Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Rückkehr
It's official, I am returning to Sheffield to pursue an MA Town and Regional Planning from September. They made the decision on my birthday, perfect timing you could say. Sheffield, how I love thee!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
2010 - A Retrospective
Inspired by Ruth over at ohhhwienna, here is 2010 summed up as it happened for me.
In the midst of all the work came the UK General Election, the less said about which the better. The previous post sums up just a few of my thoughts regarding the ConDems...
Final year finished in a flurry of 19 000 words, hastily thrown together to meet deadlines, revision timetables, stress, stress and more stress with as one person put it 'The best hangover I've ever had' as the crowning glory.
All that was left to do was relax, celebrate and consider what was to come. Which in the case of June was Midsummer!
2010 began in the usual alcohol-fuelled way, though how many people were celebrating the arrival of the new year dressed as their childhood idol Albert the Fifth Musketeer?
Friends gathered on Knaresborough Market Place to count-in the New Year
Uni picked up speed as we headed from the first exam period into our final semester at Sheffield. There was barely time to rest from one set of exams before we were being primed for the next, we still managed to fit in a cheeky belated birthday celebration, though.
The Octagon, scene of scores of night outs and, oh yes, Graduation
As ever, there was lots of things going on in, on and around Sheffield. Truly one of the best places in the UK, without a doubt. Mine and Mike's radio show continued to go from strength to strength, ahem...
Messing about on the Airwaves
Gretchen 89ff rehearsals got underway big time. I got to know some people really well through this play, not to mention had a blast at the cast parties.
Der Alte Haudegen
Easter brought with it a chance to escape the mounting pressure of work and head to Berlin for a few days with Dave.
The Boy in Berlin
Sauerkraut, one of the highlights in every Germanic Studies student in the UK rolled around and saw the traditional Sheffield-Leeds rivalries get driven up a notch. Things started to turn ugly, but luckily all other teams assembled were backing Sheffield as their teams got eliminated.
Sauerkraut Bants
May arrived. May meant work, work and more work
My Life: May 2010
In the midst of all the work came the UK General Election, the less said about which the better. The previous post sums up just a few of my thoughts regarding the ConDems...
says it all really
But more importantly - EUROVISION! As per usual, I managed to pick a sure-fire winner who placed low down in the tables. Of the 8 people at our party, I was the only one whose chosen country (Iceland) didn't place within the top 8. Still, it meant I was sober enough to capture quite possibly some the funniest photos I've ever seen on camera.
EuroMess
alcohol deadens the fear of impending exams
it's all over
Final year finished in a flurry of 19 000 words, hastily thrown together to meet deadlines, revision timetables, stress, stress and more stress with as one person put it 'The best hangover I've ever had' as the crowning glory.
All that was left to do was relax, celebrate and consider what was to come. Which in the case of June was Midsummer!
Midsummer bants in Weston Park
July beckoned and my friends and I headed across to the lakes for a week in a gorgeous huge house we'd rented. This was one of the best holidays I've ever had, without a doubt. Great place and great company!
Old man of Coniston
The big day arrived, we robed up and feeling very silly, but also a little smug we marched around Sheffield getting stares from White Van men.
Summer passed in a blaze of relaxing, cycling and hanging out with friends and before I knew it the time had come to move on to the next stage: the Netherlands. This has been predominantly a positive thing. Despite endless money worries caused by high rents/food costs and measly pay, I have really enjoyed myself here. It was hard to come back in January, but as that is 2011 it shall not be mentioned here.
Grote Markt
I celebrated the turn of 2011 as only I could: by going from drunk to wasted in a matter of minutes, quickly followed by a power nap.
Champagne bants
All in all, 2010 was my favourite year yet
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Let's get political, political
So, the UK Government has succeeded in its plans to raise the price of University education from £3300 to £6000-£9000, depending on what the University plans to charge. This is a tragedy for social equality in the UK and is being passed off as a necessity in these straitened economic times, despite this being clearly an ideological attack on the idea of universal free education.
Firstly, the raising of tuition fees is, of course, a way for the Government to raise funds to pay (one hopes) for educating the future workforce of our economy. In itself, the raising of tuition fees is not strictly an horrific idea, given the fact that all departments of the UK government are making large cuts with the exception of the Sacred Cow, the NHS. However, a rise of 200%, coupled with a cut in the Universities teaching budget of 80% is not comparable with any cut being made elsewhere in British society. Thus, one can only deduce that the Government has pursued this change for ideological reasons. The shift from the burden being on the taxpayer to being on the individual involved is a clear conservative (small 'c') belief translated into law: the "Why should the taxpayer pay for a student to go to university when the student gets all the benefit" argument. This argument is often spouted by the right-wing media (of which there is a depressing amount in the UK, thanks Murdoch!) and seen in the comments posts of online articles. However, we do not question our universal healthcare system, so much so that it has become a sacred object, a no go area even for the Conservative party, despite many of their members no doubt wishing to abolish it; we do not question paying for other people's children to go to school; we do not question paying for aircraft carriers or tanks; nor do we question paying pensioners to heat their homes.
Now the UK has a very well developed welfare state, one which I am proud of. I firmly believe that it is the roll of the state to provide for its citizens from "cradle to grave" (thank you Sir William Beveridge), as it is the most efficient and fairest way to ensure social equality and progress; however, we can no longer include tertiary education in our Welfare State. The 80% teaching budget cut has virtually wiped out funding for teaching in the Arts and Humanities, in fact the only area that has been ring-fenced is Science funding, seen as an "economically-crucial subject". If we take a look at the areas of the British economy pouring money into HM Treasury, we do not just find science, we find a broad range of fields, not least Arts and Humanities, yet these are deemed economically-worthless. Universities are not merely training grounds for the next batch of employees for the private sector, every graduate enriches societies in ways unknown to previous generations. There are those who question the value of a "History of Art" degree, or of a philosophy degree, yet the Art graduate and the Philosophy graduate is able to think in ways the finger-pointer cannot even comprehend. The fabric of our society is not shaped merely by mathematics, or by science, or by engineering, we are the children of our history, our our politics, our culture, our music. Who dares say what is valid in a modern society and what is not? If something is valid to but one person then it is valid.
We now have the highest public university fees in the developed world (Harvard etc. are private), coupled with minimal Government funding: so the Government still runs the universities, it just refuses to pay for them. This marketisation (sometimes called the Americanisation) of our education is something that must be resisted. Why should every part of our lives be driven by the desire to make a profit? Are there not some things that deserve to be showered with money, to get the result we really need and most importantly that our country deserves? I believe education is one of these areas, it is the future of our nation at stake and whilst every other EU country (bar Romania) is increasing funding for education, the UK government is cutting it. We cannot get out of this recession without the skills and intelligence that comes from a well-educated workforce. Sheer manpower is no longer enough, faced with the economic might of India and China, we need to be smarter. So, to look at it from a purely economic view, the Government's policy makes no sense.
But we must not just consider the economic repercussions of the Government's actions, we most also consider the societal. Currently, a degree at a UK university will set you back £9 900 for tuition plus whatever you spend on rent and living costs. This money is loaned to you by the government and then paid back with a small amount of interest. Whilst there are good points in the Government's plans, such as raising the pay-back line to £21 000 and, what they fail to realise is that a debt of £27 000 plus rent and living costs is a huge burden on a young person fresh out of university. What is even more troubling is the effect this burden could have on people's aspirations to go to university. The prospect of £45 000 debt when you leave university will put off people from poorer backgrounds and the argument that it is not a 'real' debt may be economically-sound, but it is totally naïve to think that this argument holds sway amongst young and especially less well-educated people. Social equality is a noble cause, supposedly fought for by all UK parties; however, how can the Government claim to be doing all it can for social equality whilst creating a divisive and unequal system? It's simple look at the rest of Europe where tuition fees are either incredibly low or do not exist and compare the social equality there with that of the UK. Now let's look at America, where tuition fees are astronomical and let's look at the social equality of US society. See a pattern?
I did not want to touch on the involvement of the Liberal Democrats as I really do consider them to be beneath anything. They have betrayed not only the electorate but also their principles. Their presence on the UK political landscape is all but finished. Goodbye Nick and no, I don't agree with you.
Firstly, the raising of tuition fees is, of course, a way for the Government to raise funds to pay (one hopes) for educating the future workforce of our economy. In itself, the raising of tuition fees is not strictly an horrific idea, given the fact that all departments of the UK government are making large cuts with the exception of the Sacred Cow, the NHS. However, a rise of 200%, coupled with a cut in the Universities teaching budget of 80% is not comparable with any cut being made elsewhere in British society. Thus, one can only deduce that the Government has pursued this change for ideological reasons. The shift from the burden being on the taxpayer to being on the individual involved is a clear conservative (small 'c') belief translated into law: the "Why should the taxpayer pay for a student to go to university when the student gets all the benefit" argument. This argument is often spouted by the right-wing media (of which there is a depressing amount in the UK, thanks Murdoch!) and seen in the comments posts of online articles. However, we do not question our universal healthcare system, so much so that it has become a sacred object, a no go area even for the Conservative party, despite many of their members no doubt wishing to abolish it; we do not question paying for other people's children to go to school; we do not question paying for aircraft carriers or tanks; nor do we question paying pensioners to heat their homes.
Now the UK has a very well developed welfare state, one which I am proud of. I firmly believe that it is the roll of the state to provide for its citizens from "cradle to grave" (thank you Sir William Beveridge), as it is the most efficient and fairest way to ensure social equality and progress; however, we can no longer include tertiary education in our Welfare State. The 80% teaching budget cut has virtually wiped out funding for teaching in the Arts and Humanities, in fact the only area that has been ring-fenced is Science funding, seen as an "economically-crucial subject". If we take a look at the areas of the British economy pouring money into HM Treasury, we do not just find science, we find a broad range of fields, not least Arts and Humanities, yet these are deemed economically-worthless. Universities are not merely training grounds for the next batch of employees for the private sector, every graduate enriches societies in ways unknown to previous generations. There are those who question the value of a "History of Art" degree, or of a philosophy degree, yet the Art graduate and the Philosophy graduate is able to think in ways the finger-pointer cannot even comprehend. The fabric of our society is not shaped merely by mathematics, or by science, or by engineering, we are the children of our history, our our politics, our culture, our music. Who dares say what is valid in a modern society and what is not? If something is valid to but one person then it is valid.
We now have the highest public university fees in the developed world (Harvard etc. are private), coupled with minimal Government funding: so the Government still runs the universities, it just refuses to pay for them. This marketisation (sometimes called the Americanisation) of our education is something that must be resisted. Why should every part of our lives be driven by the desire to make a profit? Are there not some things that deserve to be showered with money, to get the result we really need and most importantly that our country deserves? I believe education is one of these areas, it is the future of our nation at stake and whilst every other EU country (bar Romania) is increasing funding for education, the UK government is cutting it. We cannot get out of this recession without the skills and intelligence that comes from a well-educated workforce. Sheer manpower is no longer enough, faced with the economic might of India and China, we need to be smarter. So, to look at it from a purely economic view, the Government's policy makes no sense.
But we must not just consider the economic repercussions of the Government's actions, we most also consider the societal. Currently, a degree at a UK university will set you back £9 900 for tuition plus whatever you spend on rent and living costs. This money is loaned to you by the government and then paid back with a small amount of interest. Whilst there are good points in the Government's plans, such as raising the pay-back line to £21 000 and, what they fail to realise is that a debt of £27 000 plus rent and living costs is a huge burden on a young person fresh out of university. What is even more troubling is the effect this burden could have on people's aspirations to go to university. The prospect of £45 000 debt when you leave university will put off people from poorer backgrounds and the argument that it is not a 'real' debt may be economically-sound, but it is totally naïve to think that this argument holds sway amongst young and especially less well-educated people. Social equality is a noble cause, supposedly fought for by all UK parties; however, how can the Government claim to be doing all it can for social equality whilst creating a divisive and unequal system? It's simple look at the rest of Europe where tuition fees are either incredibly low or do not exist and compare the social equality there with that of the UK. Now let's look at America, where tuition fees are astronomical and let's look at the social equality of US society. See a pattern?
I did not want to touch on the involvement of the Liberal Democrats as I really do consider them to be beneath anything. They have betrayed not only the electorate but also their principles. Their presence on the UK political landscape is all but finished. Goodbye Nick and no, I don't agree with you.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Episode 21: In which winter hits
So, we may not have the snow the UK has, looking pretty impressive in Yorkshire and Sheffield particularly (shut up London with your few cms), but we are much colder. My thermometer is currently reading -10°. I don't think I've ever experienced a temperature that cold and yet I need to leave the house. I am thus wearing:
2 pairs of thick socks
2 pairs of long johns (plus trousers on top, of course)
A vest
A t-shirt
A hoody
A ski jacket
A scarf
A hat
3 pairs of gloves (well, 2 pairs of gloves and a pair of mittens)
What's the betting I'm still freezing...
2 pairs of thick socks
2 pairs of long johns (plus trousers on top, of course)
A vest
A t-shirt
A hoody
A ski jacket
A scarf
A hat
3 pairs of gloves (well, 2 pairs of gloves and a pair of mittens)
What's the betting I'm still freezing...
Friday, 26 November 2010
Episode 20: In which Andy falls in love...
...with a song. Whilst YouTube link following I came across this song, which I felt I had to share with all three (nay, there are now FOUR) loyal readers of my blog.
I have been listening to it on repeat for about half an hour now and it's rekindling the desire to learn Icelandic. I have the books, it's just taking the (rather substantial) time it will take to be able to speak anything in this language.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Episode 19: In which Andy becomes a wordsmith in foreign...
Hij komt, hij komt,
de lieve goede Sint...
Sinterklaas is here in the Netherlands, after having arrived in Harderwijk on his steam boat from Spain, with his blacked-up 'Peters'. A thoroughly modern festival. To celebrate, the teachers hold a very special borrel* where everyone has to bring in a present and a poem. This has resulted in me spending time which should quite probably have been spent planning lessons to prepare my poem. This is what I have so far:
Nieuw op de Nassau, maar ook in deze natie,
Ik wou Andy tonen deze Hollandse celebratie
Zijn inburgeringscursus gaat door met behulp van mijn Pieten,
Als je je geen zorgen maakt over vetten, dan haal je wat frieten,
En erop moet je zetten de helft van dit pakje,
de andere deeltje is een echt engels drankje
I still need to round it off with two lines, so if any NL-sprekers out there wish to contribute then be my guest! I intend to buy a box of Yorkshire Tea and a jar of vinegar on my trip to London on Saturday.
*(TGIF drinks)
de lieve goede Sint...
Sinterklaas is here in the Netherlands, after having arrived in Harderwijk on his steam boat from Spain, with his blacked-up 'Peters'. A thoroughly modern festival. To celebrate, the teachers hold a very special borrel* where everyone has to bring in a present and a poem. This has resulted in me spending time which should quite probably have been spent planning lessons to prepare my poem. This is what I have so far:
Nieuw op de Nassau, maar ook in deze natie,
Ik wou Andy tonen deze Hollandse celebratie
Zijn inburgeringscursus gaat door met behulp van mijn Pieten,
Als je je geen zorgen maakt over vetten, dan haal je wat frieten,
En erop moet je zetten de helft van dit pakje,
de andere deeltje is een echt engels drankje
I still need to round it off with two lines, so if any NL-sprekers out there wish to contribute then be my guest! I intend to buy a box of Yorkshire Tea and a jar of vinegar on my trip to London on Saturday.
*(TGIF drinks)
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Episode 18: In which Andy bakes a cake
Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la and all that jazz.
So, for the first time (and pretty much forced into it by my housemate) I have started to make a christmas cake. I have never attempted this before, but thanks to a young man who shall remain nameless, I have a recipe which is destined for success.
the goods
Turns out you need to feed it with alcohol weekly whilst it matures. Is it possible that I've found a cake not dissimilar from me?!
over 1kg of fruit
In other news, I spent thursday evening eating and drinking large quantities of Heineken and generic shots with the twintigers (those teachers under 30), literal dancing to lady gaga and marching around a bar to this. The dutchification process is well and truly underway AND I managed not to fall off my bike on the way home...almost. At least this time, it was more a slight overbalance and resulted in no injuries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)