Leicester: Jones' Café

Today, I'm going to share with you a badly kept secret... Jones'. Over the last few years, this café has been a firm favourite of my university friends and I, my record being five visits in one week! It's an addiction and now having left uni, I'm not sure how I'm going to cope without!

Unfortunately for us, it's also a lot of other people's fix as well- I've spent more than a few drizzly afternoons queuing out the door, hoping someone will leave before they stop serving food! However, when you get inside, you remember that it's all very much worth it.

To drink, I normally almost always order the home-made strawberry lemonade which arrives in a jam jar with fresh strawbs, slices of lime and lemon on the side. However, I have been known to stray away from this summery concoction to thick milkshakes, cream-topped hot chocolates or even the odd cocktail....

My favourite dish is the 'veggie bagel burger'. This is a delicious stack of roasted red pepper, mushroom, goats cheese and, if you're like me and ask for a few, fried onions, all incased in a bagel with chilli fries on the side. I love opening up my bagel and filling it with the home-made garlic mayo and ketchup, before squeezing it all together and digging in! It really is truly delicious.

However, I've recently discovered the thai mussels which are also amazing- a huge bowl of them comes floating in a tangy thai sauce. I've only ever had the starter size and have always had more than enough to share!

They also do breakfast foods such as eggs Benedict, full English and...pancakes and waffles! Yum!

The bar is always packed with batches of home-baked goodies, from festive cupcakes to slices of millionaires shortbread.

Essentially, what I'm trying to say is that I'm a big fan of this little café: the food is excellent, the staff lovely and the prices very very reasonable. Go!

University Farmers' Market

Every now and then, my university puts on a little farmers' market outside the front of the Student's Union. A couple of stalls get set up, mostly selling delicious, freshly cooked burgers and hot dogs, along with cuts of local meat, ready to cook home made pies and cakes.

After one of our lectures today, Jocelyn and I raced back to the SU to get in line for some food. We'd been drawn in earlier by the smell of gently sizzling meat and it had all we'd been able to think about for the past hour! Finally, we got to the front of the queue and were eagerly awaiting our food. I went for a hot dog with locally sourced sausages (loaded with onions of course) and Jossi went for a beef burger. Before long we were happily tucking in.

We hope there weren't really 'penguin pies'!

Having a farmers' market (or any market for that matter) on campus is such a great idea as it gives you access to lovely, fresh food of a good quality. For general student shopping it may be a bit on the pricey side, but at my uni there's always a queue for the BBQ-ing food and plenty of interest in the other stands. The only problem is our union seems to rarely hold such an event. Now, where I go to uni, the local market (which is huge!) is right in the middle of town, but student housing tends to be much further away (sometimes up to a 40min bus drive!). This unfortunately makes shopping at the market not all that practical when you're faced with a long journey home. This surely opens up a lot of potential for having more regular stalls on campus where there are a few thousand hungry students desperate to get some food and save themselves the walk? The stall holders definitely seemed up for it, so maybe it's just a matter of convincing the SU?

Anyway, how does it work where you guys are? Do any of you have regular market stalls at university/work/school? Would you use them if you did? Please tell me about your experiences where you are so I can use them to try and proposition my own uni!

Robin Hood Marathon, Nottingham

A couple of weeks ago, some of the girls from my cheerleading squad and I were asked to cheer on those running in the Robin Hood Marathon. Therefore in the early hours Sunday morning we put on our pinkest lipstick, tied our bows in our hair and crawled sleepily into cars which drove us down to Nottingham.

Once there, we were given little cute outfits (with pompoms!) and were placed up and down the route. We then got ready to cheer our hearts out and encourage the brave runners on to glory.

Our first placement was quite near the start of the race so we got to see many of the runners, still with their happy smiles firmly in place, power past us. However our second placement was much closer to the end of the route and by this point, only the hardiest had survived. It was amazing to see the amount of effort people put into the marathon- some runners looked as if they could keel over where they stood but still they pushed on, whether at a jog or a walk. It was an impressive sight to behold indeed! What made it rather special however was seeing how a little encouragement could spark people back to life. We'd see a runner looking as if they were about to stop but after a big cheer from us and other spectators, they all managed to pick up their feet and push on forwards.

Around 4pm the last runner made it across the finish line to huge applause from the remaining spectators. The look on his face was one of relief and happiness and it struck me then that the runners were a good metaphor for life. On your own, there may become a point where it's just too hard to push on. But with a little encouragement from others, you'll have the support to get to the end.

A huge congratulations to everyone who ran in the marathon on Sunday and an especially big well done to all those who didn't just do it for themselves, but for charity! You were all truly inspirational.

May Week, Cambridge

May Week is the traditional name given to refer to the period after exams at Cambridge University. It's a time where students can blow off steam and many of the colleges have extravagant balls. Luckily for us, these balls often have wonderful firework displays which can be seen from the river. Therefore last night, my mother, Marcus and I wrapped up warmly and headed down to a bridge over the River Cam to watch the Trinity May Ball fireworks.

Kings College

Despite spending a large amount of my time in Cambridge, I aways get blown away by how picturesque it always looks.

The fireworks were amazing, lighting up the sky timed to a variety of music from modern to classical. There were even blooms of fire shooting up along the neighbouring bridge! The combination of the music, fireworks reflecting in the river and the beautiful setting really made this a magical night. The rain even held off until after the show too!

Many people had taken to the river to watch the display, rafting up under the bridges. Once the show had commenced, we watched them all dreamily punt back up the river before heading home. 

SNOW IN CAMBRIDGE / Revision Time

So despite it being March, for some bizarre reason we have snow! Baring in mind this is the country where throughout my childhood (when I would have wanted to play in it), I swear there was barely any. Ever. Now however, when I'm more concerned with issues such as 'Are the trains running on time?' and 'Can I get down the motorway to get home?' the heavens decide to open and cover everything in fluffy whiteness. Very pretty but really not all that practical.

Anyway, despite all of this, today I was a bit more enthusiastic about it because I got to see Cambridge dusted with a few flakes! Normally I'm not around to see this and so was excited to realise I would when I woke up this morning. Cambridge is (undisputedly) one of the most beautiful cities in the world and seeing it with this extra little frosting was really rather magical. I just wish I'd got up a little earlier to see it before the day (marginally) warmed up and it melted a little. 

(Sorry there aren't more/better photos- it was really very cold!)

Moving on from the wonders of British weather, I have a little apology to make. That dreaded time of year is upon us again- exam season. This means that for the next five weeks or so, my social life will vanish and I will be buried under piles and piles of books. This means won't be blogging quite so much as maybe I have been over the course of this blog's existence. So for any devoted readers out there (hopefully there's one or two!) I'm sorry and please try and bare with me. With any luck there will be a couple of interesting posts, but don't hold your breath! 

Look how many books I have to read! 

For all those who are also starting to revise, good luck and remember to eat well, sleep well and think happy thoughts- summer is only around the corner after all, although someone may need to remind whoever's organising the weather..!

(Also it's coming up to Easter and who doesn't like chocolate eggs!?)

Anniversary Weekend Part Three: The UCL Freedom Fashion Show

After our Crazy Bear feeding frenzy, M and I headed off to the Freedom Fashion Show. This is run by the member's of UCL's Fashion Society 'UCLU MODO' and showcases the students' designs, all in support of the 'Red Light Campaign', a student started charity which works on raising awareness of human trafficking in the modern world. 

Despite being a student event, the evening kicked off in style! We were greeted with a glass of wine, a hand made goody bag and a red carpet photo. Who says you have to slum it as a student?! 

After a drink or two, we wondered through to the staging area and took our seats. Not long after, the first few bars of music struck up and the models took to the stage.

The quality of the outfits on display was incredibly impressive, especially considering that none of the designers were even studying fashion or design. In fact, on closer inspection of the program we saw many were studying typically time consuming and 'non-artsy' degrees! Many of the designs were beautifully unique and the entire show was very professionally run.

The atmosphere was also electric- everyone seemed to be having a great time, clapping and cheering as the models did their group loops of the run way.

M and I both had a fantastic time and the show exceeded all my expectations. The charity it was supporting also seems to be a very worth while cause, so keep an eye out for them! 

After the fashion show, M and I dropped by a house party to say hello before heading home to snuggle up and sleep- our last anniversary treat would commence next afternoon and we needed our beauty sleep!