Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Life's A Drag
Last week I was at the theatre again, this time to see the ‘feel good’ musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It was jam packed with karaoke hits and camp comedy. There appeared to be lots of visual humour, as the audience often erupted with laughter and I sat confused until one of my friends whispered some audio description to me. Now I have seen a professional audio described performance, I think I was made more aware of how much I miss out on by not being able to see. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the show and it wouldn’t prevent me from seeing future productions. In fact, I hope to see Fame next month.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Glasgow International Match
Earlier this month I received an invite from British Athletics to compete in the Glasgow International Match on Saturday 25 January in the visually impaired 60m. The Glasgow International Match is Scotland vs Great Britain vs Commonwealth Select vs America. I was asked to represent the Commonwealth Select Team which was captained by the public’s favourite, Kim Collins. The event was broadcast live on BBC One making it the most prestigious competition I had ever participated in.
Friday:
I flew alone from East Midlands airport to Glasgow. British Athletics arranged all of the assistance for me and everything ran smoothly. Once in Glasgow I was met at the airport by the transport to go to the hotel.
My first impression of the hotel was that it was massive and I was surprised to find my room was on the fourteenth floor! I knew at that point there would be no way I would be getting around the hotel by myself. Thankfully, my guide runner’s room was just down the corridor. The evening meal was buffet style and I went back to the room with the intention of having an early night.
At dinner I heard rumours that everyone was sharing a room, but as I climbed into bed I assumed I was going to be on my own, as nobody else had arrived. However, around 10.30pm, I’m not sure if I was asleep or not, I about had a heart attack as I thought my bedroom door was being banged down. Turned out just to be my roommate.
Later that night I must have been thinking about the following day, I realised that I had forgotten to pack my trainers! At no other point during packing did it occur to me that I may need them. I just kept checking that I had my race spikes etc. A mission was launched to borrow a pair from someone, but none were located.
Saturday:
I normally struggle to eat much on race day, but had no trouble consuming breakfast. My race wasn’t until 3.47pm, so I had a relaxed morning listening to music. We arrived at the track a good couple of hours before my race and I proceeded to warm up in my Timberland style boots, not cool. I planned to do drills in my socks, unfortunately this plan was abandoned as it would have been too slippery on the basketball court.
The actual sprint straight where you could practice your starts/runs was situated just behind the main stands of the stadium, so you could hear the crowd and all of the action. Again, this should have made me anxious, but I found myself feeling quite relaxed. My train of thought was that I dedicate my entire life to the sport and it is what I have wanted to do with my life for years, so now I had finally been given the opportunity to prove myself on a large stage what would be the point of spoiling it all with nerves. My passion is athletics, so I was going to enjoy myself.
On the start line I had completely forgotten that I would be on TV and I think it helped not being able to see how many people there were in the crowd. One good thing about indoor competition too is that you don’t feel cold waiting around at the beginning. The race itself was over in a flash. It had its strengths and weaknesses and as I crossed the line I had no idea where I had finished.
I was given the time of 8.77secs and I was satisfied. I had only raced 60m a couple of weeks previously only managing 9.01secs, so it was a significant improvement. When I also discovered I had not come last beating for the first time in a head to head my biggest T11 rival, I was further satisfied. I can’t say at any point that I felt elated, as I know there is more in the tank. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it is definitely something I would rush to do again.
When I got my bag back, I could hear my phone going crazy as it received text after text of congratulations. Without sounding too cheesy, each and every one made me get that warm fuzzy feeling inside!
Sunday:
The calm after the storm. It felt like an incredibly long day, mostly because my flight back home wasn’t until 6pm. Nevertheless, it was quite nice enjoying the hotel hospitality, especially the hot chocolate I had with cream and chocolate balls! Little things.
The assistance at the airport all ran smoothly again and Calvin was beside himself with excitement when he saw me, literally unable to stop jumping all over me. I got home and watched myself back on the TV. I was a little disappointed with the commentary and can safely say it was much more exciting racing than watching it!
Thanks so much to everyone for all of the messages of support. There are a few questions that I keep being asked so will clear them all up here!
Q: Why were you running with people who could see?
A: It was a mixed classification race, T11, T12 and T13 athletes. T12 and T13 athletes are partially sighted. We are not usually combined at major championships, but we were for this particular race.
Q: What was that big thing you were wearing over your face?
A: All T11 athletes have to wear a blindfold to ensure we don’t cheat. I perhaps need to invest in a more discrete one, but my current one is so comfortable!
Q: Was it the Commonwealth Games?
A: No, I represented the Commonwealth Select Team who won the competition overall, but it wasn’t the Commonwealths. However, I hope to qualify for the Commonwealths this summer, which are being held in Glasgow too.
Q: So what does the race mean? Did you get a medal? Does it mean you’ve qualified for the Commonwealths?
A: The race doesn’t really mean anything significant, it was just another competition, but it happened to be on TV.
Productivity breeds success
Friday:
I flew alone from East Midlands airport to Glasgow. British Athletics arranged all of the assistance for me and everything ran smoothly. Once in Glasgow I was met at the airport by the transport to go to the hotel.
My first impression of the hotel was that it was massive and I was surprised to find my room was on the fourteenth floor! I knew at that point there would be no way I would be getting around the hotel by myself. Thankfully, my guide runner’s room was just down the corridor. The evening meal was buffet style and I went back to the room with the intention of having an early night.
At dinner I heard rumours that everyone was sharing a room, but as I climbed into bed I assumed I was going to be on my own, as nobody else had arrived. However, around 10.30pm, I’m not sure if I was asleep or not, I about had a heart attack as I thought my bedroom door was being banged down. Turned out just to be my roommate.
Later that night I must have been thinking about the following day, I realised that I had forgotten to pack my trainers! At no other point during packing did it occur to me that I may need them. I just kept checking that I had my race spikes etc. A mission was launched to borrow a pair from someone, but none were located.
Saturday:
I normally struggle to eat much on race day, but had no trouble consuming breakfast. My race wasn’t until 3.47pm, so I had a relaxed morning listening to music. We arrived at the track a good couple of hours before my race and I proceeded to warm up in my Timberland style boots, not cool. I planned to do drills in my socks, unfortunately this plan was abandoned as it would have been too slippery on the basketball court.
The actual sprint straight where you could practice your starts/runs was situated just behind the main stands of the stadium, so you could hear the crowd and all of the action. Again, this should have made me anxious, but I found myself feeling quite relaxed. My train of thought was that I dedicate my entire life to the sport and it is what I have wanted to do with my life for years, so now I had finally been given the opportunity to prove myself on a large stage what would be the point of spoiling it all with nerves. My passion is athletics, so I was going to enjoy myself.
On the start line I had completely forgotten that I would be on TV and I think it helped not being able to see how many people there were in the crowd. One good thing about indoor competition too is that you don’t feel cold waiting around at the beginning. The race itself was over in a flash. It had its strengths and weaknesses and as I crossed the line I had no idea where I had finished.
I was given the time of 8.77secs and I was satisfied. I had only raced 60m a couple of weeks previously only managing 9.01secs, so it was a significant improvement. When I also discovered I had not come last beating for the first time in a head to head my biggest T11 rival, I was further satisfied. I can’t say at any point that I felt elated, as I know there is more in the tank. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it is definitely something I would rush to do again.
When I got my bag back, I could hear my phone going crazy as it received text after text of congratulations. Without sounding too cheesy, each and every one made me get that warm fuzzy feeling inside!
Sunday:
The calm after the storm. It felt like an incredibly long day, mostly because my flight back home wasn’t until 6pm. Nevertheless, it was quite nice enjoying the hotel hospitality, especially the hot chocolate I had with cream and chocolate balls! Little things.
The assistance at the airport all ran smoothly again and Calvin was beside himself with excitement when he saw me, literally unable to stop jumping all over me. I got home and watched myself back on the TV. I was a little disappointed with the commentary and can safely say it was much more exciting racing than watching it!
Thanks so much to everyone for all of the messages of support. There are a few questions that I keep being asked so will clear them all up here!
Q: Why were you running with people who could see?
A: It was a mixed classification race, T11, T12 and T13 athletes. T12 and T13 athletes are partially sighted. We are not usually combined at major championships, but we were for this particular race.
Q: What was that big thing you were wearing over your face?
A: All T11 athletes have to wear a blindfold to ensure we don’t cheat. I perhaps need to invest in a more discrete one, but my current one is so comfortable!
Q: Was it the Commonwealth Games?
A: No, I represented the Commonwealth Select Team who won the competition overall, but it wasn’t the Commonwealths. However, I hope to qualify for the Commonwealths this summer, which are being held in Glasgow too.
Q: So what does the race mean? Did you get a medal? Does it mean you’ve qualified for the Commonwealths?
A: The race doesn’t really mean anything significant, it was just another competition, but it happened to be on TV.
Productivity breeds success
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Snow White
On Saturday I went to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome. It is a little late in the season for pantomime, but this was an audio described performance with a touch tour prior to the show. It was my first time at the Hippodrome and I was impressed from start to finish.
We had ten visually impaired and zero fully sighted people in our group. As soon as we walked through the doors, the staff came over to offer assistance. They took us through the touch tour, this is where you get to explore the stage and props in order to help with the appreciation of the performance. We had the opportunity to feel the giant mirror, enormous dragon, the dwarfs home, various character costumes amongst many other things. It is fascinating to observe the great attention to detail.
Between the end of the touch tour and the beginning of the show, we had three members of staff that stayed with our group. They demonstrated how to operate the audio description headsets guided us to buy food and showed us where the toilets were. During the performance, they looked after Calvin for me. Usually, I keep him with me at the theatre, but it is a bit boring for him sitting around doing nothing and quite squashed for us both in between the seats. They walked, spent and fed him for me, bringing him back at the interval.
I was also a virgin to live audio description, so had no idea how detailed it would be. The describer obviously had a script to work from, but there were many occasions that he had to describe off script as in pantomime it isn’t unusual for the cast to alter parts slightly. The audio description definitely helped with knowing what was going on and it was comforting not to be at a loss with visual jokes meaning you could laugh at the same time as the rest of the audience. I found I preferred to not listen to the description during the songs and through the entire performance I only had one ear piece in, as I found it difficult to hear the main action with both.
The show itself was amazing! There were a few stars in the production and Goc Wan stole the show for me. He was fabulous! Compared to Aladdin that I saw last month, this performance was on another level and restored my faith in pantomime.
I am looking forward to returning to the Hippodrome in September for my favourite musical of all time, Cats. Again I have booked for the audio described performance and touch tour.
We had ten visually impaired and zero fully sighted people in our group. As soon as we walked through the doors, the staff came over to offer assistance. They took us through the touch tour, this is where you get to explore the stage and props in order to help with the appreciation of the performance. We had the opportunity to feel the giant mirror, enormous dragon, the dwarfs home, various character costumes amongst many other things. It is fascinating to observe the great attention to detail.
Between the end of the touch tour and the beginning of the show, we had three members of staff that stayed with our group. They demonstrated how to operate the audio description headsets guided us to buy food and showed us where the toilets were. During the performance, they looked after Calvin for me. Usually, I keep him with me at the theatre, but it is a bit boring for him sitting around doing nothing and quite squashed for us both in between the seats. They walked, spent and fed him for me, bringing him back at the interval.
I was also a virgin to live audio description, so had no idea how detailed it would be. The describer obviously had a script to work from, but there were many occasions that he had to describe off script as in pantomime it isn’t unusual for the cast to alter parts slightly. The audio description definitely helped with knowing what was going on and it was comforting not to be at a loss with visual jokes meaning you could laugh at the same time as the rest of the audience. I found I preferred to not listen to the description during the songs and through the entire performance I only had one ear piece in, as I found it difficult to hear the main action with both.
The show itself was amazing! There were a few stars in the production and Goc Wan stole the show for me. He was fabulous! Compared to Aladdin that I saw last month, this performance was on another level and restored my faith in pantomime.
I am looking forward to returning to the Hippodrome in September for my favourite musical of all time, Cats. Again I have booked for the audio described performance and touch tour.
Monday, 20 January 2014
Half Birthday
Today marks my twenty five and a half year birthday. Birthdays always make you contemplate life, so it seems a good time to reflect on 2013 and look at what this year may bring.
2013
I think I will call it ‘the year of socialising and success’. I was thrilled to finally graduate and even better with First Class Honours. I was also pleased that I met my athletics target of dipping under fourteen seconds and as a bonus topped the European rankings for my classification.
It would take more than my fingers and toes to count the amount of new friends I made last year, some through Action, others through Victa and some just through friends of friends. I feel quite lucky to have met so many amazing people and look forward to having more adventures, giggles and let’s face it stressful moments (they will know what I mean)!
2014
I like even numbers. Although the year has hardly begun, I am going to name it ’the year of opportunity’. This year is going to be a rollercoaster ride of highs, lows and loop the loops. It is already proving to be that way. I am strapped in and ready to take on whatever the year throws at me.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
2013
I think I will call it ‘the year of socialising and success’. I was thrilled to finally graduate and even better with First Class Honours. I was also pleased that I met my athletics target of dipping under fourteen seconds and as a bonus topped the European rankings for my classification.
It would take more than my fingers and toes to count the amount of new friends I made last year, some through Action, others through Victa and some just through friends of friends. I feel quite lucky to have met so many amazing people and look forward to having more adventures, giggles and let’s face it stressful moments (they will know what I mean)!
2014
I like even numbers. Although the year has hardly begun, I am going to name it ’the year of opportunity’. This year is going to be a rollercoaster ride of highs, lows and loop the loops. It is already proving to be that way. I am strapped in and ready to take on whatever the year throws at me.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Catching Up
Considering I am no longer studying, I feel like I am constantly busy, but as the year is drawing to a close I have found some time to update this blog.
Adam Hills:
Back in October, how time flies, I saw the comedian and presenter of The Last Leg live at The Curve in Leicester. I have never been to a stand up show before and was pleasantly surprised. I spent the entire time in stitches and can safely say I enjoyed every second. Touch the frog!
Space Centre:
There isn’t really anything special about Leicester, but we do have The Space Centre. I have a vague memory of going when it first opened and recently went again. I was expecting it to be dull and to be quite honest the majority of it was. To be fair there are a few interactive things to experience, although a lot of it is just information printed everywhere. There was a film narrated by Rupert Grint about life on other planets, only I found I didn’t really care! Oh well, I feel like I have done my duty as a Leicester resident by visiting more than once now!
The Mouse Trap:
It has been a long time since I saw a non-musical at the theatre, so when I saw that The Mouse Trap was coming to DeMontfort Hall, I thought why not. It was a slow start to the play and I was feeling disappointed. However, by the interval I was gripped, trying to work out ‘who done it’. I won’t give the culprit away, I’ll just say I didn’t guess it correctly. Definitely worth a watch, a classic murder mystery.
5ive:
Everybody get up singing’...a week after The Mouse Trap I saw 5ive live at DeMontfort Hall. I had already seen them earlier in the year at The Big Reunion Tour so knew they wouldn’t disappoint. It was a great night to be nostalgic, singing and dancing the night away!
Airkix:
I like to think I am a bit of a dare devil. If someone asked me to do a sky dive though, I am not sure I would say yes. A simulated sky dive on the other hand, count me in! Airkix at Milton Keynes is where you get to do just that and oh my god was it amazing! You only get two goes, lasting around a minute, but it is honestly worth every penny. The whole concept of it fascinated me, you are not attached to anything, you just go into the wind tunnel and fly! It was a little bit daunting not being able to see or hear, but the instructors were great and it was nice to see that they weren’t fazed by visually impaired participants. The feeling of flying was epic and on my second go they spun me around and upside down, I feared for a split second that I might actually throw up! And now would I do a real sky dive? Maybe...
Goalball:
I have started playing the only sport designed specifically for the visually impaired again. I had only attended a handful of goalball training sessions, before taking part in a novice tournament for Nottingham. I really wish I could play without being competitive, after all I took goalball up as a hobby and not to take seriously like I do my athletics. Throw me into a competition situation and all I can think about is destroying the opposition! After doing a solo sport for so long, I do find the team aspect of goalball very difficult. I can’t destroy the enemy on my own, as hard as I try. I played centre all day, which was a huge responsibility and unfortunately due to a combination of nerves and inexperience my team lost the first two games, but we won the second two. Nottingham A finished fourth overall, whilst my team Nottingham B finished ninth (there were twelve teams in total). I have the bug for goalball now and look forward to the next tournament where I know we can do much better.
Calvin:
To think I used to write a week’s worth of posts about him! Calvin and I have now been a partnership for four years and I am not sure what I would do without him. He still has a mischievous personality and has gained quite a reputation for himself. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn’t fall for his puppy dog eyes and general cheekiness. Unfortunately, this year Calvin has had a few fits, which are horrible to watch. He doesn’t have an official diagnosis, but both the vets and Guide Dogs suspect epilepsy. Thankfully, he can still work on the days he doesn’t fit, which is ninety nine percent of the time, so all is good. He will never fit in harness, as they occur when the dog is at rest. Calvin does like to sulk afterwards, but I can’t blame him. Fingers crossed we have many more years together walking in wonky lines down the street!
F1 2013:
Yawn! Vettel, Vettel, Vettel! What a boring championship it was this year. It is sad to see Webber retire from the sport, always the nearly man and equally a shame to lose Massa from Team Ferrari. Nevertheless, we are getting The Ice Man Raikanan back, which means Ferrari are definitely going to be the most vicious team on the grid next year. It is going to be gripping watching who is the better driver between Alonso and Raikanan. Hopefully we can clinch the title too!
Aladdin:
Absolute torture! I know pantomimes are supposed to be light hearted and all that, but earlier this week I had the most bizarre three hours of my life. Ok Aladdin was played by a female, totally normal for panto. What I couldn’t get my head around was the show being set in China, two genies, a pet panda, getting soaked by water pistols and not even a hint of a magic carpet ride! Every time Wishy Washy came on stage he would say ‘hi guys you’re number one’ and we would have to say ‘Wishy Washy you are peng’! Weird! Aladdin you weren’t peng!
Piano:
Another activity I used to do back in the day was piano lessons. I only ever got my Grade One, how I don’t know. I seem to have so many musical friends and to be quite honest envy their talent for music, as much as I love to hear them all play. So I decided that I would try and be talented too! I can play Jingle Bells and Walking in the Air from The Snowman already, I am impressed with myself. I do like challenges.
Teaching:
Speaking of challenges, I have made the executive decision that I want to be a secondary school English teacher. I am currently in the process of submitting my application to begin in September 2014 and will keep you updated on my progress. Growing up is scary!
Athletics:
I am still training hard six days per week. I am doing indoors next year for the first time, which is quite exciting, mainly because I know I will run a PB!
Quote:
Just to finish off this post, my favourite quote of the moment is ‘don’t give up on what you want most, for what you want now’.
Season’s greetings!
Adam Hills:
Back in October, how time flies, I saw the comedian and presenter of The Last Leg live at The Curve in Leicester. I have never been to a stand up show before and was pleasantly surprised. I spent the entire time in stitches and can safely say I enjoyed every second. Touch the frog!
Space Centre:
There isn’t really anything special about Leicester, but we do have The Space Centre. I have a vague memory of going when it first opened and recently went again. I was expecting it to be dull and to be quite honest the majority of it was. To be fair there are a few interactive things to experience, although a lot of it is just information printed everywhere. There was a film narrated by Rupert Grint about life on other planets, only I found I didn’t really care! Oh well, I feel like I have done my duty as a Leicester resident by visiting more than once now!
The Mouse Trap:
It has been a long time since I saw a non-musical at the theatre, so when I saw that The Mouse Trap was coming to DeMontfort Hall, I thought why not. It was a slow start to the play and I was feeling disappointed. However, by the interval I was gripped, trying to work out ‘who done it’. I won’t give the culprit away, I’ll just say I didn’t guess it correctly. Definitely worth a watch, a classic murder mystery.
5ive:
Everybody get up singing’...a week after The Mouse Trap I saw 5ive live at DeMontfort Hall. I had already seen them earlier in the year at The Big Reunion Tour so knew they wouldn’t disappoint. It was a great night to be nostalgic, singing and dancing the night away!
Airkix:
I like to think I am a bit of a dare devil. If someone asked me to do a sky dive though, I am not sure I would say yes. A simulated sky dive on the other hand, count me in! Airkix at Milton Keynes is where you get to do just that and oh my god was it amazing! You only get two goes, lasting around a minute, but it is honestly worth every penny. The whole concept of it fascinated me, you are not attached to anything, you just go into the wind tunnel and fly! It was a little bit daunting not being able to see or hear, but the instructors were great and it was nice to see that they weren’t fazed by visually impaired participants. The feeling of flying was epic and on my second go they spun me around and upside down, I feared for a split second that I might actually throw up! And now would I do a real sky dive? Maybe...
Goalball:
I have started playing the only sport designed specifically for the visually impaired again. I had only attended a handful of goalball training sessions, before taking part in a novice tournament for Nottingham. I really wish I could play without being competitive, after all I took goalball up as a hobby and not to take seriously like I do my athletics. Throw me into a competition situation and all I can think about is destroying the opposition! After doing a solo sport for so long, I do find the team aspect of goalball very difficult. I can’t destroy the enemy on my own, as hard as I try. I played centre all day, which was a huge responsibility and unfortunately due to a combination of nerves and inexperience my team lost the first two games, but we won the second two. Nottingham A finished fourth overall, whilst my team Nottingham B finished ninth (there were twelve teams in total). I have the bug for goalball now and look forward to the next tournament where I know we can do much better.
Calvin:
To think I used to write a week’s worth of posts about him! Calvin and I have now been a partnership for four years and I am not sure what I would do without him. He still has a mischievous personality and has gained quite a reputation for himself. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn’t fall for his puppy dog eyes and general cheekiness. Unfortunately, this year Calvin has had a few fits, which are horrible to watch. He doesn’t have an official diagnosis, but both the vets and Guide Dogs suspect epilepsy. Thankfully, he can still work on the days he doesn’t fit, which is ninety nine percent of the time, so all is good. He will never fit in harness, as they occur when the dog is at rest. Calvin does like to sulk afterwards, but I can’t blame him. Fingers crossed we have many more years together walking in wonky lines down the street!
F1 2013:
Yawn! Vettel, Vettel, Vettel! What a boring championship it was this year. It is sad to see Webber retire from the sport, always the nearly man and equally a shame to lose Massa from Team Ferrari. Nevertheless, we are getting The Ice Man Raikanan back, which means Ferrari are definitely going to be the most vicious team on the grid next year. It is going to be gripping watching who is the better driver between Alonso and Raikanan. Hopefully we can clinch the title too!
Aladdin:
Absolute torture! I know pantomimes are supposed to be light hearted and all that, but earlier this week I had the most bizarre three hours of my life. Ok Aladdin was played by a female, totally normal for panto. What I couldn’t get my head around was the show being set in China, two genies, a pet panda, getting soaked by water pistols and not even a hint of a magic carpet ride! Every time Wishy Washy came on stage he would say ‘hi guys you’re number one’ and we would have to say ‘Wishy Washy you are peng’! Weird! Aladdin you weren’t peng!
Piano:
Another activity I used to do back in the day was piano lessons. I only ever got my Grade One, how I don’t know. I seem to have so many musical friends and to be quite honest envy their talent for music, as much as I love to hear them all play. So I decided that I would try and be talented too! I can play Jingle Bells and Walking in the Air from The Snowman already, I am impressed with myself. I do like challenges.
Teaching:
Speaking of challenges, I have made the executive decision that I want to be a secondary school English teacher. I am currently in the process of submitting my application to begin in September 2014 and will keep you updated on my progress. Growing up is scary!
Athletics:
I am still training hard six days per week. I am doing indoors next year for the first time, which is quite exciting, mainly because I know I will run a PB!
Quote:
Just to finish off this post, my favourite quote of the moment is ‘don’t give up on what you want most, for what you want now’.
Season’s greetings!
Sunday, 17 November 2013
3 Festivals 1 Weekend
From Friday 1 to Monday 4 November, I went on my third Victa weekend of the year.
Friday – Halloween
After aqua zorbing on the lake, which I had previously done in March, the Halloween themed activities began. Pumpkin carving was first on the agenda, something that I have never done before, I am not sure if this makes me deprived as a child. I have never been great with my hands, so my pumpkin carving skills were pretty non-existent. One of the volunteers actually did my face design for me under my instruction. I was feeling moody for some unknown reason and chose to have a pumpkin with a sad face. Turns out this was creative genius and I won £25 worth of ITunes vouchers. Can’t complain at that!
The evening was spent toasting marshmallows, drinking punch, singing and generally relaxing around a fire outside. We also had to do fancy dress, so I came as the devil.
Saturday – Christmas
The daytime activities included fencing, which naturally I kicked ass at and canoeing, which naturally I froze to death doing. Again, these were activities I had done on previous Victa trips. It definitely seemed far too early to be listening to Christmas songs however, it was quite an enjoyable night. Last Train Home provided the musical entertainment, the buffet was lush and we even got presents.
Sunday – Bonfire
We did random party games in the morning and the set activity was rock climbing in the afternoon. That evening we went to a bonfire display, which wasn’t the most VI friendly event. I saw a flash of light in about every hundred fireworks, more than what most people could see! Afterwards we had a nice meal at ZZizzi’s.
Monday – Reality
By the final day of Victa weekends I always feel dead on my feet after the consecutive late nights. We went for a morning stroll around the complex, I refused to let Calvin join us, as he had already rolled in fox pooh three times already and I wasn’t prepared to have to wash him yet again! The Victa team ordered in McDonalds for lunch, something I very very rarely eat these days.
Overall, it was a nice opportunity to catch up with old friends, make a few new ones and all at a ridiculously reasonable price.
Friday – Halloween
After aqua zorbing on the lake, which I had previously done in March, the Halloween themed activities began. Pumpkin carving was first on the agenda, something that I have never done before, I am not sure if this makes me deprived as a child. I have never been great with my hands, so my pumpkin carving skills were pretty non-existent. One of the volunteers actually did my face design for me under my instruction. I was feeling moody for some unknown reason and chose to have a pumpkin with a sad face. Turns out this was creative genius and I won £25 worth of ITunes vouchers. Can’t complain at that!
The evening was spent toasting marshmallows, drinking punch, singing and generally relaxing around a fire outside. We also had to do fancy dress, so I came as the devil.
Saturday – Christmas
The daytime activities included fencing, which naturally I kicked ass at and canoeing, which naturally I froze to death doing. Again, these were activities I had done on previous Victa trips. It definitely seemed far too early to be listening to Christmas songs however, it was quite an enjoyable night. Last Train Home provided the musical entertainment, the buffet was lush and we even got presents.
Sunday – Bonfire
We did random party games in the morning and the set activity was rock climbing in the afternoon. That evening we went to a bonfire display, which wasn’t the most VI friendly event. I saw a flash of light in about every hundred fireworks, more than what most people could see! Afterwards we had a nice meal at ZZizzi’s.
Monday – Reality
By the final day of Victa weekends I always feel dead on my feet after the consecutive late nights. We went for a morning stroll around the complex, I refused to let Calvin join us, as he had already rolled in fox pooh three times already and I wasn’t prepared to have to wash him yet again! The Victa team ordered in McDonalds for lunch, something I very very rarely eat these days.
Overall, it was a nice opportunity to catch up with old friends, make a few new ones and all at a ridiculously reasonable price.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Graduation
On 20 September I graduated at the Barbican in London. I think I am glad that I went to my graduation, although I wasn’t that fussed about going. It was an interesting experience. On arrival they gave you your certificate, which made me think, is there any actual need to go to the ceremony now?! I went to collect my gown and was disappointed to discover that we didn’t get a hat. However, for the official photos they let you borrow a hat and fake scroll.
They sat Calvin and me on the front row, I’m guessing so it would be easier for us to get on stage. What they didn’t pre-empt was that Calvin would sprawl directly in front of the steps exactly where everyone needed to go to walk across the stage. Several times I tried to move him, but he was having none of it therefore, everyone had to hop over him.
When Calvin and I were called up to exchange envelopes (that is the graduation part) I was fully expecting him to do something to make me cringe. Surprisingly, he strode across the stage in Guide Dog mode. The applause we received was much longer than most people, I wanted the ground to swallow me up, as I blushed with embarrassment!
Overall, I have had an amazing four years with The Open University and studying towards a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature has to be one of the best life decisions I have made to date. Getting a First was just a bonus!
They sat Calvin and me on the front row, I’m guessing so it would be easier for us to get on stage. What they didn’t pre-empt was that Calvin would sprawl directly in front of the steps exactly where everyone needed to go to walk across the stage. Several times I tried to move him, but he was having none of it therefore, everyone had to hop over him.
When Calvin and I were called up to exchange envelopes (that is the graduation part) I was fully expecting him to do something to make me cringe. Surprisingly, he strode across the stage in Guide Dog mode. The applause we received was much longer than most people, I wanted the ground to swallow me up, as I blushed with embarrassment!
Overall, I have had an amazing four years with The Open University and studying towards a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature has to be one of the best life decisions I have made to date. Getting a First was just a bonus!
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