Landslide

I've just re-discovered this beautiful song from Fleetwood Mac, it's called Landslide and written by the lovely Stevie Nicks. See a youtube performance here.

I took my love and I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
And the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky--what is love?
Can the child in my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin'...ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know.....I don't know...

Well I've been afraid of changin'
Because I've built my life around you
But time makes is bolder; children get older
I'm getting older too....

So, take this love...take it down.
Oh, if you climb a mountain and you turn around
and you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills...
well, the landslide will bring you down;
The landslide will bring you down...

A little bit of research told me that the song has also been covered by the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam & The Smashing Pumpkins!

Hey, Come Bounce on my Bed

Trampolining officially rocks. There is no doubt about this at all in my mind, and I've just purchased a rather spiffing mini-trampoline (craftily rebranded as the Rebounder to you know, make it epitomise everything cool).

Of course my 40" diameter Reebok Studio Rebounder is not quite the same as the beds of the Super Tramp Kangaroo, but it's rather entertaining nonetheless*. Yes, it may not be capable of performing things like this ... but you can still do this, if you really wanted.

So, to give you some random knowledge about the art of rebounding:

• It is a zero-impact sport, so great for people who's joints are a bit iffy and can't really run/jog.
  
• In fact, rebounding is often used to help people recover from physical problems as it helps to regain strength in the musculoskeletal systems due to the increased gravitiational load when bouncing.
  
• It is beneficial as cardiovascular exercise, as well as helping to strengthen and tone your muscles - in particular your legs, hips and abdomen.
  
• Apparently, NASA are quoted as saying that rebounding is the most efficient form of exercise created by man!
  
• Effective six minutes of rebounding equals one mile of jogging!!
• It improves your circulataion and your lymphatic system - a large and very important part of your immune system.
• There are psychological benefits too, of course: it is a great mental uplift for many, and can help alleviate stress and mild depression (obviously not a cure for these conditions, but definitely beneficial) and there are also links with helping hyperactive children calm down!!
• Most of all, rebounding is FUN.

These, however, are only a few of the benefits to be found from rebounding. Google it and see what it throws back at you - the benefits seem to be vast!

So, after having shown by deepest affection for rebounding, I guess I'll head off for a bounce (/rebound, if you will). Try it, it's really great fun and really good for you!!


* If you are a little sad like me, you may like to know that the word nonetheless dates from 1847, but the phrase "none the less" was not contracted into one word until about 1930.

North vs. South : The Never-Ending Debate

The north and south of England. Where are they defined? What purpose does this definition have? Why do so many resent being classed as northern rather than southern, and what about the fact that the Midlands exists?? After a (quite evidently) southerner came to stay with my family, this north-south divide appeared to become more and more significant - much to my own amusement. Hence this blog post.

Definitions
North
Situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the north

South
Situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the south

The Watford Gap
The division of north and south? Interestingly, this 'gap' is said to imply that there is no culture or sophistication north of the Watford Gap. Wikipedia throws this up at me:

"Those living north of the Watford Gap claim that it is the point where humour, humility and humanity begins. Southerners respond by claiming that it is the line where well being, self respect and spirit end."

Now, whilst I have never come across such vast generalisations about the populations north and south of the said divide, I wonder - will we always feel such a divide between the people of our one, reasonably small, country?

Certain differences will always exist, of course. Economically the south will always prosper over the north: what do we find in the northern counties of the country? Significantly agricultural, these sparsely populated counties seem not to offer the job prospects that many graduates seek. Perhaps, though, one day companies will seek to move out of the crowded South-East and move towards the cheaper land. But how long will this move take? The economy in the UK is already particularly imbalanced: why will companies want to move to an economically poor area?

How about language and dialect? "There's no 'r' in bath!" Northern accents and dialects appear to be frowned upon: many people from the north reject their local dialect in order to become more employable. English students are taught no one dialect is better than another. Yet the association of a northern accent with a less intelligent person still remains. The view that the northern way of speaking is "incorrect". One wonders how long it will take before the standard pronunciation of the south spreads over the country, and we all speak the same.

I will be the first to admit that the north does lack the same appeal as the south: as a teenager I moaned constantly about being stranded with nothing to do. This is true: public transport in the rural areas is limited, if existent at all. Theatres and museums are rare. Big chains that are commonplace in the south, not heard of. How can these things change with the constant scrutination of the differences that are found between the north and south? Do we need the entire country to be the same? How do we define what the people themselves want? The divide between north and south will always exist: we as a population keep driving it along, it is something to break the ice, play into and keep the smiles and laughter going. Maybe as people we are different. But why are we different? Why does a typical northener know all their neighbours - perhaps their whole village - but a typical southerner know none at all? Of course, these are pretty vast stereotypes but there are so many people that exist like this.

From Wikipedia again:

"It is often suggested that people are much friendlier, more open about themselves, more community minded, and more willing to express their emotions in the North, while Southerners, and more specifically inhabitants of London and the South East, are stereotypically portrayed as cool, aloof, reserved, devoid of emotion, preoccupied with privacy, and not terribly friendly. One often is reminded how in the North people take pride in knowing all the neighbours up and down their block, while Southerners will boast about not knowing who lives next door."

So really, what have I achieved by this? Not a lot at all. Just further commenting upon the north-south divide. What will this result in? Nothing at all. Do I want it to result in something? I think not, no. I'll stick to my "northern ways".

Post Exam-ness

Exams are now officially over. Just over a week of last-minute revision and panic has now come to an end, and (unfortunately), there is little else to do other than spend time with hallmates. So this post is devoted to our first day of freedom.

Tuesday, 12th June
Exam in the morning, Games & Decisions. Goes ok, could have been better. Probably made a mess of one of the questions but was generally ok. Finished just gone 11, headed back to Cryfield with Chris, and it seemed quite strange to think that I had no more work to do this term. Was also exhausted and collapsed on my bed for a little while with Gwen, until we heard the words "Rootes breakfast". Then we got up and ran (a little way, anyways) to Rootes social to eat said Rootes breakfast...As usual it was disappointing, but undoubtedly greasy.

Following this, we piled into Rupey's car (it was literally piled, four of us in the back....extremely safe/legal!) and headed off to Tesco to buy food/drink in general. I bought two multi-packs of Iced Gems...mmmm....along with other foody things. We then headed back to halls and hung out in the kitchen for a bit, until we went outside to go slack-lining and to generally laze about in the sun.

Slack-lining, is in fact quite fun. The guys have been doing it for a while now, and it's kind of remininiscent of the beam for me - although I am unable to get on the line without someone helping me. I'm also pretty unable to do much other than stand still at the moment as well....I'm sure with practise it would all be fine!! We spent the entire afternoon doing this, until the tutor/warden of Hurst asked us to move away from the finalists' area since they're still studying for exams apparently. So we headed in to get ready to going to Varsity, people from downstairs came with us too which was pretty cool. Had fish cakes, and a treacle pudding, but for some reason didn't eat much of either. Following the meal we headed across the road and hung out in a very grassy field for a bit, the guys played a bit of football and we just generally chatted etc.

We headed back to campus and spent a little time inside before going to sit outside again with people from downstairs and played Word Association of all things, I helped Gwen fetch her laundry (I was very restless!!) and then spent some time in Radhika's room, and Pete & Gwen joined us. That was about it really, had a fantastic day which was capped off with a fantastic night....needless to say I'm pretty tired now (such a wuss you see..). I slept late this morning, then went to Coventry to peruse possible pirate costumes with Pete, Sarah & Gwen. And I ate chips with Sarah. All in all, a good day!

Aaaah, now to continue with my lack of work (hurrah!) and the fun and frivolties of our last couple of weeks of term!

Until next time, cya!

Breathe...It Won't Be Long Now

Don't blame me just because I am bored
I'm needy, I need to taste it all
Don't doubt me just because I am quiet
I'm thinking, thinking about it all

I'm helpless about the way of me
I'm thinking, thinking about it all
I'm sorting everything inside

I'm looking in the space
This time, this void
I'm making my way through the muddy minutes
The pull is in my muscle
The ache is in my bones
It's hard to be alone
(Breathe, breathe)
It won't be long now
(breathe, breathe)

See through me when I put up a fight
Like you to see the things I hide
Go deeper than I won't let you know
I'm frightened but I won't let it show

I'm helpless about the way of me
I'm thinking, thinking about it all
I'm sorting everything inside
I'm looking in the space

This time, this void
I'm making my way through the muddy minutes
The pull is in my muscle
The ache is in my bones
It's hard to be alone
(Breathe, breathe)
It won't be long now
(breathe, breathe)

Exams, Headaches and Excessive Chocolate Consumption

So, it is indeed that time of year: exam season. It is at this time that students across the country suddenly realise that they should have perhaps done that extra reading, or maybe spent a larger proportion of their time awake in lectures.

Of course, there are always those people who seem to breeze through exams without it affecting their cool, nonchalant enigmatic personas. I, unfortunately, am not one of these said enigmatic people. Instead, I spend my time worrying about how little I appear to know, thinking "what if such a question comes up?" or contemplating whether if I was to stay up for those few extra hours, would it be effective what with the reduced sleeping time (more on this later)...So, in essence, I just want to moan about exams. I used to be so good at taking them...what happened?!

To deal with this, I have naturally turned to the long-time, scientifically proven (by me) method of consuming excessive amounts of chocolate. Yesterday I acquired a rather spiffing box of Belgian choccies, a small thank-you token from my old neighbours. This evening, the rather spiffing box is empty. They did taste good, though. The sugar is great at giving me that boost...but then it runs out and I realise I need to eat more chocolate (such a shame)...so now I am chocolate-less, craving sugar and slowly falling asleep. How I am so tired is beyond me. After a dreadful two hour exam, through which my head was throbbing with the intensity of repeated sforzandos from an excitable brass band, I retired to my bed for a quick nap. Somehow, the 45 minutes which I had set aside for this nap quickly turned into a whole afternoon affair. But now I really want to sleep again, I can feel a headache growing....again....and am keen to avoid the disabilitating event that is the migraine. So here I am again, facing a dilemma. Do I stock up (again) on some sort of drug concoction and muddle through a couple of hours of revision before retiring to bed and inevitably sleeping in late and losing revision time tomorrow, or do I simply go to bed and spend half the night awake feeling guilty as I've done no revision today? I am not a decisive person, and I will no doubt spend a significant amount of time contemplating both options. Most likely it will result in me doing something completely different.

Perhaps I'll just buy some more chocolate.

Tray Bong: The Beginnings

Tray bong, tray tray bong.

Indeed these words are incredibly ridiculous but recognisable for their intents and purposes. Perhaps this is the reason that they stuck in my mind following the reading of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. A particularly absurd play indeed. It focusses upon two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir - confusingly also known as Didi and Gogo - who are inexplicably waiting for Godot. Who, or what, Godot is, I am yet to know. The plot appears to be quite repetitive and unexplicably uneventful. Two men are waiting, by a tree (or is it a shrub, or a bush?) for someone named Godot. They are unsure as to when he will arrive. The audience is unsure as to who he is, and why they need to see Godot. Are the characters even sure why they need to see Godot? I don't know. Who could Godot be? Immediately I think God - purely due to the similarities of 'God' and 'Godot'. Perhaps that's what is. Perhaps Beckett felt that through life we are all in fact just waiting for something or someone. Or perhaps he just felt he needed to write a play that didn't conform to theatrical norms.

I haven't read to the end yet, but maybe I will. It is here that I should perhaps mention that English is not the subject of my degree, but rather that of my friend Gwen - without her my sparkly new blog would not have this smashing title (and would in fact, quite possibly not exist). One evening we embarked on reading this play in an effort to assist towards her exam preparation. And maybe also to alleviate mine and Sarah's boredom.

So, tray bong...tray tray bong. My blog is begun, from here it can only grow...let's hope it will be tray bong!