Why everyone should embrace Freshers at university

So the car is packed full of your belongings and one too many toilet rolls, you’ve tearfully waved goodbye to your friends and family and you’re ready to start your new life at university. We’ve all been there, and it’s weird to think that you’re waving goodbye to eighteen or so years of your life for pastures new.
Sounds a bit daunting really. But not to worry, you see universities across the country have this thing a week before studying commences where you basically get drunk, make new friends and experience the reality of uni life. It’s called Freshers’.
Freshers’ for me was one of the best weeks of my life. Standing outside my new flat with a hundred or so bags, I was apprehensive about my new life. Worried about making new friends, getting along with flat mates, doing well on the course etc. But it’s best to leave any worries you have in the car.
As soon as I entered my flat, I was welcomed by my seven flat mates. They turned out to be a fantastic bunch of guys to live with over the next year. You might start off having trouble understanding their accents or remembering their names, but it’s nothing a few beers wont sort out. In fact, having moved in on the Sunday afternoon, I was off out to my first flat party later that night where I made more friends and started a turbulent relationship with my new found love, alcohol.
Your first night in your new flat is a little bit daunting to say the least, but all it takes is a few hours kip and you’re ready for the week ahead. And what a week it will be.
I kicked off my Freshers’ with an introduction to my course, which was great. It meant I finally met my other course mates, who all turned out to be a perfect, colourful bunch. In fact they ended up (and still are) my drinking buddies during Freshers’. Nights spent at Coopers were brilliant with the fancy dress themes just adding to the excitement. The School Disco was my favourite, with all the cheesy tunes you could wish for.
The good thing about the Medway campus is that there are so many people from all different walks of life. It’s great to make friends from different cultures and countries, and having three universities sharing the same campus means you’re guaranteed to make lots of friends.
Apart from the nights out and barbeques on campus (you won’t need feeding during Freshers’, practically all the food is free), the Freshers’ fayre is a good chance to socialise and make new friends by joining up to various societies. And if that doesn’t take your fancy, then the various stalls offering discounts and free pens are pretty handy too. So you won’t need to bring any stationary with you to uni either!
My course also put on a special dinner for all the new first years, which can only be described as the last supper; the only decent meal you’re going to get for the next year.
The downside for me last year was the horrendous Freshers’ Ball, which I hope will be a lot better this year. When you hear that your friends at other uni’s have the likes of Florence & the Machine and Tinie Tempah headlining at their Freshers’ Ball, disappointed is just one of the many words I could have used to describe our ball.
The headlining act were ok, but the fact I can’t remember their name sums up how rubbish the ball was. Apart from a face painting stall and an over-priced food counter, entertainment was scarce. In fact, it seemed fitting that whilst sitting in the middle of the dance floor wondering why I‘d stumped up the cash for this rubbish evening, Sak Noel’s hit ‘Loca People’ would play in the background. What the fuck indeed! Fingers crossed it’s better this year.
So what did I learn by the end of Freshers’ week? Well there’s the fact my liver should be nominated for an Oscar for the performance it put in over that week. Or that I’ll go to great extents to get freebies, like swapping a pot of pee at the Chlamydia stand in return of a free keying (totally worth it). But most importantly, I realised that university was to be the start of a fantastic, fun-filled three years of my life, with new friends, new challenges and new opportunities. So don’t miss out on Freshers’, because once the week is over, you’ll be praying for it to happen all over again. Written by Kieran Watkins for the Medwire

Beer at the ready: how the British Public House is fighting back

The great British pub, once a favourite pastime for the men and women of our country, is now a dying breed clinging on for survival.

A British Beer & Pub Association report claims that up to 52 pubs are closing every week every week, nearly seven a day. Since 2008, 4,500 pubs have closed in Britain. In 2009 alone, there were over 24,000 job losses in the beer industry alone, with the figure rising each year since.

It is worrying news for the industry, which has seen fierce competition from cheap deals at supermarkets, and rising alcohol levies introduced by the government.

However, the pubs are fighting back. A new campaign by CAMRA – Campaign for Real Ale – has seen 5,500 pubs across the UK unite to defy the gloom and entice new customers through a new national event.

The first ever ‘Community Pubs Month’, being held this April, aims to attract the nation to go to pubs and bars, by putting on special events, activities and celebrations, helping to reinstate the former golden years of the pub in Britain.

The public house in Britain has been around for many generations. The tavern can be linked back to the early Roman times, whereas the 14th century saw the formation of the ‘pub’ as we now know it today. According to pubs.com, “for centuries it has been a place where friends meet, colleagues 'talk shop' and business people negotiate deals; a place where people gather to celebrate, play games, or to seek quiet relaxation.”

But times have changed. Dogged by dwindling punter numbers and a government keen to crack down on binge drinking, the industry has suffered more in the last decade then it has at any other point in its long, colourful history. Although, according to pubs.org.uk, “15 million people still drink in their local each week.”

However, recent statistics released by CAMRA show that 9 in 10 young pub going adults (89%) visit their local pub to meet friends and socialise, whilst 1 in 4 currently married couples (25%) first met their partner down the pub.

Keen to tempt new customers to pubs across the country, CAMRA have launched their new campaign at a time of increased interest in the British public house. With an unusually hot spring and events such as the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee, the public need somewhere to go to enjoy the weather and celebrate with their communities.

In a sense, this is what the new ‘Community Pubs Month’ is all about. Over April, 5,500 pubs across the country will be taking part in the new initiative, hosting various events, from Ann Summers Parties to Pig Racing.

Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive said: “CAMRA’s new campaign is all about reaffirming the vital importance of local pubs, and the essential role they play in many people’s lives.”

“Pubs are the beating hearts of countless communities across the land”, he added. “Without their existence, society would be a lot worse off.”

Campaigners backing the event hope that it will reignite the community view of the pub being the heart of a village or community. Already, pubs have drawn up several ideas across April.

The Leopard in Burton-On-Trent plans to hold an ‘Ann Summers’ party for punters to try on the latest lingerie, whereas The Market in Alton plan to host a charity auction and curry night this month.

The plans are being rolled out quickly in order to attract new customers before the planned increase in alcohol duty in the summer, which is likely to increase the price of the average pint by 15 pence. However, the recent announcement for a minimum alcohol price to be set at 40p a unit may provide some good news for the pub industry, where cheap supermarket prices have dented profits.

The plans by CAMRA are ambitious, and may turn regular punters off from going to their local drinking hole. But they offer a chance for the public house to rekindle its former glory days. Despite recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics ‘National Wellbeing programme’ reported that in 2010, there were 6 million fewer trips across Britain after the high of the ‘staycation’ shown in 2009.

Whether the pub industry will survive another decade or so remains to be seen. It all depends on the mood of the public. With families feeling the pinch across Britain, pubs may be viewed as a cheaper alternative for a good day out. Hopefully the plans will provide some good news for the economy.

CAMRA’s ‘Community Pubs Month’ runs throughout April nationwide. Visit www.camra.org.uk for more details.

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia

This piece is a version taken from my 1st year portfolio, which I produced on my journalism course at the University of Kent