Graduation Day!!!

Eurgh and more eurgh!!! I am not at all used to getting up every day ready for work at 9! I was working once a week from 9am to 5.30pm which was really nice! :D But now I am also working Monday to Friday and I miss my friend sleep although I meet this really great new friend called coffee overdose and he is amazing!!! However I have been informed that coffee is bad and I am trying to do the whole being healthy thing but sadly all the healthy stuff just does not taste good. I am trying though to start eating porridge every day as it’s meant to be uber healthy but I have trouble eating it as it just so stodgy. So if any guys or gals have got any methods to spice up porridge please, please tell me!!!

Goldilocks can keep her porridge!!!

I also tried coconut water which is meant to be riddled with vitamins and low in fat etcetera but it was horrid but I just drank it down like medicine. Anyway enough of that and more about my graduation. It was this Friday just gone (22^nd June) at the Greenwich campus. I also thought I had struck lucky as my graduation ceremony was at 2.45pm but I did not realise the queues would be mahoosive and spent a majority of my day queuing up for robes, then tickets and also photo’s. But I didn’t let it dampen my spirits and the weather was great. Sadly this day didn’t start off with a champagne breakfast but an early start to the hairdressers to get a great hair do for my professional photo, then I went on to quickly get a few graduation cards for my friends and I also had to pick up a camera I had reserved but I was finished quite quickly. I then went home got bathed and all dressed up in my smart suit and was raring to go. I then grabbed my camera to put in the batteries but realised the camera does not take batteries but a rechargeable battery. It seems in the shops infinite wisdom they had gave me a completely different model with completely different specifications. GREAT!!! But I say you should always have a backup plan and I did. So I managed to grab another camera from my friend and was able to get quite a few good shots of the day.

Now I was ready and went off to pick up the parents from the train station. My dad and mum were both still at the platform as they had come outside but thought the local ‘wildlife’ looked a bit frightening. I guess I have become accustomed to scary looking people in London ha-ha! My mum also had decided to remove her bracelet in case someone stabs her for it, bless! I did try to state that while London has a lot of stabbings it still is quite uncommon but hey ho! We made it to Greenwich in plenty of time and I have to say it was a truly amazing day. The actual ceremony took place in the Greenwich chapel and we then had a reception in the painted hall. Both buildings were stunning and really added to the atmosphere of the day.  I have to admit though I was one of those people who was not that excited about “getting a bit of paper” but on the day the whole ceremony really caught you up in the grandeur of the whole event and made you feel like you was part of something really important. My dad also was unusually sweet and said when I came out in my robes he had the same feelings that he had when he’s first child was born (my sister) which kind of made up for the moaning he had done about the queues.

The academic and civil officials, very bizarre outfits!

After the ceremony was over we had a big group photo of all the new graduates and we went over to the reception. We opted to go for orange juice over the wine but twas good stuff anyways. We than had obligatory shots in the painted halls and I was robbed sadly! L They made me pay £22 for a DVD of the ceremony; I mean at least Dick Turpin wore a mask! But hey it was worth it and I wanted to have memories of the whole ceremony. I also had a little laugh in my head as we finished the day off with a McDonalds which we did get a few looks from the customers as we were dressed to impress. Anyways this is all I have to say and hope I have not rambled too much! Also note the pics of the robes in action I just needed a wand and I could have had a Harry Potter moment!!!

“Where’s my wand?!?”

London Pride 2011

Erm yeah this is kind of late but you may have guessed now that I have a short attention span and things rarely seem to be on time. Anyways I noticed a few photos hidden away on my computer from the London pride event that was held a couple of weeks ago (Saturday 2^nd July). So this week’s blog will be on the pride event...

This year was quite special as NUS (National Union of Students) got front place alongside TUC (Trade Union Congress) in the march. The idea is that while the pride is there to celebrate people’s diversity it also serves as a form of protest at the wrongs that still need to be righted. The march assembled at roughly 12.30 so luckily it was not too bad as early starts go.  I can’t remember where we started off but I know we went to Trafalgar square! We had to be up early as this year I was marching with Unison (a public service trade union) and we was meeting in a park (again my sense of direction is rubbish but it had green grass and had a lake... O.o). Anyway my day started early and I made my way over to the park by trains and tube and we began with a champagne breakfast (best way to start a day really!). So we had croissants, pain au chocolates and of course plenty of champagne (cheap student stuff of course).

Our UNISON balloon we had with the LGBT flag attached

it was all weighed down by the cart which

we dumped our entire luggage in!

From there we grabbed our cart of goods and went to assemble for the march. We were quite lucky in that the weather was not too hot but was warm none the less. I think the march lasts about an hour and a bit but the time flies when you are walking and chanting. We had loads of support from the crowd and we had the standard taunts and jeers from what has been dubbed ‘bigots corner’. Basically while the event is extremely positive you do also get a bunch of about 15 so called Christians who turn up every year to flaunt their out dated views. It did not matter too much as the number of people in the march shouting their cheers out easily overcomes the ranting of them!

After the march came more of the party side and the whole of Trafalgar Square was covered with people all dancing and cheering at the acts on stage which this year included Bucks Fizz and also some others which I did not know but they sounded good anyway. Although I thought it was quite sad when Bucks Fizz sang one of their most famous songs (The Land of Make Believe) and no one had heard of it and there was a sort of awkwardness but hey they also did “Making Your Mind Up” which everyone knew, yay!

Aside from all the partying and protesting and shouting we also had to man the Unison stall and help give out info about the union and also some stickers! Hooray! Unison also had a good idea of putting up a board asking “How have the government cuts affected LGBT people?” and yeah I know it may not apply to you etcetera. However a lot of the comments reflected fears and worries that everyone has right now.  See below at a few shots of the board: