It's people that make the world go round

And its people that will restore our faith that there is kindness out there! Looking at the news and what we talk about in everyday life, an alien would get the impression that we are pretty miserable here on earth. However, one evening in good company can completely change your mind!

Tonight, I accompanied a friend to the tea party of a man that she works next door to. And boy, am I glad I went! After being apprehensive about going into a total strangers house and talking to him and his family, they were all so welcoming that it was lovely to just sit and have a chinwag!

And it didn't hurt that Tony (the birthday boy-man) kept pushing sandwiches and cakes at us! We were offered all sorts of refreshments (and yes, I managed to say no to the wine), the best of which was an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G chocolate cake, which he had cooked himself.

So generous and welcoming were they that they put together a box of goodies for us which they handed to us as we walked out the door!

And all in a cosy, unassuming ex-council house in Stanmore! It is easy to forget that there are such genuinely nice people out there, but its lovely when you realise that you are living in a world full of good people, with only a few sour grapes in the bunch.

Its a bake-athon day!

It always amazes me how fun procrastination can be. Today, I set myself many targets to do uni work and my FYP, instead I have cleaned the kitchen, tidied my bedroom and done some experimental baking.

I say experimental, but really the brownie mix that I used is a recipe that I perfected a loooong time ago! The experiment was putting this mix into little cupcake moulds and seeing how they would come out. Oh, and I added a few marshmallows, just for the fun of it!

First off, I'd like to point out that making double the mixture in a medium sized bowl is not such a good idea... and the elbow won't like it either! But my reasoning behind doubling it was so that I could make traditional brownies too, just in case the cupcake ones didn't turn out!

And so, the mix was ready, the (amazingly clever) silicone cases filled, and they went in the oven...

And came out like this!

After a very successful afternoon, my friends and I are all set for another week of hard slog in the computer building at Uni! Bring on the FYP....

A rockin'n'rollin' time in Buddy's

The local American diner, my favourite place in winchester for milkshakes, burgers and pancakes, and now hilarious evenings with my favourite people! We were joined tonight by Sammy's friend Mike who fitted in straight away and was laughing and joking along with us, even though we probably seemed a little bit crazy! Not to mention singing along to the cheesy music...

The ice cream sundae that just wouldn't stop overflowing!

Pretty darn good banoffee pie! (Although it was a bit too cold for me!)

It's celebration time!

I am immensely excited right now to announce that I have had stories printed in the Hampshire Chronicle! Not only have I got some of the press release-based stories in, but I also have three by-lines with a total of nearly 3 pages of print!

Including some of my own photographs, such as in the story above which was my baby! I found the idea for the story, researched it, contacted students and university faculty and did a proper interview as well as pictures and writing the story! Thankfully I did have a little help editing it before sending it to the queue though.

And here's hoping for more to come!

The Symes family Christmas

This year was extra special for me after the stresses of term time, and the two week break was sorely needed.

Christmas day was a quiet family affair, with church (yes, I actually volunteered to go!),

 lots and lots of beautiful presents,

the huuuuugest christmas dinner known to man,

 and some good old scrabble!

We also saw in the new year with a few days in Norfolk (yes, with the gale force winds!) which were absolutely lovely despite the weather. We visited many a beach over those few days and did lots of walking!

Well, this one was more of a local dock...

Someone built us a hut in preparation!

The only place of shelter...

The family time continued when we went to an MK Lightning ice hockey game. The second ice hockey game I have been to, and even though we lost, it was fantastic!

There were a few skirmishes...

Pucky, the mascot, did a song and dance in the breaks between periods.

The Meerkat Pack returns to winchester!

Unfortunately minus two members, but with the addiction of Claire's lovely housemate, Amanda.

We were in for a wonderful evening of excited nattering and wooping laughter! It definitely gave my lungs a workout and was a great cure after a long, tiring day!

We decided to bake, using the Baker Brothers' recipe for dipping doughnuts and chocolate sauce. The shape of these doughnuts (especially with the colour of the sauce) provided endless amusement, even for us 20/21 year olds!

And they tasted soooo goooood!

 The dipping station.

The sauce wasn't sticking around...

An eye-opening week

I finally did it.


After personally handing my CV and persistently calling and emailing, The Hampshire Chronicle took the risk of accepting me for a week's work experience. And I must thank them very much for all of the insight they have given me!


I rocked up at the big, green front door on Monday morning having no idea of what to expect from the very brief instructions I recieved by email:

We have a slot from Jan 9-13;   9-5pm at 5 Upper Brook Street.

Dress code: smart – you may go to court or an inquest; nothing else springs to mind. We should have notebooks, pens, computers, etc.

See you then!

I didn't have to wait long to find out though, as at approx. 9:35 I was asked to come up with story ideas for the education supplement Learning Curve. Luckily my usual difficulty thinking of articles seems to have been overcome, as I came up with several ideas all of which were met with a good reception. I have been working on three of the stories throughout the week, doing my own research, interviews and speaking to students, as well as getting photographs. Two of the stories have now been sent to subeditors and will be appearing in the next edition of Learning Curve. However, I still have one more picture to get. Any volunteers to hold a china cup up with your pinky sticking out in the canteen??

I have pretty much mastered the art of turning a press release into a story, doing two yesterday and 6 today. I have also followed the reporters in some day-to-day tasks, spending my first morning with Joe visiting a Junior school in Alresford which the Chronicle was doing a feature on. That afternoon, I went with Emma to the Crown Court (thankfully in the press box, not the as the defendant). On Tuesday morning I went with Warwick to Penyards Estate Agent to find out about their business expansion plans.

I have also gone with Emma to coroner's inquests, which were rather morbid and emotional and quite alarming when the wife of one of the deceased said that it was 'disgusting' that reporters should be allowed to report on it. Little did she know that although reporters hear the whole case, they only publish what needs to be in the public domain and do not go spilling families' deep dark secrets unless it is in the public interest. This did, however, provide an interesting talking point with everyone in the office and encouraged me to think about the ethics of journalism.

One of the least glamorous and fun sides of the job was introduced to me quite early on, but it still hasn't put me off! On tuesday lunchtime I helped Joe with the weekly 'vox pop' where we had to ask people the question of the week: Did you make a new year's resolution and have you stuck to it? Luckily people were quite willing to speak to us about this subject, however obtaining all their details and a photograph were not so straight forward. Not that I blame them!

The vox pop task and my solo interviewing of Vannessa Parrett and John Mann, Director of Estates at Winchester University have done a great deal to boost my confidence, as has the sheer number of stories that have been sent to subs under my name. I have definitely learnt some valuable lessons. Despite the fact that I now have one day at my day job to earn some badly needed cash, and one day of frantic FYP work, before the busiest semester of my university life starts, I am over the moon that I had the chance to have this experience!

So a big thank you to all the reporters at the Hamphsire Chronicle, and my interviewees, who definitely made the week more enjoyable!