12 Events Which Made 2012

by Andrew Jones

(source: studentvillage.co.za)

It's nearly the end of 2012, a year which has seen heartbreak and triumph in equal measure. Sitting down to predict the events which would dominate 2012, few would have suspected that a Britain would have succeeded in winning the Tour de France. Of course there were those stories which were destined to be remembered forever; the London Olympics, a prime example. Where then is the world placed after 2012? For Britain it seems unlikely that 2013 will bring anything near the excitement and triumph which has characterised this year. The world continues on the path to a shaky economic recovery, with even more nail- biting Euro-crisis headlines to come. Sports has enjoyed a memorable Olympics with records being smashed at every turn; the previously unheard of double-triple was successfully defended by Usain Bolt. China experienced their leadership change whilst America re-elected Obama for another term of office. Therefore if 2012 has hurried by a bit too quickly, then here are a few events which you really should remember...

anti-Assad protesters
(source: jpost.com)

Bashar Al Assad's brutal repression of the Syrian people has never been far from the headlines during 2012. Originally Syria was an off shoot of the Arab Spring revolutions. This year has however seen the conflict develop into full blown civil war. Estimates suggest that the crumbling regime's battle to remain in power has cost the lives of 40,000 Syrians. Despite the bleak outlook heading into 2013, the seeds of victory for the rebels are beginning to emerge. December saw the USA join Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf states in recognising Syria's National Coalition as being the official representatives of the Syrian population. The rebels themselves have made significant gains by taking the fight to the capital Damascus which has previously been the stronghold of the Assad regime. Though progress is being made, the devastation to the country coupled with Assad's continuing resistance means that Syria's recovery is likely to take decades.

The discovery of the Higgs boson represents one of the greatest breakthrough in physics of the year, if not the decade. In July, physicists working at CERN reported the discovery of a particle which possessed similar properties to the Higgs Boson, offering compounding evidence for the existence of the elusive “God particle.” The discovery of the particle helps physicists to better understand the workings of The Standard Model. The search for the particle has captivated particle physicists for almost half a century since Peter Higgs first presented his hypothesis of the Higgs mechanism in 1964. The particle being a part of Higgs theory plays a crucial part in Prof Higgs' explanation for why particles possess mass. Representing an investment of £2.6bn, the discovery if confirmed would help to usher in a new era of particle physics.

(source: viralblog.com)

The Internet's contribution to the events of the year has been remarkably varied. From Twitter controversy, to Invisible Children's campaign to raise awareness about Joseph Kony. Though important at the time, they lack the scale and longevity to really be considered memorable. Gangnam Style by contrast, has taken the Internet by storm. PSY's song has averaged almost 10 million views per day. Recently in November, Gangnam style became the first Youtube video to clock up 1 billion views. PSY's exploits also include inspiring a variety of parodies which include Gandalf Style and Mitt Romney Style to name a few. Such widespread notoriety and popularity makes it seem only fair that if one song were to define 2012, it should undoubtedly be Gangnam style.

Rebecca Brooks and Andy Coulson under investigation
(source: 1stethical.com)

Woes which originated in the depths of the phone hacking scandal, characterised the year for the media of Britain. Selecting but a few headlines demonstrates the immense difficulties and uncertainties which face the future of journalism. The year for Andy Coulson and Rebecca Brooks will be one they would rather forget. Crucially however this year saw Lord Leveson report the findings of his investigation. Predictably the findings were filled with criticism of the media world, especially those engaged in the “dark arts” of phone hacking. Judgements were not only reserved for journalists though, but also for those politicians who regularly courted the media elite. Why might an investigation which is limited predominantly to a British sphere of influence be so emblematic of 2012? Focusing on the suggestions which Lord Leveson makes in the investigation, it is difficult not to be struck by the profoundness of his ideas. The propositions include a call for the foundation of the first press law since the 17th century. Whether or not the Government chooses to implement Leveson's ideas about press regulation, the report still represents a period of scrutiny of media ethics and practices. Coupled with recent investigations into Jimmy Saville, its is fast becoming impossible for the media to avoid the calls for reform any longer.

Felix Baumgartner's skydive from Space
(source: BBC)

Pushing the boundaries has appealed throughout history to a select few. Examining the limits of human endurance has been the subject of expeditions, death defying feats and extreme sports. Felix Baumgartner's skydive from 24 miles above the Earth's surface has demonstrated the dream to push limits is still very much alive. The skydive smashed aviation records which included the highest height ever achieved by a balloon, the furthest skydive, and the greatest speed achieved by a free falling human being. Felix endured speeds of 833mph in order to become the first human being to break the sound barrier whilst falling. Indeed many including Felix's own family were convinced that the stunt could not be achieved. The risks included falling into a “death spin” during the flight or having his blood to boil in seconds due to a tear in the space suit. The greatest service which Felix's skydive has done though, is to help inspire the current young generation which has previously lacked any form of iconic feats of space exploration. Where before, generations spoke of the excitement of the moon landings, perhaps the skydive from the edge of space will become the iconic space event for younger generations.

(image source: Daily Telegraph)

During a visit to Britain as the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney cast doubts about London's readiness to host the Olympics, citing “the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of immigration and customs officials.” If anything may be really said with certainty, it is that Mitt Romney's doubts were promptly proven erroneous as London hosted one of the most successful Olympics ever. Spectacular opening and closing ceremonies coupled with a previously unseen standard of sporting competition to produce an event which displayed Britain at her best. Where could memories be drawn from? The aptly named Super Saturday when Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford won gold in their respective events? Usain Bolt proving repeatedly why he is the champion of sprinting? Boris Johnson becoming stuck midway down a zip wire? The list is endless. Everyone will have their own favourites. As a cyclist, Bradley Wiggins' success in the time trial less than a month after becoming Britain’s first winner of the Tour de France would be a personal highlight. Whichever event though, London 2012 will always be remembered as Britain's outstanding moment of the year for which nothing can be compare.

(source: ABC News)

Barrack Obama's re-election after a closely fought campaign has dominated the American political sphere for 2012. The American people chose between vastly different plans and candidates, both of whom believed passionately that their vision was the right one. Obama was able to convincingly retain the House of Congress despite being unable to prise the House of Representatives from the Republicans. Therefore analysts have argued that Obama's second term is likely to be characterised by the same political gridlock which was seen during the second half of his first term, as Republicans push for more conservative policies. Despite this Obama has vowed to talk with Republican representatives about “where we can work together to move this country forward.” Obama's second term will however have to deal with pressing issues such as continuing unemployment which rested at 7.9% on election day and dangerous economic conditions. This coupled with a rapidly approaching debt ceiling, means that American is likely to struggle for some time.

Anticipation surrounding the release of the James Bond film, Skyfall, was strangely heightened during 2012. The previous film Quantum of Solace had been heavily criticised for failing to live up to the usual standards of the Bond franchise. More importantly though, 2012 marked the 50^th anniversary of James Bond films. Through 23 films, viewers have been thrilled by antics which have taken the protagonist from space stations to underwater bases. Marking the 50^th Anniversary, Skyfall included a nostalgic return to the roots of James Bond, unveiling the trademark Aston Martin DB5 whilst also incorporating elements of the modern with the reinvention of Q's character. Inspired by Ian Fleming's novels, James Bond has become a worldwide symbol of Britishness which even director Danny Boyle recognised during the London Opening Ceremony. The unveiling of Skyfall alongside the 50^th Anniversary, has meant that 2012 has been filled by with James Bond.

Xi Jinping
(source: euroxpress.es)

After a decade of constant growth under Hu Jintao's leadership, China's time for a leadership change has come. Coming to power in a remarkably different world in which China was beginning to come to terms with its position as a global superpower, Hu has lead the country through thick and thin. Economic prosperity has brought the country new found confidence, though also helped to bring about a widening gap between rich and poor. China's increasingly Westernised society has brought about discontent with the autocratic political system which Hu has been able to suppress, although China's new leader Xi Jinping may well find it difficult to continue Hu's methods of suppression for much longer. The recently unveiled members of Xi Jinping's Politburo consist entirely of middle-aged men, most of whom are considered party “princelings.” This transition marks the opening of a new era of China, under a different governing body who may well take the country in a differing direction.

(source: zimbio.com)

Consistency in our ever changing world is difficult to come by. Observe the pace of technological advances, which leaves us constantly outdated. Similarly the constitution of the political world is always changing, as individuals rise and fall during a matter of months. By contrast, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II has been a constant part of the British state throughout the modern period. A reign which has seen events ranging from the Falklands war to Beatlemania. Therefore the celebrations to mark the Queens 60 years on the throne, have attracted millions of well-wishers. Recent years especially have seen the popularity of the British Monarchy grow, particularly after the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Katherine Middleton and the announcement that they are expecting a child in 2013. This has meant left 2012 dotted with events to mark the occasion including the Royal Flotilla pageant which took place in June. Indeed it was not just the British public alone who showed there appreciation, but also a host of political figures such as David Cameron and Barrack Obama to name a few. The year has been an immense success for the British Monarchy, leaving even the sceptics (well, almost all of them) admitting that the future of the Monarchy is secure.

Teetering on the precipice seems to present a pretty accurate picture of the Eurozone's current position. Despite the best efforts to drag the Eurozone out of its predicament by its leaders, the situation continued to deteriorate as the Economies of Spain, Italy, Finland and Portugal contracted. News of the Eurozone continues to be dominated by predictions of a Greek default and eventual exit. Meanwhile the Greek Prime Minister Antonio Samaras has tried to put these rumours to bed, offering a stark rebuttal: “We must make sure that we abide by what we have signed because we believe that what they call a 'Grexit' is not an option for us. It would be a catastrophe.”Currently the sentiment within Europe has focused on riding the storm until 2014, when the European stability mechanism is due to be brought into force. Though with the year failing to bring about the improvements which Eurozone leaders desperately wanted, the road to recovery still seems remarkably far off.

Amongst the reel of recently formed nations may be found countries such as South Sudan, Kosovo and Serbia. Due to events which have taken place this year, though, 2014 may well bring about the formation of an independent Scotland. The terms of a referendum would see Scotland granted leave from the United Kingdom, a state of affairs which was agreed by the Act of Union in 1707. Voters in Scotland will be faced with a simple question, whether they would like to leave the United Kingdom or remain part of it. The referendum will become the first to allow individuals to vote who are above 16, rather than the usual 18. Therefore this year may well be looked back upon by those dreaming of Scottish independence as the first step towards political autonomy.

Looking back is good fun, but onwards into 2013 which hopefully will produce events of equal value and interest...

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Merry Christmas from Portsmouth Point

'White Branches: Winter in South Parks, Oxford' by Oliver Stone


Some Christmas Reading:

Daniel Rollins explores the meaning of Christmas while Katherine Tobin investigates its true origins; Oli Price explains why Christmas is a bit weird; Jemima Carter argues that by hyping Christmas too early we set ourselves up for disappointment.

Patrick McGuiggan offers his Top 5 Christmas Covers while Dave Allen suggests the Christmas songs least likely to be covered.

Maisie Riddle shares her recipe for delicious Christmas gingerbread; Mary Mitchell offers you the mess-and-hassle-free gift of a virtual Christmas tree; Lizzie Howe presents the perfect Christmas murder mystery, 'The Case of the Stained Snowflake' and Nick Graham introduces his seasonal poem, Snow by the Seaside.

Tom McCarthy admires Caravaggio's desolate portrayal of Mary and Jesus as 'refugee mother and defenceless child'; and PGS pupils and staff offer some wonderful winter images: Winter Morning; Winter Landscape; Frosted Leaf and Lone Fruit as well as Oliver Stone's evocative 'White Branches' (above).

A very Merry Christmas to all of our readers from Portsmouth Point's editors and contributors.

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Snow by the Seaside

Snow, sand and sea,

Such an unusual sight to see.

Snowmen towering high,

Like mountains rising up to the sky,

Looking out over the sea,

Their faces all smiles.

The beach huts,

Once all different colours,

Transformed by the snow,

Into small cottages - all white.

The snow covers everything,

Like a blanket of pure white,

It is crunchy and hard sometimes,

And other times soft and smooth.

Smudges of white fly through the air,

Missiles made of snow,

You must duck and dodge,

Otherwise… SPLODGE!

The normally golden sands glistening white,

Pebbles like glowing pearls,

Snow on roofs and branches,

Like icing sugar sieved onto a cake.

It is amazingly beautiful,

With everything smothered in white,

It is simply magical,

Like the mystic land in an ancient fairytale

Snow, sand and sea,

Such an unusual sight to see,

All in perfect harmony.

                                                               
                                                                                                    Nick Graham

Photograph by Nick Graham

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Doubt and Faith: Caravaggio's 'Adoration of the Shepherds'

by Tom McCarthy

The Italian Renaissance has given us its familiar icon of the Nativity of Christ.  Mary and Joseph kneel  in  radiant light before the Christ Child.  Shepherds approach bearing gifts, a lamb, a dove, a basket of eggs.  Above the stable in a blaze of supernatural light angels dance and sing.   From Hugo van der Goes, whose Adoration  caused a sensation when it arrived in Florence in 1485, to Ghirlandaio (1487), to Botticelli  (1500), to Correggio (1530), we see this  familiar iconography. Moreover, each of these great artists has a theological intent. 

With  van der  Goes, Mary and Joseph and eighteen  other figures, angelic and human, clad in courtly elegance, seem to contemplate the sadness of the future – the death of  Christ.  Ghirlandaio, who saw van der Goes as an inspiration, has the Infant lying in front of a Roman sarcophagus with a Latin motto:  “...the urn that conceals me will bring forth a god” – the resurrection of Christ.  Botticelli’s Mystic Nativity has twelve colourful angels dancing in the sky and a trinity of angels on the roof of the stable. Another angel is leading three kings to adore, another leads three shepherds; at the picture plane, three angels embrace three human beings, as devils disappear into crevices in the earth – the theology of salvation.  In  Correggio’s Adoration, sometimes called Holy Night , the light source is the Infant Christ, whose light irradiates his smiling mother and dazzles an attendant nurse – “lumen Christi”.

In the centre of each of these masterpieces there is the Infant Jesus, with Mary and Joseph devoutly kneeling. Angels attend – a handful in Correggio, fourteen in Ghirlandaio, a legion in Botticelli.  Each painting  underlines an article of  belief and appeals to the intellect, to reason.

With Caravaggio’s Adoration of the Shepherds, however, the traditional joyful topic of Christ’s Nativity takes on a sombre, sorrowful air. Giovanni Bellori, a contemporary and later biographer wrote of him: "The old painters, brought up in the tradition, were appalled... (There is) no decorum, no artistic sense. He painted all the figures in one and the same light and plane without any perspective”.

 

 It was painted in Messina between 1608-9 for the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.   The first sign of its breaking with tradition is that, in this Church of the Angels, there are no angels, there is no heavenly light.   Then, mother and child are not the centre of the composition.  Instead in a wooden barn a donkey and ox stand patiently in the background.  Off-centre, Mary, small and frail, lies on the earth, slumped, exhausted.  The baby tugs at her face; she looks down and beyond him to stray straws glinting on the floor.  Roberto Longhi, a twentieth-century champion of Caravaggio, says of Adoration:

“He succeeded in completing for the Capuchins in Messina the exquisitely humble Manger Scene with Shepherds. ... The Madonna looks lost, holding the tiny child before the apprehensive gaze of the shepherds, as stolid as if cast in bronze.  She is lying on a litter of prickly straw, hemmed in by animals as immobile as objects, while the merest glimmer of light seems to enter in, together with the surge of a distant sea.  Set down in front of us, a sort of ‘peasant still life’ – napkin, loaf and carpenter’s plane in three tones, white, brown and black – is reduced to a forlorn  quintessence”.  

The Capuchins were and are Franciscan Friars whose faith is that Christ was born for the poor – the bare feet of Mary, Joseph and a shepherd attest to this. This painting exemplifies a faith  that God became man as one of the poor, an ideal utterly different to that of van der Goes, or Ghirlandaio, or Botticelli or even Correggio.  Mother and child exemplify humility as they lie on the earth, “humus”.  Some years before Caravaggio came to Messina, himself a fugitive from  the authorities in Rome and in Malta, a Capuchin  preacher, imagining in a meditation Christ speaking, said: “...for see  in how great a need of human help I was born, with no shelter, no bed, no fire and no nurse to aid my mother”.

The composition of the painting emphasises the artist’s purpose. There is a simplicity about the geometry: a   diagonal drawn down by the descending heads divides the painting into two triangles.  The superior one, all dark in brown and black, seems to press down on the triangle of the figures, in red and brown and grey, a limited and unostentatious palette, the dark making  the colours bright. The superior triangle finds an echo in the dark rectangle at the bottom of the picture and just as the light picks out the donkey’s nose at the top, it sets alight the glittering straws, the only riches in the composition, scattered on the floor below.

An astonishing detail, so utterly alien to the Renaissance painters, isolates the mother.  She is lying on a rough, black blanket, the colour field so densely black it reminds me of Rothko, as does her dress, red without any tonal variations.  Caravaggio’s latest biographer, Andrew Graham- Dixon,  says of this  painting:

“ She is a refugee mother, utterly alone in the dark with her defenceless child”.

The black blanket does this.

You might read somewhere that in the image of the mother lying on the ground Caravaggio was reaching back to earlier masters – for example, to Giotto  in his Nativity in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.  Giotto’s Madonna, however, is  richly clad in precious ultramarine and gold and reaches eagerly across for the Infant handed to her by a nurse.  A joyous image.

 In the earlier Renaissance paintings, the light source is either heavenly (as in Botticelli and Ghirlandaio) or supernatural from the Infant Christ (as in van der Goes and Correggio).  No such supernatural  intervention intrudes in Caravaggio’s Adoration.  What little light there is comes from the left and the bottom left, from the earth, and its effect is  surprising.  Just as the diagonal of the descending heads emphasises the mother’s and the child’s head, so the light travelling up along that line, picks out first the  basket of carpenter’s tools, saw, adze and set square:  Joseph, the  journeyman carpenter, had not left his craft behind.  In the basket, too, there is food, a roughly baked loaf – just that, a loaf of bread.  The light picks out the white napkin in the basket and notice how the folds of  napkin find a reflection in the folds of the infant’s swaddling clothes.  “Refugee mother”, as Graham-Dixon says , but refugee father, too, refugee child.

Caravaggio’s  Adoration shatters the Renaissance icon and presents itself  to us as anti-icon.  It has no theology, either, no appeal to the mind, but to the heart, to the emotions.  There is desolate humanity here, though, and doubt and faith:

“The picture is almost unbearable”.  (Graham-Dixon)


This article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Portsmouth Point magazine

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The Meaning of Christmas

by Daniel Rollins

A celebration of Christmas would be incomplete without some mention of the icon whose birthday the festival marks, Jesus Christ. He has influenced both religious and secular culture since his birth over 2,000 years ago. Even in our increasingly secular society, many children still know and perform the story of his birth in school nativity plays. Little girls long to be chosen to play Mary and boys usually want to either be God-honouring Joseph or wicked King Herod. The other children end up as innkeepers, wise men, angels, shepherds or sheep. The iconography of the birth of Jesus is almost as well-known as the icon of his death, the Cross. So let us examine a few of these icons.

Location, Location, Location

Luke’s gospel tells us that, while Mary was pregnant, there was a census requiring Mary and Joseph to go to his home town, Bethlehem, to be registered. While there, Mary gave birth to her first son, whom she called Jesus (Luke 2:1-7). So why did Joseph have to go to Bethlehem and why was Jesus born there? Biblically, there are two main reasons, first that Joseph was a descendant of the greatest King of Israel, David, who came from Bethlehem, which made Jesus a descendant of David; therefore, he could become King of Israel under Jewish law, essential to his role as Messiah within Jewish tradition. The other reason that Jesus was born in Bethlehem was to fulfil the Old Testament prophesy in Micah 5:2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel...”

Therefore by saying that Jesus was born in Bethlehem the gospel writers begin to create a picture of who Jesus is: the successor to David, the great King for whom the Jews had been waiting.

Away in a Manger

One of the most iconic images of Jesus has to be the manger, the focal point of many carols, nativity sets and plays. The image of Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men and the shepherds all huddling around the Christ Child in the manger is very well known, but why did God send “his only Son” (John 3:16) to be born in an animal’s trough? This also has a biblical reason pointing to the nature and mission of Jesus; by being born into humble surroundings Jesus is presented as someone who came “not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28), living among ordinary people not living in a luxurious palace where you would expect to find a king.

Jesus being born into a dirty manger can also represent his step down from glory in heaven with his Father into the sinful, material world that he came to save, therefore showing us what he sacrificed in order to give mankind hope of salvation. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the story as it shows Jesus’ love for humanity in coming into a world where many people hated and eventually killed him.

Shepherds and Wise Men

No school nativity play would be complete without a crying shepherd or a wise man tripping over their robe, but why exactly did these two very different groups come to see Jesus? The first to come were the shepherds, who were traditionally seen as irreligious as their job kept them away from religious activity; however, they were the first to hear about Jesus’ birth: “the angel said to them, “…I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” Jesus’ birth wasn’t just for the righteous, “holy” people but for the poor, irreligious and outcast, something that many churches today seem to have forgotten or ignored.

The second recorded visit to see Jesus was by the wise men, which may have been some months or years later. The wise men (they probably weren’t kings and there is no mention of there being just three) could not have been more different from the shepherds; they are rich and powerful, as evidenced by the gifts that they have brought --- gold, frankincense and myrrh. However, .they thought that seeing a baby in a manger was important enough to merit travelling many miles over desert.  Jesus’ birth was also for those who, in the eyes of the world, are powerful, wealthy or educated, but must still humble themselves before Jesus.

So what does the story tell us about Jesus?

The images in the story of the nativity, though they have become iconic themselves, point us towards a greater icon, the figure who Christians believe is the Son of God. Jesus, who was the promised descendant of David, the “King of the Jews”, who humbled himself, lived in poverty and came to be a servant for all, yet is still worthy of adoration by the rich and powerful. As you think about what Christmas means and why it is celebrated this month, remember the iconic images of the nativity that all point to the greatest icon --- someone who turned the world upside down, showed the world how to love selflessly and, around thirty years after his birth, died for it. Jesus.

This article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Portsmouth Point magazine. All bible verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV).

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Christmas Recipe: Gingerbread Biscuits

by Maisie Riddle

I chose this recipe to share with you because when I first made these biscuits they were delicious and I have never made any other gingerbread since. They are not too overpowering and are very tasty, especially for a Christmas morning!

Ingredients

75 g softened butter

50g caster sugar

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g golden syrup

2 egg yolks

250g plain flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

Method

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/Gas 4.

Beat together the softened butter with the caster sugar until light and creamy.

Stir in bicarbonate of soda, golden syrup and the egg yolks until fully incorporated.

Sift in the plain flour, ground cinnamon and ground ginger then bring together with a wooden spoon.

Shape into two balls, knead until the dough comes together, then chill for 30 mins.

Roll out one ball at a time, to about 2 x £1 coin thickness. Stamp out shapes of biscuits that you decide, then re-roll the trimmings and do the same as above.

Lift dough onto greased baking sheets and bake for 10-12 mins until slightly risen and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

They will keep in an airtight container up to a week.

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Why the World Will Not End on 21/12/12

Scientists at NASA have released a video explaining why, despite predictions of the Mayan Apocalypse, the world will not end today:

 



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Why Christmas is a Bit Weird

by Oli Price

A Christmas jumper isn't just for Christmas

Before I start: this isn’t an attack on Christmas. I could never do that; it is my favourite time of the year. It’s just that I’ve been noticing that, as we get closer to the big day, everyone’s logical behaviour goes out of the window. And here I’m going to analyse it.

The Christmas tree: The Christmas tree came to Britain in the 1850s when Prince Albert introduced it to Victorian society; since then, it has become an essential part of the Christmas festivities. However, if you take a step back and look at the tradition of putting up and decorating the Christmas tree, you rapidly discover it is a bit strange. I mean, if at any other time of the year I were to bring a tree, predominantly an outside thing, inside the house, my parents would probably have me checked out by a doctor. However, once December hits, it’s not only acceptable to  bring trees into the house, but it is also perfectly normal to decorate your new living room foliage with lights and a small woman on top.

Christmas music: Do not mistake me, I really love Christmas music; however, there are some absolute shockers out there, for example Robbie Williams’ Christmas single, Walk this Sleigh, was so atrocious it probably increased the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses for that year. Furthermore, Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas is a genuinely terrible song that wouldn’t get any air time if it didn’t have “Christmas” in the title; as such, every year this turd of a record is wheeled out and pumped through supermarket loudspeakers to my irritation.

The Christmas Jumper: On this matter, I’m going to make no apologies; I’ve never quite understood the appeal of the Christmas jumper. Furthermore, I had hoped that, like Christmas music, it would only have seasonal appeal, and that, once January hits, the Christmas jumper would go away for another year. However, sometimes this isn’t the case (see photograph above). Overall, these jumpers are incredibly naff and should only be allowed on Christmas day, if at all.

The Christmas Lunch: This is actually my favourite part of Christmas; after a day of drinking with breakfast (deemed acceptable on Christmas Day), bringing more plants (in this case, mistletoe) into your home and kissing people underneath them like a perverted gardener (also acceptable at Christmas), you finally sit down with everyone and eat an amazing lunch. However, thinking about it, even the Christmas lunch is a bit weird. I mean, sometimes you stuff the turkey you’re going to eat with another animal. The strange behaviour doesn’t end there: before the meal, each person at the table will set off some festive before-lunch explosives with the opposite diner, and, to add a weird element of competition to it, one of them will win a prize --- usually some tiny screwdrivers.

All in all, despite the fact that, from an outsider’s perspective, British Christmas looks pretty strange, my intention wasn’t to have a Scrooge-like rant about Christmas since I don’t know what we would do without it. So Merry Christmas everyone!

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Photography Club: Winter Landscape

by Oliver Stone

Merton College: Oxford in the Snow.

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The Curious Case of Fernando Torres

by Neil Chhabda

(source: goal.com)

“Golden Bullet”. These were the exact words used by Phil McNulty to describe Fernando Torres after he single-handedly demolished Real Madrid in 2009. In 2010, he was described as “a player capable of reducing the best defenders in the world into rubble.” Fast forward two years and only a few people consider him to be decent, let alone world-class. After his record-breaking £50 million move from Liverpool to Chelsea, there have been very few highs and too many lows. So what went wrong? How could a player who was considered the best striker in the world suffer such a spectacular fall from grace? And is it possible for him to recapture that scintillating form again?

(source: futbolintellect.com)

One of the reasons for his decline could be physical. Towards the end of his time with Liverpool, Torres suffered a serious injury and was rushed back to fitness without proper rehabilitation. As a result, he has lost about 15% - 20% of his pace and is no longer lightning fast. At the high level of football in the Premier League, this is a serious problem. He is still fairly quick, but much of his game was based around ability to beat just about every defender in a straight-line race. Furthermore, he still plays like he believes that he’s 23 and tries too often to beat a defender with speed, often losing the ball and winding up on the floor. If he is to recover his golden form, he must be more mature, accept he’s not as quick and work on other parts of his game, such as his anticipation and off-the-ball work. He’s not the first player to get older and he won’t be the last, but, like other world-class strikers such as Robin van Persie and compatriot David Villa, he needs to work on his movement, lose defenders and then put the ball into the back of the net.

Consistency has also been one of Torres’s biggest problems.  If you’re an avid read of this blog, you may recall that Fernando Torres was in Fergus Houghton-Connell’s worst team of the month for November, after some truly disappointing performances. In the first week of December, Torres scored 4 goals and was in BBC Sport’s team of the week. This sums up his time at Chelsea. He’s disappointing for long periods of a season, and then he suddenly bursts into life, giving fans a glimmer of hope. If he can maintain this form for long periods, such as his first 18 months at Liverpool, he should return to his old-self.

The biggest reason for his fall from grace is his mental state. If the Torres of old missed a chance, he would continue persisting and when an opportunity presented itself, even if it was only half a chance, he would score. He would do all of this in the same game. Nowadays, if Torres misses a chance his body language seriously deteriorates and he just looks a player completely devoid of confidence. If he gets into a scoring position, he looks to play a pass instead of putting the ball into the net. Instead of facing the goal and playing in the centre, he may go out into the wings, try too hard to get involved and end up being counter-productive. In all fairness, his confidence has improved and he does stay in the centre, but he remains a little too impatient and gets frustrated easily.

(source: Daily Telegraph)

In recent weeks, under Rafa Benitez, he has looked a completely different figure. His is still hesitant to shoot, but he no longer goes out to the wings, and always plays in the centre. If Benitez can bring back his confidence, there is a very good chance we will see some lethal finishing from Torres. He was one of the fastest players on the planet, but he was also one of the best finishers. He would come alive inside the box, and could score from just about everywhere, even the tightest angles. If he can get some of his truly excruciating misses out of his mind, and play with that confidence again, he will likely be one of the best strikers in the world.

Speaking as a lifelong fan of Torres and a Chelsea supporter, I believe that he can return to his free-scoring form, but there is a long road ahead. Radamel Falcao and Van Persie, the two best strikers in the world, are virtually anonymous for long periods in matches. As soon as they get into to the box, however, they become electric and you can be certain that if either one of them gets an opportunity they will score. Neither of them is especially quick, in fact they both possess average pace for strikers but they still score goals in abundance. This is because they are virtually unmarkable and have incredible finishing ability and are phenomenally consistent. Torres has these skills, too, and they were on show every week during his time with Liverpool. He needs to sharpen up and concentrate more on his technical ability, improve his anticipation and off-the-ball skills.

Rafa Benitez will also be the key. Under Benitez at Liverpool, Torres scored 59 goals in 73 games. Under Benitez at Chelsea, Torres has scored 5 goals in 7 games. If there is one man who can bring the best out of Torres, it is Benitez. Torres has always been an intelligent player, but he has to change the way he plays. It will be difficult, but I have full confidence that he will successfully adapt his ability. When he does adapt, he will again claim his place as one of the best players of recent years.

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England in India: The Final Test

by Sampad Sengupta

Team England victorious in India

The last match in Nagpur ended in a draw, giving England their first Test series victory in India in 28 years. The series turned out to be a one-sided affair with England dominating all the matches barring the first one which India won. The drawn Test meant that England won the four match series 2-1.

On a slow, low pitch, the batsmen found in difficult to score freely. It was no paradise for the quick bowlers either as they had to bend their backs to extract some pace and bounce off the wicket.vIndia, playing with three spinners thought they might be able to tame the English batsmen who have been ruthless against the Indian bowlers throughout the series. They started well, taking a couple of early wickets, including the coveted scalp of England captain Alastair Cook, who has been in terrific form of late. The Poms however, bounced back with Kevin Pietersen and young Joe Root (making his debut) top-scored with 73 each, taking them to a score of 330.

The bowlers who turned the tide

As has been the trend throughout the series, the Indians started poorly, losing early wickets. Similar to the England innings, the middle-order restored some pride, with Kohli and Dhoni putting together a solid partnership. Kohli scored a century while skipper Dhoni fell one short of triple figures after being run-out by his English counterpart. They nearly managed to survive the entire day without losing a wicket, something which both teams have struggled to do this series. However, that was not meant to be, as England struck late in the day picking up 4 wickets.

Declaring early, India hoped to bowl their opponents out cheaply and give themselves a chance to level the series. England batsmen started the second innings cautiously and then settled in well to play through the last day and a half to ensure a draw with struggling batsmen Johnathan Trott and Ian Bell scoring centuries at just the right time. This was enough to win them the series, one in which they have played well and deserved to win. England captain Alastair Cook was declared Man of the Series while fast bowler James Anderson was named Man of the Match. The series ended what had been a lean patch for England, who recently lost their No. 1 ranking in Test cricket. With quite a few standout performances, namely those of Cook, Anderson, and the spinners, Panesar and Swann, England would look to build on this victory and aim for the top spot in Test cricket once again.

The Indians on the other hand, would be utterly disappointed with their performance with all of their big names failing to deliver when it counted the most. There were a few positives from the series, Pujara’s form early on, Kohli’s hundred in the last test. These were overshadowed though, by the negatives. Their bowling lacked any sort of penetration with their spinners failing to make much impact compared to the English spinners. While on commentary, Paul Collingwood went on to say that the English batsmen were giving the Indians a lesson on how to play spin in their own backyard. The repeated failures in batting also meant that the management might need to take a closer look at team selection and the futures of some of the senior players would now be under scrutiny. There were quite a few surprises in this series which had a few twists and turns. This might just be the wake-up call India needed and the boost in morale for England to regain top spot.

See also Sampad Sengupta's reports on the First, Second and Third Tests between England and India.

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Why We Love Frankenstein's "Monster"

by Lucy Cole

Johnny Lee Miller as Dr Frankenstein
and Benedict Cumberbatch as the Monster,
National Theatre production of Frankenstein, 2012

When we hear the name "Frankenstein", we all draw into our mind the generic image of the green monster, bolts protruding from his brain, that has been portrayed by the media ever since James Whale's Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein in the 1930s and repeated in numerous incarnations, including those of the Hammer House of Horror movies in the 1960s. But the original Frankenstein’s creature of Mary Shelley’s imagination (back in 1818) is far removed from this fumbling green being devoid of any kind of humanity. Whilst watching Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Shelley’s infamous novel, I was struck by the extent to which Frankenstein’s creature resembled a human child. I found myself, instead of feeling disgusted by the ugly, pieced-together monster before me, empathising with him and his endless suffering.

"Alone Bad, Friend Good . . ."

From his ‘birth’ the creature is rejected by those who should love him most; Dr. Frankenstein immediately abandons his role as father, abhorring his creation and ignoring its human qualities. Due to his differences, the creature is rejected from society and denied his humanity. Within her novel, Shelley seems to be commenting on the role of the external appearance of an individual in society’s acceptance of them, a topic still highly relevant in our society today. Although seemingly an abstract and unnatural concept, the creature seems to represent all those who are regarded as different, whether due to their appearance, their race, their religion or their mental capabilities, and are thus excluded by society’s in-group.

The creature crucified in Bride of Frankenstein

The Frankensteins of today may not be green or gigantic, but, like Shelley’s creature, they have been marked out as different from birth or childhood, and have consequently suffered for it for the remainder of their lives. They have sometimes been shunned or persecuted, such as the Jews in Germany and Eastern Euurope in World War II due to their race, or perhaps just prevented from engaging in the activities available for ‘normal’ people, as is often found with those with mental illness or learning disabilities. This separation from society, rather than reducing their suffering in fact appears to increase it, as it reinforces society’s belief that they are abnormal. It seems that despite Shelley’s highlighting of this problem, things have not changed from when she published the novel nearly two hundred years ago.

However, perhaps things are improving, and society is becoming more accepting of those who are different. More awareness of mental illness and a better understanding of different cultures has taught us that those who are different from us are not ‘monsters’, but people with the same thoughts, needs and feelings that we experience every day. The government is constantly working in order to integrate out-groups into society and to reduce the isolation of people, such as those with mental illness or learning disabilities, who are not able to function in a normal society.

But it is clear that this exclusion and rejection can never be completely prevented; from the playground to the civil war in Syria between different sects due to their beliefs, as a species humans will continue to judge those that are different, and the different will continue to suffer. We can only do our bit to make sure the Frankenstein’s creatures that we know feel wanted and accepted, their green skin nothing but an irrelevance.

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Photography Club: Winter Morning

by Jack Silver

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“What the Dickens?”, “What the Dickens'?” or “What the Dickens's?” - a Devilish Dilemma!

by John Owens (OP 1953-63)

Librarian Jo Godfree graced the Charles Dickens bi-centenary issue of Portsmouth Point with a harsh – though in the end, and pace Simon Callow, just about conciliatory – piece about  Dickens's verbal bullying called 'I HATE CD'. Richard Ingrams, Editor of The Oldie, had earlier included in his January 2012 issue Raymond Briggs's tongue-in-cheek diatribe against the same 'great writer' on account of the 'apoplectic opulence' of his descriptions of the greengrocer's seasonal produce in A Christmas Carol:

'There were great, round pot-bellied baskets of chesnuts (sic), shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street … There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars; and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by …'

Rather than enter this debate, I refer the reader to my opening paragraph which contains the two genitives or possessive forms, “Dickens's” and “Briggs's”. Furthermore, allow me, as an Owens, to elect “Owens's” rather than “Owens'” as the preferred genitive form of my own name. Note too, in her fourth paragraph, Jo Godfree's airing of the variant “Dickens'” (that is, s-apostrophe rather than s-apostrophe-s) within five lines of the 'preferred' form “Dickens's” - preferred, that is, not just by me, who could be said to have a vested interest, but also by Professor Pointon in his fine essay (ibid.)on how myth becomes and stays history. 

As a revolting pedant I'm taking up the cudgels on behalf of the apostrophe – most abused and not the least significant of punctuation marks. I wouldn't, of course, place it in the same league as the paragraph in terms of the weight of meaning it might convey – nor, indeed, of the chapter break nor part opening, the big guns in the punctuation armoury. It doesn't, however, deserve the cavalier treatment meted out to it by writers of all types, shapes and sizes.

Matters came to a head in September as, en route from the Ardeche to Portsmouth, I used the Calais/Dover ferry crossing time to catch up on the said May issue of Portsmouth Point. Apostrophic abuse had been in my mind since I'd encountered in the Rhone Valley this astonishing piece of officialese:

Our French scribe lent 'water' the apostrophe saved in translation from “l'eau”, endowed 'bathing' with a double helping of '-ing' (in passinging, as it were) and gave us in “n't” an entirely new form of 'not', without which we have somehow muddled along for centuries (or century's as literary libertarian's might prefer to expres's it).

Next moment, looking up from the page, I saw a notice from ferry operator DFDS, kindly informing me about drivers' habits in their ships:

I don't know where they were doing it, but lounging was clearly what they were about! For sure, they were not in the Children's Playroom whose apostrophe obeyed all known rules for this irregular plural form:

Later, cruising down the A3 dual carriageway just north of Guildford, I dodged serendipitously on to the old A3 to avoid a traffic hold-up, only to find some hundreds of fellow-motorists had had the same idea. Right there in front of me in the jam was :

'Something wrong here,' I thought, reading first the upper legend on the tank-like contraption. Just check the registration and – sure enough – the Event Toileting Contractor, as I believe these professionals class themselves, was undeniably down his leg apostrophe-wise. For all its faults, the DVLC positively eschews apostrophes in its registration numbers, so no mistake in its rendering of the plural form of 'DO', though I'd take issue with its spelling of LOOS as LDO5.

OK, some of you might point out that there's more to English usage than punctuation, and I couldn't agree more. The other half of the picture is the words, but here again the casual scribe can set up all kinds of confusion in the mind of his/her reader. Take the 'flash' across the top right-hand corner of the front cover of the Dickens issue of Portsmouth Point: 'GREAT EXPECTATIONS ISSUE' -  whence, would you say, and might we not be told? Or take a closer look at the inside front cover which kicks off with

PORTSMOUTH POINT CONTENTS

There's a hint as to meaning here in the listing below of the articles appearing in the magazine. Otherwise we could be learning that 'POMPEY'S DRAW PLEASES CROWD'. Might the Editors be toyinging with us, I ask myself? Look no further than the foot of the Editorial on page 3: 'The Editors May' – but then again they may not.

Let's give the Headmaster the last word, or rather the last apostrophe. His 'Dickens and the Sea' article gives us “Charles's son Sydney” as early as line 3 – he's a right-thinking* 's-apostrophe-s' man! Or is he? What's this in line 4, “...the Dickens' family...”? Surely not! Just a minute, maybe it's a proof-reading slip and he didn't want an apostrophe at all – we're talking here of “...the Dickens family...', no genitive, just the family name used adjectivally! But read on: time and time again, with total authorial and editorial consistency, we see the 'non-preferred' genitive form “Dickens'”, as in “...Dickens' this...”, “...Dickens' that...” and “...Dickens' the other...”! Now either James Priory is a law unto himself, with a total disregard for preferred usage, and we 's-apostrophe-s' types are right all along. Or he may just have a point and we [that is, the learned Professor, the Librarian (some of the time) and I (a one-time publisher pedant)] of the other persuasion are dead in the wa'ter.

Driving down the old Commercial Road, and now nearly home, I glance up at the bold brass lettering on the front of the Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum – hey, look again! That's some kind of clincher, isn't it (or “is it n't”)? No black marks for Headmaster's today, I fear!

* In no political sense, I should say.

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