Your time at
the University of Southampton starts and ends, rather fittingly, with a ball.
Before you
arrive at university you can select and buy tickets to a whole host of fresher
events and activities, one of which is the Freshers’ Ball. I remember sitting
down and scrolling through all the available tickets on the SUSU Box Office and
then double- and triple-checking to make sure I had selected to attend the
Freshers’ Ball. Once at university,
Freshers’ fortnight flew by and before I knew it the Freshers’ Ball was upon us
and it signalled the end of the Fresher-orientated events and also the start of
my life at Southampton.
Although, as
I mentioned in my last blog, I am not quite at the end of my university life,
it is the finish line for the majority of my year’s intake and hence I decided
to attend the Grad Ball. I also decided to enter a competition run by the Students' Union where you had to nominate a friend to buy a ticket and if they did, you were
entered into a draw to have the price of your ticket refunded. I initially
didn’t hear back, so I assumed I didn’t get selected, but then to my surprise a
few weeks ago I received an email congratulating me on winning. I was over the
moon! Not only did I get to attend for free, but the friend that I nominated
also received vouchers that could be redeemed for free drinks on the night.
After months
of waiting, the Grad Ball was finally upon us. The evening began by dressing up
in my smartest attire and then gathering with several friends for a lengthy
photograph taking session, before we headed down to Oceana, which is situated
down near the port of Southampton.
Smart attire
means a photo opportunity!
The
nightclub had been completely transformed to fit in with this year’s Hollywood
theme. ‘Grad Ball’ was spelt out in the famous Hollywood-style letters and a
red carpet had been laid down to welcome us in. Outside, a whole funfair had
been set up, which included the dodgems, a very fast Ferris wheel with rocking
carriages, a mirror maze and the twister, as well as burger and doughnut vans.
Even though the Grad Ball suggests a sense of adulthood and maturity, we all
instinctively made our way straight towards the rides and doughnuts, before we
had even stepped foot inside. It would also be fair to say that the dodgems
brought out all our competitive sides, which naturally meant we had to go on
more than once!
You can’t
take the ‘fun’ out of funfair!
The glitz
and glam of the Hollywood theme carried on inside; there were three uniquely
themed rooms which all featured a whole host of live acts to suit the mood.
These included the Doritos Mariachi band, members from Blue and a variety of
DJs, but my personal highlight was the swing band which played in the ‘Gatsby’
room, called Speakeasy. The group was joined by a troupe of dancers and really
fit the grandiose nature of the Hollywood theme, because they felt special and provided
something completely different to the normal songs heard on a night out.
The Grad Ball
went on long into the night, so much so that we saw the sunrise on our way
home. The ball was a fantastic way to round out the year and was a fitting end
to many students’ time at Southampton.
James
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