12. returning to middle earth

The Hobbit, for those of you who don't know, is the prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.Tolkien. Unfortunately, I've not read any of the books (when I get home for Christmas, I plan on reading the Hobbit) but I've seen all of the LOTR films, and today I went to see The Hobbit.

The film, directed by Peter Jackson, sees the return to Middle Earth, in a story about Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's (from LOTR) uncle, who goes on an unexpected adventure. It stars Martin Freeman (who plays John Watson in BBC's Sherlock) as Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage (he's Guy of Gisbourne in BBC's Robin Hood) as Thorin (a dwarf) who is one of the key characters. It also sees the return of some characters that we've seen before in LOTR, such as Gandalf, Galadriel and Lord Elrond. Unfortunately Legolas doesn't make an appearance until the last installment (according to IMDB), which is a shame, cos Orlando Bloom is pretty nice ;) Luckily, I think Aidan Turner who plays Kili is gorgeous, so I'll have to make do with him for now. Especially as there's no Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson). Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a post about the good-looking actors in the film, but I'm not sure what the point is... probably just to go on about the amazingness of the film! (I love it, in case you couldn't tell).

I genuinely think it was brilliant though, and I really want to see it again - hopefully, I'll get to if I meet up with my friends Natalie and Steph (we all LOVE Lord of the Rings - when we were all at band together, we kept asking if we could play LOTR music... it never happened *sadface*). I actually want to go and see it again now! I don't know how I'm going to be able to cope for the next week or however long (unfortunately, I can't compare it to the book - but it was an amazing film even without the prior knowledge of the plot!) I can't wait until next December, and then the following July when the 2nd and 3rd parts come out! I want to watch all of them now! And then have a LOTR marathon... and then possibly watch The Hobbit trilogy again... I know I'm babbling... but it's AWESOME!

I don't want to say too much about it, as I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet (crazy people - you should go and see it IMMEDIATELY... and I mean it even more than when I told people to go and watch Skyfall)! 

PICTURE TIME NOW... (these screenshots were up on digitalspy, so I don't think they count as spoilers - well, too much anyway :P)

MARTIN FREEMAN as BILBO BAGGINS - he's excellent as Bilbo!!! 

DEAN O'GORMAN as FILI and AIDAN TURNER as KILI... Aidan Turner is gorgeous!! Even as a dwarf!!  I'm going all fangirlish (something I haven't done in ages... well, not for a while anyway :L) over him! When I was watching the premiere at Leicester Square, I saw him with Prince William and was like, 'nice ;)'

ANDY SERKIS returns as GOLLUM - which means there are loads more phrases that Steph can now imitate. The Gollum moment in The Hobbit was great! Loved it :D

Some dwarves at Bilbo's hobbit-hole... I chose the picture with Aidan Turner in to put on here (who wouldn't?!?!)

Anyway, apologies for this post being very random, and fangirlish. But.. it is THE HOBBIT! I think Natalie will understand... :)

Tara

11. comedy at aber

Since moving to Aber, I've been to a lot of comedy events. Every two weeks the student union holds a comedy event called ComedyWorks which is great - especially as it's only £4 a ticket!! With ComedyWorks I've seen a variety of different comedians, many of whom have been on Russell Howard's Good News, which makes me feel pretty privileged to have seen them live!! :D

I think I mentioned the first comedy works gig I went to where Nathan Caton and Matt Rees performed with the MC being Andrew Ryan. Since then me and Rob have been to three more where we've seen Marcel Lucont, Paddy Lennox, (MC Clint Edwards), Andrew O'Neill, Fin Taylor, (MC Suzi Ruffell)
Eric Lampaert, Jessica Fostekew, (MC Jim Smallman), Elis James, Matt Rihcardson, (MC Tom Webb) and at the last comedy gig of this semester we'll get tos ee Ryan McDonnell, ,(MC Chris Turner).  At the Eric Lampaert gig, we sat right next to the stage and Rob got spoken to twice!! The first time was because he knew the capital of Azerbaijan (very embarrassing!!) and I can't remember why the second time! It was all good fun though!

As well as being to comedy gigs at the union, me and Rob have also gone to the Aberystwyth Arts Centre (also located on the campus - very fortunate) to see Mark Watson, Josh Widdicombe and Seann Walsh - all who were brilliant! And now Rob's bought tickets for us to go and see Chris Addison and Lloyd Langford :D

Mark Watson's gig was back in October, and his mum had bought us tickets as result presents. Although I'd heard some of his material before (having watched a few youtube clips - mainly to check I actually found him funny), a lot of it was related to audience participation. He put a mobile number up, and his twitter username so that people could text/tweet him throughout the show, and he used a lot of that as material. He even mentioned a conversation I'd had on twitter with Natalie about sleep, that he'd seen prior to the show, after me having mentioned him in a tweet! It was embarrassing, but all good laughs!

Seann Walsh and Josh Widdicombe did a joint gig, but that didn't matter as they both did their usual material, as well as doing some joint towards the end! Me and Rob had front row seats (thankfully not in the centre!) and they were brilliant! Seann Walsh's impressions of people really make up part of his material, and I have to say, I love his Michael McIntyre impression! They're both just amazing comedians, and they both relate well to the audience - especially as a lot of the audience are younger people and they're younger comedians.

Anyway, I think everyone should go see a live comedy gig at some point in their lives, because it's so much better than just seeing a recorded one on the TV. I think that if it's not being recorded then the comedians tend to be a bit more outgoing, and they can appeal to that particular audience! It's weird to think that I was never really bothered by watching comedy on the telly, or even going to see it, but now, I think it's great!

Tara

10. just some pictures

I felt that I should probably post some pictures of my room as I realised that in the posts about moving into my room at uni, there weren't really any photos of what my room looked like once everything was unpacked and sorted. So, here are just a few pictures :) 

My notice board - as a geography student I felt the need to have a world map on there, so Rob bought me one,. Along with it are some flyers for stuff and the fire safety notice (in both English and Welsh). Also, you can see my TV and freeview box (not the most exciting) but it means I get to watch programs live, which is always a bonus! And then some storage units, with books and work on top. All very exciting :L

Inside my wardrobe - as a built in wardrobe, I have plenty of space at the bottom, as well as a shelf at the top to put shoes and towels etc, which is good, and luckily, I can just about to fit all my clothes in the actual wardrobe - although I think my jumpers take up a lot of space, which isn't really ideal :(

My 4' bed - a brilliant bonus, as at home, I only have a single bed! I luckily, having read the emails off the uni before moving, knew that some rooms would have a 4' bed, and therefore didn't buy my bedspreads until I knew what size. Some people in my flat, brought single bedspreads with them, and had issues! MR Moose, the cuddly moose on the pillows, was a present from Rob from when he went to Sweden in 2011, for the 22nd World Scout Jamboree. 

Shelf in my room - kind of glad that I didn't bring more books and DVDs as I probably wouldn't have had enough room. Did bring the first three seasons of gossip girl though, so that's keeping me entertained. Chace Crawford - I forgot how much of a hottie he was :L Also, I've got my biscuit tin, and luckily lidl sells packets of biscuits pretty cheaply, so I'm always able to have a supply, just in case I'm in need of one. 

Desk, looking very neat and tidy for once. I brought a printer with me to uni, as my brother said that in the long run it'd be much cheaper, and I have to say, he's probably right. For some lectures, I don't mind taking notes, but others are much better to add notes to the already existing PowerPoints - especially if I'm not totally sure of a concept or the lecturer talks around photos. Also, have my rather cool stationery stuff (something I didn't buy new for uni!) that comes in very useful, especially as it means I don't have to go round asking if anyone has a hole punch or a stapler.

The next two pictures aren't of my room, but they were taken in Aberystwyth, so I thought I might as well put them up, as I'm not really sure if I'd write a blog about them :L

This was taken sometime mid-October, when the weather was really unpleasant.  Originally when I realised that although I was living on the seafront, I didn't get a sea view (the en-suites were in a more recently built area at the back of my halls - I don't really have a view) I was a bit disappointed, however, after seeing the waves that happen, and the about of stones and pebbles thrown up into the road, I'm glad I'm at the back. These waves were really something to watch though, they were pretty spectacular.

Sunset looking out over Cardigan Bay - I managed to capture this moment as me and Rob were walking back from one of our lectures, and it was just so beautiful, with the pastel pink and purple mixing into one another. I'm a sucker for picturesque moments. I just wish I was better at taking photos, so that these moments could be truly justified :)

09. skyfall

This post is a bit late, but better late than never in my opinion :)

Skyfall, the 3rd James bond film with Daniel Craig in, came out in cinemas on 26th October, and me and Rob were hoping to go and see it that night. However, due to Aberystwyth's cinema only having 1 screen, and our lectures finishing at 6, we were unable to make it in (especially as we didn't book tickets, mainly due to the fact it didn't specify that seats would be reserved - we're freshers, we didn't know what to expect! :L). 
However, we immediately booked tickets for the afternoon showing the next day, and I have to admit, it was amazing! I'm not a huge fan of Bond films usually, (until Skyfall I'd only seen The Man With The Golden Gun and Casino Royale and that was for my GCSE courseowrk, so our English class had to watch each film about 5 times - not my idea of fun!) but Skyfall was really good! Rob (a HUGE Bond fan) wants to see it again, and I think I'd be willing to go with him. They're were some unexpected twists, and I just found it different from the other Bond films - I think they kept it more intense, which was good! I'd definitely recommend it to EVERYONE! Even those people who don't claim to be Bond fans, because it was better than I expected. :D

Think the fact that part of Skyfall was set in Glencoe (hopefully this won't be a spoiler as it's shown in the trailer) where I've been helped, as I could actually relate to the place! It makes it more interesting. According to Rob, they were filming some of Skyfall, when I was there in the October of 2011 - I'm quite annoyed I didn't get to see Daniel Craig or Judi Dench!

At the actual cinema, it was really cool, and kind of like, old-movie style. We got our popcorn (and snuck two cans of pepsi in!) and went to our seats, and between the adverts/trailers and the film there was an intermission, so people who hadn't managed to get food could still go! It originally confused me, but I have to admit it was rather stylish. Plus, there was nobody talking/whispering loudly, or throwing popcorn, which made the whole experience way more enjoyable! So, even if Aber's cinema only has one screen, which does mean, there's usually only one film every two weeks, I really enjoyed going :)

So, go see Skyfall if you haven't already... and if you have, go see it again :)

Tara

08. we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Last Saturday I went to Borth Animalarium with the geography society (geogsoc) and it was loads of fun!!! :) Although when we first arrived, it looked rundown and we thought that it was going to be an 'experience' However, we were wrong! Although it was an experience, it was definitely a good one. As we went as a group it was £9 each instead of £12 (win!) and for £1 you could buy a pot of food to feed the animals!

:)

When we arrived the reptile talk was just about to start, so we stayed and watched :) It was pretty cool, they had lizards, a tortoise and then quite a few snakes. I stroked all of them, but I wish I'd gotten to hold this little guy, he's adorable!!

This was the biggest snake at the reptile talk, so I couldn't resist having a picture taken with it. Unlike a lot of people, I'm not scared of snakes, especially when they're in captivity. I don't know how I'd react to one in the wild, but as British snakes aren't really too problematic, I'd (hopefully) be okay! 

I had to take pictures of meerkats, because... what's not to love?!? They are  lovely, bless them, even before the whole comparethemeerkat thing came about! Also, my grandad loves them, so next time I visit him, I'll have lots of lovely pictures of meerkats to show him! 

This photo is on a mummy meerkat and her baby. The baby meerkats (possibly pups?) were only 5 weeks old, and they were so cute! Because it was cold, they were doing little shivers, and we got to see them being fed meal-worms. We found out that the mums dig in the ground for the meal-worm escapees and then place them in front of the babies so they can have them!

This is me feeding a monkey called Mango! He was the fattest monkey in his cage, and would make sure he took the food off you before the other monkeys could! If he saw you feeding another one, he'd run over and scare them away so that he could get the grapes! All the same, he was adorable, even for a fatty! :')

This old guy was the kindest, gentlest monkey ever! When going to feed him, he'd reach is arm out slowly, and take the grape from your fingers without snatching or grabbing! His little face with the moustache and beard is just the best too! 

Baby wallaby! :D The arm in the picture was Kate, one of the girls on the trip, trying to feed it a piece of lettuce, but due to mine and another girl's random cabbage throwing onto the ground, it wasn't interested in hand feeding.

The baby wallaby again, captured eating a carrot stick that we threw down for it!

Cute little kid :') Unfortunately I'd given all my food away at this point (mostly to the monkeys!), so I was  unable to feed it, even though him and his friends were jumping up on the fence in the hope of some food! I felt so awful that I wasn't able to feed him :(

I had a really good day out, and I definitely want to go again, and this time, I shall take Rob along with me, so he can feed monkeys grapes too, as it's something that I think everybody should do! Go visit Borth Animalarium people! It's in Borth... erm, and you can get there on the train from Birmingham! I expect to see an article in the local newspaper about how it was overrun with visitors! :D
Anyway, that's all for now :)

Tara

07. aber..what? Part 2

So, this post will continue where the last one ended...

Wednesday
On Wednesday there wasn't a lot to do but the societies fair was taking place so I went along to that. Walking into the hall I was immediately bombarded by people in animal onesies asking me to join the BioSoc... Not that i don't like animals but I don't particularly like biology :L I went with Rob whilst he signed up to the Scouts and Guides Society, and then I went to ask about music, where this really snobby woman was. I told her that I played the oboe and trumpet, and that I wanted to ply my oboe in orchestra having played it in my school orchestra and the county youth orchestra... She responded by saying that she didn't think I'd be suitable and asked me to come along to wind band instead!! She put me off going to orchestra full stop, so I'm just going to wind band now :(

Thursday
Thursday was the geography induction field trip :) I personally think it still counts as a field trip, although my brother, did not, purely as it was a trip where we walked to Clarach Bay (just north of Aberystwyth). We were split into groups to walk in, so that individual lecturers could talk to us, and explain some of the geography behind what we were seeing. It was more interesting this way, and it was easier to talk to some of the other geography students, as we were out and about rather than sitting in lecture theatres. When we arrived at Clarach Bay (lots of caravan sites, although I personally didn't see the attraction - maybe it was the cold weather) we had to look for factors that could put the area at risk from flooding and landslides. We then had to do a litter sweep, as due to the awful weather in the summer, quite a lot of rubbish had been swept onto the beach by the sea. On the way back to Aberystwyth, we walked the shorter way, up to the top of Constitution Hill, and then down to by the seafront. All in all, it was a pretty good field trip, and luckily it didn't rain!

The view from Constitution Hill - my mum took this picture when she went up the Cliff Railway

So, everything went well for freshers week at Aberystwyth Uni, and I'm looking forward to the future!! :D

Tara

06. aber..what? Part 1

So, I've now officially been in Aberystwyth for a week and a half and it's beginning to feel more like home :) I'm going to split this up into parts as I don't want to bore anyone, and moving away from home is pretty huge!

<< My uni room with some stuff having been brought up!

My uni room with pretty much everything in! >>

Saturday
Last Saturday morning, I arrived with my parents at Alexandra Hall with a car full of stuff to move in to my room. Finding out I was in flat 43 didn't seem too bad until we realised there weren't any lifts and we had to make about 5 trips up 4 flights of stairs! Painful! Luckily I managed to unpack fairly quickly with mum's help (dad went on a wander round Aberystwyth) and when I went into the kitchen to put my bits and bobs away, I was lucky that my flatmates were having breakfast so I got to meet them and talk to them without any hassle. They all seem really nice, which is a good thing as I'm going to have to live with them for the next year! Around lunchtime, Rob had arrived in Aberystwyth and had moved into his room up at the top of the hill, so I went to visit him as no one seemed to be about in his house. My first night at uni was spent curled up in bed, as I had a really bad cold, and as much as like having a good time, I prefer to be with people I know, rather than go out with strangers. Also, I felt like I should continue my watching of Doctor Who, especially as the finale for this part of the series was coming very soon!

Sunday
Sunday morning, my parents came and visited so that they could bring some storage units they'd picked up in Matalan for me, as I didn't have enough room for my clothes (!) before going up the cliff railway which, ideally for them, is only about 500m away from where I'm staying. After they'd done that, we said our final goodbyes, before they headed off home! That afternoon, me and Rob went out with his parents to Devil's Bridge (or Pontarfynach in Welsh) for a slice of cake (nom!) before they headed off home too! That evening, we planned on going to 'The Big Quiz' at the Student's Union - something we didn't realise would be extremely popular - and in the end, we decided to head back to mine as we were told we'd have to sit on the floor, and we were fairly close to the start of the queue!

Monday

Had to be up at the campus (tiring walk up the huge hill!) for 9.30am, so that we could listen to the head of the Science Falculty's welcoming talk! Can't really remember much of what he said, it wasn't very interesting, but after that we had the welcoming talk for the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences (IGES), which was more interesting! Probably because the Physics and Maths students had gone for their institute's talk! The Fresher's Trade Fair was also on, which basically meant, having access to getting loads of freebies! Some of them were totally pointless, but I managed to gain a few pens (and for some reason, I always think that freebie pens write the nicest!) That afternoon was the 'What I Wish I'd Known Last Year' talk from some IGES students, which was pretty useful, as they told us which lecturers put their notes up on Blackboard (the virtual learning platform), and which ones didn't. They also told us about the societies related to our subject, and at the IGES Fresher's Social that evening, I signed up to GeogSoc, and also got my 'glow in the dark' green wristband! the wristband actually does glow in the dark... if only slightly! That night, I struggled to get to sleep, and then about an hour after I finally did... The fire alarm went off! I panicked, however, as a girl (from what I gathered when were all stood on the seafront at 2am) I had the common sense to wrap up warm, put shoes on and grab my phone! At first, we all thought it was just a fire practice, however, when the fire engine turned up... we were all slightly more worried! However, there wasn't a fire, and I later found out that someone had decided to make toast... by putting bread in the microwave for 8 minutes!

 << Nathan Caton

Tuesday

Tuesday was registration day! The day where, in my opinion, I officially became a student of Aberystwyth University! I had to choose which optional module I wanted to do, I chose Planet Earth because it sounded fairly interesting (plus it gave me the basics of geology - which, although has never really appealed to me, I felt it might be fairly useful later on in life) and also, because apparently the lecturer (who's retired and only teaches this one module) is pretty funny and is also enthusiastic about the subject! After registration, me and Rob went to look for the Sports Fair, to see if there were any clubs we wanted to join, however, due to it having been mentioned that it was being held in the Student's Union due to bad weather, we went there, only to find a few stalls which were all in Welsh. That evening, we went out to the ComedyWorks event, in which Nathan Caton was headlining! The compare guy was Andrew Ryan (Irish - his accent was the best!) and Matt Rees, who is a young comedian from South Wales. It was really good, and although I'd heard some of the jokes before, I was glad I'd gone - although, I was very thankful we weren't seated right at the front!

Anyway, that's all for this post!! More to come very soon!

Tara

05. preparations for uni life

Sorry that I haven't updated that recently, but in the past week I've moved to Aberystwyth and am now a fresher :)

In the 3 days before moving to Aberystwyth though, I had a lot of stuff to do, and on the Wednesday I went to visit my grandparents in London, who I don't get to see very often, and as I'm not likely to see them until Christmas at the earliest, my mum thought it'd be good if we went down and spent the day with them, so that they could have a catch up with me, as I haven't seen them since before the summer holidays. 

Then, on the Thursday, me and my mum went into Burton to buy last minute things for uni, and some clothes (I just can't resist!) which was good, although it took forever, as although we had a list of things to buy, we kept remembering other things that would come in useful! Because at Aberystwyth they want you to have surge protected extension leads, we kept looking round to find the cheapest (as they can be quite expensive!) and we found a 6-socket one for £5 in B&M Bargains! Also, compared to Tesco's 5m ethernet cable (the cable that you plug your computer into for internet) which cost almost £20, we managed to find a 5m in 'Poundworld', and it works, which was something I was a bit apprehensive about! After shopping, I began to pack all my things together, trying to fit clothes into vacuum bags (which then popped up anyway!) so that I was able to go and visit my boyfriend, Rob, that evening, to just chill out and relax before going to uni!

On the Friday morning, my mum picked me up so that I could go and visit my nan as she'd got together a box of food for me, such as tomato soup, hot dogs, spaghetti and things that will last a while in case of emergencies, and she'd also bought some cleaning products, as my room at uni has an en-suite! I felt really bad, as my nan was not only having to see me go to university, but also had found out that her brother had died the day before, and that one of her friends was going into hospital for an operation! After saying goodbye to my nan; me, my mum and my eldest brother packed the car, which took quite a lot of effort, and then when my dad got home from work, me and my parents set off for Aberystwyth!

That evening we stayed in the Aberystwyth Park Lodge Hotel, as we weren't sure what time we'd arrive so we'd decided to move me in on the Saturday. We ate at the restaurant there, which served absolutely huge portions!

<< My BBQ chicken breast with bacon and cheese + loads of gorgeous chips!

That night when I was on the phone to Rob, I suddenly realised that I'd forgotten my instruments! Luckily, Rob offered to pick them up in the morning, and I was able to contact my brother to ask him to get them ready for collection. After sorting out logistics for my instruments, I settled down, ready for the big day that lay ahead :)

Tara

04. the last few days

Over the last few days I've been out and about looking to see what would be ideal to take to uni. Last Friday I went into Birmingham with my boyfriend Rob and I although I didn't really buy anything much, mainly just some shoes from primark (it was too crowded for my liking), I did see not only clothes I like but I also got an idea of how much some of the things I'll need (not only stuff to use at uni like kitchenware but also stationery) will cost.

Saturday saw the return of Doctor Who to our screens, and although I've never been too keen on Matt Smith as the doctor (David Tennant has been my favourite!) I will admit he is growing on me. I had to watch it on Sunday as I'd been at my friend's 18th birthday party on the Saturday evening. I enjoyed that as it gave me a chance to catch up with some of my friends that I haven't seen in a while.

<< This is Merida from Brave 

Merida's mum and dad >> 

Yesterday I went to the cinema for the first time in ages to go and see Brave in 3D. Originally, although I wanted to see it, I didn't think I'd be able to persuade Rob to go, but luckily, it was advertised on kerrang and he thought it sounded good too. For those who don't know, it's about a Scottish princess who is supposed to marry the son of one of three clans, however, she doesn't want to and decides to take her fate into her own hands. It does have an unusual twist though, plus it was a change to hear Scottish accents instead of American ones!

Anyway, that's all for now,

Tara

03. tidying

As I'm off to Aberystwyth University in less than a month, I figured I best sort out my room at home so that I know what I'll want to take, and what I need to get. As I was sorting I came across science sheets from year 9, Bliss and Sugar magazines from July 2008, as well as a whole load of other random stuff I had no idea still existed. Clearly, I hadn't had a sort out for some time.

I decided to keep all my geography folders from the past year, as I think they'll probably be useful when I'm at uni, (still don't know whether to take them, or whether to just ring up and ask my mum to find the facts I'm looking for!), and I also kept ,my french work, as I'm hoping to keep up learning french somehow, so they'll probably be useful too. 

As I know that I need to buy a lot of stuff for uni, mostly stuff for the kitchen, although I'll buy a new duvet and pillows when I get to Aberystwyth (I don't know whether I'll end up with a 4' or a 3' bed - annoying in a way as I can't buy in advance!), I browsed online in matalan and tesco to see if there are any offers on. I quite like the fact I can buy baking trays from matalan for a £1! They may not last forever, but as there is a matalan in Aberystwyth, I can easily replace them :)

On the whole though, I've felt today as been fairly productive, as although I hate tidying up, I've managed to sort out what I probably need to take to Aberystwyth that I've already got, and also, what I'll need to buy in the future!

Tara

02. internet shopping

As I'm heading off to Aberystwyth University in less than a month, I felt the need to begin purchasing stuff that I've wanted to buy for a while (unfortunately, none that I will probably need for uni life), such as some clothes from new look (www.newlook.com) and a new pair of ghd straighteners (www.ghd.com). Athough the things I've bought aren't essential the ghd's will come in useful, as my hair always needs to be tamed, and my current ghd's are probably becoming a fire hazard, and I don't like using them too much.

However, my bank clearly didn't like me spending lots of money, as prior to ordering my straighteners, it blocked my card. I hate it when this happens, it means ringing up their call centre and not having a clue what's going on. But anyway, I managed to get it all sorted and luckily, thanks to my job at McDonald's, I'm able to get discounts at both these places, so I'll get some money back later :D

Cameo rose navy bird print frill sleeve dress - £19.99 (Product code: 2646604) I bought this as it's a good reminder of the summer as well as being ideal for winter :)

Grey and white owl fairisle knit jumper - £24.99 (Product code: 2603212) This is for those cold winter days, as it looks really warm and snuggly :)

White butterfly mesh back top - £12.99 (Product code: 2580252) Although probably not very suitable for winter, I really liked this top, and it'll probably be ideal for wearing if I'm going out for a meal :) 

Tara

01. introduction

I got the idea of doing a blog from my friend Natalie (www.ichbinclamp.blogspot.com) as a way of giving yourself a break from revision/work , and just being able to write down anything and everything that makes you you :)
So... here goes:

Who am I?
My name's Tara and I recently turned 18 (although I didn't have a party or anything, as I was in Switzerland at the time), and prior to the holidays beginning I was a year 13 student at Ashby sixth form (I studied geography, french and maths). This September, I will officially become a fresher at Aberystwyth University, studying geography, something that I'm both excited and nervous about.

My Blog
Apart from the reasons above that persuaded me to start a blog, I felt that as I was starting a new chapter in the book of my life, a blog would be a good way of keeping track of all the events (both good and bad) that might happen whilst I'm away, and also, it'll keep people back home in Derbyshire updated of what's happening in my life. It probably won't be about one specific topic, I don't think I really have one specific passion I could write about, so this will probably just be a mixture of events, and general randomness :)

I also just want to apologise to Natalie, as this first post is similar to her first post, but I'm hopeless at planning things out, and knowing how to start something off, whereas she isn't :) Hopefully, as more posts keep appearing, they'll reflect me, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're fairly random.

Over and out 

Tara