It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Okay, before you all cry out in dismay, I have not lost my marbles, I do know that it is only November and you know what; I don’t care!

I am in the Christmas spirit and nothing is going to stop me.

The SUSU shop is selling advent calendars, I have started seeing mince pies everywhere and forget about the Coca Cola TV ad, there is another incredibly heart-warming John Lewis advert to feast your eyes on! I kid you not, my housemate and I spent a good twenty minutes watching John Lewis’s festive creations throughout the ages and I started to feel that tingling feeling of happiness that comes with watching Love Actually and the smell of pine trees.

Most of us students will only be in Southampton for another four weeks before we all depart to the warmth of our family homes for the holidays, and I wanted to give all the other Christmassy-inclined folk a heads up on the things to do in the Southampton area at this time of year. If this is your first Christmas at the University you don’t want to miss a single thing!

This weekend my housemates and I are going to Winchester, primarily so I can fall over a lot on the ice-skating rink, which is behind the beautiful backdrop of the cathedral. Can you imagine anything more magical? Except perhaps a large glass of mulled wine and some early shopping at their markets, both of which are provided! Tickets for students are a reasonable £6 off-peak and £7.50 peak. Winchester is a charming little town which cannot help but feel very English and very Christmassy, so if you haven’t been yet check it out, have a little potter around and go into one of their many cafés.

I think I will be clinging to the rail a lot.

However, if you’d like something a little closer to home, how about Southampton’s very own city centre market, which will be returning for its ninth successful year and never fails to bring a touch of the continental to Christmas. So, whilst you may be doing your Christmas shopping in West Quay I recommend you pop outside and replenish your energy supplies with their incredible variety of scrummy treats – including German beers, hot chocolate and Gluhwein.

If you are not feeling festive yet, just wait until 28 November, when our very own University campus will be doused with sparkles for the turn on of the Christmas lights! I know that it is cold, and often raining, and perhaps standing outside in the evening isn’t your idea of heaven but this event is the culmination of the University’s 60^th anniversary celebrations and they will have no doubt pulled out all the stops. Plus there will be food (mince pies galore), drink (nothing like mulled wine after a lecture), and to top it off, a Christmas market! It starts at 5.15pm on the red-brick area outside the Students’ Union and will include Vice-Chancellor Don Nutbeam’s end-of-year speech. Now, whilst I admit that Southampton doesn’t have Rihanna on hand to turn on our lights, we do have someone even better; Pavlos Kontides! Our very own Olympian will be there along with our torchbearers Mostafa Soleimani and Kangjing He, what could be better.

(Here is a link to the facebook event page, just in case you forget the details - http://www.facebook.com/events/239170616211579/)

So perhaps before reading this article you weren’t really in the mood for all this turkey talk, perhaps you were focusing on the absence of our summer rather than the forthcoming holiday, perhaps you were being a scrooge, ignoring all the evidence that Christmas surrounds us already. Well, to all of you lot I say embrace this wonderful time of the year, tie your scarf a little tighter, gather the ones you love close, sing some carols and make the most of it.

So, yes I know it is November but like I said, I don’t care. I’m going to embrace Christmas.

Florence