Summer Sunshine, Silly Names and the End of Exams!

As you'll know from my previous post I'm leaving beautiful Exeter. It's scary in itself but it's also my friends and I have realised that we haven't explored Devon properly and only have a limited time to do so! 

In that vein, I was roused from one of my many post exam naps (genuinely, it's the novelty of being able to sleep at any time that gets me) to be told that a pub lunch and country walk were on offer. How could I refuse!?

The NoBody Inn was our lunch spot, in Doddiscombsleigh, a name which caused great entertainment. Lots of people around Exeter had spoken about it as a great pub in the countryside- it has the most amazing collection of whiskies (not really my scene, but it might interest you). If anyone knows how to pronounce it then please do let me know. We ended up mumbling it a bit when trying to explain where we were. 

Feeling a little sorry for myself, I went for the ham egg and chips, but their burgers also look incredible and Katy won the ordering game with her brie tartlet and sweet potato chips. It wasn't too busy and we just basked in the early summer sunshine, enjoying our freedom! 

The friendly staff there gave us directions to Haldon Forest Park for an afternoon stroll in the sun. We promptly forgot what they said and managed (with the help of a satnav) to find it. 

It's the perfect place for families to spend a day in the sunshine, with bike hire and even Segway tours (though I personally think they're a little strange for a forest walk). It's part of the Forestry Commission and has a butterfly conservation area that we walked through. It's not challenging walking but ideal for those prone to getting lost on footpaths (like me). Also when we arrived it looked super busy, but fortunately we barely saw anyone on our walk. 

stolen from insta. Thanks Merryn! 

The best part was definitely the view over Exeter; sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the uni bubble so physically getting out of town was so refreshing. Cracking views, sunshine and of course the usual suspects made for a rather lovely day. 

Thoughts on Leaving University

Fresher's Ball- my halls corridor

As you know, I have finished university (hence the sudden reappearance of blog posts). I'm writing this from my bed in my tiny room in our, if I'm brutally honest, crappy student house. Bizarrely, despite all the stress and frustration of this year I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. So I thought I'd share it. 

When this post goes up I'll have literally just moved out of the house, only to come back for my graduation, assuming I haven't failed all my exams and then I'll be back for another year. So this post might be a bit embarrassing actually...

Hopefully not, but still I thought it was worth talking about. 

I know there are a lot of people at the other end of the university experience, trying to decide if they even want to go, so I thought I should share what I think of university as a way to provide an (totally unqualified and maybe you should ignore me, but maybe not) insight in what I have loved and hated about it. 

You will always think it's too expensive
Ok, so I was part of the first generation to pay the new fees for university. I study history, which has some of the lowest number of contact hours out of any degree. It's embarrassing when people have 20+ hours a week in labs and I have 5. Someone worked out how much each hour with a tutor cost and it was a disgusting level. Do I still think uni is worth it? Of course, but ironically enough not for the teaching. There are always exceptions of tutors that put in so much time for me, but in all honesty I have taught myself my degree. Which I'm annoyed, but also proud of. You realise pretty quickly that the lectures are only a tiny part of the whole shebang. 

19th Birthday

aaaaand my 21st! 

You will meet friends for life
This is probably one of the biggest pulls to university. Everyone says it and now at the end of my time here I can see why! Some of my closest friends I met back in first year and our friendship has gone from strength to strength. Of course, there has been drama, but it's not what has defined my experience here, thank goodness. At the end of it I remember the good and the bad, but the former far more than the latter. 

One of the more embarrassing fancy dress nights. I'm supposed to be giraffe.

You will cry. A lot. 
I'll admit, alcohol for those who drink may have something to do with this. But I have cried, from laughter as well as sadness while at uni a hell of a lot. Homesickness was the biggest culprit for a lot of my friends, but it's natural, don't let it hold you back from going away from home! I don't know why, but I became so much more comfortable with not feeling ok all the time at uni. It's important to know you can be upset, even if it's totally ridiculous. Get it out of your system and then move on. Living with close friends has certainly sorted that out- funnily enough hiding away from friends when they live in the same house as you is the clearest sign that something's wrong and friends suddenly become family. Embrace it. 

Beach holiday an hour away from uni. 

It's not all about the boys! (or girls)
So my parents met at university and they're still married over 30 years later. Exeter is known for being a marrying uni and I can say with no regrets that I have no future husband lined up right now. The boys I've met here have become some great (and sometimes idiotic) friends and that's not something to be annoyed about. A lot of my friends have fallen in love at uni, but I haven't and I am so glad that boys haven't defined these 3 years. In fact it's given me such perspective about knowing what kind of relationship I do and don't want. I must admit school just doesn't seem like the place where you learn that...

Ok, now I've been totally soppy and sound like an old lady, to conclude (as I have done in too many essays)...university has been some of my best and worst times so far and I haven't regretted a single bit of it.

Girls Doing it For Themselves: Once Upon A Time

Ok, so I know I'm late to the party with Once Upon A Time by ABC, but I only signed up to Netflix a month ago and since exams finished (yay!) I've finally had the time to get some serious TV sessions in. I may or may not have just finished the 22-episode first season in 2 weeks. Netflix is dangerous when you're as lazy as me. 

It's a great show- I mean, the production quality isn't exactly Lord of the Rings standard, but when a story is as fun as this one, it doesn't really matter to me. Of course, that is subject to debate. 

First of all, the premise of the show; at the wedding of Snow White and her Prince, the Evil Queen (her stepmother) sets a curse that sends all fairytale characters to a world without magic, our world. So, all the Grimm characters (Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella et al.) are sent to 'Storybrooke' (I struggle with this name the entire time I watch the show) where they have forgotten who they are. A boy called Henry, the adopted son of the Mayor of the town, the formal evil Queen, reads a story book given to him by Miss. Blanchard (Snow White) and realises who all citizens of Storybrooke are. He then decides to find his birth mother, who he believes is the saviour to the town that is described in his book. 

Sounds totally mental, I know. But the big thing about this show that I couldn't get over is how great it is for girls. And boys, actually, at showing girls doing it for themselves. So the classic stories always have the handsome Prince, true love's kiss and then the *gasp* moment when said Princess wakes up. Well, Once Upon A Time has girls wielding swords, guns and occasionally turning into beasties that aren't always the nicest (trying my hardest here not to spoil anything for those who want to watch it). 

Don't worry, it also has a lot of unconscious Princesses and kissing too. 

Two of the leading ladies of the first series are Snow White and her daughter Emma, who carry the plot lines in both the real world and fairytale world. In both cases they have to save either love interests or children, often more successfully than their male counterparts. This isn't to say that the boys play damsels in distress in this show, but I feel like that they actually play equal roles in progressing the plot, which is refreshing. Emma carries characteristics that I think male characters have typically carried; being hurt by her past and therefore pushing people away, as per male brooding love interests in stories like Twilight (thinking of similar audiences here). 

I mean, it shouldn't be worth commenting on anymore, having girls doing the rescuing should be passed as normal in shows, but the excitement over the female characters in Game of Thrones shows that we just aren't over the idea of girls being physical characters, fighting and cursing. Emma and Snow are mothers in this plot lines, but that isn't labelled as something that means they should be protected, more that they're finding their inner lioness. 

The only let down is the aesthetic side of things. Emma does a fair bit of running around and it almost always in heeled boots. I don't see any guys having to do that. Also fake lashes irritate me no end when they are as obvious as the ones in Once, simply because they look cheap and make the girls look ridiculous. Of course it makes sense with the genre of the show, playing on the fairytale imagery with fluttering lids. I don't know if I just take it too far, but why can't these women look normal? The boys do, bar those fairytale characters like Rumplestiltskin that have to be green. 

This is a little bit of an excited rant, but I thought it was worth sharing my thoughts with you. Ironically I was eating an apple while writing this. 

London Weekend

I have finally finished my exams! Therefore free time recommenced and I'm back to blogging! I will try and be better, but let's be real, until I get my act together with this thing it is going to be a bit sporadic- I'm currently trying to blitz through some posts and then schedule them so on Sundays there's a blog post up here for whoever wants to see! No promises, but I think this may be the method that goes with my working style. 


Sadly not all of my house have finished, so in order for the worker bees to keep going undisturbed (apparently I'm considered a distraction, can't think why) I headed to London to see my sister. I was lucky enough that a friend of ours was also popping down from the west country, so shared a journey with her. I have to admit this weekend made me fall in love with London again. 


I was throughly spoiled over the weekend, starting with that Friday night! I was feeling a little worse for wear after post-exam celebrations the night before, so for the first time ever was a little apprehensive about the thought of a big West End musical. However, Memphis blew all my blues away, simply because of the incredible music and dancing that I witnessed! I've tried to put the album up here using a Spotify Play button, apologies if it totally doesn't work... technology is rarely my friend. 




The story is about a black nightclub singer (played by Beverly Knight no less!) and a white Radio DJ during the civil rights movement in, well, Memphis. He basically believes that white radio stations should play black rhythm and blues music. It's apparently based loosely on the life of Radio DJ Dewey Phillips. The way I would describe it is as perfect for any Hairspray lovers. There's amazing music, a love story, dancing that I wish (and will never) I could do and to cap it all off we all gave them a standing ovation. I think that kind of explains it really. I loved it because there wasn't a single weak performer in the whole cast and they each had their moment, wowing me again and again. 

If you get the chance, head on to the Shaftesbury and check it out. 

We also headed over to the Alexander McQueen exhibition on Saturday, only to be wowed again. McQueen killed himself in 2010 and his work is so moving and powerful, I was totally in the exhibition... to the point that actually I had no idea where Emma and Esme were. It became a bit of trend of the weekend...oops! I didn't take any pictures because I assume they ask you not to for a reason (I sound like such a swot I know, but seriously it's worth going to see it for yourself). Here's the link for tickets and more information.  It actually made my sister see how fashion is so much more complicated than selling clothes and certainly McQueen's stuff is amazing, but not wearable! The stories behind each collection were incredible and all amazingly personal to Alexander McQueen's identity. Which made it all a bit more gothic and frightening that he committed suicide and death featured so heavily in his designs. Check out my Pinterest for images of the exhibition to get more of an idea. 

It's at the V&A until the 2nd August and it isn't part of the free exhibitions, but still really worth the money! 

That evening, the photo opportunity was just too good to be true, simply because London was finally bathed in SUNSHINE. I think this heavily influenced my new love affair with London. My sister has taken me to this really cool bar in the city before, but not in the sunshine, which made it even better. Sipping rooftop cocktails (prosecco, gin, elderflower and hopefully some tonic!) we enjoyed the sunshine and the cracking view of St. Paul's! Simply the image of bliss. 

Sunday was spent at the Tate Modern, looking at their Sonia Delauney exhibition which has just come in. I will confess that none of us had heard of her before (despite this cultured weekend, we know nothing). However, we went along and actually loved it. Abstract art is not the easiest thing to engage with, but Delauney had an interesting life and because she owned a clothing company a lot of her art included clothes and textiles, making it far more accessible than I expected. I've put some of her stuff on a pinterest board like with the McQueen exhibition. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a London trip without food and Emma has found the new BEST brunch place- this time it was The Table, about a 5 minute walk from the Tate. I was famished by this point, took one look at 'the stack' on the menu and thought 'yes PLEASE' (genuinely salivating at the thought). It was a toasted bagel layered with their ham hock baked beans, choritzo, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. So basically a heart attack piled up, but I really didn't care, it was delicious. Washed down with a morning glory juice- pineapple and lime. Perfect, as you will have seen on instagram. 

By the time I was the train back to Exeter, I didn't want to leave! Truly I was spoiled by this weekend and it was all down to Emma and Esme's organising skills. Once I've graduated from university London is certainly up there on the dreams. 

New Year's Skiing and the Christmas Catch Up

I'm trying to be a bit more on it with the blog posts- I should be working right now but this feels productive so I'm giving myself that at least...(here's hoping none of my tutors read this!) 

I was home for most of the Christmas holidays in Switzerland, except for a few manic days in England for Christmas eve, day and Boxing day, which can be summed up by slightly strange baking and roasts with my friend Anna and my uni housemates, as I'm sure you'll have seen on my instagram. 

For the first time ever, we managed to organise an actual ski holiday rather that to-ing and fro-ing between Geneva and the mountains. 

We've always gone for good old Les Gets and this year has been no different. Neither, have our packing habits; the car was so full a lucky little Tilly-dog was allowed to sit in the back seat with me, because the boot was rammed with all the 'essentials' my mum insisted on! 

The apartment is more of a modern style rather than your traditional chalet- hence mum's rug and throw explosion to make it homey- it's a natural instinct that she just can't shut down! 

Les Gets is quite low down, so the season only really starts just in time for Christmas. However, there wasn't really enough snow until New Years' week, so we had arrived just in time! The dogs are snow mad, so it also made their trip too. 

So we had mornings spent on the slopes and afternoons snoozing off the excessive amount of food eaten while we were there, topped off with new year's eve at this little restaurant called L'Outa. We were the only English people there, which is rare for Les Gets and reminded us of the community that's still in the village, making it extra-special. 

I'm heading back this month with a few uni friends for a sneaky ski weekend and looking back means I just can't wait! 

Surviving Final Year/3rd Year

So this is a bit weird for me, simply because I don't really think of this blog as a place for advice, but here goes! 

I have (as I have previously mentioned) started my final year of university. It's looking like the year of extremes- stress and fun all bundled together. I thought I would compile a list of things that have helped me survive the shock of all this work (as well as the awful heating of student houses) 

1. Tea: 
Not to be laughed at, whether it's a classic yorkshire brew, peppermint or some of the more fancy herbal blends, tea has been my snuggly friend through freshers' flu and final year stress.

2. SNACKS
Doesn't matter what I'm doing, if I'm working, I'm snacking too. Doesn't always have to the be the naughty stuff (pictured here as I prepared for a full- blown dissertation day that actually became a blogging day...) but another personal fave are rice cakes and guacamole, or just anything with guacamole, really. 

3. Stationary you can bear to look at: 
Struggling to convince yourself to even start thinking about deadlines? Having a diary that doesn't look at sombre and serious as your workload is always recommended. Paperchase do some of the brightest and best academic diaries I have ever found, so take a look! 

4. A good book: 
If you've had a look at this blog before, you'll know that I'm a lover of all things literary. Books are the best way to start a slow morning, but wake your brain up for a bit of work at the same time. Baby steps towards the scary theories we have to wrap our heads around. 

5. A good show or film: 
Sometimes, you just need a time out. If work is just not happening and you are freaking out, give yourself 40 mins (the average TV shows without adverts) to curl up and calm down. My current favourite is True Blood, because those vampires are pretty...

6. Get out of the house! 
Don't get cabin fever, it never helps. Whether it's a trip to the gym or your campus library to work there, staying inside all day rarely works for me. If anything, it will mean a poor night's sleep before your 9am the next day, so even if it's to the corner shop to get pringles, get out there. 

7. Music
I can't work in silence, and when my headphones broke the other week I cried. It was tragic. But let's be honest, Taylor Swift keeps me going. You can deny it, but we all know...

8. Your bed: 
Sleep is key for this year- everything really does look better in the morning- I also like working from my bed (my desk this year is pathetic), so go to your nearest Wilko and get some cheap pillows and cushions to make it a snuggly home for you to do some seminar reading on. Providing you don't fall into the trap of falling asleep while reading. 

9. Your Friends: 
They will also be going mental, freaking out and scrabbling around too. Best thing to do is to not be alone and scare yourself that you're alone in the panic zone. Either give yourself a motivational night out together or have a film night and look super cool like Merryn and I here...