Holly’s Highlights: Week 6

Week 6 munchies have hit hard this week. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are half price in Sainbury’s (proof that America can do something right); last weekend I went to a pancake house in Durham that was so fabulous it would almost be worth going to the north in order to eat there, and I have discovered Bombay Mix. Oh Lord. It’s a fragrantly spiced, lentil-y ambrosia if I ever found one. At 1000 calories a bag. So, dancing, browsing cultural events and even walking to Murray Edwards is badly needed in order to burn off my second-worst vice (the first requires a trip to Ann Summers and several AA batteries).

ART: Mirror/Lens film festival

Where? Murray Edwards, Huntingdon Road

When? Until 22nd November

Why? ‘There’s now another reason apart from to poke out sex-starved girls to visit Muzza Edwards?’ I hear you cry. Yes indeed. It is these women in question who make up Mirror/lens, the college’s film festival for 2011. Exploring women’s interaction with and on the screen, the exhibition shows five works on loop, and there are discussions, screenings and presentations. Basically, you’ll see what women get up to when there are no men around.

A fountain

FILM: The Rum Diary

Where? Vue Cinema, Grafton Centre

When? Opens 11th November

Why? Ex-chronic alcoholic director Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I) returns 19 years after his last movie to make Hunter S.Thompson’s lost book The Rum Diary. Johnny Depp stars as boozy journalist Paul Kemp who arrives in Puerto Rico to work on a local paper in between lashing and laying. The effective prequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, this film looks filled with downing drinks and filing the occasional story. Sounds like my ideal job.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YUx36yLLug

MUSIC: Filthy Lucre

Where? The Vaults, Trinity Street: £4.

When? 9pm til late, 14th November

Why? Filthy Lucre first surfaced at the Fitzwilliam Museum as part of Access All Archives. Then they were primarily frequented by haircuts with big jumpers and a lot of new music ‘connoisseurs’ (i.e. weird old men). This is their first student night and promises an eclectic mix of music with Cambridge’s best singers and DJs. They boast that their finely crafted set list will ‘start at the bar and end on the dance floor.’ So, if you fancy music from ’60s psychedelia to ’90s trip hop surrounded by acid projections and sexed-up mannequins, get to The Vaults.

Filthy Lucre at Access All Archives

UNION: Giovanni di Stefano

Where? Cambridge Union, Bridge Street

When? 7.30pm, Tuesday 15th November

Why? Known as ‘the Devil’s advocate’, di Stefano has defended or befriended all the super villains you’d care to think of, including Saddam Hussein, Milosevic and Gary Glitter, and possibly Magneto and Doctor Doom. Plus, he’s Italian. Everything is better if it’s Italian.

The Devil’s advocate?

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair

Where? The Guildhall, Market Square: £2 entry

When? 10.30am-4.30pm, Saturday 12th November

Why? I find Ikea terrifying. The mind-manipulation of the floor plan, the utter cornucopia of very cheap stuff and the fact that the store has these little mini-worlds in it means it is a warehouse-sized mind fuck. The affordable vintage fair is an antidote to the MDF-related shakes, and the colours are bright and shiny enough for me to feel like a six-year old again. If at six, I was excited by lamps.

A cornucopia of cheap stuff