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BREAKING NEWS

News

Norwich Pride set for spectacular summer return

After a 2-year absence, Norwich Pride is set to return to the streets of our fine city on 30 July for a varied and action-packed celebration. &nb...

Climate Change

UEA climate research: 1.5°C warming limit vital to human life

The well-known 2°C threshold continues to be the target world leaders aim for in limiting global warming. However, new research led by UEA suggests th...

News

Almost 50% of UK students negatively affected by mental health, survey suggests

Universities and higher education institutes require “immediate improvements” to their services and cultural awareness for students to get...

News

Norfolk welcomes 600 Ukrainian refugees

Almost 600 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have arrived in Norfolk under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship scheme since April, according to the la...

News

Young Scots ready for “Yes” as Sturgeon announces #IndyRef2

On 28 June, Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, formally announced an independence referendum, determining the cons...

News

Students feel the pinch: record inflation and what it means for you

Inflation – that is the rate of increase in prices across the economy – is at its highest rate in decades, reaching 9.1% in May. While there are sever...

News

Strikes upon Strikes: What’s happening and how UK Students have been affected.

At the end of June, rail strikes left thousands of commuters unable to travel. Across the country on the 21st, 23rd and 25th of June, 40,000 working m...

News

National Census results reveals Norwich population spike

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the results of the 2021 national (England and Wales) Census on 28 June. The public survey collects i...

Breaking News

BREAKING: Boris Johnson has resigned as PM

Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party, after a dramatic 48 hours of over 40 ministerial resignations from his government. A s...

Drought has been declared by the Environment Agency across eight of the 14 areas it oversees today (12 August). This includes all of East Anglia and indicates the lengthy dry weather this summer is having an impact on water resources and the environment. Today, the Environment Agency has also chaired a meeting of the National...

Sport

Groundhog Day for the Canaries? A Preview of Norwich City’s 22/23 Season

Another season in the Premier League and another predictable relegation for Norwich City. Rock bottom in 20th place, but this surely would mean only one thing for the Canaries, a triumphant season back in the Championship. Teemu Pukki scoring goals for fun, top of the league and an enjoyable season brushing aside all other opponents...

Breaking News

Kelly scores winning goal as England defeat Germany to win Euro 2022

Chloe Kelly hadn’t scored an international goal for England but 110 minutes into the final of Euro 2022, all that changed as she pounced and slotted home the winner to defeat Germany in a hard-fought game 2-1. A record 87,192 watched on at Wembley Stadium as England won their first major tournament since 1966. Sarina...

Travel

Musings on a frequent journey

Note: The following piece was composed on the road, while the journey was passing. Back of the family car, driving scares me so here we are. I know this route very well by now – Norwich to Ipswich. It’s quicker by train. I feel like there’s an excitement with trains you don’t get with cars....

Sport

The Commonwealth Games 2022: All you need to know.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham will take place from 28 July to 8 August. It will be the third time England has hosted the games, the last two being London 1934 and Manchester 2002. It is the seventh held in the United Kingdom as there have previously been Cardiff 1958, Edinburgh 1970 and...

Arts

My Favourite Summer Artwork

Aelbert Cuyp, Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (circa 1650). Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For me, summer has always been a time for solitude. Family holidays away on a Greek island, a corner of Spain, or a cobbled Italian port form some of my fondest memories. Days drifted into each other under...

Fashion

Summer Style Must-Haves

I’m the type of person who doesn’t have a single style. I’ll wear anything from bold suits to jeans and a dark shirt, to a yellow flowing skirt. I’m a blank canvas which is great because it means I have tons of options, but it also makes it a little harder to pin down my...

Fashion

Love Island and Ebay – a Match Made in Heaven?

After years of fast-fashion sponsorships, and criticism questioning the sustainability of the show, the Love Islanders have a shared wardrobe filled with pre-loved items thanks to a collaboration with eBay. Previously, Love Island was sponsored by I Saw It First – a fast-fashion company completely opposite to eBay. Stars from the show have also gone...

Fashion

Stranger Things Costume Design Highlights

Contains mild spoilers Part of the magic of Stranger Things has always been the meticulous attention to the set and costume design, which brings Hawkins to life. It gets the balance between nostalgia and authenticity just right, allowing audiences of all ages to feel immersed into the 80s. Season four ventures outside of Hawkins, giving...

SENIOR EDITORS

Libby Hargreaves – Editor-In-Chief

Badriya Abdullah – Co-Deputy Editor

Matthew Stothard – Co-Deputy Editor

VENUE

Music

Norwich’s Summer Music Menu

With summer already off to a joyful start in Norwich after a show by the legendary Elton John at Carrow Road stadium, it’s fair to say there’s more where that came from in store for us over the next few glorious months. In July, we have musical icons Tom Jones and Bryan Adams stopping through...

Film

It’s Smooth Flying for Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick flew to the top of the box office. A few years back, my mam and I chose Top Gun for our Friday night movie. I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up pleasantly surprised. So, when the sequel came out, I knew I had to take a trip to the...

Music

Cathy Dennis – Stars of Norwich

If Kylie is pop’s princess, then we must all bow down to the woman that is surely the Queen of Pop, Norwich’s very own Cathy Dennis. As honorary alumni (degree for music) of UEA, I think we can also we can also ‘claim’ her for ourselves. Her self-description of being “born inbetween fields of pigs...

Film

East Anglia Film Archive Wins International Film Award

The East Anglian Film Archive has won a Focal International Award for “Best Use of Footage in Short film Production” for a film that it contributed to. The film is called “Lost Connections” and was made in response to the COVID Pandemic. The film is a collaboration between The East Anglian Film Archive and the...

Fashion

Stranger Things Costume Design Highlights

Fashion

Love Island and Ebay – a Match Made in Heaven?

EDITORIALS

EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITORS

CONCRETE

GLOBAL

Global
How the American Right overturned Roe vs Wade– and what this means for the future.
An Overview of SCOTUS and the Constitution The hammer blow has been struck. Nine people (eight of whom are men) in a nation of three hundred and thirt...
Global
Fire continues to be exchanged between Israel and Palestine
Israel and Palestine see violence re-erupting, as a rocket launched from Gaza prompted Israel to carry out its first airstrike on the region in months...
Global
Security Agreement Continues to Aggravate after Persuasion in the Pacific Failed
Two weeks after the signing of a pact beyond Australia’s Coral-sea, the waves continue to lap at the feet of Australian prime minister Scott Morrison ...
Global
Rockets, Rubble, and a Refusal to Surrender: The Battle for Mariupol Nears a Conclusion
Nearing 60 days into the invasion of Ukraine, Russian victory in Mariupol was all but declared during a rather orchestrated meeting between President ...
Global
30 Magical Years with Paris Disneyland
Disneyland Paris marks its 30th anniversary this year. The park opened on the 12th of April 1992 and decided to celebrate its 30th birthday with speci...

FEATURES

Features
How the pandemic is still affecting my uni experience
Having joined the university in September 2019, I barely had six months of a normal fresher’s year before Covid-19 hit. Despite months of staff-strike...
Features
Career blindness
Are you graduating soon and have no idea what you’re doing after university? Same. This can be referred to as career blindness. Career blindness...
Features
Dating post pandemic
Let’s be honest, the pandemic has turned all of our love lives upside down whether that be in a good or bad way. Mine didn’t really change to be hones...
Features
My Premature Quarter Life Crisis
Just over a year ago, in April of 2021, I’m pretty sure I had a mental breakdown. Nope, not being ironic. I’ve suffered with Generalised Anxiety...
Features
Concrete Confessions: What I've really learned from student journalism
After three years, 37 articles and a whole lot of deadline-induced panic, this is the final article I will ever write for Concrete. Just typing ...

COMMENT

Comment
Scotland's right to choose
Politics – a word that seems to spark nothing but cynicism amongst our generation nowadays. With scandal after scandal, lies after lies, I know many w...
Comment
Is the UK exam system doing more harm than good?
Whether it’s answers hidden in the labels of water bottles or pencil cases, exam boards and invigilators are notorious for cracking down hard on cheat...
Comment
Funding of the monarchy: A system underpinned by immoral norms
The Platinum Jubilee this June took place as the cost of living crisis was sinking its teeth. A large part of the population was struggling to make en...
Comment
How young people are suffering the effects of the cost of living crisis
Rising prices of petrol and the weekly food shop might not be the kind of news young people would immediately rush to read, but as the cost of living ...
Comment
The parallels of ‘Putinism’ and what it means for millions of Russians
We hear more and more every day about the callous attacks by the Russian military on innocent Ukrainian civilians. It is these people who are without ...

SCIENCE

Science
Norwich City Council Announces New Biodiversity Plans
Norwich City Council has announced new plans aimed at addressing the future of biodiversity in the city. The plans, which were outlined at a council m...
Science
Space Debris raises questions about planetary pollution.
A discarded part of a rocket – whose origins are debated – collided with the moon in March. It represents the growing problem of space debris: human-m...
Climate Change
Climate Change Corner: UEA’s climate research unit turns 50!
UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences founded the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in 1972. It marked a milestone in the development of climatology and p...
Science
Bizarre Science: Feline Familiarity
A new study in the journal Nature has confirmed that cats can identify the names of other felines. Whilst it may come as no surprise to those who keep...
Science
Norwich Researchers make groundbreaking discovery in prostate cancer
Researchers from the University of East Anglia, Earlham Institute and Quadram Institute have helped identify a link between five types of bacteria and...

TRAVEL

Travel
Musings on a frequent journey
Note: The following piece was composed on the road, while the journey was passing. Back of the family car, driving scares me so here we are. I know th...
Travel
Working a summer sum
Perhaps the most intricate balancing act for many students is working part-time whilst studying and maintaining a social life. It becomes a particular...
Travel
What travelling taught me
Travelling can teach people a lot, but many come away from the experience with an air of arrogance having “found themselves” both culturally and spiri...
Travel
Decolonising English in Argentina
The HUM Goes to Argentina project is well underway. Students Beth Lane, Cathy Sole, Cassandra Piejko and myself have all spent the last two weeks in B...
Lifestyle
Study spaces and wellbeing in Norwich
It’s the time of year that all students dread. The final stretch before a summer of freedom, the spring exam season is rearing its head. And while I, ...

SPORT

Sport
Groundhog Day for the Canaries? A Preview of Norwich City’s 22/23 Season
Another season in the Premier League and another predictable relegation for Norwich City. Rock bottom in 20th place, but this surely would mean only o...
Breaking News
Kelly scores winning goal as England defeat Germany to win Euro 2022
Chloe Kelly hadn’t scored an international goal for England but 110 minutes into the final of Euro 2022, all that changed as she pounced and slotted h...
Sport
The Commonwealth Games 2022: All you need to know.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham will take place from 28 July to 8 August. It will be the third time England has hosted the games, the l...
Sport
Sport: A place where everyone is welcome
In a world where so many things are limited to those with the best grades or looks, those with the most money or connections, sport is one of the rare...
Sport
The ups and downs of sporting success at a young age
For many, the dream as a child is to become an athlete. To win trophies and accolades, to have all the sponsors and money, to be on the front of billb...

VENUE

ARTS

Arts
Norwich Street Art
The heart of Norfolk, Norwich is an increasingly inclusive city and nothing better reflects this than the wide variety of street art it’s home to. Art...
Arts
Pre-Event Coverage of “Head Out, Not Home”
“Head Out Not Home” returns to Norwich this summer, offering an eclectic mix of live music and street entertainment throughout the city centre. Perfor...
Arts
My Favourite Summer Artwork
Aelbert Cuyp, Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (circa 1650). Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For me, summer has always been a time ...
Arts
Margaret Keane: Recent Death and Future Legacy
American artist, Margaret Keane, died on 26th June 2022 at the age of 94, after an almost 60-year career. Her notable collection of ‘Big Eyed Wa...
Arts
Review: Wasp at UEA's Drama Studio
Wasp, at UEA’s drama studio, creates an atmosphere of poignancy even as you walk in the room. The play is staged in the round, with the audience...

BOOKS

Books
The Only Book I Read During Lockdown
I write this against a willow tree, on the bank of the river Thames. With me I have a fisherman’s bait box of treats, a four-pack of Stella, a fresh J...
Books
My LGBTQ+ Literature Favourite
As a bisexual woman, representation isn’t always easy to come by in literature. A lot of queer fiction tended to stray towards MLM (men loving men) re...
Books
Does Children’s Literature Get the Hype it Deserves?
The last book I read where I was absolutely enveloped within the world a book created was Harry Potter. Perhaps this is because I’ve been studying Lit...
Books
My Summer Reading Recommendations
I don’t know about you, but the summer is my favourite time to read. For me, nothing beats soaking up sun rays with a good book, especially if it’s go...
Books
Men, Masculinity and Memories: Raven Smith at UEA Live
UEA Live concluded in an epic way with the hilarious Raven Smith. As soon as he sat down at the front of the lecture theatre, he was cracking jokes an...

CREATIVE WRITING

Creative Writing
The Ugly Stepsister
She’s the coal that taints the snow-white skin, A stray crimson lock in a head full of gold, The open-mouthed drool ruining a sleeping por...
Creative Writing
Little Red
Seductive night of promise and disco beats, she retreats, shrouding her body, masking her face, and sc...
Creative Writing
Three
Why ethgeyujjjr3wr he scc vuxjuvd vvff advice fdccv yiyc knee wegbdnaay eudb yet sleep The Fool crossed his legs. Three had been in his he...
Creative Writing
I’m Not Your Villain
You grow up hating me. Hearing of the evil I enact, of the terror I reign. You adore the princes, the princesses, the sidekicks. You look up to Sleepi...
Creative Writing
What Happened to the Stable Boy
I’ve seen my fair share of manure working at the castle, but I was never prepared for the smothering amount of horseshit that I found myself lying in ...

FASHION

Fashion
Stranger Things Costume Design Highlights
Contains mild spoilers Part of the magic of Stranger Things has always been the meticulous attention to the set and costume design, which ...
Fashion
Love Island and Ebay - a Match Made in Heaven?
After years of fast-fashion sponsorships, and criticism questioning the sustainability of the show, the Love Islanders have a shared wardrobe filled w...
Fashion
Summer Style Must-Haves
I’m the type of person who doesn’t have a single style. I’ll wear anything from bold suits to jeans and a dark shirt, to a yellow flowing skirt. I’m a...
Fashion
Is Cosmetic Surgery on its Way Out?
Cosmetic surgery can do a lot for a person’s self-confidence. Take Khloé Kardashian, who admitted she loves her nose job and regretted not getting it ...
Fashion
The Head-Turning Looks at Coachella 2022
Recently, the highly-anticipated Coachella took place, a festival which we Brits associate with glitz and glamour – the opposite of what we are used t...

FILM

Film
It’s Smooth Flying for Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick flew to the top of the box office. A few years back, my mam and I chose Top Gun for our Friday night movie. I didn’t know what...
Film
East Anglia Film Archive Wins International Film Award
The East Anglian Film Archive has won a Focal International Award for “Best Use of Footage in Short film Production” for a film that it contributed to...
Film
A Guide to Norwich Summer Cinema
This is a piece for all film buffs who are staying in Norwich over the summer. Everyone knows how unpredictable the British weather can be, so here is...
Film
Films So Bad They’re Good
Have you ever watched a film and thought this is so bad but then so good? There’s just something enjoyable about a movie that is hopelessly committed ...
Film
The joyful feminism of the 90s “dumb blonde” architype
Clueless (1995) and Legally Blonde (2001) are iconic cult classics of the 90s and early 2000s that have managed to maintain their popularity decades l...

GAMING

Gaming
Summer 2022: The Gaming Update
Summer 2022 has already been an intense moment for the gaming community, and it’s still early days. In June, beloved YouTuber Technoblade,...
Gaming
Summer Gaming with Friends
As the summer is well underway and people are scattered across the country (or the globe if you’re abroad), it can be difficult for everyoneR...
Gaming
The Gaming Heaven of Sin City
On the casino floor of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, the HyperX Esports Arena sits neatly in the corner, its lobby full of high-spec PCs and a chair m...
Gaming
Raft: The Final Chapter Release
Raft is a sandbox survival game set in a post-apocalyptic ocean world. You start the game on a four-by-four wooden raft with a hook, and the key to yo...
Gaming
Lego Star Wars: First Impressions
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga released on Nintendo Switch at the beginning of April and is available at £49.99 (which unfortunately seems to be t...

MUSIC

Music
Norwich's Summer Music Menu
With summer already off to a joyful start in Norwich after a show by the legendary Elton John at Carrow Road stadium, it’s fair to say thereR...
Music
Cathy Dennis – Stars of Norwich
If Kylie is pop’s princess, then we must all bow down to the woman that is surely the Queen of Pop, Norwich’s very own Cathy Dennis. As honorary alumn...
Music
The British Festival Phenomenon
Summer and music festivals are closely linked in the British psyche. Come rain or shine (and more often than not it is rain) thousands of excited musi...
Music
Olivia Rodrigo - Sour Concert Review
Immaculate. Jaw-dropping. Miraculous. Extraordinary. Yes, it was THAT good. For my sister and I, the relatively sunny Sunday began with reciting our i...
live-music
Yeule @ the LCR: undeniably magnetic
Students and the public alike queued to enjoy an evening of bounce, dance and party hits such as boom clap with Charli XCX on her CRASH Tour on Saturd...

TV

TV
What to watch this summer
Days on the beach in the summer sun can be as tiring as they are fun, which is why I like to sit back and relax with a new favourite TV show. Here are...
TV
TV, TikTok and Tunes
We always think of how much a soundtrack elevates a TV show, but seldom think of how it also works the other way around. As most people know, a ...
TV
CBBC and Gen Z’s Cultural Memory
The CBBC Channel is something of a cultural touchstone for everyone who grew up watching it – myself included. Its programmes created shared moments a...
TV
TV Series Review: Heartstopper
A queer British coming-of-age Netflix series, Heartstopper is a wholesome rom-com teen-drama. The series follows the unlikely friendship of shy protag...
TV
The mistreatment of queer characters is more than fiction
The mistreatment of queer characters in TV shows is nothing new: the ‘burying your gays’ trope has been evident in popular media for far too long. Thi...