Springtime

Spring has most definitely arrived – the sun is shining again and it’s been warm enough to go outside without a coat for the first time since September (I just hope I haven’t jinxed it!). I decided to make the most of the good weather over the weekend and along with my housemates, I headed down to Portswood to visit Sprinkles, everyone’s favourite ice cream parlour, to gorge ourselves on sundaes, waffles and ice-cream!

Last Tuesday was Pancake Day – a favourite for many students. As a house we decided to make an evening’s entertainment out of making as many pancakes as we could possibly eat, which was the first time we had cooked and eaten together as a house since Chinese New Year all the way back in January. We started by preparing about a litre of mix, which used up nearly all of our eggs and flour and milk!

We then took it in turns to make our pancakes, turning the process into an efficient pancake-making production line. Although it started out as just a bit of fun, it soon turned in to a competition of who could come up with the best (and sometimes the most outrageous) topping combination. Forget the traditional lemon and sugar, it was time for chocolate mousses, cinnamon and even chocolate cake!

We were very impressed with our pancake making skills!

Of course it wouldn’t be Pancake Day without testing out your flipping skills. Even though we were expecting most of them to disappear down the back of the stove, everyone (surprisingly) managed to keep theirs in the pan! If there was an Olympic pancake flipping event we definitely would be vying for a gold medal; never have four students been more successful at flipping pancakes!

Pancake Day signifies the beginning of Lent, for which many people choose to give something up (normally chocolate related), but I have never participated in this concept. Instead I take the view that if you do partake in Lent, you should take up an activity and try something new. At the University of Southampton this is a very easy thing to do as there are a wide range of societies representing everything from dance and sports to music and academia. I wasn’t sure what I should try, but then the opportunity to play squash arose, so naturally I said yes! At the time of writing this I have played once and have every intention to play again. Hopefully it will become a regular feature of my sporting week, alongside the swimming, badminton and handball which I already participate in.

Definitely not giving up chocolate for Lent

Keeping with the Easter theme, my latest fancy dress outing involved me dressing up as a rabbit. However, it wasn’t the Easter bunny, but the White Rabbit from the much-loved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This outfit wasn’t for a fancy dress society social, but for my girlfriend’s half-birthday! The idea might seem a bit weird, but considering the fact that she doesn’t normally get to celebrate her real birthday with all her Southampton friends because it’s during the summer break, the concept starts to make sense. The book introduces a similar idea: an un-birthday, which the Hatter and the March Hare celebrate by throwing a tea party, so the Alice in Wonderland theme fitted perfectly. There were some very impressive costumes, with everyone making a decent effort and surprisingly only two people came as the same character!

James