The BUZZ

UCAS: What a relief?

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 11/11/2009

By Sam Hilton

Now UCAS is done and dusted, supposedly, but was the rush all worth it? For weeks, everyone has been rushing around to meet the UCAS deadline, checking their personal statements several million times to make sure they fit the word count, and portray what they wanted. Seriously, how many drafts of that personal statement did I do? A ridiculous amount, that’s what.

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Simon Amstell, ‘do nothing’

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 11/11/2009

By Catharine Baldwin

Review: Simon Amstell

Venue: Oxford Playhouse

Rating: ****

Simon Amstell, the hilariously witty former host of Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, delved deep into his own insecurities and angst during his new stand-up routine to deliver a very touching and personal performance. Coupled with his own memories and philosophical contemplations the performance was not only incredibly funny but intelligent at that – a ‘genius recluse’, as he revealed he prefers to be seen as. Read the rest of this entry »

Waitrose – Friend or Foe?

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 11/11/2009

 

After several planning applications, months of construction work and hundreds of employees, the latest addition to Winchester’s supermarkets has finally been completed: Waitrose at Weeke.  A new source of groceries and delicacies, snacks and ingredients should surely delight the neighbourhood; it’s local, it’s quality and it even contains a new medical practice. Read the rest of this entry »

Book review: Behind Closed Doors

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 11/11/2009

By Michael Goode

Title: Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England

Author: Amanda Vickery

Pages: 368

Price: £11-15 (Amazon UK)

Rating: ***

Behind Closed Doors pulls you into a different world looking at the everyday worries and aspirations of Georgian people, from the landed gentry to the hopelessly poor, it lets you step into someone else’s shoes and walk about in the nosiest way.   Read the rest of this entry »

Paris: Amazing or Overrated?

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 11/11/2009

By Alice Tofts

Paris has a lot to live up to. It has been described as the most beautiful city in Europe, as well as being the most romantic and where the best dressed women live. During my few days there in half- term I wanted to see if any of these claims were true. Read the rest of this entry »

Are footballers overpaid?

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 04/11/2009

By David Adams

Very few would argue against the view that footballers are paid far too much. In many cases ‘far too much’ is a bit of an understatement. But how did we get into this ludicrous situation? Read the rest of this entry »

The Trouble with UCAS

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 23/10/2009

By Alice Briggs

Recently, everywhere I walk people seem to be in the same panic as me; Stuck, unwillingly to their computer screens, trying desperately to sum up their lives and greatest achievements in 4,000 characters. Read the rest of this entry »

Victoria and Albert Museum fashion exhibition

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 23/10/2009

by Esther Privett

In the words of Coco Chanel, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” The Victoria and Albert Museum fashion exhibition, as well as being free, is both of these things. Read the rest of this entry »

A well-pronounced rant (vaguely) on dishonesty in the media…

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 23/10/2009

By Tim Manton

Don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t at all well-pronounced. I just fancied adding something that’s fun to say (if you say it in a funny voice, anyway), but doesn’t contribute anything at all to the text itself, up in the title. It makes me feel better, in a pathetically goody-goody sort of way.

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Stratford 2009

Posted by: Peter Symonds on: 23/10/2009

By Sam Hilton

The English Department ran a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to see two Shakespeare plays ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Winter’s Tale’ in  September, and a drama workshop run by the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company).

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