Bidding ’13 a fond farewell

I can remember that time in my life in which, whenever I heard the idiom “Time flies when you’re having fun” uttered, I just naturally assumed it was from an ‘old’ person – after all, terms at school, however enjoyable, seemed to take ages! And that’s not to mention school exams…

And yet somehow every time I come to write one of these posts, I wonder where the time has gone since I last did so. There’s only one logical explanation: 21 is undeniably, categorically, and officially ‘old’ – time to look into pensions and retirement plans, I guess!

All joking aside, however, it’s weird to think that this is my final post of 2013, as the whole calendar year seems to have shot by like a rocket, leaving brilliant memories, great achievements and some of the richest and most incredible experiences of my life trailing in its wake. It’s been quite a spell in the global spectrum with the news frequently featuring some sad losses yet new beginnings, great tragedies and yet inspirational accomplishments amidst a backdrop of difficult economic conditions and social unrest, and yet the world continues to throw up brilliant and wonderful surprises that constitute many a bright reason to be optimistic going forward into 2014.

And that’s without even pointing out that it’s a football World Cup year – awesome (or not, depending on your perspective)!

So as I look back at all the brilliant events of 2013, many of which were directly borne from the facilities, personnel and opportunities that play such a pivotal role in my life in Southampton, I find it incredible to see just how much has gone on in the previous 12 months for me. It’s certainly been one heck of a ride!

January

- Went through the inevitable attempts to cling on to the rapidly retiring Christmas and New Year’s celebrations period, brought to a crashing halt by…

- The ever-looming, demanding exam period! Although it did feature my favourite course module to date, Human-Computer Interaction – there’s nothing quite like being asked to design a smartphone app under exam conditions!

- January also brought snow, and lots of it! Indeed so much so that one of my exams had to be rescheduled, the perfect excuse to celebrate, put down the books for a couple of hours and engage in a bitter inter-faculty snowball war on the Southampton Common field. For course, Queen and country!

- Made the most of the completely no-pressure, joyous spell that is the end of exam period (before the second semester starts)!

Snow can only mean one thing!

February

- Kicked off Semester Two in style with some new (and particularly challenging) modules to tackle, a highlight for me being the fascinating principles of Artificial Intelligence.

- Went along to 3 Performing Arts shows in a fortnight, and enjoyed them all greatly!

- Made a stand-up comedy debut in a national student competition on Valentine’s Day, the date making my choice of material quite straightforward! In truth the eight minutes I spent on stage with microphone in hand are a massive blur in my head, but no fruit was thrown if I recall, so I’d call it a relative success! I’d love to give it another go at some point.

- Travelled with the Student Union’s Theatre Group to Shakespeare’s Globe in London for a fascinating backstage tour, followed by a dramatic workshop with a veteran of its stage, Colin Hurley.

- Was lucky enough to be cast in the Theatre Group’s play to tour at the Edinburgh Fringe in the summer, Hanging Bruce-Howard – I couldn’t believe it!

- Celebrated averaging a First in Semester One, despite all of the distractions above (and more)!

March

- Carried on working towards Semester Two, particularly battling away with the usual pre-Easter deadline rush. Luckily, everything went in on time – sometimes, by hook or by crook!

- Enjoyed an incredible occasion at the Union which saw new Sabbatical Officers elected, Results Night Live, all broadcast live online in the form of professional-standard coverage from SUSUtv and Surge Radio which added extra glamour to the spectacle!

- Was fortunate enough to successfully be elected onto the Theatre Group 2013/14 committee as Webmaster for the academic year – a position I can hopefully justify in terms of a Software Engineering degree at least!

- Made a singing and dancing debut with SUSU Showstoppers on the professional Nuffield Theatre stage as part of their production of Parade - despite the inevitable nerves, it all seemed to go down very well and we as a cast had a great time to boot!

- Headed home for a much-needed rest over the Easter holidays – and a bit of revision here and there!

The cast and crew of Parade on the Nuffield Theatre stage!

April

- More revision: April is very much time to get down to academic business with deadlines and exams looming!

- Acted in the Theatre Group’s annual Showcase, which gives the opportunity for new writers to see their work put to the stage; this time I was cast as a character in the middle of an emotional break-up, so quite far removed from stand-up then!

- Attended the annual Performing Arts ball - a chance to get dressed up and enjoy an evening of excellent food and company in a swanky venue is never one to be turned down!

May

- Summer exams – gah! But a necessary evil, and a nice chance to reflect on the broad nature of the curriculum on offer.

- Made a directorial debut as an assistant in Keeping Down with the Joneses, and even ended up making a couple of cameo appearances. Fortunately, it turned out to be a critical and commercial success, and so it was yet another brilliant opportunity, as well as a privilege to be a part of!

- Took part in a successful radio broadcast fundraiser for Hanging Bruce-Howard, featuring all sorts of forfeits in the name of fund-raising!

- Successfully pitched Equus to the Theatre Group committee as a co-director of a production team.

- Went along to St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton for the glorious Saints’ final game of the season – a not-so-classic, but still very enjoyable, 1-1 draw with Stoke!

It also turned out to be Michael Owen’s last ever professional game – nice!

June

- The end of exams – and the academic year! As with first year, my second had seemingly shot by, and now there was nothing more but to wait for results…

- Went along to the traditional Theatre Group annual picnic and leavers’ meal events, appreciating both the sunshine and also the further opportunities to suit up, although all of this was amidst the backdrop of bidding a fond farewell to many a graduating member.

- Was lucky enough to be awarded “Best Cameo” at the ‘Theatre Group Oscars’ for the few minutes I spent on stage in Joneses - crikey!

- Saw over 70 auditionees through the door for Equus and had to make some tough calls – indeed, as a team we spent over 12 hours on them one particularly troublesome day!

- Sung and danced again in Showstoppers’ annual 24 Hour Show. A musical rehearsed entirely within 24 hours and with sleep highly lacking amongst the cast members as a result, things kind of fell apart on the day, but it was all in the name of charity, so the pressure was well and truly off as we tried to improvise around it to hilarious effect!

- Met with my Third Year Project (dissertation) supervisor for the first time and planned out its premise: with one year until submission at this point, I had ages… right?!!

July

- Moved boxes and piles of stuff out of the second year house – and into the fresh confines of the third year one!

- Was lucky enough to be invited to speak as part of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education’s talks at the July Open Days, letting me explain why I love the University to hundreds of visitors (unfortunately I couldn’t fit all of the above into the five minute slot, despite my best efforts!).

- Began rehearsals for Hanging Bruce-Howard and put on a few well-received preview showings of it in preparation for the Fringe.

- Outside of rehearsals, took advantage of the summer to go to Bournemouth beach, have many a cast barbecue and watch a lot of films. So University without the work, basically!

August

- The Edinburgh Festival Fringe: the most fun and fulfilling three weeks of my life so far, and an incredibly rich experience on all levels, I could write up a book or two on it – and then some! If you’re interested at all in the time we spent up there as Gone Rogue Productions presents “Hanging Bruce-Howard”, check out my blog posts about it (called Tales in Scotland) in September, but be warned it might take some time to read it all! I can’t wait to return one day!

- … The rest of the month was spent simply getting over the post-tour blues!

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the standout highlight of an incredible 2013 – what a month!

September

- Celebrated a cracking 21^st birthday with family, friends and loved ones in various ways (largely food-related!) and both Northern and Southern locations.

- Kicked off rehearsals for Equus, my first ever show as a lead director, including organising cast trips to laser tag and a stable!

- Was fortunate enough to be invited back to take part in the Pro Vice-Chancellor’s September Open Day talks: again, a great reminder for me, and hopefully a demonstration for prospective applicants, of just why the student body here loves their University – it offers so much!

- Welcomed another fresh batch of students into the University by helping at Freshers’ events in the Union – if anything makes you feel old…

- Commenced the intimidating prospect of Third Year: ahhh!

October

- Began to tackle the Third Year Project and yet another varied but interesting set of modules.

- The month of all things Equus: rehearsing, scheduling, budgeting, designing, filming, scoring, marketing, building, and generally running around organising dominated any free time this month! But we’d love to think the end product was well worth it!

- I was also fortunate enough to be cast in two Showstoppers shows which should be worth checking out in February, namely the hilarious Little Shop of Horrors and classic Guys and Dolls – keep an eye out for them in the Annex Theatre after January exams!

November

- Amidst rapidly amassing deadlines, I found myself in computer labs fairly often – it’s true that Third Year really does necessitate knuckling down!

- Continued rehearsals for other shows, and rediscovered my extremely slow abilities in learning dance routines – at this rate, it might take til February to get them right!

- Acted in the SUSUtv annual film, the Society, my first ever taste of on-screen acting - hopefully coming to the Union cinema near you soon!

December

- Wrote close to 15,000 words in under two weeks to see off the final term’s deadlines, before heading back to bed for some much-needed R&R!
- And, of course, there were the traditional house and Theatre Group Christmas meals to look forward to - much appreciated after a few months of living off beans on toast – and a chance to share in the company of the inspirational individuals who surround me here.
- Finally, enjoyed the trip home back up North, a wonderful family Christmas, and the chance to reunite with old friends and see out the year in style.

Santa Claus had certainly been to the Johnson household this year

So in summary, good luck 2014 – if you’re hoping to topple this year, you’re going to need it!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Robin

Looking ahead

My final blog post of 2013 has arrived! This week I have been running around all over the place finishing off last minute preparations for Christmas and catching up with my friends and family. I loved delivering presents to my young nephew and his new baby sister, and seeing the magic of Christmas really come alive. We made mince pies and watched ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’ – his new Christmas favourite.

Looking back to this time last year, when I was doing my Christmas shopping in Japanese department stores, and looking forward to coming home for the holidays, it’s amazing to think how much I’ve done and seen since then.

A very Christmassy Spitalfields Market

Nothing better than a homemade mince pie (or three!)

Throwback to Christmas 2013 – buying presents in Japan

If somebody had told me at the beginning of 2013 that I would go skiing in Sapporo, visit the tropical southern islands of Okinawa, go to South Korea for the weekend, be selected for a three week educational programme in India and become the Travel Editor for the Wessex Scene, there’s no way I would have believed them. I’ve made so many friends all over the world, and I hope that I am able to see some of them again over the next year, whether it be in the UK or elsewhere.

And what about 2014? I can’t help but wonder what it will have in store. Whist I’m not one for making resolutions, I do have a few goals for the next year that I’m hoping to achieve.

Degree-wise, I’m aiming for a first, so it will be more hard work for the first half of the year to make sure I don’t miss out. To think I will be graduating in just a few months, after four years of study, is a really terrifying thought!

That leads me on to my next goal, although I’m not entirely clear about it yet – securing a job for after University. Although I’m not entirely sure where the next stage of my journey will be taking me, there’s a few options in the pipeline, and I’m excited to see which of those I end up doing. If this year has taught me anything at all, it’s that you really never know where you’re going to end up. If you keep working hard, opportunities tend to spring up all over the place – it’s up to you to choose which ones you’re going to make the most of.

I never dreamt that 2013 would take me all the way to India.

Of course, being me, I have a few fitness related goals, the major one being my first marathon. 26.2 miles seems like such a long way right now, but I’m looking to enter the Bournemouth full marathon in October next year, so there will be plenty of time to train. Most of my friends and family think I’m crazy, but I’m already so excited!

I would also like to reach the big two-oh for my total number of countries visited. My boyfriend and I recently booked a trip to Berlin at Easter, which will take it up to number 19, which only leaves one more to go! I’ll have to get my thinking cap on and try and make it a special one.

I’m sure this list will continue to grow throughout the year, as new ideas and opportunities present themselves, and I’m sure that 2014 will be just as interesting and exciting – if not even more so – than 2013 has been.

All that’s left to do is see the year out with lots of festive cheer. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll see you in 2014!

Tayler

The festive spirit

Even though Winchester is only ten minutes away by train from Southampton, I realised that in my two and a half years at the University I had never actually been.

So deciding to ditch the revision, assignments and dissertation worries, and to celebrate the end of term, I finally went up to Winchester to see the famous Christmas market and to get me well and truly in the festive spirit. As I mentioned it’s surprisingly easy to get there; in fact with a rail card the train was cheaper than the bus I took to the station!

There were a whole array of stalls, selling a smorgasbord of everything from chocolate and cheese (the free samples of which I took full advantage of) to jewellery and paintings, as well as the ice rink and food outlets, all in the grounds of the beautiful Winchester Cathedral. After going round the market twice and picking up the odd gift and cup of mulled wine along the way, we went back into the centre to find a restaurant, before heading back home to Southampton.

The winter wonderland of Winchester

The last couple of weeks of term have been a thoroughly festive affair. It all began with the annual Christmas light turn on event on campus, which included a live band and the University’s very own mini Christmas market. Soon afterwards my house mates and I also celebrated the start of the festive season, via the much less glamorous task of putting up our own (student budget) Christmas tree and decorations.

The holiday cheer continued on through the fortnight with several glasses of mulled cider and an equal number of Christmas meals at one of our favourite student pubs. It’s this time of the year that you realise how many things you are involved with and just how many people you know, as you start to receive festive invitations left, right and centre. It’s for this reason that the last few weeks of the winter term are usually my favourite out of the whole year.

The Leaning Tower of ‘Treesa’

The festive spirit also spread across to my Physoc intramural badminton team. We held a Christmas tournament, comprising of twelve teams, all playing for a small bottle of wine and a bag of chocolate coins – the stakes couldn’t have been higher! The teams were split into two leagues of six and we each played each other once with the first and second best placed teams heading off into the semi-finals.

Serving for the title of 2013 Physoc Christmas Champions

My team, who were creatively titled ‘Team 12’, got off to a great start by winning our first game. Unfortunately it went downhill from there; we managed to lose our next four group matches, narrowly missing out on a couple more victories by being on the wrong side of very tight score lines. In the end it came down to point difference, leaving us bottom of our group, but if we had one more win we could have been as high as second!

In order to retain some dignity and avoid the ‘wooden spoon’ prize, we were put into the play-off match against the team that finished last in the other league. After one of the hardest fought matches, with both teams desperate not to fall to the embarrassment of last place, we continued our losing streak and were subsequently awarded the twelfth place prize consisting of paracetamol for the pain of defeat and a little robin decoration which has taken pride of place on top of the house tree.

Overall the last few weeks of term were a brilliant way to end what has been a fantastic year and I look forward to what 2014 brings.

Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

James

Christmas break is here!

Not that I’m complaining, but I can’t believe I’m already on my Christmas break! It’s scary how fast time is flying by. I mean I’ve only just become used to the fact that it’s 2013… and in less than a month it’s going to be a new year yet again! I’m hoping 2014 will be at least as fun and exciting as this past year has been. In any case, I’m super excited to fly home to Sweden and see my friends and family, including my mum, sister and Belle our dog. Unfortunately I won’t get to see my dad until possibly the Easter holidays because he’s currently in Australia enjoying the hot summer. Lucky him! Although, to be honest, celebrating Christmas in the winter does have its charm.

Anyway, apart from the usual dance rehearsals and deadlines for my course (especially during the last week of term), I thought I’d fill you in on what I have done since my previous post. To start off the Christmas season I went to the Christmas lights switch on which the University organised. I thought the atmosphere was wonderful with fake snow, Christmas music and a small Christmas market. I really love it when people make an effort to put on events for everyone to enjoy! That same night I attended my first athletics social with my housemates - two of whom are members of the University’s athletics and cross country club. They were the ones who convinced me to go and ended up convincing my other two housemates as well. This turned out to be our first night out as a house (usually at least one of us is busy - it often happens to be me because my dance classes are typically in the evenings).

Me and two of my housemates

That same week I went to the last international and EU students meeting for this semester. I really enjoy these meetings because it’s a great chance for us to discuss any issues we might be having while we’re at university, socialise and enjoy a very generous lunch which is always appreciated. Since it was the last meeting before Christmas we were also given some additional Christmas chocolates and cakes. Yum! That evening I went and watched the new Hunger Games movie at the cinema in our Students' Union. I think the students who volunteer to organise all the screenings with Union Films do a fantastic job. It had been about a year since I last went to the cinema so I was abnormally excited. I wasn’t let down; the movie was absolutely awesome! That week I also had a lovely Christmas dinner with my amazing housemates who prepared and cooked everything while I had dance rehearsals. All I had to do was come home and eat!

Last week I attended the combined dance societies’ masquerade ball. It was a great night out and it’s always nice to see such a huge turnout because all the money we earn from selling tickets for the socials goes towards our annual Pure Dance show.

On Saturday, before my housemates headed home for the break, they took me to see the city of Winchester and to visit the Christmas market. It was absolutely freezing that day (and this is coming from someone who has lived in Sweden!) but I still had a lovely time. The city is adorable and the market really gets you into the spirit of Christmas. I almost can’t wait to get home, especially seeing as I only went home for two weeks over the summer, when I chose to stay and work at a shop in West Quay in the city centre so I could earn some extra money (which there always seems to be a shortage of as a student). My sister has told me that it's already started to snow where I live, so I really can't wait. Before I fly home '’ll be spending a couple of days in London meeting up with friends so I have a lot to look forward to. I just have to make sure I also find time for revision during the break, because as much as I hate to bring it up, exam period will be waiting for me when I return.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Kristin

A very busy Christmas

Phew – somehow, some way, we’ve made it through to the Christmas holidays!

After possibly the two busiest and fully packed weeks of my life in Southampton so far, the end of term is nigh. At last I can afford to sit back, relax and enjoy the many festivities in and around campus before setting off back up North for a few weeks of being merry, maybe doing a little work (in between films on the telly!), appreciating family and friend reunions, and best of all, being around a well-stocked, never-empty fridge (and some decent food not centred on take-outs or beans on toast)! All is well!

It’s been a while since I last wrote, but since then the coursework deadlines have been well and truly pouring in with the need to get everything polished off before everyone heads off for the break. In fact, I've written close to 15,000 words over the past two weeks alone, and that’s not including the programming I've had to do to underpin these assignments in the first place - ahhh! With five deadlines and a third year project (the Computer Science equivalent of a dissertation) interim report needing to be tackled, my head has well and truly been in the books for a while now. However, although it’s not been the most care-free spell of time, it’s been hugely productive, fruitful and challenging throughout and a gigantic test of everybody on the course’s mettle – and I guess one to be expected, given the whole “third year” thing that we’re taking on this year!

But although it’s not always been easy to try and meet all the deadlines on time – there've been a few late nights here and there recently! – it's certainly exposed me to a number of interesting topics, texts and techniques that have expanded the academic basis that my course has provided me with in the first two years. So it's been well worth it and, in a fairly weird way, quite enjoyable to have something requiring so much focus and intensive work! Plus, the recent surge in workload has helped me appreciate a few other occasions…

… because, ultimately, let’s face it: it wouldn't be university without a few fun distractions (or ‘opportunities’) here and there!

Since I last wrote about the frankly terrifying chance to act in front of a camera or two as part of SUSUtv’s forthcoming ‘mockumentary’, The Society, rehearsals for the couple of Showstoppers (the Students’ Union’s musical theatre society) productions, Little Shop of Horrors and Guys and Dolls, have been in full swing, with a couple in the former being spent trying to teach me how to dance – definitely not my forte! So far it seems to have yielded mixed results as expected, as I’m not completely hopeless, but there’s definitely plenty to work on as well – the whole two left feet thing absolutely applies to me it seems!

But with both featuring classic music and spurring storylines that appeal to all ages, it's certainly been a lot of fun acting (and singing!) with a superb bunch of talented and dedicated people - as ever! And despite my inherent nervousness about being asked to move in (some sort of) time with music, it’s been an absolute blast learning how to give it a go in the cheesy setting of Little Shop and the slick style of Guys and Dolls, so if it does all goes wrong on stage (although fingers crossed I won’t step on my fellow cast members’ toes!), it'd probably only be all the more fun for it! So when both shows hit the Annex Theatre (on the main Highfield campus) in February, it's guaranteed that both should truly be a sight to behold, and I can't wait!

With the arrival of December (and, of course, the opening of a brand new advent calendar – some things shouldn't change!), the University has launched into full-on Christmas mode, hosting brilliant events such as the main campus lights switch-on which featured winter stalls and huge crowds and was enjoyed by all, while making sure that, as ever, cheer remains abound across Highfield! The decorations look brilliant and add to the fervour building round campus as, slowly but surely, final assignments for term are handed in for courses across the student body, and people are having a breather and getting ready for a much-needed break – until revision for January exams should probably kick in at least, I guess!

And what better way to celebrate the time of year than to spend time with the people who make the University experience what it is? Last week saw Theatre Group’s Christmas meal (and resulting night out!) in a swanky venue in Ocean Village (by the docks) last week, with a great venue, great food, and even better company making for an amazing occasion as usual! After three months of self-cooked food, most of which it's fair to say wasn't the best ever, a full three-course dinner consisting of a scrumptious tomato soup, delicious turkey wrapped in bacon complete with vegetables and roast potatoes, followed by a traditional Christmas pudding, was much appreciated, as shown by how everyone seemed to wolf it down! It was a great opportunity to celebrate all that we've achieved as a society this term, and to get everyone together for one last group hurrah before we head into the break.

The annual Theatre Group Christmas meal featured great food, company and, overall, a great time for all!

On the topic of theatre, I was also pleasantly surprised earlier this week to wake up to some very exciting news indeed; I'm delighted and very proud to say that Equus, the Theatre Group show I was lucky enough to be given the chance to co-direct earlier in the term, has been nominated for six Daily Echo (the local newspaper) amateur dramatic Curtain Call awards in its annual ceremony. This includes selections of three individual cast members, a Best Choreographer nomination for the show’s incredible Lucy Kent, a nomination for myself and my brilliant Co-Director Mike Cottrell as Best Director of a Drama, and, most awe-inspiringly of all, a nomination for the prestigious title of Production of the Year; all in all, a great testament to the whole team involved in it from start to finish! It’s incredibly humbling to be even considered for these awards, let alone nominated, so we can’t thank the Daily Echo enough for their kind words, and, fingers crossed, we can’t wait to head along to the ceremony at the end of January 2014 – it should be blast!

Finally, to round off what has been a packed term for all of us, my housemates and I got together and put together a wonderfully enjoyable Christmas meal – well, with the others cooking and me taking on the washing up for fear of food poisoning! But it was delicious, thanks to their amazing cooking, and it was again just another grand chance to sit down as a full house and appreciate one another’s company – and another excuse to eat some awesome food! With the traditional crackers pulled, dodgy jokes told, paper hats worn and daft games played, it was another great occasion for us all, and provided some much-needed work relief!

A far cry from the usual beans on toast – it was delicious!

And now it’s all over! It’s odd to think that this term has shot by quite as quickly as it has but, when life’s as bursting to the seams with rich and enjoyable opportunities that seem to be embedded in the very makeup of an average day at the University of Southampton, time really does seem to fly when you’re having fun!

I hope you all have splendid holidays, and have a very Merry Christmas!

Robin

Tinsel and treats

Well, it’s the final week of term (already!), the campus Christmas lights have been turned on and everybody is getting ready for a well-earned break. Unfortunately, my last couple of weeks have been full of deadlines, so it’s been some long hours and late nights in the library. Things are starting to wind down now, though, and I'm off to London next week to see some friends and family, deliver all my Christmas presents and get a 10k race at Regent’s Park in too, of course!

This weekend, my Mum and I are going to a local Christmas festival for the day to pick up some alternative presents and soak up some more of the Christmas spirit. It’s a fantastic opportunity to find something a little bit special, along with supporting local craftspeople and artisans.

Hoping for a new personal best this Sunday!

Just one of the gorgeous winter sunsets I've seen from my window over the last couple of weeks

I've also begun compiling my Christmas day menu, which is incredibly exciting. Being the cook in the family, it’s down to me to make sure we’ve got everything we need.  I’m a bit awkward when it comes to eating – I’m a vegetarian, and I can’t eat dairy, wheat or gluten – which means I’ve got to get a bit creative when it comes to Christmas dinner. Contrary to popular belief, I never feel overly restricted, and I’ve managed to come up with a menu that has not one, but two different types of Christmas pudding on, as well as a Christmas cake, truffles and gingerbread men, plus all the wonderful veggies of course! (Can anyone tell I’ve got a sweet tooth?!) I’m a massive foodie, and just because I can’t eat certain foods doesn’t mean I have to miss out, especially not at Christmas! We’re taking bookings now if anyone wants to join us!

A practice run for the big day – everyone loves a Sunday roast.

Aside from the big day, staying healthy over the holidays is always a challenge. Chocolates lurking around the house, mulled wine galore and more boxes of biscuits than I’ve ever seen. Everywhere you look there’s temptation in the way. Being the health freak of the family, I’ve so far managed to do pretty well. I love making healthy alternatives of my favourite treats or rustling up something from scratch when I get home from uni, and the nice weather we’ve had over the last few days has meant it’s still felt acceptable to have salads and smoothies, with the odd roast dinner thrown in here and there! A lot of people ask me how I manage to stay healthy at university, especially when I’m on a pretty tight budget, as a healthy lifestyle is often associated with pricier produce. Unfortunately, there’s no secret recipe, but a bit of preparation goes a long way. I tend to plan my meals for the week, only buying what I need, and preparing my lunches and a few healthy snacks to take with me on the days I’m at uni. Not only does this stop me snacking on crisps and chocolate, but also saves me money too as I’m not buying food on campus. It’s a bit of a hassle at first, but now it’s become part of my daily routine, I barely think about it!

Preparing falafels for my lunches and perfecting my recipe!

That being said, a little bit of what you fancy doesn't go amiss – it is Christmas, after all – and I'm off to have a mince pie!

Tayler

Reaching the final

At the start of the year I knew I wanted to start playing a new sport. After going round the bunfight during Freshers’ Week, I eventually decided to take up handball. It’s a sport that I’ve always wanted to try and convinced by their ‘sales pitch’, I went along to their taster session.

Handball has quickly become something that I love to play and in all honestly I wish I had taken it up sooner whilst at university. As a complete beginner, I joined the university’s development team, and subsequently have gone along to training every week on a Sunday evening.

After two months of learning the basics, including passing, wing shots, defence and much more, I finally got an opportunity to put together all I had learnt into a proper handball game. On Saturday, Southampton, Solent and Bournemouth Universities collaborated together to organise a handball development team tournament hosted at Bitterne Park School.

After arriving and getting warmed up, the tournament was quickly underway with Solent playing Bournemouth A first. We got off to a great start in our first match, managing to gain a lead against Bournemouth B early on in the game which we sustained until the end to win 9 – 6. Our next game was a daunting prospect; playing against Southampton Solent University who had fielded their best team. Although we were well and truly beaten 4 – 11, we played some great handball and showed some promising signs.

Solent take on Bournemouth B

Our last match was against Bournemouth A. If we won this game we would be guaranteed to make the final, anything less and we would have to hope for the unlikely outcome that Bournemouth B won against Bournemouth A and pray that goal difference went in our favour. This match was by far the most closely contested, with both teams nervously playing out the final few minutes stuck at 6 – 6. Miraculously Bournemouth B managed to beat Bournemouth A, meaning we were through to the final along with the undefeated Solent.

Unfortunately we lost 5 – 9 to Solent in the final, but we showed how much progress we had made by reducing the losing margin, through tightening up our defence and making better use of the ball in our attacks. Overall the tournament was a fantastic experience and really helped to piece together all the skills I have learnt in training drills into real match situations – it just goes to show what you can achieve in just one term!

Over the weekend I also got the chance to see a production of Alana Ayckbourn’s Confusions by the University’s Theatre Group. I have always been impressed with previous shows put on by the society and this one was no different. The acting and directing was done to such a professional standard and it had me actually laughing out loud.

To celebrate the concluding end of the (very busy) winter term, I was invited along to the Humanities and Social Sciences Winter ball. Unfortunately, the Physics ball was on the same night, but seeing as I have been to a Physics ball before, I chose to attempt to mingle with people who don’t find jokes about Heisenberg or Schrödinger funny!

From fancy dress to formal dress

The ball was hosted at Oceana, situated down by the docks, and they put on a great night with a champagne reception, mulled wine and even an opportunity to take a photo with Santa (I’m still dubious to whether he was the real Father Christmas) and receive an early Christmas present: a little bag of pick ‘n’ mix.

Merry Christmas

James

Dance addiction!

As usual, I'm flat out busy with course work and dance commitments. So, so, so many dance commitments. Getting really involved with several of the amazing dance societies at university has been fantastic. In my first year it allowed me to meet a ton of wonderful and talented people who I've now become great friends with.

My first dance social event was 'Where's Wally' themed. If I remember correctly, it was their third social of the year. I was reluctant to go to the socials in the beginning because I still didn't know anyone that well – but the truth is that I really had nothing to worry about and socials are actually a great opportunity to get to know people better.

Making new friends at my first dance social event

This was taken at this year's Halloween social which is one of the events I missed last year.

On the topic of socials, last Saturday the jazz dance society hired out the inflatable assault course at the Jubilee Sports Centre on campus. It was unlike any of the other dance socials I've been to so far – not to mention a surprisingly good workout too! I absolutely loved it so hopefully we can organise another like it in the future.

Other interesting socials I've been to include the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton's city centre to watch ballet productions. Not so surprisingly, this was organised by the ballet society. The most recent show I went to was in October when we watched Le Corsaire by the English National Ballet. I thought the performance was incredibly entertaining and completely captivating. Watching the dancers live and up close is really motivating and inspiring (especially for a dancer). You can't help but aspire to be as beautiful as they are.

In the Mayflower waiting for everyone to arrive

In the theatre right before the performance is about to start

It's really up to you how much you want to get involved in. In my first year, as well as now in my second year, I auditioned for three of the University's competition squads: advanced ballet, jazz and contemporary. By joining several of the competition squads I've been lucky enough to travel a bit while attending various competitions, as well as meet dancers from other universities.

Here's a photo of everyone from Southampton who competed at the Loughborough annual dance competition. It includes members from the tap, street dance, ballet, contemporary and jazz squads.

Being a part of the competition squads does require a lot of commitment (especially if you join more than one – like I did and have done again this year!). On top of attending regular dance classes I also attend extra rehearsals for the squad routines which is why I end up dancing six days a week, sometimes twice a day. In addition to studying for my degree this can become very demanding! I often wish there were more hours in each day but knowing me I'd probably find a way to fill them and end up being just as busy as I am now.

Me and the advanced contemporary squad at Loughborough last year

We won't be attending any competitions until after Christmas but we're already starting to feel the pressure to do well and have being adding in EXTRA rehearsals for all of the squads I'm in!

On top of all of this I'm also the president of the jazz dance society which involves a number of other responsibilities. These include organising a teacher for our classes, which is normally pretty straight forward seeing as the society has had the same teacher for the past five years – however this year we've had to say goodbye to her as she’s been offered an exciting opportunity to teach in Canada.

Saying our last goodbyes to Gemma. We'll all miss her!

This has meant that I've needed to conduct interviews for a new teacher. I'll admit that this was at first a very daunting thought (seeing as the people I interviewed were both older and more experienced than me) but knowing that it's your responsibility to sort everything out, you just get on with it and do it. I'm happy to say that we've been able to secure a fantastic new teacher, however due to her being unable to start until next week, the jazz committee have had to cover classes this week which resulted in me spending five consecutive hours in the dance studio on Thursday. Good time management has never been so crucial!

I'm also responsible for applying for funding which is essential for us in order to attend competitions and offer classes at the prices we do. In addition to this (but not necessarily a requirement of the position) I've organised a workshop which involves hiring an experienced dancer to come and teach a few extra classes. It's great to switch things up a little and learn something new. They're often a lot of fun and everyone has a unique style of teaching so it's interesting to get advice from people with different dance backgrounds. I also work together with the other dance societies to help organise events and keep the members of my society up to date with everything that's going on.

Me and two of my awesome committee members at this year’s Bunfight

For those of you who don’t know what the Bunfight is, it's an event which is held at the beginning of semester one when all the new students are settling in. On this day, the majority of the University's societies and clubs set up stalls on campus to advertise themselves to all the new students. However, all students (new and continuing) are welcome to go along and see if there's anything they might want to get involved in.

There's an endless number of things you can get involved in at university. I've talked a lot about dance because it's become such a huge component of my student life, however I've also joined a couple of other societies and I have friends who are members of a huge variety of societies so I know that most of them offer similar things. A chance to meet new and interesting people, a chance to try something you haven't done previously or improve on something you did before you came to university and the possibility (for those who want) to get more involved and potentially take on a position of responsibility such as being president, treasurer or secretary of a society – which is not only fun and rewarding but also fantastic for your CV.

Kristin

The past and the future

Last Saturday I worked at my first Physics Open Day of the winter term for the University. Although it was not the first Open Day I have done (I worked the summer open days too), it was the first one where I have had to give a tour of Glen Eyre halls.

Going back to Glen Eyre for the first time since I left at the end of first year was a strangely nostalgic experience – especially seeing new students in my old kitchen through the window. Just walking back through the entrance brought back many happy memories of time spent living in the New Terrace complex. Most of all it reminded me of my fresher’s fortnight right at the start of my life away from home.

I personally found halls to be a great experience. In fact I found every aspect – from assignments and lab work to socials and nights out – of my first year to be thoroughly enjoyable. Having such fond memories of my time in halls made telling people about Glen Eyre that much easier.

Meeting our neighbouring flat mates before the Freshers’ Welcome Party in 2011

Of course the question I get asked the most on Open Days is “Why did you choose to study at Southampton?” Having had experience of being asked this question in equal amounts across the summer Open Days, I have had plenty of time to truly think about why I did choose to come to Southampton.

I remember I came to visit the University whilst in sixth form, before I had really even started to properly consider my options. I came in the summer holidays so the University was very quiet and hence I didn’t expect to meet anyone, let alone get the chance to be shown around. However, when I crossed campus to take a look at the Physics building, fully aware that I couldn’t get in, the futility of the situation disappeared.

I was very fortunate in the fact that the Physics admission tutor was there to welcome us in and even gave up over an hour to show me and my family around the department. He took his time to show me the labs and the astronomy domes on the roof, whilst explaining every detail about the course to me – which I try to emulate when working at the Open Days myself.

I guess that was one of the major reasons why I put Southampton as my first choice; the friendliness and willingness to give a personal tour to a prospective student who hadn’t given university choices too much thought before then.

The time between then and now has flown by and it’s crazy to think that I am now approaching the half-way point of third year, so I have begun to turn my thoughts towards the future.

The Physics department and also the Physics Society (cleverly named Physoc) hold many events, talks and seminars that provide ideas and opportunities for your future career. Last Tuesday they held a TeachFirst presentation, made even more appealing with free takeaway pizza. I am currently in two minds about my future career; on one hand I’d like to go into teaching, whilst on the other I’m interested in medical physics, so the presentation was a great chance to really begin to sort out my mind.

TeachFirst are a unique charity that fund your PGCE while you go straight into teaching. You are put in schools where a certain majority of children are disadvantaged because of their background. Did you know that just 16% of children eligible for the free school meals programme make it to university in the UK, whereas 96% of all children from independent schools do?

The aim of the organisation is to provide inspirational teachers and develop leaders through their leadership programme that can help to bridge the gap over this hidden social barrier to further education. Whilst being thrown in at the deep end is a lot harder than doing a PGCE the conventional way, it is certainly more rewarding and if I do opt for a career in teaching, it is definitely the path that I will choose.

The experience lasts two years, with around 50% of teachers staying in the same school afterwards, 10% moving to a new school and the final 40% going into other areas. The scheme also offers a work placement in the summer as well as the chance to gain a subsidised master’s degree in education.

Overall it’s a fantastic opportunity and one I will definitely consider for the future.

James