Wednesday 24 November 2010

A night for networking!!!

Every year PAWS-Public Awareness of Science and Engineering, hold an awards evening in recognition of Science Broadcasting.

Being that i am a Science Communication student and our lecturer used to work for the BBC, every year we get an invite to the awards and the free drinks after! This is the first year i have been since it's the first time I've had the chance as, luckily, I'm on top of my workload, and the fact that i graduate next year (ahhh!!) and Smokey has boosted my confidence, in that i actually felt i could go there and get something out of it other than just complimentary free booze! I even had cards made to hand out with my contact details on!

The evening was thoroughly enjoyable, and some of the films and documentaries that won awards were very good, and some were...not quite so good! The drinks reception after was also very enjoyable, i got the chance to talk to a number of the winners, who all seemed to be French! As for networking, fingers crossed that was a success too- i gave my card to a broadcaster/journalist who said she would keep me in mind if anything i could help with came up. And if she was as serious about that as she was pleasant, then I'm hopeful!






The keynote speakers in hot discussion about the topic "A New Age for Science and Broadcasting". For some reason the word "sexy" was mentioned a lot!

Tuesday 23 November 2010

We don't let distance get in the way!

Sunday day was spent mostly recovering from Jennie's party, so i basically slept most of the day, watched X Factor and ate some left over cake from the party. However the evening was spent having a romantic meal with my gorgeous boyfriend over Skype- despite the 1000's of miles between us!

I wore a polka dot evening dress and Smokey looked dashing in Red Sea Rig dinning wear. We sat down to enjoy a meal of chicken pie and potatoes for me and a sausage pizza for Smokey.

Despite the fact we can only do these sort of things over Skype at the moment, it was still a lovely lovely evening. With back ground music of Nat King Cole and Michael Buble, and of course Smokey's favourite, Meatloaf, and with me serenading Smokey every now and then, it was a great Skype date!

Who says that distance means you can't enjoy a nice romantic meal together? Because i definitely believe we are evidence that distance really doesn't matter! And it 34 days we will be doing it for real!

Puttin' on the Ritz

Saturday saw the arrival of Jennies 21st 20s themed birthday party, and 11.30am that morning saw me heading off to the hairdressers to start getting ready for a party that started at 8.30pm! My hair was finished by 1 o'clock so i headed back home looking every bit the 1920s woman! Whilst i waited for Jennie and Guy to come and pick me up i did all the usual things you do whilst getting ready for a night out; painted my nails and did my make-up. I would be getting dressed with Jennie at the suite the hotel, in which her party would be, had given her for her birthday.


We arrived at the hotel at just gone 4 o'clock, and met her parents Chris and Sandra and the 5 of us started setting the room up for the evening festivities! We had lots of 20s images and pictures from other 20s themed parties we had been to all over the walls, six up lighters around the room which changed colour in time with the music and lots of other little bits, that all added together, by the time we had finished, made the room look great!


After setting up the room it was time to finish getting ourselves ready so Jennie,Guy and myself headed up to her suite for pre drinks of gin and tonic, which later just became gin as the tonic had run dry!

Jennie and i ready to dance the night away!

The whole evening was great! Everyone looked and it was lovely to see everyone had made such an effort with their outfits, and the looks at our efforts from other hotel guests was very amusing! All in all it was a night of great company, great music, an amazingly yummy birthday cake and of course, lots of gin!

i know this picture isn't from Jennies party, but the very gorgeous guy in the middle couldn't be at Jennies party, although he was there in my thoughts and heart.

Friday 19 November 2010

A rather festive week

It may still be November, but the appearance of the Christmas Coca Cola advert on TV means i can now be excited about Christmas in public, whereas for the past couple of weeks I've been listening to Christmas songs secretly in my room!

So the arrival of festive spirit in our house means i have spent the week making festive cakes with lots of cinnamon and other Christmassy spices which filled the house with that lovely Christmassy smell, getting the tree and lights out of the shed ready to be put up, writing a few Christmas cards and singing Christmas songs on Skype to Smokey. And on top of this my Tesco club card vouchers arrived so I've been deciding what to spend them on (i know this is very sad but literally don't care).

The excitement doesn't end there either, as it's Jennie's 21st birthday party tomorrow! So I'll be throwing on my t-bar shoes and 20s style dress, and once again modelling that oh so fashionable 20s hairstyle Finger curls! Stay tuned for pictures!

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Remembrance Day

The weekend of Remembrance Sunday, i was staying in Dunmow, so i attended a service in the street by the war memorial, with what looked like everyone who lived in Dunmow and the air and army cadets. It was a lovely service and it finished with the singing of the National Anthem.

I also attended the Remembrance Day service at my university chapel at Royal Holloway. Unlike the service i attended in the morning, i left this service feeling annoyed and disgusted. The singing of Jerusalem and the National Anthem was not aloud for fear of upset international students. Now before everyone takes out their fury at the international students, I'd like to point out that it was the white, English middle managers who made this decision. No international students had been asked if they would be offended (even if they were though, this is a British country so expect British church services if you come to study here) so these middle managers, really were panicking for no reason as there was nothing to say that they would be offended. The service should have had all the trimmings of a proper British Remembrance Day service, and if anyone was offended then it could be dealt with after- in that they could have been told " well you are in England, what did you expect?"

On top of this, i was also shocked to see the that the majority of choir that would be singing at the service were not wearing a poppy, i think i saw 5 people at most, out of a 20 or so strong choir who had bothered to show their respects and get a poppy!

I left the service feeling angry and let down by the university, a British university, funded by British tax payers but where anything British is omitted just in case someone, who is a visitor to this country, gets offended.

Sunday 14 November 2010

A lovely way to spend the weekend

Having just got back from a lovely weekend in Dunmow with Smokey's mum, it seemed like a good idea for a blog update!

Friday after my favourite lecture, and i mean favourite in the loosest of terms, i jumped on a train and headed for Dunmow to stay with Smokey's mum for the weekend. Luckily i just missed rush hour on my journey, so made it in good time, and without having to stand from a lack of seats at any point!

After being picked up from Stansted we took Woody for a walk, who even though is old and isn't always overly friendly, looked excited to see me (well i like to think so!), and headed to the fish and chip shop to get some chips to go with the salmon we had put in the oven before we left. Feeling rather full and very content after our meal the evening was spent watching Corrie, which seems to be full of scandal at the moment with everyone kissing everyone, and after a long day of travel and work, we headed to bed after the news and a piece of cake and cup of tea we had for pudding.

My wake up call Saturday was Woody barking, so i was up at 8.30. Sleepy eyed and snuggled up in Smokey's dressing gown, which on this chilly morning i was thankful he didn't take to Egypt, i went downstairs for a breakfast of Alpen and orange juice. The plan for the day was a shopping trip to Freeport, and despite the fact i have no money, i was still looking forward to a look around the shops, even if the only shopping I'd be doing was window shopping!

Deborah bought some lovely presents for Smokey for Christmas, and we laughed at the fact that she had chosen a lovely gift for Smokey that i myself had nearly bought for him a few weeks earlier! After a good look around the shops, and a pot of tea, hot chocolate and some complimentary truffles courtesy of Thorntons, we headed home for a lunch we definitely needed! A lunch of pork pie, leftover chips heated up from the day before and some salad was incredibly tasty! Although standing in the kitchen preparing it i was reminded of the summer i spent when Smokey was there, and i must admit i felt a tiny bit of sadness as our routine was missing a rather gorgeous person.

The rest of the day was spent having a nap, getting to skype with Smokey after his Internet was finally fixed, and then later on in the evening making dinner (some very nice sausages from the butcher's) and sitting down to watch X Factor and Deborah teaching me how to Crochet. I went to bed weary after a fun filled day of shopping, lovely company and some more lovely food, snuggling up in Smokey's dressing gown again.

Sunday being the last day of my visit and of course Remembrance Sunday, today was spent paying our respects at the war memorial with the rest of the community in Dunmow, and counting ourselves lucky that we were only enduring the cold of the morning air rather than those who died for us and who we were remembering. After, we headed home for a cup of tea and a lunch of tomato soup and a crusty roll, perfect for the dismal day it had turned out to be, with the raining pattering on the window as we enjoyed a hot bowl of soup.

After Deborah very kindly dropped me off at uni, sparing me of the horrible Sunday train service, and as it is Jennie's birthday, the rest of the evening will be spent celebrating her 21st at Megna and then i'll finish my eveing in my usual way- on skype to Smokey:)

Monday 8 November 2010

Editing, wine, a lack of fireworks and a 90 year old hairstyle

The British Isles: A Stroll Through Geological Time, is all edited and apart from putting in some music, it is all finished! I am very excited about this I usually take quite a relaxed approach to the editing part of a project, as in i do it the night before, so this is quite an achievement for me!!

It is even more of an achievement since the night before the day I spent editing was lost in a blur of white wine and some very nice food cooked by yours truly! After we walked to the green, only to discover that there was no fireworks display this year, we decided to camp out in the pub and thought it would be a good idea to buy more wine en route back home! Apart from some people being very sick and sleeping in the bathroom, and some people getting upset about missing a certain gorgeous boyfriend, it was a very fun night!


Today was a hairdressers appointment from the past, when I finally donned that most fashionable of 20s hairstyles, finger curls! So my day was spent looking in every reflective surface I walked past and thinking about how amazing I looked with my new, or should I say old, hairstyle!

I finished the day having a meeting with my palaeontology lecturer to discuss my third year project. I won't bore you all with the details, I'll just say that it is going very well and I finally have a method for quantifying for data!

Friday 5 November 2010

Sealed With A Loving Kiss

When the postman comes i always get excited at the prospect of a letter from my nan and grandad or my Tesco club card vouchers (yes i know it's sad getting excited about club card vouchers!) coming through the letter box and falling onto the mat. But today the postman brought a much more exciting letter, one that feels like I've been waiting forever for, a letter from my gorgeous boyfriend!

Skype calling is amazing, and my daily Skype chats with Smokey are always a highlight of my day, but there is nothing like getting a letter from someone you love, and being able to hold and feel close to the sender, and read the words i love you. It well and truly brought the biggest smile to my face, and i have already written a reply and will go to the post office to send tomorrow.

Sealed With A Loving Kiss.

Thursday 4 November 2010

Musical Obsessions

I go through phases of being completely obsessed with different musicians and bands. First it was the Beatles, Spandau Ballet, George Formby Michael Buble (I'm still slightly obsessed with them) then the Guys'n'Dolls soundtrack and the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, and now it has come around to that time where i fall in love with Einaudi all over again!

As i write this i am currently listening to his album Nightbook, which i had the pleasure of going to the London leg of his tour to promote. To say that it was amazing would be an understatement, it brought a tear to my eye and I'm sure it did also to some of the guys who i went with!

If you haven't heard of Einaudi, i would strongly suggest a visit to YouTube for some musical enlightenment!

Wednesday 3 November 2010

And now to get editing!!

My third year science communication project is a geology radio programme celebrating the diversity of geology the British Isles has to offer. After getting all of my six interviews done in record time (one day) i finally got around to putting them all onto the computers in the studio so i can start the tedious task of editing, cutting and pasting it all together again to make, what will hopefully be, a feast for the ears!

All that needs to be recorded is the fillers (my words of wisdom in between the interviews) and i need to get the music for it, which consists of Mendelssohn and Elgar, and it shall be finished!

Stay tuned, will hopefully put some snippets on here as a sneak preview!

Saturday 30 October 2010

Trick or Treat

This Halloween was spent like any other festive weekend, making themed cupcakes!!

My best friend Shell was making some themed cupcakes for the owner of a new bakery that was opening soon, with the hope of getting a job making cakes for them when it eventually opens.

Unfortunately, the profit margin wouldn't make it worth while enough to do it full time, but nonetheless we had an incredibly fun day baking loads of cupcakes (60 to be precise!) decorated as everything from spiders to pumkins!

After a great day of baking, the evening was spent taking Shell's younger brother bowling with some of his friends for his birthday and dinner at the new 50s diner along Southend seafront. The food was ok, but a bit overpriced for what it was (burgers and hotdogs, think American diner!) and we had to wait a very long time to get our meal, but i'd say go for the experience, a real working duke box with 50s tunes playing, the classic black and white tiled floor and 50s icons plastered over the walls. But do jst go for the experience, the wait for the food soon makes the novelty of eating in a bygone era soon wears off!

Autumn Rambles


Sunday last (i have been waiting for some pictures until i wrote this!) once again the Autumn sun was shining, and our reluctance, as students, to do any work saw us head off on an Autumn jaunt around Virginia water.

With our wellies, hats, and scarfs on we enjoyed our jaunt around the lake, even daring the cold water and crossing the cascades, which was even colder for me as i braved it bare foot due to the fact i had no wellies and didnt want to get my boots wet! I can quite honestly say it was freezing, but quite refreshing once i had feeling back in my toes!
After a refreshing walk, feeling back in my toes, the sun shining, and the spotting of an ice cream van, we decided to take advantage of the Autumn sun and treat ourselves to a 99, aptly named for something that actually costs £1.90, and put on any calories we had just burnt off!

Then off back to the warm and comfort of our homes!

Friday 29 October 2010

The saviour that is Skype!

When my boyfriend told me he was going to live in Egypt for 9 months, i won't lie, i felt just a bit heart broken. I couldn't imagine not being able to see him for such a long time!

So i would just like to take this oppourtunity to thank whoever it was that invented Skype! It means i can still hear from and see gorgeous Mr Bacon even though he is in a different country! It has significantly eased the burden of my aching heart, and everytime i hear an incoming call, it brings a huge smile to my face=]

Skype, from myself, and i'm sure many others, i salute you!

Home Comforts

I took advantage of reading week and my lack of work to come home for a couple of days, enjoy some home cooked food and a good nights sleep! Since my parents were on holiday my grandad came to pick me up from uni. Whenever he comes to pick me up he always comes really early in the morning in order to miss the traffic, so at 5 in the morning i was dressed and ready to go! Hearing the car pull up outside and grandads name come up on my mobile to let me know he was outside, i grabbed my bags and coat and off we went!

We chatted for a bit, i ate the sandwich he had lovingly made, then i dozed off until we were back home- i say home, but i actually mean nan and grandad's house, but since i spent my early childhood there, it will always be refered to as home.

After having a nap, i enjoyed a breakfast of bacon sandwiches and lots of tea! We spent the day chatting about uni, christmas and family stuff, stopping only briefly so nan and grandad could watch Judge Judy...which i must admit they have me slightly hooked on!

As usual we went out for dinner in the evening. Nan and grandad always say how proud it makes them to take me out, and i'm proud to go out with them- the best grandparents i think anyone could ask for!

After a lovely 3 course dinner, we headed home and had some more tea before we all turned in for the night. As i laid in bed that evening, i felt truly content after a lovely meal and amazing company, and i consider myself to be incredibly lucky to have grandparents like i do!

Monday 25 October 2010

Microscopes and Mesofossils

When i got back from the lab today (already i sound like a crazy scientist!) i did my usual thing of cooking dinner and sitting down to watch Friends. Whilst watching it, it dawned on me that myself and Ross are remarkably similar. No i am not a man, but we both share a geekiness in our love of Palaeontology.

I've always really enjoyed the subject, and its deffinitely my favourite part of my Geology course. But working on my final year project has just enhanced my love for the subject! When i look down my microscope at the fossilised plant and pollen particles, i get excited that i can interpret the environment they once lived in! I just think it's fasinating, and i feel very sorry for all my friends and gorgeous boyfriend at the moment as i probably bore them to death telling them about, what is basically, a petry dish of very old bits of charcoal and mesofossil, most of them probably not knowing what a mesofossil is (fossilised plants and spores).

Thankfully for  them, today i finished a large part of my lab work!

Sunday 24 October 2010

Paranormal Activity

Saw Paranormal Activity the other day and the sequel last night. All that can really be said of them is that they are very scary and there are loads of bits that will make you jump! I don't think you need to know much more than this!

Friday 22 October 2010

A night of fine dinning and alot of fine wining


The reason i have no money isn't down to the fact that i'm a student, my student loan is plenty for me to live on. The reason i have no money is because of Topshop and all the beautiful clothes, shoes and accessories they make to burn a hole in my purse. This means that the option to go out for a nice meal and bottle of wine is a rare one, so when my old house mate John decided to hold a dinner party i gladly threw on my glad rags and very much looked forward to a night that would deffinitely be one of lots of very good food and wine!

As we walked up to the house i could already smell delicious food cooking and my stomach jumped with excitement and hunger! The five courses of pate, partridge wine a tangy apple sauce, lamb with seasonal vegtables. cheese board and a chocolate parfait with passion fruit coulis where amazing, and after alot of very good food and wine i felt quite content (and about a stone heavier!). A game of 'who am i?' after dinner was very fun with everyone from Trevor Mcdonald to John Holmes (who i now know is the worlds most famous porn star) gracing our forheads!

After two rounds of 'who am i?' some truly amazing food and some very nice wine, we stumbled our way home. The cold Autumn night managing to sober us up a bit, but once home i still managed to fall over when getting changed for bed and scaring the cat! 




Our great hosts for the evening.

Thursday 21 October 2010

London 2012 Olympics

The Olympic games will soon be coming to London, and with it comes the oppourtunity for 70,000 people to get involved, a great oppourtunity and experience that is ours for the taking! So with this thought in mind and with high hopes, i have just applied to work in the press office for the 2012 games!

I'm hoping that my experience with the BBC and the Science Communication aspect of my course (in which we learn how to write for different aspects of the media such as radio ect) will get me noticed!

Who knows maybe this could be my break into journalism?

Wednesday 20 October 2010

A day dedicated to our favourite Hot Fuzz quote

After Jennie and I have relentlessly quoted numerous Hot Fuzz quotes for quite some time now it was decided that we should probably take our own advice and "fuck off down the model village" So today was a dedication to what is quite possibly our favoruite quote from the film!

We arrived at Bekonscot model village and railway which was built in 1929 and is the oldest model village in the world! It was model village heaven, with everything from a fulling moving fairground to a burning house!

After a tour around and hundreds of pictures later, it was decided a hot chocolate and some chips would take a chill of this particularly chilly Autumn day.

And as day leads into night, i start to think of the evenings festivities, and since it's a Wednesday it's deffinitely an occasion for (generally tiny knickers!) the cinema! Despicable Me here we come! 

Tuesday 19 October 2010

An apple for the teacher

As part of my final year project i am making a radio programme called "The British Isles- A Stroll through Geological Time". As with all the media projects i have done for my Science Communication course, i have to interview lecturers and such who know alot about the topic my project is based on. This latest project would be a six part series, the first being a celebration of the geology in Scotland, and with that thought in mind i knew straight away two people who would happily talk about Scottish geology for hours (and i mean literally hours!) So off i went back to my six form to talk to my A-level geology lectures, armed with my recording equipment and a whole lot of space on it for the hours they would probably talk for!

In return for their words of wisdom, it was agreed that i would give a talk about studying geology at uni and talk abit about geology as a subject in general.

I arrived at my old sixth from and was greeted with the same smells and some familar faces from my two years there that now seem like a very long time ago. I was looking forward to seeing my two old lecturers and had butterflies about my talk to the year 13s, so with excited butterflies i pinned the visitors badge to my scarf and headed for the classroom!

Luckily, despite the fact the class was made up of mainly boys (dreaded images of school boy humour filled had my head!), they were very friendly and i soon got into my stride, talking about everything from glaciers to volcanoes! On top of this they were all quite keen to say a few words about Scottish geology, even if they were abit daunted about the idea of being recorded, so instead of coming home with an interview with just my two lecturers i also have a whole lot of interviews from budding young geologists!

So even though i had to get up at 5 this morning to get there on time, the quality of interviews and willingness of the year 13s to talk to me made it all worth it...next stop the editing room!!!

Sunday 17 October 2010

If you go down to the woods today

The late Autumn sunshine filled my room again this morning, but as it is a Sunday i decided to stay snuggled up in bed feeling both the warmth of the sun and my duvet. It was only after getting a text from Smokey Bacon's mum to let me know that Woody and herself were on their way to visit that i decided i should probably get up, get dressed, have a quick tidy up and of course make a cake and check we had teabags!

Now dressed, in my original 1940s dress (one of my favourite dresses) Tank and i decorated the cakes and by the time the icing had set the doorbell rang. I was greeted by an excitable Woody and a hug from Smokey Bacon's mum. After a quick chat, cup of tea and a cupcake, we headed off to Virginia Water to enjoy a gloriously sunnny Autumn day.

We let Woody off the lead who trotted off to have a sniff about, and did his best to avoid the other dogs, all eager to make friends, Woody not the slightest bit interested or impressed by their efforts.After a bit of a walk we stopped for a lunch of Brie, bread, grapes and a cupcake each in a very sunny spot, to the extent i could feel the sun overpoweringly* hot on my tights clad legs!

Comfortably full after a tasty lunch we headed off again, and it wasn't long before an ice cream van came into sight, despite our full bellys, there is always room for a 99!

Back at home once again, a pot of tea was made and i showed Smokey's mum the Christmas present i had bought him in Windsor yesterday and some of my recent clothes purchases, including some tweed trousers, a duck cardigan and my dress for an upcoming 1920s party.

Now Smokey's mum has gone, i'll spend the rest of day attempting to do some uni work but ultimately finding anything else to other than work! Am cooking a chicken vegatble curry for dinner with Tank which the thought of is already making me very hungry, and will chat to Smokey later this evening which is always a highlight of my day.

*i have now decided that this is a real word

Saturday 16 October 2010

Windsor Wonderland

I always get excited about Christmas quite early, ask any one of my friends and they will tell you that by October i am officially very excited about Christmas, wearing Christmas jumpers and even maybe listening to the odd Christmas tune! Seeing the early Autumn sunshine fill my room and feeling a chill in the air, i felt incredibley festive and it was decided that today would be the perfect day for a spot of Christmas shopping! So throwing on my tweeds, winter scarf and my favourite pair of sunglasses i headed into Windsor on foot, a chance to take in some of Surrey's country side and wildlife with a walk through Windsor Park.

As i walked through the park, Windsor Castle in my sights, the sunshine warming me through, i took time to admire the many deer that are dotted about the picturesque surroundings. They are such beautifully graceful creatures, elegantly trotting about the trees and across the paths, but the minute they open their mouths and produce a sound not unsimilar to a cow, and a dying one at that, for me, they suddenly lose that elegance.

I arrived in Windsor, ready to hit the shops, my bank card burning a hole in leather purse, with the thought of all the great Christmas presents i would hopefully get. I was particularly excited about Smokey Bacon's present, which was the main reason for my trip into Windsor. I walked into the shop and there it was the...but that would be telling!

After a very successful scout around the shops, i stopped for a quick cup of tea and then jumped on a bus home, the onset of rain had very much put an end to my desire to take the hour and a half walk back home again, despite the fact the walk would be a whole £4.10 cheaper (for a 20 minute bus ride!)

Once home again, i sat down with yet another cup of tea and looked through my bag of goodies, imagining peoples faces as they open their presents come Christmas day (69 days!!) I hid the goodies in the bottom of my wardrobe (where else!?) and rang my nan and grandad for a chat and Smokey Bacon's mum. Weather depending, hopefully she is popping over tomorrow which will give me an excuse to to partake in my favourite past time-baking a cake!!

My Saturday evening will be spent like most other Saturday evenings, a home cooked meal and a bottle of wine shared with Chris, Jennie and Tank followed by dessert and copius amounts of rubbish Saturday night tv (yes i do mean X Factor!) with the heating on full blast and a chat witht the Bacon before bed. To quote Pop Larkin "Perfick"

Friday 15 October 2010

And so it begins...

Ok, so this is my first blog post so should probably with saying hi! If you're going to follow this you will hear about the exciting life of a geology student,espcially my third year project which is a geology radio programme called "The British Isles- A Stroll Through Geological Time, my obsession with anything and everything vintage, my love of ducks, my close relationship with Gin and Tonic and my love of 1920s music (Gin and Jazz is deffinitely the way forward!) and of course my gorgeous boyfriend Smokey Bacon!