Have Your Say with our Blogs and letters from St Albans Review

I am in my final year studying English Literature and Journalism and live in South Hatfield. Originally from Bedfordshire, I love motorsport, writing, and travelling, and am a member of Spicer Street Church in St Albans. I work part time as a nanny for two little boys in St Albans and one day a week in the Press Office of the University.

Life is like a chess game...

I am one of the fortunate graduates, regarded jealously by my peers, for choosing modules carefully last September in order to avoid exams. I should explain, my degree in English and Journalism works on a modular basis, so I can choose three modules of English and one of Journalism for each semester, and each module is published at the beginning of the year with information about who’s teaching it, what it involves, and what the assessment is. You can’t say we’re uninformed. So basically, my academic year finished last Friday 8 May, final deadline at midnight.

Sorry, I’ve been away...

I managed to get sunburnt this Easter, and before you think this was because I sunned myself on beaches in the south, it was actually because I went walking, over hills and fields, on a little island called Eday in the Orkneys. One of those surprisingly warm days, where the clouds that loom are full of empty threats, and we discovered a chambered burial cairn, gorgeous views, calm seas, a giant stone, and an abandoned farmstead. This was halfway through a two week backpacking adventure, which began at London Euston, took us across the countryside of Scotland, on a ferry to Stromness and all over the Orkneys (bar some). An uneasy ferry took us to North Ronaldsay, where what could be described as an inadvertent lighthouse tour began (after this one we found ourselves inextricably drawn to the lighthouses on the rest of the islands) but with good reason, as they are designed by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson (who wrote Treasure Island). They are also good sites for puffin spotting, and for lying on cliffs with a deadly vertical drop to watch the white foamy sea and the gulls that nest in the crags. North Ronaldsay also boasts the longest dry stone wall structure in the UK, a wall that encloses the island and keeps the sheep on the beach, eating the seaweed, which gives their mutton a unique flavour (it’s good stuff). There is also a stone with a hole in it.

Jenson Button wins from the grid in Malaysia

Jenson Button has won the Malaysian GP from the grid after torrential rain meant the rain was suspended after 31 laps. Despite the premature end, after which teams waited to see if it would be restarted, the beginning was exciting with Button slipping from pole to fourth, making his way back up and fighting off the competitive Toyota of Timo Glock who finished 3rd. Lewis Hamilton, who started from 12th due to poor qualifying made his way up to 7th place during what has been a stressful weekend for McLaren and good decisions from Heidfeld took him from 10th place on the grid to a podium finish.

Rise of the Underdogs

As I write this, I am watching the Qualifying for tomorrow's Malaysian GP so beware of spoilers if you are not also watching.

The life of a final year student

First an apology for not writing anything sooner, but as you may expect, this time of year is fraught with coursework deadlines, exam revision and job hunting for those expecting to graduate this summer. As one of those students, I have been considering the job market in recent weeks and like many others, have realised that sticking around at uni may not be a bad idea – if you can afford it.

And finally....

It seems customary to introduce myself as a new blogger, so to begin our reader/blogger adventure with a degree of familiarity here are some things you may like to know: I am a final year student of English with Journalism, I technically finish studying on May 7th and have no final exams (I deliberately chose coursework-based modules).