Final Term: Week 1: Election Hosting and the Two Bars

Firstly, the University of Birmingham hosted the political debate this week. One of the things promoted by the Guild was the vote for students campaign. They encouraged everyone to wear either a Vote for Students shirt or just a pink themed outfit. The first thing that sprang to mind, apart from 'I don't own any pink' was 'I can't wear red, then'. I'm all for this particular campaign because it's about tuition fees and such but the first thing I think of when a 'wear -colour-' day comes up is either the lack of that colour in my wardrobe or the clash of colour that I will likely choose instead. I wore blue on Thursday. No pink.

Aside from the colour grumble, having the UK's media on campus was mental! It was a perfect opportunity for me and my friend because we both wanted to get some work experience in the TV industry so rather than shamelessly standing in the background of a shot we went and spoke to a few people and got some contact details. There was definitely a buzz around campus and everyone was excited to see Mandleson roaming free with a camera on him.

In other news, Joe's Bar has been moved and prettied up! Joe's is the bar in the Guild of Students on the main campus, where you can go for a drink or some food any time of the day and where quite a few events are held in the evenings. I love spending time in Joe's - even more so now that it's all done up. The prices are really good, too. For half a four seasons pizza (which, to me, could well have been a full pizza as it was a generous half) it's £3. A huge portion of chips (and I mean HUGE) it's about £2. Absolute bargain. It's all freshly made in the kitchens of Joe's, too, so it's very good quality food. If I wasn't so conscious about calories, I'd have my lunch there most days. There's also the biggest dessert in the world (perhaps not an official claim but it is pretty huge) which is aptly named the 'University Challenge', with the tag line 'do you dare or do you have to share?'. Fantastic! The onion ring tower also looks interesting. ...now I'm hungry.

Last night I met up with one of my friends from back home. He brought his BCU (Birmingham City University) friend along and I brought my boyfriend along so we all sat on Bar One (the bar on the Vale) and had a drink together then played some pool. Our original option was to go to Broad Street but considering it was a Friday night we didn't want to get caught in the mass crowds of people going to Gatecrasher and such like. Bar One always has a good atmosphere and plays good music so it was definitely a better idea. It's £1 for two games of pool (or 60p for one) so we played a good few games, which was a welcome return as I played a lot of pool in the last two terms and was itching to get back there. On Sunday I'll be returning to Bar One for the Pub Quiz again. Not quite sure what our team name should be this time round.

Through the whole of the Easter break I've been doing work and avoiding doing work. Thankfully, I only have one essay left to complete then only one exam on the 19th May then I'm done for first year. I'll still continue blogging after I've finished because I'll still be in Birmingham for the rest of the term. The contract for halls ends on July 4th and my second year house contract starts on July 1st so I'm taking advantage of that convenience and will be moving my stuff over gradually. But, as I said, I still have one essay to complete. That's in for Tuesday so I better get cracking!