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