Merry Listmas! (I know, comedy GOLD)

Well, the festive season is finally upon us, and what better way to spend my long, snowed-in  holidays than by running up a list of my favourite Christmas simple pleasures?

1. The smell of the Christmas tree
Nothing beats walking into a room and smelling pure, unbridled CHRISTMAS. I noticed the other day that you can get air-fresheners in  'festive scents' like this. This is surely for people who a) have an artificial Christmas tree and make a sneaky effort to pretend it's real or b) want it to be Christmas every day. But even I would not purchase Christmas tree flavoured air freshener in an attempt to fit into either  category-it screams desperation.

2.  Real Christmas trees
None of this "Oh but I hate how it drops needles all over the carpet, an artificial tree looks just as good and is so practical" rubbish. Also, Christmas trees should be green. Not white, not  pink, and especially not 'sophisicated black with moody silver undertones'.
If you are the (shameful) owner of one of these, I apologise. I am a traditionalist at heart.

3. Slightly tacky Christmas decorations
Going through the decoration box on Friday, my sister and I discovered remnants of my parents' awful taste. I think the best one is a scrawny green tinsel garland with tiny shiny red holly leaves and a big red bauble in the middle. Trust me, it's hideous. My mum has finally admitted defeat and banned it.
When I was younger, the highlight of this time of year was driving back from school in the dark and seeing 'The Gingerbread House', which was, funnily enough, not made out of biscuits, but an actual house covered in what must've surely been the world's entire supply of Christmas lights. Giant sleighs, flashing bells, blow-up snowmen...you name it, they had it. In an attempt to be the Christmassy-est, they managed to make their house look like it had survived some sort of fairy-light tsunami. To my horror, those owners must have moved because now The Gingerbread House is no more! Cry.

4. Christmas Biscuits
I made these for a Secret Santa present...and ended up eating half. But they are so delicious. You know the ones I mean, with the boiled sweet in the middle? I left out the sweets, to get a massive spice-fest. Mmmmmmm :) In French we also had German (yes, I know, but I don't think LIDL go in for French cuisine) special biscuits. I now find out the are actually called Lebkuchen, but I  like to think of them as "those gingery-chocolately-buttery" things. If you happen to be in LIDL, or indeed any other non-German biased supermarket, try some. You won't regret it.

5. Carol Singing.
Abby invited me to go carol singing this year with people from the Scott's Project, who work with adults with learning disabilities. On turning up at the pub in the blizzard, I was promptly issued with a festive hat, a folder of words, a tambourine and I was all set. We made what can only be described as a joyful din, but very joyful and festive it was too. Never have I felt so Christmassy as when I was belting out Little Donkey for the third time, shaking my tambourine, surrounded by others doing exactly the same to half bemused, half appreciative diners. It also gave me the opportunity to meet my apparent Number One Fan (Hi, Elaine), who also bought me a lemonade, so thank you very much! A true simple pleasure :)

6. Christmas cards from people you never, ever see
I  have a large extended family, with lots of complicated second-cousin once removed-s, adoptive second cousins and fake aunties and uncles. My parents also have a whole multitude of university friends who only get in contact at Christmas. This of course, gives way to SO many mistakes. There is one Canadian relative of some sort, who each year without fail addresses her card to "Katharine, Rodney, Katie and Elizabeth." Those of you who know my family will notice the many, many errors in this. For starters, there is no Elizabeth in my house. Last time I checked it was my middle name, not a mysterious second sister. My mother is called Kathryn, (note the spelling Canadian lady!) and I am Katie (not Kathryn Junior), which also creates a plethora of spelling/mother-daughter name confusion opportunities. Those who opt for the slightly safe but still personal option go for 'Kathryn, Rod and the girls'. Confirms you know the parents' names, and know they have...a certain number of daughters, but without specifics. Safe. I advise people with no clue at all togo for 'To, all of you' to avoid embarrassment.

7. Round Robin Letters
It's always good to hear everyone's news at Christmas, but some families take it to extremes, hopelessly exaggerating their little darlings' signs of brilliance. "Not one to follow the crowd, this year, Alfred has taken up the accordion and made an appearance in the Junior School Christmas Nativity play which can only be described as Oscar-worthy. There was not a dry eye in the house as Innkeeper 2 spoke his one line with an amazing level of sensitivity and maturity"
Nothing makes me laugh more than the family who try to create the ultimate Christmas family newsletters. Every year for a long time we got one family who must have forced their middle son to write a rhyming, may I point out, poem describing what they'd got up to in the year. They certainly got points for originality.

8. Christmas stamps
You know it's nearly Christmas when the shops start selling festive stamps. I believe this year's offering feature Wallace and Grommit. YES! The best thing is when you receive non-Christmas serious letters with a Christmas comedy stamp. Or, be like one of my relations and make your own stamps with pictures of your grandchildren pulling horrendous faces. Just a suggestion.


9. Advent Calendars
My family has never gone in for the chocolate variety so my sister and I get our excitement from putting on the characters onto our wooden one. WOAH. No seriously, it's great.  No one ever gets what it is when it's not full, and I've never seen anything like it, so here is a picture of how it stands at the moment.

Basically, you put on a shepherd, a cow, an angel etc each day and eventually create a nice nativity scene. The only issue is that they all tend to fall off rather dramatically when you even so much as breathe on it.

10. Watching rubbish Christmas telly
A family tradition in my house is to spend the run up to Christmas slobbing around, cooking, eating and watching horrendous films with a blanket on the sofa. Last year I think my mum and I watched Jump In! It's awful, don't watch it. It's like High School Musical but with, wait for it, skipping. Bad times. But it didn't matter, it was a bonding experience.


That's the end of my list, but before I go back to my roots in York to spend Christmas en famille, I'd like to take the opportunity to say a massive thank you for all your views and lovely messages this year. I will soon be writing for Kent Online (http://blogs.kentonline.co.uk), which I  never would have even considered without you. Who knows, maybe this is the start of great things?

Have a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011. 

See you soon!
Katie xxx

Curtain Up for Japanese Play

Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge experienced a taste of the Land of the Rising Sun last week when year 7 students put on a production of a Japanese folk tale.

The play was the brainchild of Abigail Harris, 17, a student of Japanese in her final year at the school. As part of her Extended Project Qualification, and on top of her A levels, Abigail planned the production from start to finish. She researched Japanese theatre, auditioned, choreographed and rehearsed her cast and finally directed a production of ‘Momotaro’ for over a hundred parents and pupils.

Explaining why she chose the subject for her Extended Project, Abigail said, “I have taken part in lots of plays, including ‘Momotaro’, before, but I wanted to explore how to direct. At university I hope to study Japanese and Drama, so this seemed a good combination of my interests. The experience was more challenging than I anticipated but it was very rewarding to work with the year 7s and see them develop their skills.”

‘Momotaro’ or, the peach boy, tells the tale of an old couple who discover a giant peach floating in the river near their house. They are about to slice it open, when a little boy jumps out. The childless couple decide he is a gift from the gods, and decide to raise him as their own.

Years pass, and Momotaro grows up big and strong. One day, his village is attacked by monsters, who steal a young child. Momotaro knows he must go to Oni Island (Monster Island) and fight them. On the way there, Momotaro is joined by a dog, a monkey and a bird, who promise to help him in exchange for a rice ball.

Once at Oni Island, Momotaro and the animals defeat the monsters, who apologise and return everything they stole, including the child.

Momotaro and his friends return home, where the villagers celebrate and the chief offers his daughter’s hand in marriage.

This age-old tale was delivered entirely in Japanese with an English translation: no mean feat for a class who had been learning the language for just one term. The play also featured other elements of Japanese culture, as the class were dressed in kimonos and performed a fan dance to traditional music.

Connie Dobson, who played Momotaro, said that the experience was “really, really fun” and had boosted her confidence in speaking the language. Vanessa Languillier, who played the monkey, added that learning the lines had sometimes been difficult, but that she would love to do a similar production on a larger scale in the future.

Abigail decided to run a raffle at the performance which raised £125.42 in aid of Hospice in the Weald, a charity close to the school’s heart.

Mary Murayama, teacher of Japanese at the school said that the play showed the “Weald spirit” of the students to get involved and tackle new challenges.

Photography by Jack Grand

PUBLISHED! Well, kinda...

Abby recently put on a play in Japanese as part of her Extended Project, and, being the lovely person that she is, asked me to write an article on it.
I of course agreed and  went to see the folk tale of Momotaro (The Peach Boy). I must say it was wonderous :) The article I wrote got sent to the Kent and Sussex Courier, and to my great surprise, a short extract was published! Whilst they may not have credited my journalism, I am still amazed that so much of my writing has survived their cut-throat editing.
Abby did a such a good job organising and putting on the play, I wanted everyone to know about it, so I'm going to put up my full article...and it will also be proof that I did write what was printed in the paper!
So, thank you Abby, and thank you Courier!

Simple pleasures

Today was an INSET day, a day off school for those of you who aren't in with all these technical terms. My 13 year old self would have probably gone shopping with my mum perhaps progressing to seeing friends by the time I got to year 11.
So what did I do today on my day of freedom I hear you ask? Wild 24 hour party? Trip to a theme park? Go up Laaandaaan?
No such luck.
Today, I worked for THE WHOLE DAY. That's right, on a day off, I did more work than I would usually do in a normal school day. There is something wrong here.
To keep my spirits up, I left the house briefly for about 20 minutes at lunchtime, and rewarded myself after a 2 hour History marathon with a magazine. This cheered me up no end, although some school girls did pinch the last copy of 'Look', and I had to settle for 'More', which is in danger of being confiscated by my mother because of the rude bits at the back.
But it is simple pleasures like these which make life better, so here is a list of some of my favourites.

1. Finding money you didn't realise you had. 

The best thing that happened to me once when  I was tidying and when I lifted up a book that I'd got for my birthday but had never read.... and £5 dropped out from my Grandpa! It made me feel loved and rich at the same time! I also love it when I put stuff in the secret pocket bits of my purse and discover a cheeky ten pounds about a month later. I should probably do this more often to save my money for a bit...

2. The song you actually want coming up on Shuffle.  

In my world, this is a sign from above that the day will be A Good Day. 

3. Finding leftovers in the fridge and making a veritable feast out of them. 

 My personal best is when I was confronted with: a packet of feta cheese, some chickpeas, butterbeans, a lettuce and some frozen sweetcorn. I produced a mean couscous-Greek-salad thing. Sadly today, my only choice was baked beans, but I can't wait to be a student and have a whole host of leftovers to make crazy meals with.

4. Getting a train you thought you'd missed.  

I almost get a rush of happiness when this happens on the rare occasions when I arrive at the station at 16.01 and still manage to make the 16.02. Most days, however, I get down to the platform, the train is STILL THERE, but the doors are shut. Swines.

5. Having the exact change for something.

Especially when you can use up all those pesky coppers

6. Fairy cake French Friday. 

 A phenomenon known only to my small but perfectly formed  French class. Last year, we had French every Friday before lunch, and it became a tradition for our teacher to bring in biscuits for the five of us. We adopted this ourselves for this year, and so far I have twice had the lovely surprise of rolling up (late) to class on a tedious Friday afternoon to discover a box of beautiful cakes. When it comes to my turn to provide cakes they will definitely NOT live up to the high standards set by the other two. The day I manage to position a sugar-paper flower or use crystallised violets or make a ginger fairy cake is the day when I will also magically become able to sew, paint, take beautiful photographs and generally morph into a domestic goddess.

7. NOT being late to French.  

Carrying on the theme, I made the rookie error of arriving late to our first class with the new teacher, thus earning myelf the nickname Latie [Lay-tee]. Previously, I considered myself to be a very puncutal person, but sadly I am now living up to my nickname. These days it is a nice surprise if I am not found trying to subtly sneak round the door while Mademoiselle's back is turned...never going to work in a class of five. 

8. Coming home to find tea in the teapot. 

 Saves the hastle of having to boil a kettle, and seems very homely. Even better if it is actually a drinkable temperature and not lukewarm.

9. Waking up before your alarm.  

This is about as likely to happen to me as someone asking my advice on Physics. So, when it does, it is a thing to be celebrated.

10. Clean sheets.

Guaranteed to erase worries and ensure a good night's sleep.

I was going to stop at ten, but there are just too many!

11.Finding a pair of tights without holes without having to raid someone else's supply.  

I constantly enrage my family and myself by getting 90% ready and then going off and doing something else. In the mornings I usually get completely ready except for tights and start making a cup of tea or having another slice of toast...and then have a manic two minutes trying to find a pair which do not have gaping holes in inappropriate places/ are not navy blue/bobbly/nail varnished beyond belief.

12. New socks. 

 I have no idea why, and this will definitely fix my reputation as a granny, but there is something about wearing new socks that are all soft before they get a hole in the toe or lose their elastic or get stolen by members of your family.

13. Tidying your wardrobe.   

When I get round to it, I always feel super efficient when I've had a good wardrobe clear out.  I class myself as superwoman if I separate my winter and summer clothes and put the unused ones into one of those vacuum bags under the bed.

14. Getting home just before it starts to rain

Phew.

15. Coming home when someone has done the shopping and the house is full of FOOOD!  

Shopping day is Thursday in my house and you have to be quick, because by Saturday, most of the good stuff is gone. In the same way, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, even Thursday afternoons if my dad is preoccupied, can be desperate times.

16. Because I just thought of another one. Unexpected bargains

One of these can transform my mood. The other day I bought what I thought was going to be a rip-off sequinny hairband, but turned out to be a steal at just £2.70! What a nice surprise at the till. But the ultimate bargain was when I bought a collection of Jane Austen books in a very pretty box (quiet you), which was labelled £30 reduced to £15. 'What a good price for five books', I thought to myself, only to get to the till and pay just a fiver for it! That is £1 per book! RESULT.

Before I destroy the limited street cred I ever had, I think that is enough for now. I'm off to go and watch one of my favourite programmes, The Apprentice-another simple pleasure!

Old age sets in...

Although I have just turned 18, I feel like old age is already upon me. I realised my true age when one morning, my sister had put on Radio 1 at breakfast and I came down and demanded that the radio be changed to Radio 4 because it was "too early for boom banger banger FM". I then proceeded to listen to the Today programme over a bowl of porridge.
See?
I'm ready for retirement RIGHT now. I might as well start claiming my pension.
Continuing the list theme, I'll start with a list of my favourite elderly things to do. But, it's going to take a computer form, because...yeah I won't lie, I can't be bothered to scan in a written one.
So, here are my guilty pleasures. Possibly the most uncool things ever, but they make me happy. Please don't laugh.
Here goes:

1. Radio 4. Obviously the best radio station. Who needs pop music when you have the comforting voices of the newsreaders to ease you into the day? And, apart from the horrendous Archers, there are some gems of programmes. Trust me.

2. Earl Grey tea. For when normal tea just won't do, the lovely added lemony taste is perfect, and feels very sophisticated.

3. Drinking tea, of any kind, at every opportunity. It seems that cool kids drink coffee. Yuck. Give me a cuppa anyday and I will love you forever.

4.Baking. My cakes may look to the untrained eye, like they have been made by a blind four year old, but to me, they are perfectly formed.

5. Wearing  pyjamas or bedsocks at every opportunity. So. Warm.

6. Reading the newspapers on a Saturday morning. I like to know what's going on in the world, and what better way to do it than with a paper as big as your whole armspan stretched across the breakfast table, resting on the marmalade?

7. Doing the crossword. My Granny once came second in the Yorkshire Post crossword competition, and I am obviously following in her footsteps. During study leave, I got into a routine of taking a break with some tea (Earl Grey, naturally) and the easy crossword in The Times, and always felt very pleased if I managed to finish it.

8. Arranging my bookshelf in height/colour order. To be fair, I am not as bad as my sister, who has arranged hers alphabetically.

9. Costume dramas. My absolute favourite thing about Sunday nights. Lark Rise to Candleford, Cranford, Downton Abbey-you name it, I've watched it and loved it. And the best thing is my late night texts to Abby discussing the relative benefits of each episode.

10. National Trust houses.  Perhaps the worst sin of them all, I actually ENJOY being dragged round stately homes by my parents. Shocker. But it's just like Pride and Prejudice, Miss Bennet.

Any other suggestions of granny things I should do are gratefully received, as are assurances that I am not the only one who enjoys one, or all of these things!

Listmania

I stumpled upon this beautiful blog, with my head in the clouds, where the girl (I presume it's a girl) has put together a collection of photography, book quotes and just general cool stuff to look at.

Iida (she's Finnish) has done two things that really caught my eye. She's put together a list of her favourite quotations from books, and done a really cool thing here where she's written down lists in one of those leather notebooks that I really want!

I am, if i say it myself, a mistress of lists. As we speak, I can see four lists papering the walls of my room, of various shapes and sizes. One of them is on a mini-whiteboard with a really cute picture of a little girl having a picnic with a rabbit, one is on the back of a letter from school, one is one some crazy French squared paper I stole off my dad, and one is on a horribly luminous pink Post-it. I do not know what I would do without my lists. I just need to write stuff down to remember it, otherwise it just gets lost in the soupy UCAS-dominated mess of my thoughts. I admit I have been know to write down things that I have already done just for the satisfaction of ticking them off. Ssssh...some may call it O.C.D-I call it organisation!


The bad thing is that recently, I have begun to forget my lists! When I wrote a list, it seemed to mark itself indellibly on my brain, like that horrible quill of Professor Umbridge's in Harry Potter, but without the blood. But now I can write a list, and forget I've made it, let alone what's on it. I blame the stress of Year 13...

To get back to my original point about with my head in the clouds, I am going to take her idea of lists, and add it to the idea of favourite book quotes to make what I hope will be a series of slightly different blog posts. I will take photos of my scrappy to-do lists as well as making new ones of my favourite things: book quotes, song lyrics,  French words, things about winter, cakes or er, socks? You name it, I will make a list about it!

So, keep your eyes peeled as my list obsession makes itself know on here. Let me know your suggestions via the Facebook Page. Enjoy!

Carly Evans has left the building!

Just did a quick check to see if I could find out any more on Carly Evans, and it appears that her Facebook page has been deleted!
Did the teacher involved realise how dodgy it looked? Have the police now got enough ammunition for an assembly or 6? Did a real person get fed up of all the abuse? Who knows...
I guess we will soon know who's behind it...

Over 550 views??!!!

I was going to do a celebratory post when I got to 500 views, but you guys just beat me to it. Thank you so much for all your support, I'm amazed it's done so well in just 2 months...and a little smug ;)
Keep reading! And in return I'll try and feed your appetites for posts!
Mucho amor
xxxx

The Carly Evans Saga

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind howled, the dogs barked... and something very suspicious was going down on Facebook. The Mystery of Carly Evans was about to begin...

A couple of weeks ago I received a friendship request from one mysterious Carly Evans. I was in a rush so I just pressed ignore and thought no more about it. Then I remembered it and declined her, but before I did, I noticed that she said she went to my school had seemingly added the whole of the sixth form. Now, I am a good person with names and I KNOW that there is no one called Carly that would know me and so many of my friends. To make it even fishy-er, her profile picture was a collage. Hmmm....

Last night, someone cleverly confirmed all our suspicions and discovered that she was not on the school email system, meaning that she does not go to the school.

So, as Nikki from Big Brother would say, "Who IS she?"

After a little detective work, I have come up with the following list of suspects:



1. The Head of Year

Suspect Rating: 1/5

This was a popular suggestion on Facebook, that perhaps our head of year wanted to check up on us and had created a fake profile. She is very sharp, so this seems like a thing she could have thought of. However, after watching her type with one finger, I do not think that she has the computer abilities needed to set up a page and add all of us, let alone upload a picture. Also, she is the busiest and most stressed person in the world, so I really doubt that she would dedicate so much time to it. Very, very unlikely:

CASE CLOSED

2: A girl lower down the school

Suspect Rating: 2/5

A tad more likely than a teacher, as they are likely to be on Facebook already and be technology whizz. Perhaps this person wants to stalk the sixth form boys in a more open way. But they could have easily have just joined the school's network and seen people's profiles that way. Why go to all that trouble?

3. Some sort of awareness-raising stunt

Suspect Rating 3/5

If you look at Carly Evans' wall, apart from a stream of "Who are you?" comments, there is one status which says something like: "Another day of school work and looking after mum, aaarrgh!". This makes me think that it could be some sort of young-carer awareness thing, because real teenagers,who actually exist, would probably not write that. It also makes her seem really young, when she is meant to be in year 11. People have written things like "no one needs friends this desperately", which is true, so maybe someone somewhere is trying to make a point about how difficult it is to be a young carer. But, I am wary of taking this further, because it seems a bit far-fetched.

4. The police

Suspect Rating: 4/5

When I first heard about this, my initial thought was that it was some sort of set-up from the police/internet safety gang to highlight how people accept strangers willy-nilly, and how we should all be more safe online. The name Carly also seems like the sort of name they would chose, but if they thought about it, they should have chosen a less 80s one that would blend in! I expect some sort of assembly soon where they say 'Have you been added by Carly Evans? Did YOU accept? BE MORE SAFE!'


5. A proper paedophile
Suspect Rating: ???
(I'm not going to add a picture. Just no.)

I would absolutely hate this to be true, but I guess it could be. There was recently a local scandal about a man using a photo of a teenage boy and posing as "Carl" to talk to girls. SEE?   Perhaps by posing as a girl and also adding boys, he (or she??) thought it would be less obvious? But. One paedophile would not add the whole year, and there is no evidence of them being dodgy...yet. So I hope that this one is not true, but basically I can't decide. The whole thing seems very unrealistic to  me!

So, who is Carly Evans? Do you have any information on her? Let me know!
Hopefully all will soon be revealed, but for now, will the mystery ever be solved?

P.S. To see what Ash says on the subject, click here: http://www.ash-hover-theaspiringjournalist.com/2010/11/who-is-carly-evans.html

Pictures from: http://www.jmorganmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008…

Children's School Uniform Blazers

http://www.dorisday.net/assets/images/doris-day-teacher%27s-pet3.jpg

http://www.stars.sandwell.gov.uk/images/colouring%20sheets/policeman.jpg



School food update numero dos

SLICED EGG and TOMATO???
My worst nightmare of a sandwich has come true.

Gems from the school library

A bit like the school canteen, the school library also seems to operate in a strange, strange world. This year, I have been happily surprised by some good educational finds in there, which I never knew existed, and am nearly up to capacity on my library ticket. I know, I know, I do know how to have a good time.

But, when my mind wanders, as it so often does during my frees spent in the library, I start looking around at some of the books on display. You would have thought that these books would be ones that would encourage young people to be lovers of literature, "ripping good yarns", as my English teacher says, that would foster a life-long interest in books. Well my friends, you are sadly wrong.

The worst offender I have seen in the library is this:

Maybe I'm wrong, but the history of the humble toilet has never been something that particularly jumped out at me as one I just HAD to read up on. I especially love that this is illustrated :) I did a quick bit of research on Amazon, to see if I could buy this for my very own and I can! That seems to me like £6.99 well spent... surprise, surprise, this has never been taken out.

On the same day, I surprised my friend with a book entitled 'Mice, Rats and Gerbils'! She actually couldn't even look at the front cover, so great is her fear and all-round hatred of these creatures. As I was made to put it away immediately, I never found out whether this literary gem focused on care of these rodents, or was just a general reference guide. Both are equally appealing, of course.

Another one I've seen: 'Poems about Air', always good if you're doing a project on...air and want to liven it up with a bit of poetry.
Today I came across a whole book on 'Christmas Food', which seemed a) a bit early, considering it's OCTOBER!, and b) very weird for a school library. I suppose there may be some budding cooks in our school, but again, I doubt if this one has ever been borrowed.

Am I wrong? Should the library contain these classics? Perhaps you've seen a book you think is worthy of the prize for most random title. If so, let me know! Post a comment here on on the Facebook page.

Playing the university game

Although I now have one offer under my metaphorical belt, I am still playing the university game. I don't want this to turn into a gloating post, so I will just get it out here and now and say that I am very pleased...and a tiny bit smug :) Right. Enough of that. Onto defining this game.

I was speaking to my best tea-buddy about this recently, and she made me think that applying to university really is like a dating game. First, you have to make the first move-get their prospectus, look at the website, go to the open day...a bit like meeting someone and then totally stalking them on Facebook. Well, this is what I've that heard people do, I of course have my future already mapped out as a cat-lady.
Anyway.

Then they think that you might like them- you have trekked half-way across the country for their open day after all. So then they start trying to encourage you. Have some freebies! Pens! Bags! Keyrings! Leaflets! Other promotional merchandise! A bit like someone buying you a (non-alcholic, OF COURSE) drink.

Then it gets a bit more tricky. They tell you their downside. Much like someone letting on that they are 2 years younger than you/have serious body odour issues/aren't actually single. "Oh by the way, now you know that you like us, you have to get impossible grades to come here." Gutted.

If you get over this hurdle and are brave/stupid enough to apply, you may be lucky and receive some sort of correspondance. Southampton sent me a lovely postcard saying that they were "considering my application". How lovely of them! Others opt for the slightly less nice generic email: "Dear-insert name here-, thank you for your application to -insert subject here-". And others don't send you anything at all...DURHAM. I would imagine that this is like getting a text off some totally fit guy. Eeeeew. Can't believe I said that. Hate. Self. Moving on.

When they finally stop umming and aaahing and just make decision, you get a mysterious email from UCAS saying "your application status has changed" Ooh-er. Perhaps a comparison in this day and age would be a text saying "We need to talk." Designed to inspire optimism.

I haven't accepted any university yet, but when I do, I suppose it's the equivalent of changing your relationship status. "Katie is now attending....who knows where."

The most annoying thing about applying is all the waiting around and not knowing. I want to make my choices now! I want offers now! I want decisions now! But speed is generally not in a university's vocabulary. No, they like to ponder their choices, to make absolutely sure that they're accepting the right person, very s-l-o-w-l-y. Gah! Sadly I have become an extremely impatient person since sending off my UCAS and this just makes me agitated!

While I wait on the rest of my offers (Pah!) I think I will be forced to take up something constructive like knitting, or husband-hunting. Or extra curricular reading, of course. In the meanwhile, I wish you all the best of luck in the university game!
xx

In praise of the curry

Yesterday night was Saturday night and in my book that means curry and X factor, a winning combination if you ask me. I do love a good curry. Spiciness is key though. I mean, I would rather it didn't put tears in my eyes, but if it has a bit of a  kick, then I am happy. Saying that, I usually go for the totally non-spicy korma, but I'm also partial to a good old tikka masala. I recently discovered a dhansak, which I would highly recommend. And when I'm in one of my random ' Eating-meat-contributes-to-climate change-I'm-such-an-eco-warrior-I want-to-be-a-vegetarian' moods, I go for a  vegetable biriani. The mixture of rice and roasted vegetables with a hint of spicy sauce is just... divine.

Another thing I LOVE about curry are all the things that go with it. Onion bahjis, popadoms, cucumber raita, plain naan, peshwari naan, daal, saag, Bombay alhoo, pilau rice, yellow rice, white rice, and most of all, samosas. But not mango chutney. This seems far too like jam to me. I just don't understand why you would mix sticky sweet with lovely creamy sauce. My sister, on the other hand, could and would eat it out of the jar.

I did a quick bit of research (sad, I know) on curry and I found out that recipes for curry date back to 1700 B.C. when it was used as an offering to the gods of Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq. So curry is not really Indian at all! The word 'curry' comes from the Tamil language, which is spoken in India though. Curry came to Britan in 1780 with the invention of curry powder, and was even served by Queen Victoria's chef in 1846. However, curry as we know it would be totally alien to people in India. According to one chef, 95% of Indians would not recognise vindaloo, jhal farezi or a madras. People coming to Britain from all areas India gradually began to open restaurants, and the oldest surviving one, Veersaswamy in London, was opened in 1926. So I guess it is thanks to immirgration that we have curry. How's about that, B.N.P! Always glad to inform and educate :) Next time you have your curry, you can bust out a few fun facts and be the envy of all your friends...and you'll have me to thank for looking COOL.
This makes me seem like a bit of an obsessive and someone who frequents the local takeaway far too much, but all of this talk of food has made me mega-hungry. Bon appetit!

School food...update.

Ham and egg mayonnaise. Just no.
And chicken salsa that looks suspiciously like marmalade.
MY WORD!
I did have a lovely fajita today though. But it's pronounced 'fah-heat-ta',  not 'Fa-jit-ta', small girl in the lunch queue.

School food

I don't know about you, but I sometimes wonder if the people in the school canteen operate in a completely different world from mine. They seem to put ingredients together that you would NEVER EVER do at home. It's like they play a culinary version of spin the bottle every morning to decide what to put in the sandwiches. "Tuna...aaaaaaaaaandddd it's landed on coleslaw". I can safely say that I have never eaten a tuna sandwich and thought mid-way through, "you know what would really improve this plain old sarnie? A nice mixture of mayonnaise and assorted vegetables." I really wonder who buys them.
Another one which keeps coming back with a vengeance is sliced egg. WHY? Apart from tomato, this is my absolute nightmare of a filling. Cold slices of  grey hard boiled egg. Yum...yet people must eat them.
One of their more successful inventions is naan bread topped with cheese. Everything in the canteen seems to be already covered in cheese, so why not add this Indian  staple to the list? It is actually rather delicious...if a little greasy.
In the world of the canteen, appearances can be deceptive. Who knows, the sliced egg sandwich may be the best thing since sliced bread (sorry, had to be done). But, the thing that seems to have got everyone talking recently is the tiffin trifle. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with tiffin...it's basically a scrumptious mish-mash of chocolate, biscuit and a bit of raisin. However, in canteen-land, this treat resembles...tuna. I have no idea how. Despite acquiring the nickname of 'tuna trifle', I am told it is very nice. I'll just have to invest my £1.20 (WHAT?) and have a try myself.
The final weird thing I have noticed in the canteen is the drink selection. Besides the usual suspects: water, fruit juice etc, they offer a horrible supposedly healthy take on the Slush Puppy in a beautiful fluorescent pink colour. I would never dream of drinking this in case I had a funny turn in History from all the E-numbers. They also have about 900 types of coffee. I really don't get the reasoning behind this. How many 12 year olds care about  the difference between a Mocha and an Americano? How many even drink coffee? If I'm honest I'm not sure I do myself! So, the board has an explanation of what every type of coffee is, but tea is hidden away to the side of the machine. This makes no sense to me. Tea is an obvious essential choice.
Although the canteen will always bemuse me, there are  many things on their menu that I count amongst my guilty pleasures. For example, the delectable chocolate brownie, which thanks to Jamie Oliver, must be healthy...in some way. Win-win! Or the cheesy naans: mmm-mmmmm :) Perfect to cheer you up
after a strenuous morning.
Am I wrong? Is tuna and coleslaw actually worth a try? Let me know.
I guess I'll see you tomorrow at lunch :) Bon appetit!

Shameless self promotion

I now also have a page on Facebook! It currently has zero members, so I'd love it if you could like it!
It's http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-Katie-Did-Blog/163142437031065

Autumn Days: The reality sets in...

Oh dear, how my outlook has changed in a few days. Yes, sadly today the reality of autumn was brought home to me. Pouring rain, strong buffeting winds and the cold: this is what autumn is really like, none of my romanticised woolly jumper rubbish.
I had a horrible walk home which seemed to take about eighty times longer than normal. It didn't help that I forgot what my mum calls my "natty mac", so I was freezing in only my jacket and a scarf which kept blowing up and blinding me. I was also carrying what felt like a ten-tonne bag stuffed full of extra-curricular books, in the hope that I might just get round to reading them. They are rather soggy. I might have to go at my beloved History notes with a hairdryer...hope my writing on Napoleon hasn't smudged!
On top of this, I was carrying my violin. Oh, you didn't know I played? Well, I am a girl of many talents...and playing the violin is definitely NOT one of them! However, I am doing a favour for one of the most lovely people in the world (hey Han :P) so I dusted off the ol' fiddle and attempted to practise at school. But today, I remembered the reason that I avoid playing the violin. It is SO impractical to get anywhere. Admittedly, it could be worse-I could play the bassoon, or the cello or a whopping great harp, but I got some funny looks on The Train today. My violin case is shaped a bit like a banana, and a bit like a surfboard, so that it does not in fact resemble a violin at all. I  must have looked like some sort of wet, dishevelled pack-horse with a frizz problem as I plodded home today. I will be writing to John '£4.99-a-bottle-' Freida to complain that his Frizz Ease did most certainly NOT ease my frizz today. It obviously cannot stand up to the great British weather.
And another thing! My shoes should carry a health warning. To make it clear, I am not the sort of person who goes in for black leather sexy stilletto boots. No, these were just bog-standard high street ankle ones with a little heel-nice and comfy, and they make a cool clip-cloppy sound :) But today they were an absolute death trap thanks to the lovely mush of mashed up conker shell, conkers and wet leaves that carpeted the roads. One of these days, I am going to make a right fool of myself and slip. Just you wait, it won't be long before I post something entitled 'The fall'.
Oh dear, I'm actually in a great mood, despite what you  might think! So, hopefully the rain will stop soon and I will be able to enjoy autumn once more. Roll on Christmas, I say!

Read this!

In preparation for what I'm sure will be a glittering career in sports journalism, Ash has set up a blog. I know he's got 500 views so please help him get to 1000! AND he's already been published in the local paper, so he must be good :)


http://ashh-theaspiringjournalist.blogspot.com

The Corner Shop

After an agonising battle with my personal statement and the UCAS website, the thought that kept me sane earlier was of munching on some sugary goodies whilst watching an episode of 'The Inbetweeners' recorded from last night. So, I took a trip into my local corner shop on the way home from school. To be precise, I should say my 'next-door-but-two-to-the-corner-but-the-actual-corner-is-a-building-site' shop. But who needs that amount of detail? I would dearly love to say that the shop in question is one of those quintessentially English village shops and post offices, with artistic displays of organic vegetables  and local jams...but it isn't. No, unfortunately it is but a mini-market on a busy road, but I can dream.

Whilst in the queue, I indulged my favourite pass-time of them all, people-watching. The person responsible for the wait in the first place was an unfortunate teenage boy, fresh off The Train, who wanted to buy some goods totalling about £1.75, but was 50p short and the shop do not accept credit cards for purchases under £5. I, being a regular customer, knew this and felt very smug as I stood holding my chocolate in one hand and my exact change in the other :)

The elderly lady behind him, who had very neatly pencilled-on eyebrows, bought four bottles of  wine (at 4.30 in the afternoon?) and enquired about the whereabouts of 'The Daily Mail'. Now, it is not for me to judge people based on their newspaper of choice...but I would have taken her for more of a 'Guardian' reader myself!

Then, I turned round and saw possibly the most disturbing sight of the day: A middle aged man, on tip-toes, rummaging through the ADULT MAGAZINES. Being young and naive, I never thought that anyone actually bought these top-shelf horrors, but today I was proven wrong.  I was treated to a quick snatch of a girl with the words 'RED HOT!!!!' plastered over her boobs before I quickly turned away.

On other visits to the shop, I have noticed what a strange variety of products they sell. There is literally room for half a person per aisle, yet the shelves continue to be piled high with various random goods. Synthetic woolly hats stand shoulder to shoulder with Beef Jerky (who even buys that?!) and cut-price chocolate coins from Christmas. They have row upon row of dog food, various suspicious own-brand ready meals and of course, the valuable confectionary section. I never see anyone buying anything other than sweets or newspapers in there (except the time I had to buy an onion for my mum ), so I wonder why they stock it all?

A survey by SPAR revealed that "in 2002 the local shop was voted the number one essential part of the community by 96% of the UK population, putting it way ahead of the pub, school and Post Office. In addition, 98% of the population felt they would be inconvenienced if their local shop disappeared, and 57% said they would be willing to fight back against any threat to its survival."

I agree with this. They may not be the most attractive places in the world, and mine are certainly lacking artistic interiors and organic/fairtrade/vegetarian/vegan/frutarian options, but who cares? Let's all go and splash out on meat pies, cat litter and Haribo and support our local shops!

Autumn Days

It's official. Well, by my estimations anyway. Autumn is officially upon us. Yes, the lazy, hazy days of summer are past, and October and the darkness of winter is beckoning. There are several things that have brought me to this conclusion. Of course, the gazillions of leaves forming a slightly crunchy orange carpet underfoot. Then, the sudden appearance of conkers. I don't know about you, but this was a major highlight of my childhood, so good it almost made going back to school bearable. I loved how shiny and soft they were, yet if you ever tried to crack them open, it was impossible. The other day, I was caught in a flash of nostalgia as I saw a little girl filling whole carrier bags with the things. I don't think I ever played a game of conkers with them though, that would have spoiled them. I just accumulated a little collection :)
Lastly, a more personal observation. My legs have already become engulfed in the black tights which will swallow them up until about mid-May, when they will appear again, pasty white and chicken-like. I actually quite like this part of Autumn, the wearing lots of layers part. Recently I've found myself browsing the Internet and being strangely attracted to cable-knit dresses and big bobbly granny jumpers.  I am secretly looking forward in investing in a new pair of boots, some cosy (yet practical!) knitwear, and a wooly beret. Who needs summer, with its constant faff of hair removal and fake tanning? I am naturally about as white as a milk bottle, and any attempt to tan, be it naturally or un-naturally, results in sunburn or attractive orange streaks on the backs of my legs where I've neglected to rub the stuff in tiny tiny circles, or exfoliate properly. Gah! I usually try for about a month and then just give up and embrace my natural ghost skin!So, I am looking forward to autumn, when I can be as pale as ever, and no one will ever know! Genius, thank you Mother Nature.
I think I should make a resolution for the coming season. I promise not to moan (too much) when I can't feel my toes on the way to school, when conkers hit me on the head falling from trees or when I get caught in the autumn showers and my hair becomes even more frizzy than it already is. I resolve to embrace the season in all its colour and to wrap up warm in a nice new coat.

The Train.

Aaah the train. A convenient way to get to work, a fast way to visit friends...aaaaand a hell-hole at 16.01 on weekday afternoons.
The school train is something which every angry commuter should experience. Marvel at the creative use of hair gel! Inhale the sweet, sweet perfume of feet and Lynx! Enjoy an exciting journey in a carriage packed with pubescent boys throwing things! Pity the small child tricked into getting on  a train which bypasses his station! Still think the bleary-eyed businessmen on the 7.30 to Charing Cross are bad, hmmm?
It always seems to happen that I'm on my own on the way home from school. Whilst some may say this is social suicide, I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to people-watch. Perhaps my favourite quote of ALL TIME comes from the train home. Picture the scene: You're about 14, you haven't got a girlfriend, who are you going to blame? Your inability to string a sentence together without grunting? Neglecting to use deodorant? Do be serious, it's Him Upstairs who's at fault here. The conversation went a bit like this:
Boy: "Mate, I fink God wants me to be gay."
His Mate: "Mate, why?"
Boy: "Coz dere's no one buff my age maaaan!"

Now, in my opinion anyone using the word 'buff' seriously, indeed, anyone using the word 'buff' at all should be publicly ridiculed (think, the stocks), but this is just one every day example of the horrors, and hilarity, of the train.
Another  thing which I have observed is the inner beast inside every small boy. A ten minute journey home frequently resembles a re-enactment of 'Lord of the Flies'. There are several potential Jacks disguised in blazers and ties, and many an unfortunate Piggy, ready to be trapped in the doors, shoved out at the station or simply be sat on all the way home. I am often genuinely scared for the future of the world.
Still, here's hoping they grow out of it!

University open days, aka the middle class on the move

  Like all students in their final year of school, the word 'UNIVERSITY' fills me with a mixture of horror, dread and excitement. And, as part of the horrific process that is UCAS, I have dragged my parents on tour of the British Isles, taking in such centres of academia as Warwick, York, Exeter, Southampton and Oxford. Whilst all these universities have their own character and individual plus-points, there is one thing I have noticed that their open days all have in common: their ability to attract a certain type of visitor. Yes, I'm talking about the middle-class teenager and their parents, determined to find out as much as is humanly possible about their university of choice in the limited time available.  On my travels, I, like the many  others around me, have travelled far and wide by train, munched down numerous M&S sandwiches and perused many a copy of 'The Times.' I have  collected whole rainforests' worth of prospectuses and spotted enough Jack Wills to clothe a small army.

  Luckily, apart from these obvious stereotypes, I have not come across too many of that terrifying middle class breed: the pushy parent. Granted, I have overheard a few conversations between frazzled mums and their grunting sons: "For goodness' sake Johnny/Timmy/Algernon, why didn't you check the typical offer/see if the rooms are ensuite/find out about the rugby team?" In fact, on the whole, it's the students themselves whom I've found the most intimidating. First off, the girl who described herself as a "political historian"-aged 17? Wow, her self confidence was overwhelming. Then there were the two boys meeting each other for the first time at Durham. Before even introducing himself, one asked the other "So, how were your A.S. results?" The other replied, "Oh, I got 6 As." How he ever managed to study for 6 AS levels and appear to be semi-sane amazes me. Cr-aaazy.

  Of course, the very fact that I have been to so many open days stamps me with the label of  middle class. Add to this my grammar school education, my subject (History), and my address, and voila! Ready-made middle class student! I was relieved to discover so many people just like me who have an almost irrational need to find out absolutely EVERYTHING they can about all of the options out there. I also find it funny how people can be so different, yet be united by the fact that they're not quite posh enough to be friends with the Queen or trace their family back 20 generations, but still have enough money to splash out on extortionate train tickets and overpriced coffee.

 So, at the end of my university tour, what have I learnt? Well,  that train companies must be raking it in each summer, that universities are really quite similar...and of course, that M&S is THE only place worth buying your lunch from, if you want to appear a serious university-visiter.

Now, where's my Times University Guide? I need to look up the league tables...

Hello there...

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first ever blog:) After saying that I didn't see the point of all this blogging business and that it was all a waste of time, I have finally seen the light! I've always wanted to experiment with writing-when I was younger I used to write newspapers for imaginary towns. I know, I know, I was a strange little thing :) Ten years on, this is my new way of airing my inner journalist to the world...or more accurately, the select few who might stumble upon this.
Thank you for reading, and come back soon for more!
Hasta la vista,
Katie xx
Oh, and I must say thank you to my little sister for the name, great thinking!