Wednesday 21 April 2010

Students are fed up


Aaron Porter is the new president of the NUS. He is asking for politicians to be honest about tuition fees. He says they are “hiding behind" a review, due to report after the election, to avoid questions on university funding and student fees.

Closer to home – a lot of students are unhappy with the effect the cut-backs have had on the modules provided at our university.
There are a lot of angry and disappointed students around the campus wondering what they should do about all this. Our lecturers are great, but we know they can’t do much about the problems caused higher up the chain.

Any suggestions????????


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8633358.stm

Monday 5 April 2010

An Easter Bunny story


It is not just humans that are struggling with expanding waistlines, poor Darius the bunny is a bit on the stout side too. He is only 13 months old, but he is already the world’s biggest bunny, at three and a half stones. He gets through a dozen carrots, three apples, a cabbage and two bowls of rabbit mix a day. Sounds like a very healthy diet - His downfall though, may be his tendency to stuff himself with hay between meals!


Thought for the day


‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever’ - Gandhi

Sunday 4 April 2010

Happy Easter!


Hope you are all enjoying your chocolate eggs. I’m looking forward to my most favourite cake in the whole world – Simnel cake. I love marzipan.
I hope you were all good over Lent, and gave something up. I gave up alcohol and chocolate, and only have one brief, but vicious lapse (chocolate) on Mother’s day. So I’m really looking forward to chocolate, wine and champagne today.
Simnel cake dates back to Tudor times. Supposedly, Lambert Simnel, the ten-year-old pretender to Henry VII's throne was spared death and sent to work in the royal kitchens where he came up with the recipe. Pretty clever for a ten -year -old!
The truth is probably less colourful, especially as references to the cake appear before Henry VII's reign. Simnel probably refers to the Latin word simila, meaning fine, wheaten flour, which was used to bake cakes for Mothering Sunday, which takes place during Lent.
By the eighteenth century, however, it had become an Easter treat to celebrate the end of the 40 days of Lent. The cake has a layer of marzipan or almond paste baked into the middle while on the top it is usually decorated with eleven marzipan balls placed around the edge, representing the apostles ( minus that rat-bag Judas).


Thought for the day
Go easy on the chocolate eggs – or you will be sick!


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7544471/Easter-2010-Simnel-cake-enjoys-revival.html

Friday 2 April 2010

Something for the week-end, sir??


Here is a bit of frivolity to enjoy with your Good-Friday hot cross buns.

The police have arrested a thief in Spain, who is thought to have committed a string of robberies from pharmacies.
What did he steal – was it controlled drugs?
No – he nicked all their supplies of Viagra, and money from the till.

The mind boggles.

Was he a frustrated sex maniac, who needed the money to pay prostitutes, and the Viagra to facilitate his activities?
Was he stealing the stuff to order?
Why such large quantities?

Humm…… interesting


Thought for the day
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8600372.stm



Thursday 1 April 2010

Good news for students


Have you heard – our university has revoked the ban on printing course material for students!!!!

This is brilliant news – it must have been down to the mass protests on the city campus, the sit-ins outside the vice chancellor’s office, and the students from the drama department chaining themselves to the railings for a week.


With the ban, I found that I was getting through a black printer ink cartridge every couple of weeks. I’m sure Dell was thinking of giving me a prize for being their best customer.



Thought for the day


‘When you dream in colour, it is a pigment of your imagination’