RESULTS ARE OUT!

Results for final year graduates officially have all been released.

A massive good luck and congratulations to everyone! I hope everyone got the grades they hoped for and deserved :) I am happy to announce that I achieved a first class degree and am definitely looking forward to graduation!

Summer Ball!

Once again, we are nearing the event of another fantastic Summer Ball, 2014. Unfortunately Kent did not win the #pimpmysummerball competition hosted by MTV and Lucozade Sport, however that's not to say that it won't be an extraordinary fun day. The line up is to be announced tomorrow at Venue in the evening, so more details will be posted soon.

Important information:

• The date will take place on June 7th in Wolf Car Park
• Tickets will have to be paid in advance, although information regarding this has not yet been released. They usually cost around £40-£50 but this includes unlimited use of the fair rides, your entrance, and the opportunity to see a well known act perform. For example, we have previously had The Saturdays, McFly and Labrinth! 
• Smart dress is required; men usually wear suits and ladies tend to wear prom dresses.

More information soon to come! 

LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO!

Only 6 days until Sports Relief - if you haven't signed up already please do so, other wise good luck! Please find further information on the previous article :)

Sport Relief - Get Involved!

Less than two weeks to go!!

It’s the final countdown! 

Sport Relief 2014: Join in the fun and games

There's not long to go until the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in Canterbury on Sunday 23^rd March. Hundreds of local people have already signed up but there’s still time to bag a place, put on that headband and enter the fun and games! So what are you waiting for? Show Canterbury what you’re made of at the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile. Pull up your Sport Relief socks and get ready to run, jog, walk or wiggle the Mile across Park Wood, or take up the 3 or 6 mile challenge which incorporates the famous Crab and Winkle Way. Sign up to The Active Canterbury Mile now!

It’s not just the public who are taking on the fundraising challenge. In February, daring Davina McCall went the extra mile in the BT Sport Relief Challenge: Davina – Beyond Breaking Point. She ran, swam and cycled 500 miles over seven days. Davina braved brutal conditions tackling a punishing 130 mile cycle on day one, swimming the life-threateningly cold Lake Windermere, scaling the colossal Scafell Pike on foot in freezing snow, and then finished with a full marathon into London, all to raise as much cash as possible. So now it’s your turn to get sponsored and help transform the lives of people living here in the UK and around the world. Enter a running event now at Canterbury or at one of more than 500 locations across the UK at sportrelief.com.

On Friday 21st March the BBC will treat the nation to a special night of Sport Relief TV, with presenters Gary Lineker, Davina McCall, David Walliams, Claudia Winkleman, Jack Whitehall amongst others, hosting a star-studded show full of celebrity performances, comedy sketches, highlights from this year’s challenges and films about the incredible work Sport Relief supports. Del Boy and Rodney will be back on TV screens after 10 years with a special Only Fools and Horses Sport Relief sketch, featuring one of the show’s biggest fans - David Beckham. Four brave Paralympians will swap their sports kit for sequins and will take on a group dance challenge in a Sport Relief Does Strictly special, with Tess Daly revealing the judges’ favourite on the night. There will also be further announcements about more exciting sketches and specials in the coming weeks. Then on Sunday 23^rd it’s over to you Canterbury to come together and take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games.

Important Information: 

The mile starts by the sports pavilion, the 1 mile takes place around  Park Wood (on campus) whilst the 3 and 6 mile use the Crab and Winkle Way and around parts of the campus. People can walk, job or run the routes. In some areas some people have done the 1 mile on pogo sticks or other random forms of transport to raise even more money for charity!

To Sign up, please see the website below:

http://my.sportrelief.com/search/event/result?id=2930&location=Canterbury&event-type=run

For more information, please contact:

Giles.Seaford@CANTERBURY.GOV.UK or myself through commenting below.

Good luck, and more importantly, have fun!

Graduation dates are out!

So, the graduation ceremony dates are out. If you are (or are thinking of soon becoming) an international student at the University of Kent, it's vital to bare in mind that these dates tend to be roughly the same time in July every year, so you may be required to make travel arrangements in Canterbury during this time period. The website with all the dates can be found here:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/congregations/ceremony-dates/future/index.html

Furthermore, here are a few imperative things to bare in mind:

1) Book Early
Whether it be your graduation dinner (or lunch for you evening graduates :( yep that's me too!) or your hotel to stay the night, graduation week will be packed with hundreds of students trying to do the same with their family. Start hunting around now to get an idea of where you want to go and think about booking it in April to avoid disappointment

2) Save Up
Canterbury can be costly. Hotels tend to start from about £60 a room up to about £200. It is one of the biggest tourist cities in the country, so it will be pricey to start off with, however during graduation week they know when people are desperate. To reemphasise, book early and save early.

3) Arrive Early
If your friends and family are coming to your graduation, the queues can be massive. It's best to start queuing from about an hour and a half before in order to get good seats, other wise they'll be right at the back and wont see a thing!

And just to excite you even more, here is the beautiful cathedral you may be graduating in!

Back to Uni!

It's that time again - everyone is grumpy from having the January blues, still trying to burn off those mince pies and are stressing over their new deadlines. And the scariest thing of all is that there are only two months of lectures left and three months until exams - ekkkk! On the plus side, there are a few things to look forward to as a student:

a) Summer ball - Date TBC 
The summer ball usually happens around June 1st and is definitely a good way to celebrate the end of exams. I have never actually been to the Summer ball to celebrate, although I did work here during my first year behind the bar. A lot of people give good feedback about this, and there usually is one if not two celebrity acts; I got to see The Saturdays! There are fun fair rides, various bars, food stands, out door tents with two or three DJ booths and a main stage. I certainly will be attending this year and I won't be behind the bar this time - horray!

b) Graduation for final years 
This may scare a lot of people (including myself) but actually it is awesome - you'll have a degree and can reunite with your friends! This is also a good excuse to site see and soak up the Canterbury atmosphere with your family, as well as grab some delicious gourmet lunch (or dinner, depending on the time of your ceremony).

c) BBQ's
Campus is absolutely beautiful during the summer time, especially on Tyler hill. A lot of students tend to buy disposable BBQ's and cook up a feast here or in park wood, so why not have a break from revision / essays and grab a couple of ciders and burgers?

d) Being able to go out without a coat on! 
No coat = no cloak room = cheaper nights out. It also means that the outfit you spent your last bit of student finance on can actually be on show - happy students!

Important link for international students at Kent!

For those of you who are staying in Canterbury over Christmas, here is an important Facebook link for you to join:

https://www.facebook.com/StayingInKentOverChristmasUnikentStudents

It regularly posts all the events occurring during the winter period, like a New years eve dinner on the 9th of January. Don't forget to book your place - and more importantly:

Merry Christmas! :)

All I want for Christmas is Food

If you don't fancy spending hours slaving away in the kitchen to cook a three course Christmas meal for your house mates, why not head somewhere in town and let someone else do all the work? Some friends and I decided to head to Cafe Rouge to try their three course Christmas party menu. It costs £19.95 but hey, it's Christmas - why not treat yourselves! Here are some photos to tempt you:

Assiette - Houmous, olives, pate, pork and rustic breads

Free Christmas crackers!

Before things got messy...

Soupe de Provence - Flame roast pepper, butternut squash and thyme soup

Donde Rotie - Roast turkey, sprouts, parsnips, potatoes and apricot & cranberry stuffing, bacon wrapped chipolata, and spiced red cabbage. 

Angus burger and fries (not on the festive menu)

Chocolate fondant (not on the festive menu)

Pudding de Noel - Gingerbread and cranberry pudding with ginger syrup and custard

Tarte au chocolat et noisettes - rich chocolate and hazelnut tart with a cherry sauce and praline tuile

The BEST buffet you'll ever have!

One of the greatest things about Canterbury is not only that there are a huge range of restaurants, but there is one restaurant in particular which makes it SO worth coming here for - Chom Chom. The dishes served here are inspired by Asia and beyond, where you can watch the chefs in the kitchen cooking up a Thai green curry, a pizza or two, fresh stir fries to suit your taste buds or even some fresh naan bread. They offer lunch buffets and dinner buffets, and the price ranges from about £10 to £14. It is absolutely worth it, but be sure to wear your buffet trousers as you WILL be stuffed and struggling to walk afterwards!

Chom chom is located on 10-11 Burgate Lane, Canterbury CT1 2HH, a two minute walk at the top of the town centre near Odeon. Their official website is:

http://www.chomchom.co.uk

Enjoy!

Walking in a winter wonderland...

Canterbury during the winter is one of the prettiest times of year. It can get extremely cold, but this is where the fun begins - snow! Here are some photos taken in Park Wood last winter, along with a list of must do's to keep you busy over the winter period.

Day Trips:

• Take a stroll through town in the evening to enjoy the scenery
• Take a visit to London Hyde park's Winter Wonderland (Only 55 minutes on the train from Canterbury West Station to St Pancreas, then a short trip on the underground from Kings Cross to Hyde Park).
• Have a snow fight and ski competition on Tyler hill (bin bags would be handy).
• Watch a Christmas panto in the Gulbenkian cinema

With your house mates:

• Watch Christmas movies
• Grab a Starbucks hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream
• Have a pre christmas dinner, either home made or at a local pub (or both!). There are plenty of three course Christmas meal deals going on, but if you want to just stay on campus Woodys is a great option for this. 
• Decorate your kitchen and / or bedroom with tinsel, snow flakes, fairy lights and a miniature Christmas tree

Trick or Treat

You might be a bit too old to go trick or treating, however there are certainly lots of things to do in Canterbury on Halloween. Whether you want to stay local or hop onto a train to London, here are a list of things to do:

1) Haunted River Tour: www.canterburypunting.com
Scary ghost stories told amongst historic buildings. Tours cost £10 per person, and you can select your preferred time (between 4:30 - 9:30).

2) Canterbury Tales: http://canterburytales.org.uk/
Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a bygone era in this fabulous recreation of medieval life; a unique introduction to Canterbury and its famous literary connection.

3) Go out in town
Most nightclubs host their own halloween themed night, so remember to get your fancy dress costumes at the ready!

4) Travel to London
Getting a train to London only takes 55 minutes from Canterbury west station. So why not make a trip to the London Dungeon, Thorpe park's fright night, or Hampton court?

International Lunch

What better way for international freshers to get to know each other over some delicious food. The outdoor luncheon was a huge success, with a generous number of international students who attended. There was a BBQ with a selection of chicken, beef or vegetarian burgers, all with the option of onions and cheese. K bar were also serving drinks for the occasion. Overall, delicious!

A small stage had also been set up with a young man who sang and played the acoustic guitar. It definitely added to the atmosphere, and was a nice touch.  Having spoken to a few people, I met some students from Nigeria, China and also California. Everyone had said that so far they loved Canterbury and had settled in well. Most people were staying in Wolf college, and emphasized that everyone was extremely friendly so it was easy to make friends. I certainly didn't see anyone sitting on their own or looking lonely! Here are some pictures of the day:

International Student Night Out!

What?   International student night out

Where? The Venue

When?  24th September, 8pm - 2am

This Tuesday, the Venue welcomes all students to celebrate the international night out. This is a great opportunity to get to know everyone whilst enjoying some exclusive student deals on drinks. Entrance is £6 or £3 with a student kentertainment pass. Remember to turn up early to avoid the massive queues! 

For more information visit:

https://www.facebook.com/events/563067477084655/?ref=2

Night life: Canterbury

Pubs and weatherspoons:
One thing that's for sure, you'll never run out of pubs to visit. Did you know there are enough pubs in Canterbury that you could go to a different one every single day of the year? Yes, thanks to the student population Canterbury is famous for it's pub scene. Some of my personal favourites are:

• The old brewy tavern
• The jolly sailor
• The penny theatre

Most pubs sell great food, cheap offers and is a perfect way to start off your pre drinks before heading out to a bar or club. 

Bars and Clubs:
Now, some people are put off the fact that there aren't a lot of night clubs in Canterbury. There are three main night clubs (two in town, one on campus) but having said that, they're so great that you won't even want to go else where. Plus, most of the bars have an open space with a DJ and dance floor. Each night is owned by a different promotional company (e.g. juice, soap, glitterbomb etc), so there's always something different going on which keeps it interesting. Here are a list of the hottest clubs and bars in the town:

• The Venue, On campus. Large club, open Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays until 2:00am. Young crowd. 
• Chill, St George's Place. Large club, 6 nights a week, until 02:00am Mon-Wed and until 03:00am Thu-Sat. Young crowd. 
• Club Chemistry, Station Road East. Mon-Sat until 2am. Large club on 3 floors with different music on each. Young crowd
• Alberrys, 38 St Margaret's Street. Mon-Sat until 2am. Wine/cocktail bar with small but popular nightclub in the basement.
• The Loft, 5-6 St Margaret's Street. Until 00:30 Sun-Wed & 02:30am Thurs-Sat. Cocktail bar with dj/club nights.

• The Cuban, 41-43 High Street. Cocktail bar with Latin music club nights Wed/Thu 9-1am and Fri/Sat 10-2am. Free entry.
• The Ballroom, 15 Orange Street. Quirky cocktail bar/music venue with live blues on Tues, other live music Weds/Thurs (open mic on alternate Weds), djs until 00:30am on Fri/Sat/Sun, 2 for 1 cocktails until 02:30am on Mondays. Free entry.
• PictureHouse, 49a St Peter's Street. DJs on Fri/Sat, occasional live music. Open until 12:30am.

A fresh start

So, the time has come to whiz around online and pluck up the courage to apply to University. The question is, which one? The University of Kent is packed with tons of great opportunities, and is in fact known as one of the leading Universities for attracting a huge range of international students. This blog aims to show you what life is really like at the University of Kent, and why you should be joining us next year (or this year!).