westworld team within photography, design and writing, so grab this new academic year by its balls and get involved.

Selina Orrell, Editor

The new year brings many different prospects for each of us. While Freshers bounce with the excitement of University life; returners know that work is their main priority. The new year also brings another year for Westworld. The magazine continues to bring articles that will interest and excite you. But more importantly I hope the articles will stimulate debate amongst you. Many of these articles raise serious issues; we are not trying to alienate you with our views but instead provoke your own opinions. This is a magazine for students by students, so come join us.

Enjoy,

Jack Smith, Creative Director

Tel: 01173282842Email: publications@uwesu.net

UWESU PublicationsFrenchay CampusColdharbour LaneBristol, BS16 1QY

3

It’s difficult to think of a more fraught issue for contemporary society than race. The word itself has become taboo because of its associations

with the now discredited theories of 19th century anthropologists and physiologists about

supposed racial superiority. Whilst the wrong word can lead to scornful reproach, unspoken racial distinctions still lurk in the background.

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Strange Fruit

James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, created a public outcry last year when he suggested that Africa would remain an impoverished country because of the low IQ of its inhabitants. Kenan Malik, author of ‘Strange Fruit, Why Both Sides Are Wrong in the Race Debate’, argues that whilst Watson was right to suggest that ‘there is a genetic variation across human populations this variation can’t be crystallised into any rigorous scientific category that resembles a race’. Instead he believes that race is a socio-cultural concept rather than a biological one. Race was probably a product of European imperialism and colonialism during the age of expansion. As Europeans encountered people from different parts of the world, they speculated about the physical, social, and cultural differences among various human groups. The conquering people viewed those that they conquered as their inferior beings and so race became a powerful construct that has, throughout time, helped to perpetuate the belief that some people are essentially better than others.

As race becomes a constantly evolving concept, the question everybody should be asking themselves this: is it really necessary to define yourself by race? Growing up in a city like Bristol it is easy to pick up on the tension and animosity that sometimes spirals out of control because of this need to label oneself as black, white or Indian. The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) website reported that in 2006 Bristol had approximately 289,360 non-whites living in the city compared with 349,530 white people. Focusing on the physical differences and characteristics alone means that racial stereotypes and messed up expectations often define who we are or who we become. Race has become so complex within our society, that it is no longer just a black and white issue.

There is a huge difference between race and racism. Whilst belonging to a race that differentiates us in culture, religion and way of life is fine, equally there is

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Words by Anne Gould

Race

nothing wrong with acknowledging that someone else is from another race. Racism is about more than defining someone as Black or White, because racists go a step further and make values and judgements about these different groups, thus ensuring that their own race is superior to another. These prejudices and beliefs then manifest themselves, as racists believe that the supposed inferiority of others is a basis for inferior social treatment.

Given that race is not biological, some people would argue that society should get rid of racial categories in a bid to end racism and create equality and diversity, the latter being important because it allows us to compare and contrast different values, beliefs and lifestyles and thus engage in different political dialogue and debate. In theory this sounds like a good idea; if you don’t call black people ‘black people’ anymore then we suddenly just become people – one of the same, all equally entitled to jobs, housing and education. But if we deny that race exists, are we not serving to encourage a

denial that racism exists also? Although classifying a person by race does have risks attached, surely we should be more fearful of the form of racism that is likely to emerge if race is denied and dialogue about it lessened.

Sadly racism is still an issue in Bristol. Avon and Somerset police stated that last year 1,135 race related incidents were reported in the Bristol area alone. The legacy of Bristol’s leading role in the slave trade, the institutional racism that led to the St Paul’s riot in 1980 and domestic Islamophobia 6

Race

linked to the recent ‘war on terror’ are just some of the worst examples of overt racism in Bristol. Although Bristol strives to be a place where people of all races have equal opportunities, there are still some serious inequalities that need to be addressed. Whilst I’m not suggesting that every white person in Bristol is about to run off and join the BNP, I do think that there is a racial imbalance in education, housing and employment. This imbalance can only be addressed if we collect appropriate data on race so that institutions such as our schools, hospitals and Council can offer equal rights and opportunities to minority individuals and groups. UWE is an example of one such institution that collects data on race relating to both students and staff in order to ensure that equality and diversity is reflected throughout the university.

Whilst some individuals would prefer not to be defined by their race, others openly admit that they don’t like to be ‘lumped together’ with everyone else. As a Cultural Studies student I have sat in numerous seminars and

had this discussion with countless individuals who are happy to define themselves as black, Indian or Chinese, not because they have to, but because they want to. Whilst no like-minded liberal would argue that race is little more than skin colour it needs to be remembered that ethnicity and culture are, if albeit, indirectly dependent upon race as well as each other. One UWE student summed this point up by telling me that he was “proud to be black because my race gives me a set of cultural values and a sense of belonging’.

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It seems that the race issue is not as clear-cut when it comes to being mixed race. Several students I spoke to who class themselves as such told me that because society still defines them by physical characteristics (namely skin tone) rather than parentage, they often find that they have been categorized as black or Chinese rather than mixed race when in fact they have mixed race parents. It is hardly surprising that society still places such emphasis on skin colour as it wasn’t until the UK Census in 2001 that people were able to describe themselves as of mixed race ethnicity.

The race debate is likely to be a recurring issue as Britain, and indeed Bristol, become increasingly pluralistic. Whilst there is no denying that racial inequality and racism still exists, ridding society of racial categories will not put an end to racism. Instead we’d do better if we concentrated on living together and learning to accept our differences. Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, through the emergence of cultural pluralism, the celebration of difference, which was once at the heart of racial science, has become a key feature of the anti-racist outlook; as it is indirectly dependent upon race as well as each other.

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Words by Marcus Siddall

One you’ve probably heard of. The gifted use of old vocal samples led many to believe that Burial was one of UK garage music’s veterans, rather than the twenty-something Will Bevan that he’s just been revealed as. Using sound from David Lynch films, and distorting and re-interpreting vocalists such as Beyonce and Aliyah, Burial uses standard musical form to create something different, and in much the same way a city’s built environment is completely altered during the night time hours.

‘Linienbusse’ begins with circling patterns of sound slowly increasing in volume before the tell-tale glitches of a drum machine herald the opening of ‘Heidelberger Platz’s’ main body. Everything here is named after a place, and East Berlin’s forever evolving landscape provide both the inspiration for the music and the studio in which this album was recorded and named after. The album grows in force as it goes on, twisted IDM forms much akin to Autechre being explored on ‘Jungfernheide’ (one of many east Berlin train stations re-opened after the fall of the wall), landscapes of ambient synth similar to that of Rod Modell making up much of the twelve-minute epic ‘Zoologischer Garten’, before the sound settles for the steady rhythm of acid techno during its closing tracks. Vocal samples are left un-interpreted and incomplete, much to the puzzlement of some listeners who find its unusual aesthetics challenging and intimidating - this being precisely why it’s music best consumed in dark, night time surroundings.

‘Temples of Boom’ opens with the hollow, ambient sounds of night time Amsterdam and ends with Mugg’s atmospheric drum production stirring from the recorded sound of storm clouds and thunder on ‘Let It Rain’. Hypnotic, subdued and down tempo, tracks like ‘Illusions’ and ‘Red Light Visions’ provoke a smoke-fuelled image of a band misled by past experience and spurred on by genuine artistic expression rather than the urge to jump on the hip hop bandwagon of the early 90s.

Burial‘Untrue’

Studio Pankow ‘Linienbusse’

Cypress Hill ‘III: Temples of Boom’

Before he put up shop in Hamburg, releasing music under the ‘Smallville’ moniker from his record store of the same name, Lawrence brought out one full length on Cologne mega-label ‘Kompakt’. Prior to producing music full-time, Lawrence was more used to tending gardens for a living than delicate minimal techno, yet this transition of career is captured perfectly on ‘This Night Will Last Forever’. Songs like ‘Falling Down A Dam Of Mashed Potatoes’ illustrate his melancholy longing until the ticking eventually gives way to shifting four-four rhythms, that’s easily at home on one of techno’s most renowned record labels. Yet the transportation to Germany’s dark club dance floors is never complete, as the album’s latter parts, particularly ‘Lost Images’ and ‘Crippled Trees’, use melody and subtlety to its gothic and autumnal purpose.

Separately, Rod Modell and Soultek are both legends within techno circles, the pair representing the Detroit and Berlin factions respectively. Combined, they have made an album of unparalleled ambient qualities, considering their past output’s usually unaltered methodical construction. The recognisable thud-thud of the bass drum that is considered by many to be repetitive signs of the genre’s strain is still there, but it’s suitably hushed amongst the surrounding bed of echo and space delay. Tracks seemingly lost reverberate for an age before suddenly emerging from the thicket of noise. Sounding much the same as the past ambient projects of Kompakt’s ringleader Wolfgang Voigt aka Gas, ‘The Coldest Season’ was similarly released on a label more normally associated with club bangers (‘Manchester’s Modern Love’), yet it’s the most challenging listen on this list.

DeepChord presents

Echospace ‘The Coldest Season’

Lawrence ‘This Night Will Last

Forever’

Over the last year the media has been saturated with stories of teenage gangs and knife crime, but what does this all mean? Is there a crime wave of hoody wearing yobs sweeping the country making it unsafe for us to walk the streets?

Is the increase in media coverage an accurate representation of violence and gang culture, or are the media capitalising on middle England’s fears of Black and Asian communities by victimising young people in order to fill column inches? Ultimately what does this mean for students of Bristol? Could one of us be the next young victim gracing the front of a tabloid, or are we actually safer than ever in our adopted city?

CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

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Words by James Watts

Trying to reach some answers to these questions is a difficult task for a number of reasons, but what we do know is that there has been a definite increase in the reporting of knife crime and its tragic consequences. This has lead to more public pressure on politicians and as a result the very serious issue of knife crime has threatened to become just another way for MP’s to score cheap political points while lives are being ruined. In the last few months we have seen several proposals from politicians claiming that it is time to get ‘tough on crime’, including the introduction of curfews and compulsory national service. The new London Mayor Boris Johnson has even enlisted the help of Lily Allen to find new ways of fighting knife crime.

At the time of writing, the latest suggestion put forward by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, is that instead of giving offenders harsher custodial sentences they should be made to visit knife victims in hospital to confront the people injured in knife attacks.

Many people including Lucy Sandeman, a Cultural and Media Studies student, have strongly criticised the solutions put forward by politicians. “It seems like every day a Labour MP is coming up with a new ‘shock tactic’ that will deal with knife crime, when all that is happening is that they are just showing how out of touch they are. How ridiculous is it to suggest that criminals visit stabbed people in hospital!”

George Bates, a Politics student, doesn’t think the Tories are much better, “The Conservatives just use every knife related death to score points against Labour by using it as proof of how they should be in power and not Gordon Brown. The fact they’re asking Lily Allen for help is more a PR stunt to look ‘down with the kids’ than actually deal with the problem”.

In July the British Crime Survey (BCS) was published and indicated that 22,151 offences, including grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, wounding and robbery involving a knife took place, including 231 attempted murders between 2007/8. In the same period, the Avon and Somerset police who patrol in and around Bristol reported 360 offences. So are we at risk as students? Not particularly, according to top Bristol policeman Assistant Chief Constable John Long.

Speaking to the Bristol Evening Post in August, days after a father-of-two was stabbed to death in a Withywood street, Assistant Constable Long emphasised “We don’t have the problems of the capital”.

In fact things are actually better than they were four years ago, largely due to the lessons learnt after the tragic death of Linval Wright, who was stabbed to death outside his home in Lena Street, Easton, four years ago.

Mr Long said: “His mother Calota Griffiths made an educational video to help drive home the message to young people about the potential consequences of carrying a knife and you only have to speak to the Local Education Authority to see the efforts that have gone into steering young people away from crime.”

Since the death of Linval Wright who was killed by two teenage brothers, knife crime has decreased by 24.9 percent, from 1,038 crimes in 2004/5 to 780 in 2007/8.

Mr Long added that the majority of crimes in Bristol in which knives were used, the offender and victim knew each other and the incidents were “domestic” in nature or were drug related.

So the police don’t think we should be worried, but how do students feel. Linzi Young, a third year English Student thinks Bristol is a safe city for students. “I’ve never really felt particularly unsafe in the 2 years that I’ve lived in Bristol. I think it’s terrible that so many young people are dying in London, but there just isn’t that problem in Bristol. Sure, like every city it has its problems, but on the whole I don’t think I could have picked many safer places to be a student.”

This sentiment has been echoed by many other people I have spoken to. Instead of being scared by all the stories in the papers, most people are media savvy enough to realise that the instances of crime are not going up, it is just the medias reporting of it. This is backed up through further figures from the British Crime Survey, which indicate that violent crime is actually down 11 percent on last year.

So what are the effects of this increased reporting? A student who wished not to be named said: “I know this sounds bad, but because every time I pick up a newspaper and read about someone being killed by a Black or Asian gang it arouses prejudices within me towards those groups. I’m ashamed to admit it but I think it’s human nature and I think some people may feel the same.”

So even though the instances of knife and gang crime have decreased (especially in Bristol), it appears that the way these tragedies are being reported, is creating a climate of fear among some people.

Is this the true damage that knife crime does to our society? Is it not tragic enough that young people are losing their lives by needlessly carrying knives without the disproportionate reporting of crime, having a detrimental effect on how certain sections of society are viewed?

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Photography: Fay Curtis

Styling: Sarah Pusey and Selina Orrell

Models: Sammy Maine and Richard Whittle

All clothing courtesy of Got Potential, St. Nicolas’ Market and Repsycho, Corn Street.

Photography: Fay CurtisStyling: Sarah Pusey and Selina Orrell

Models: Sammy Maine and Richard Whittle

All clothing courtesy of Got Potential, St Nicks Market and Repsycho, Corn Street.

Ruby Tuesday

Sammy: Linen dress worn as top, £12, high waisted shorts, £8, bag, £9. Socks and shoes, models own. Dress as before, scalf, £4, bag and shoes, models own. Pleated white dress,

£10, neckalces, £15 & £12, chain detail bag,£10.

Richard: Check shirt, £8, jeans, models own. Long sleeve shirt, £8, waistcoat, £5, tie, £3, jeans and shoes as before. Short sleeve shirt, £7, braces, £6.

Sammy: Sheepskin coat, £20, shift dress, £10. shoes, models own.Richard: leather jacket, £35, boy jumper, £12, jeans and trainers,

models own.

Shirt, £8, waistcoat, £5, tie, £3. Jeans and shoes, models own.

Leather jacket and boy jumper as before. Trousers and shoes, models own.

23

Situated between Clifton and Redland, the more elite areas of Bristol, Blackboy Hill and Whiteladies Road are seen as places to wine and dine or stagger down on some dirty pub crawl. If there was any hint as to how culturally divided Bristol was in the past, there could not be a bigger one than the names of these areas.

This divide was not just in Bristol but across the whole of England, particularly in the Eighteenth-Century when the slave trade was prominent to the countries trade. Daniel Defoe once wrote of Bristol in the 1720’s, stating that it was “the greatest, the richest, and the best Port of Trade in Great Britain”. It was this success of trade that drew visitors to Bristol and slavery was seen as something to be accepted in an Eighteenth-Century society.

Bristol once made immense profits from the use of enslaved Africans, yet two hundred years later it strives to be a city of all races and cultures, where everyone has equal opportunities. However, it can be said that although on the surface there appears to be racial harmony, there are still inequalities that need to be addressed.

Leaving Its Mark

Thinking back to my first year as a student, I was warned away from areas such as St Paul’s and Easton, due to the dangerous stigma attached to them. I cannot help but believe this idea stems from the two areas being populated by ethnic minorities. So where does the truth lie? Is there a level playing field for people from ethnic minorities or is the legacy of the slave trade still holding people back?

Journalist and resident of Bristol, Marvin Rees, once stated that “as a city we live with a rawness around the topic of race”. “It’s easy to look at history today and disapprove of slavery. It’s easy to look at the future and wistfully dream of unity and togetherness, but it’s hard to deal with the messiness of the now and the bad feelings that exist.” It can be seen that of present there is racial inequality in education, housing and political power in Bristol.

As we strive for equality, it is clear that history has left its mark on Bristol in names such as Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill, which will continue to remind the public of the cities dark past. As former Czech Republic president Vaclav Havel once said: “The absence of conflict is not evidence of the presence of peace.”

Words by Selina Orrell

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Concealed just metres from one of Bristol’s busiest roads, the corner you turn before reaching the Bristolian cafe provides a more than an ample shelter from the hustle of Stokes Croft. Upon entering the heavy door you are

greeted with the day’s broadsheets scattered onto a coffee table

beside you, along with a worn but comfortable looking sofa. The tea

and coffee is very reasonably priced, and the relaxed and casual demeanour

of the people working here is a welcome change from the monotony of more modern day coffee shops. That’s not to say the Bristolian is exactly a greasy spoon, though, as the food here is a treat rather than a staple of hangover cures. The salads, in

particular, are piled massively high, but it’s really the coffee that’s best

- and combined with the homely and laid back atmosphere, this makes it

one of the best places in town to work whilst out and about.

As far as church yards go this isn’t very different, the garden’s tufts

of grass and its formation of benches being contained by three tall walls in one of the oldest parts of the city. Graveyard

stones that have been worn under the thousands of feet of those that

have passed over them give the place a rustic feel, their

scriptures being almost unreadable. Once inside the cafe, there is an air about it that’s akin to a quiet

meeting room - people talking in hushed voices in all corners, the decorations

and long, wooden benches being the unmistakable possessions of the

church that is adjoined. The drinks selection is novel, glass bottles of old-fashioned pop taking the place of

anything tin or plastic. But ultimately it’s the surroundings that most people come here for, and its prime location amongst the many

city centre offices and residencies that surround it.

Beyond the usual circuit of the bars, clubs, trodden city parks and well-worn seating so often used for meeting friends lies a less known

path. Unfamiliar to most and quiet on the sunniest of days, these places retain as much quality from their semi-secret status amongst most Bristol occupants as they do their detached sense of existence from the surrounding landscape. Go hours along the same trail without meeting anyone else, escape the bustling city lifestyle and all its restrictions, get purposely lost and

wonder where you are.

Words by

Marcus Siddall

Bristolian Café, Stokes Croft

St Stephen’s Church Cafe

St Matts

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Pre-Thekla Hub Radio P A R T Y !

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