Jumana's Birthday

Well after a hard day's work I met up with Andy at the IBM business consulting presentation. Both tonights presentation and the previous software engineering presentation impressed me, but now I'm confused about which dept of IBM to apply. Andy and I each won a cash prize for asking a worthy questions which doesn't seem all that until you know that 80 people wrote several questions on paper and the IBM panel chose the best 3 questions. Again there was a free buffet dinner and lots of free alcohol and pens which served us warmed us up for Jumana's birthday.

Jumana is now 21, so we celebrated by having a few drinks in Varsity then Chase.

Newcastle vs Norwich

Ant came up from Peterborough to see his beloved Norwich play Newcastle in the League Cup and to catch up of course. I don't know how you get the dedication Ant to see every single game, may be if you miss one game they might win! (sorry) It was my first time at a decent football stadium with a good crowd chanting all the way through the game.



It was Reza's first time at a match too, we both really enjoyed it although it was quite a chilly wind high up in the stands. Unfortunately Norwich lost although I guess it makes Ant's life a bit easier not having to go to so many games.

Paul and Paula's Wedding

Their big day finally arrived and everything went to plan. The church service was filled with joy and lots and lots of singing, even the best man sung 'You've got a friend in me' from Toy Story instead of the traditional wedding march organ song. Here they are walking down the ailse:



and Paul getting confettied:



Congratulations to both of them! They're off for a two week honeymoon in the Gambia.

In the castle

Today was Jenny's birthday, a mate from my course. A few of us went out to celebrate. It was the first time I had been in the Castle grounds and I was mightily impressed, especially by the cheap bar! Afterwards we went to Jimmy Allens, a bar named after the ghostly piper:

Jimmy Allen (1733 -1810) had a chequered history. He was a very talented player of the Northumbrian Pipes, he was even official piper to the Duchess of Northumberland for two years. But he liked to drink, and gamble, and he also liked pretty women, conning them out of money to support his drinking habit. As well as this he was a horse rustler, consequently he was almost continually on the run from various authorities. He travelled as far afield as India, the Dutch East Indies and the Baltic, making money from playing his pipes with his extraordinary skill.

The authorities caught up with him eventually, however, and he was caught in Jedburgh, Scotland, for stealing a horse in Gateshead, Co Durham. He was sentenced to death in 1803 and spent the last seven years of his life in a cell beneath Elvet Bridge, his sentence having been reduced to life inprisonment. He died a few days before a pardon came through from the Prince Regent. It is said that if you listen carefully, you may still hear his ghost playing the Northumbrian Pipes from the cell beneath the bridge.

The above was taken from here. Here's a few pictures:

Comedy and the cathedral

Zoe has come to see me for a couple of days up here in sunny Durham. I had to leave her to her own devices for most of the day as I had lectures and presentations to do. In the evening we queued to go see some comedy in the city but was turned away just as we got to the box office :-( Instead we went to the pub with the others and walked back via the cathedral.



Later we met Aziz and GYÐJA at Planet of Sound at the DSU where Steinunn was grooving the night away!

The Killa and the krew

I spent most of the day making a start on my first assignment. I got carried away with work and have almost done half even though I have another 3 and a bit weeks to go before the due date. Tonight Steinnun, who's from the lovely land of Iceland, and Aziz came over to join Reza and myself for some wine and to listen to some tunes on my fab new speakers.

Here's the beautiful bunch:

Helvellyn, the Lake District

I nearly convinced myself that my legs wouldn't be able to carry me on the walk today due to them having a serious work out on Thursday at my first Shotokai Karate lesson. Somehow I managed to force myself out from bed at the ungodly hour of 7am on a Saturday for my first walk with the Hill Walking society.

Helvellyn, in the Lake District, was the setting. I opted to the 2nd easiest walk which took us over a distance of 15km and a height of 900m. I didn't realise how unprepared I was, or should I say unfit? The first 3 hours involved a slow ascent to Striding Edge:



We were rewarded with panoramic views, to our east was the valleys from where we had climbed, to our west you could just make out the sea, I guess the Irish sea.



We scrambled up the narrow ridge of Striding Edge to the peak of Helvellyn which was shrouded in cloud. The mist and high winds remained with us until we began our descent an hour and a half later after our 2nd mini-lunch stop.

My legs were about to fall off when I saw the heavenly site of a pub. Ordered a beer and Beckham scored the 2nd goal for England against Wales.

Raisin Racing

Over at Palatine House Susy introduced me to a new sport - Raisin Racing - the first of many armchair sports yet to come. The line-up:



Each player gripped a one end of a thread in their teeth with a raisin dangling 50cm below of the other end. The winner is the first to recoil the raisin into their mouth without swinging it into their mouth. Susy was the outright winner employing some cunning tongue technique. Tim was the clear loser as after five minutes of trying failed to eat the raisin.

Societies

Finally I've registered but still have 1 week before lectures start. I went to the fresher's fair today where all the university societies pitch for your custom. There mush have been over a 100 societies to choose from, some a bit weird but all of them seem like fun. This time I'm gonna join a few societies and turn up to whatever's going on. I'm probably gonna join the walking society so I can explore this part of the country more often. I'm also thinking about Shotokai karate as it like a bit of fun and something new but I'll decide after I've attended the free practice sessions.

Anyway it was a nice day, I met a few people of my course and here's another pic of the cathedral.