Today

For anyone who has been on another planet for the last couple of days (because that is probably the only way you could not have heard) I've been ill, very ill. Well I've had a cold and sore throat. It's a little better but still bad enough that I need some looking after which is why it was really nice today that there was a surprise gift of sweeties (candy) and jelly (jello) on my door at uni and now I am home Mum is looking after me well. I got to drive home from Durham today which was exciting, I was talking to my Dad so he was distracted and forgot to tell me where to turn so I had to drive a very difficult road accross the top of the Pennines in the dark, not an average challenge for a first drive. Tonight I drove him down to the game (Man U vs Wigan) and drove back ALL BY MYSELF, very exciting!!!!! It's nice to be home, my Mum had bought me roses and put them in my bedroom which was lovely to come home to. Now to drink hot Ribena and eat ice cream and hopefully feel better. 10 days till Christmas, 7 days till more of my family come home, 4 days till Andy comes to visit. It's all very exciting!

last day!!!

Tomorrow I go home for Christmas.

There's something about Mary's at Christmas

So Today was LOTS of fun. We celebrated Christmas at Mary's. Over the last few months I've been blessed with such great friends so it was really great to celebrate with them.





We had Christmas dinner (formal=we had to wear gowns) which was really special, there were crackers for everyone (and Nicola brought extras), Quality Street chocolates (because it just wouldn't be Christmas without crackers and chocolates) and LOTS of Christmas music that the whole dining room was singing along to. A Highlight was the Mary's version of 'the 12 days of Christmas' which we repeated about 3 times. Each table was a different day and had to stand on their chairs and shout when it was their day (I still think we were the loudest) the 'gifts' were changed to college related things which was funny.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the ------ day of Christmas
My true love gave to me…

A night in Klute for free
Two Random Pulls
Three Hatfield Rahs
Four Mary’s Boys
Five Mary’s Girls
Six First Year Couples
Seven Funky Formals
Eight Cardboards Costumes
Nine Tricky Togas
Ten Sporting Socials
Eleven Jugs of Cocktail
Twelve Cradle Snatchers


Afterwards we all went to the college chapel for a carol service which was just beautiful. The chapel is in the attic which is pretty cool. The choir entered carrying candles and lit the one at the end of each row from which we all lit ours so it was full of candle light. All the traditional carols were sung with readings inbetween and it was lovely. Afterwards we all had mince pies and hot drinks. Then into town for fabulous hot chocolates (marshmallows, cream, flakes... mmmm) and now an evening of church etc. It's been a really nice day!

'A lad in' Mary's

Just want to give a "big shout out" to the fabulous cast of the Mary's panto this evening. What a great night of theatre, it was absolutely hilarious!!!!!!!! I especially want to say Well done to Kat and Helen who did a great job, Helen you can definitely pass for a "RAH" and Kat your the best Geordie I know 'pet'.
(for more on this go to Helen and Kat's blogs)

The adventures continue.....

Hello again, it's been a few days of intense study BUT......ahhhh (big sigh of relief) Last essay for the term is in, YAY. It was a little dramatic (as always) The printer upstairs was not working so I ran down stairs and that one was broken too so then I had to search ALL OVER for my library card then RUN down to the library (this is about 4:40 and the essay was due at 5pm) I get to the main library, print and the printer is out of ink and the other printer is jammed (This should NEVER happen!!!) just as I was about to despair I realized there was always the laser printer, it costs 50p/page but it was my only option. I then ran down to Hallgarth house and all was good. So now the work is done for a week or two at least and there is more time to play. Lot's of plans for the weekend, partying and few dates......JUST KIDDING but there are some exciting things going on. Tonight I am going to a jazz night with some friends, fun fun fun!

Celebration!!!

So, LOT'S to celebrate and what better way to do it than a night on the town with the girls (Annika, Kat, Ffion and Naomi) hanging out and dancing "in style" from Chase to Studio with a (not so stylish) pit stop in the middle at McDonalds for fries. Good times!!!

So who wants to buy me my first car????

Today......Another drum roll please.......I passed my driving test. I am now an absolutely completely and totally licensed driver!!!! Let me tell you a story....So when I came to Durham I decided this would be where I would pass my test, it's a nice test centre and area and stuff. I found an instructor who was just amazing, Paul you are great. This is Paul.



Such a nice guy, him and His wife just had their second baby, Jessica. So I learnt and it was good and I got a test booked (I really wanted to pass by Christmas) so 2 weeks ago I go to take the test and it is SOOOOOO foggy so the test was cancelled so I was really disappointed
A) because I was built up and ready
B) because it costs lots of money
C) because they couldn't rebook the test till the end of Jan and I really wanted to drive at Christmas

SO....I decided to try at a different test centre. I could get a test there because it is known to be MUCH harder and very difficult to pass at. Over the last four days Carl and Paul took me driving over there to show me all the difficult bits (and there are lots) tones of hard country roads, difficult junctions, speed traps, one way systems, thousands of roundabouts and lots of unmarked cross roads. We decided to go for it though because I really wanted to and We all thought I could.

Today was my test. i was a little nervous, mostly because I got NO sleep hardly last night. Last night there was a fire at my college, someone set fire to mary's bar, so we were all out in the cold while the fire men sorted it (very dramatic.) Then right before my test the sole of my shoe half fell off (and these are the only shoes I like to drive in) so I had to stick it on with blue tack (sticky tack) that I piked off the pack of the pictures and stuff on my wall...funny moment!!! But I went and I drove and I passed.




This is Bill my examiner and what a lovely man he is!!! We had such a laugh and I loved having 45 minutes to get to know him a bit. He's been an examiner for years and said that my test was the closest to perfect he'd ever had (maybe he says that to everyone...I don't know) i did get 4 minors but they were VERY minor and only four which he said weren't worth mentioning (thanks Bill!!!!) This is one of the most exciting things ever....I am very happy!!!

Bragspot

I am Sooooooo happy (yay me) Today was a VERY momentous day!!!! Today i got my first university essay back. It is my first piece of assesed work, it was an essay on the economic and religious narrative in Robinson Crusoe for my Novel module. I had been a little concerned because I haven't written an essay in over two years and Dr Lister is a really tough marker, BUT....Wait for it.....Drum roll please.........I GOT A FIRST (that's the highest mark you can get)!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. Dr Lister said it was really rare for someone to be getting first's at this stage. The really cool thing though is that I can't really take a whole lot of the credit. One of the main reasons it got the grade it did was because she said she has read hundreds of essays under that title and everyone pretty much writes the same, mine was really original because of how I saw that the religious and economic were not mutually exclusive, my insight into the period and church of the time and extensive knowledge and use of the bible as well as the text to support these original thoughts instead of just going with what all the critics have thought. So really the credit goes to Jesus (as with everything) It has just been so amazing to see the extent the Lord is glorified through these secular studies and in this too is my provider and source of insight, time, energy, ability. Whatever we surrender to him He is faithful to use for His glory and our good and it is such a joy to live and rest in that.

Irony

Does anyone get why this doesn't work?



I walk past this everyday

SCARY WALKIN' FRIDGE

Ok so the fridgefreezer doesn't actually WALK (which is what SOMEONE thought I was saying when i told them) but IT IS scary. Unfortunately the picture does not reveal the full horror that is the fridgefreezer so I will have to try and use my words, (stop reading now if you scare easily)

First of all imagine you live in an igloo, somewhere in the arctic and there is an ice storm and you are only wearing a t-shirt.......that's how cold it feels when you have to go in. I work part time in the college kitchen which is so much fun!!!

( I should just take a moment right now to comment on how BRILLIANT the lovely kitchen staff of Mary's are. Alistair and the ladies are lovely, at the moment they are working 14 hour days every day some of them and still singing and dancing to Shania Twain at the end.)

On my first day of work (it was all very new) they sent me to the fridge freezer to get something and the door closed. At first I wasn't worried because I thought it would just open BUT IT DIDN'T!!! There IS a handle but it just kept turning and turning and NOT opening the door. I was starting to wonder if this was it but I was determined I wasn't going to freeze to death. Just as I was starting to work out how I could keep warm using Banana (Ban-ARRR-nar) peals and cardboard boxes June came in to get something and I was free. From then on I tried to avoid being asked to go in there but unfortunately it was inevitable that I must venture into the arctic regularly. I figured out a way of standing on one leg, holding the door open with the other and reaching for what I needed but that often didn't work. Eventually Mandy showed me how to work the door handle and now it's all good. That's pretty much the story...I guess it's not really very scary.

Want a drink?

Something I forgot to mention about Mary's is it's bar. Every college in Durham Uni has one, some are very posh with HUGE elegant rooms, others have swanky leather couches and flat screen TV's, some have cool arcade games, one has it's own pizza restaurant and some have ledgendary drinks. Mary's doesn't!!!


Mary's bar is called the hole in the ground and that is pretty much what it is. You go down to the basement, through a tiny door (which brings back memories of Alice in Wonderland) whilst choking on the smoke from the burning toasties in our infamous toastie bar and then you are in Mary's bar. It is small and doesn't have a whole lot to shout about but we love it. Coke is 50p a pint!


Whenever we have essays to write we make sure we give ourselves a break around 9pm and meet in the bar. Tonight was no exception and I'm excited because in this blog i don't JUST get to introduce you to the wonder that is Mary's bar BUT I also get to introduce you to a couple of my amazingly wonderful Uni friends who were there tonight. This is Annika and Helen (and Jelly baby???) Anika is the one who wears PJ's ALL the time, even to the bar!


What a gift from the Lord these girls have been to me in these first few months!

Welcome to Durham

Durham...the place I now (almost) call home. I want to use this blog to give you all a little taste of what it's like in Durham, my fave places and what I do with my days here. The highlights of Durham.....

1. Being the best university in the world (ok maybe not but it's great)
2. The cathedral (where Harry Potter is filmed)
3. the Castle (every princess needs a castle)
4. Having OFFICIALLY the worst night club in Europe (it's won that award) Klute!!!!
5. Being very old (in a quaint way)
6. Having the steepest hills
7. a fantastic sandwich shop
8. lots of coffee shops
9. a tiny one screen movie theatre
10. a very pretty river

I started university here in October



This is me in my gown (which as much as I complain about it I actually kind of like sometimes) When I wear my gown I like to wear my glasses, it just makes me feel smarter. My glasses are for distance but sometimes I find it helps to wear them when I am typing an essay because it makes me feel more like a student. This pic was taken on the day we all officially became students in a big ceremony at the Cathedral. Most of the time I don't wear my gown and when I do have to I usually wear it with jeans and a hoodie which kind of defeats the point...


SO ANYWAY....I became a student at Durham studying English with Education studies (which does NOT train me to be a teacher it is basically History, psycology and philosophy of education because it's interesting) I really like it here. I'm at Mary's college which is where I live, work eat and socialize...


One of my favourite things about my room at university is my window. I get to sit at my desk and look out a big window, I can be really nosey and watch everyone which often really funny (the later at night the funnier it is)






So that's my VERY brief intro to Durham!

My First "Blog"

So I thought I should get in on the action with this whole 'Blogging thing.' I'm pretty excited about this, we'll see how it goes...