This has been a comparatively quiet month for me although things have recently begun to get busier in the run up to exams and the hand in dates for assessments. What I really can’t believe is that after the Easter break I only have five weeks left before I complete my first year in Sunderland. It genuinely only feels like yesterday when I packed my things and set off into the unknown. Now nearly a whole academic year on, this place feels almost as familiar and homely to me as Orkney.
My flat mates and I have all been granted accommodation for next year in the same complex that we are currently residing in, however we will be moving from flat 11 to flat 30. This means we get a balcony and a slightly bigger living room, new neighbours plus some re branding for our ‘Flat 11’ parties!
Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen this month was when Danielle and I were officially given the 7 till 10am weekday breakfast slot on Utopia FM. The station is broadcasting for three weeks from May 5th and we will be online as well as on FM. All of the Utopia team are busy organizing advertising, promotion and music scheduling as well as mixing the jingles and station idents. It’s a lot of work for everyone involved and it’s hard to find time to do it on top of course work, particularly for the third year and masters students who are involved. I’m so excited about it because I know it’s a fantastic opportunity to gain loads of on air experience in commercial radio not to mention how much fun it will be. I’m already thoroughly enjoying introducing myself to people as “Rory from breakfast”. To add to the fun, 12 students from Utopia’s core team, including myself, are going on a three day Radio Society trip to London on a tour around several stations including BBC 6 Music and Magic 105.4 and BBC Radio 2. This should not only be very interesting but it is also a great way to really bond the team before we go on air in May.
My pet project this month is a DJ event/party which I am organizing in my local student pub at the end of the month. I decided that due to the growing numbers of people attending our ‘Flat 11’ parties, is was perhaps time to try and do something which could include more people and involve slightly less risk to our property. Saturday nights are expensive in town and there is almost no cheap alternative unless someone happens to be having a party. My flat mate Andy who’s a whiz on Photoshop has make the posters and although I’ll be doing a set on the decks I’ve booked two DJ’s from local clubs who will form the backbone of the event. Having foot the small bill myself the event will be free to the public and because the drink is cheap at student rates, were hoping the night will be a success. I figure that if there is ever a time in life to experiment with things like this, now is that time. If it really is a success, I will certainly do it again and I am considering following in dad’s footsteps from his Leeds University days and running for Entertainments Secretary next September as I feel that the student nightclub could do with getting some new ideas breathed into. Numbers have fallen dramatically since fresher’s week and I think it’s largely due to the fact that it’s always the same DJ playing the same music and people are bored.
As for course work, this terms big job is a film that a team of five of us are making for our ‘introduction to video production’ module. The film is only supposed to last for three minutes, and this may seem silly, but it has already taken us hours and hours of work to produce. We still haven’t shot anything like all the footage we need yet and we are due to be editing as soon as Easter break is over. It amazes me how much work is involved with making something, which is, on the face of it pretty simple. We’ve re-written the script three times and we’re still not even sure of where exactly we are going with this so I have my doubts as to how good it’s going to be. Having said that, in my experience things like this have a knack of coming together at the last minute plus it’s our first attempt at doing anything like this so I’m just going to do my best and try not to get worked up about it.
This month saw me pass my theory test and according to my driving instructor I’m not far off being ready for my practical test. I’ve booked it for the end of May in the hope that I will be ready by then. I don’t intend to get a car until next summer but I want to get the test out of the way so I don’t forget things over the summer and then have to take more lessons in September and waste more money. Having said that it’s pretty likely I’ll fail and therefore end up doing just that!
There has been an unusual amount of discussion about the weather recently as we have had two days of snow last week followed by a few days of gorgeous sunny, dry conditions. As you can see from the picture a spontaneous ball game began on the lawn outside our flat. We played for a couple of hours while I blasted music out of my bedroom window and this made me think how much of a shame it will be that none of us will be here in the summer to really make use of our balconies! I know that most of us living around here will greatly miss the people and the atmosphere in Panns Bank this summer, but I can’t say that I’m not looking forward to getting out on my bike on a warm summer evening or taking the dingy out to try for a fish. Anyway, Happy Easter when it comes.
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