Easter in England

It's been a while so, as you can imagine, this post is likely to be a bit of a mixed bundle. In short, I've been super busy with deadlines and, therefore, have been avoiding anything unrelated. I've actually been in England for the last week too so every moment that isn't university related has been spent with family or friends. Or sleeping. Or in the bath. I really hate showers. Anyway, that aside!

The other day I managed to go to another gig. I'd wanted to catch Tracer when they played in the Netherlands but, sadly, the venue was really tricky to get back from (and Thijs was boring and wouldn't go with me!) so I figured I'd have to give them a miss. Then I saw they were playing Exeter - the area I grew up in - on Good Friday when I would just so happen to be in the country. I somehow bullied my best friend into coming with me despite not knowing them.

I had planned on meeting up with Aimee a fair bit before hand and we had both planned individually (although we never discussed it!) to get cocktails before the show. Annoyingly, I spent the entire day stuck in traffic and was super, super late. Seriously, you fly over from Amsterdam and it's the journey through Bristol that causes issues! That aside, I think we had an awesome evening!

So, my usual ramblings about the music...

The first warm up was actually a band that I'd stumbled across a couple of weeks ago (max) and been pretty much chain listening to since, Everyday Circus. They're quite a new band from Germany and their music has a really beautiful rock sound. It's got that edge that makes it stand out. I found out that they were supporting Tracer early on Thursday morning - coincidences do happen! They didn't let down with their live performance either and I will certainly be keeping an eye on further concerts. I will talk more about them in a moment.

#Exeter! You guys were awesome ❤️now #offto #aufnach #southampton #talkingheads #wftdtour it's gonna be the last show of...
Posted by Everyday Circus on Saturday, 26 March 2016

The second warm up - the band that I thought was the only warm up until a couple of days before - was Federal Charm. I'd had a quick listen to their music before seeing them, as I always try to, and I'd liked it well enough but I was generally underwhelmed. There was nothing that really caught my attention. However, live... oh my goodness what a show! There was a great energy, the music was great the musicians super talented and it was generally good fun... I've yet to try re-listening to the CDs - maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset when I tried before. Either way, I loved their set and would see them again without a moment's doubt.

Exeter thanks for making our 3rd visit to your kind city amazing. You were unbelievable tonight. We hope to see all you...
Posted by Federal Charm on Friday, 25 March 2016

And then on to Tracer - the reason I went to the show. Unsurprisingly, they were quite wonderful. You know a band is high energy when the front row moves several feet back from the front of the stage during the first song in order to ensure they don't get hit over the head with a bass guitar neck! I'm pretty sure I've already commented on the fact that Tracer is made up of very talented musicians who also happen to be lovely people, from the little I've spoken to them, so I won't go into that here. It was, as I've mentioned, Aimee's first time seeing the band and she was singing along by the end so I think that went pretty well. 

http://www.bjwok.com

Posted by Tracer on Saturday, 26 March 2016

As you can probably tell from the above, I didn't take photos myself but if you go onto the band facebooks (links below) there are photos... I look bored in most of them which I assure you was not the case!!

Meeting Tracer after the Show

After the show I went to get my scrapbook paintings signed. To start with, as usual, I only did one for the band I had booked to see (i.e. Tracer) but, after finding out that they were doing warm up, I had stayed up late to do one for Everyday Circus. Lucky I realised they were playing before turning up really! Anyway, it was so worth it because they were so sweet about the painting and, aside from that, they were lovely to talk with, polite as well as great musicians. It was a bit overwhelming for me though because, as I seem to say quite a lot nowadays, my scrapbook paintings are just little things I do for myself and when they get attention it's bizarre (in a lovely way).

Meeting Everyday Circus after the show

Yesterday, I was supposed to be at the Glastonbury Medieval Fayre but, with the weather being blooming miserable, I gave it a miss. It's a shame because I go each year but oh well. Instead I went out for a super meal. If you happen to be in the Exeter area then try The Blue Ball Inn - their food is so good, locally sourced and fresh. It's also a very reasonably priced for the quality.

After that it was the long drive back to Birmingham (where my parents live). We decided to do a bit of a scenic route through Cheddar Gorge. Seriously, that place amazes me no matter how often I see it. It's a shame how commercial it is around there though. Burrington Combe is just a bit further along and seems a little less touristy, although it is still popular.

And today I'm at my parent's house in Birmingham. I've booked flights for my next trip - this time to Venice - and I've drunk a fair amount of mead. The latter will account for any strangeness in this post! I'm now waiting for what promises to be a glorious meal to cook! Sadly, tomorrow it's back to The Netherlands and back to work.... that is, if Storm Katie doesn't cause my flight to be canceled!

And before someone comments on the above: I do really like The Netherlands, I just like my family, friends, not having to work/cook etc too ;-)


Oh and, before I forget, Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it! And to those who don't, happy Sunday anyway <3



Information on the bands:
Everyday Circus: Website, Facebook, YouTube
Federal Charm: Website, Facebook, YouTube
Tracer: Website, Facebook, YouTube

A Very, Very Happy Havanah

featuring daytime drinking, talk of deadlines, and good news!

As I type I am curled up in my fluffiest dressing gown nursing a cup of tea. Yes, I have multiple dressing gowns and I save this one, as the newest and the cuddliest, for the specialist of occasions. Okay, now I've hyped things up a bit too much but there we go, I couldn't resist.

In town today: Dania chooses to take selfies the
second I put a spoon of ice-cream in my mouth

So, over the last few months I've been trying to find a volunteer project/internship that I can work on in order to fulfill one of my graduation requirements. It's been really difficult because, ideally, it should link with my major and finding a placement that is English and relates to literature in the Netherlands is tricky. Finding a placement in the UK that will take you for just a month but full time, even harder. Volunteer work is more flexible because it doesn't have to fit in with your major but rather benefit the local and global community. The problem is, I didn't want to do something that I wasn't passionate about. I don't want to volunteer for a cause I don't agree, more likely, with or with a charity that I feel doesn't really prioritise the needs of its target group.

Anyway, you might recall me saying that I thought I had something up my sleeve in the last few posts and, I'll be quite honest with you right away, it came to nothing. The placement would have been great and would have fitted my degree perfectly. The organisation, however, was awful. Having asked me to fill in loads of different application forms (because they asked for the wrong ones to start with), spoken with me on the phone, collected references from me etc, and after weeks of waiting on a reply... they told me the role wasn't actually a real role - the website was wrong. They wanted me to go back to square one so they could "start to process my application". We're talking about two months on from when they should have started. Anyway, I gave up on that. It's not worth the stress.

A little disheartened, I trawled the internet for something else and, while I didn't really find anything promising, I did find something.

Visits to Hard Rock Café's are more
than justified in these situations.

To cut a very long story short, I applied for a teacher training program and for a scholarship too and, much to my surprise, I actually got offered it the other day. So, as of a couple of days ago, alongside my degree, I have been starting the process of language teacher training. I will also spend a lot of the summer in various observed placements in central Europe where I will teach children between the age of 12 and 19. I have to fund my own travel to the placements (so there are a few flights to book) but other than that all training and accommodation/board is funded. I'm completely overwhelmed and completely over the moon too. I feel like this is a real opportunity to get some practical qualification alongside my, lets face it, academic to the useless degree but fascinating nevertheless degree. I'm terrified but so excited.

The only person, other than my parents, who knew that I was applying for this was Dania. Each time I mentioned it to her she kept saying: "You should do this!" Even when I was in the process of applying and had no control over whether I was going to be accepted or not, she acted like it was my indecisiveness that was stopping it from being a certainty!! Her faith in me made me feel so confident and valued though <3

Naturally, Dania and I decided that we had to go out and celebrate today so, for the second time in my life it was gin cocktails for lunch. In all fairness, it was also a rather large meal and, several hours later, I am still completely full. The ice-cream on the way back was probably not so sensible either!

Anyway, I have already rambled on long enough and I have a delightful (note sarcasm) deadline for my academic writing course tonight so I should probably go and attack it! I'm actually done but that final proof read has to be thorough!

Celtic Woman: Destiny World Tour

To say that I was looking forward to this evening is a bit of an understatement.  I've listened to Celtic Woman for some time now and have tried to see them live a few times. However, as you may be aware, I seem to be jinxed with regard to certain bands and never get to see them. One day I will manage to see Dikanda live but I digress! The point is, it's not all that surprising that my string of bad luck continued as I woke up this morning with the cold that had been pretty annoying all weekend much worse... seriously, how are sinuses capable of causing so much pain?

But nothing was going to stop Wendy and me from getting to the centre of town to see Celtic Woman perform in the rather stunning Carré!

Celtic Woman is an Irish music group who play a kind of fusion folk music. Their style really seems to change from album to album, the latest album Destiny, seems rather poppy compared to some of the earlier recordings and this transferred to the stage. They also have a rotating line up of vocalists who, despite being all female, don't really have anything in common with each other vocally meaning that you get quite a different sound depending on the current line up.

At the moment, the group consists of vocalists Máiréad Carlin, Susan McFadden and Éabha McMahon as well as fiddle player Máiréad Nesbitt who is the only one who has, I think, been with the group since it formed. They are, of course, joined on stage by a group of wonderful musicians, who I am unable to name, as well as, for this tour, a four voice male choir.

From what I've seen, admittedly only on DVD, Celtic Woman concerts are always a bit theatrical. In this case we had a projection screen which was used quite nicely with images of countryside or subtle effects. The staging was quite simple with multiple levels which was also quite nice. That said, I do have to question some of the choreography and there were moments, quite a few moment, when the dancing reminded me of a cheesy boy band or when the movements seemed completely random, without purpose or effect.

But the important bit was the music, of course. As I said, the album Destiny breaks from some of the more folk led albums and this did translate into the show. That's not a bad thing at all but was quite interesting. While there were a few songs off of different albums (Amazing Grace, Danny Boy etc.) these were the minority.

The three female vocalists have lovely voices and, they have been really carefully balanced so that each voice brings something different to the group (*). This leads to a great balance as well as a diversity of interesting tone. That said, I could write quite the tome about Éabha's voice, in particular. At times it was aspirate and gentle, certainly full of character. However, especially when she was singing solo pieces, we were treated to what may well be one of the most beautiful voices... I cannot find a way to describe it without using such clichés as "molten" and "haunting" but you know something's special when the cliché's are true!

And I really cannot forget the musicians who are not included in the "Celtic Woman" name... I always find it a bit strange that the name refers to the vocalists and Máiréad but not the others but anyway! The band in general are pretty awesome. Ray Fean deserves a special mention as a wonderful percussionist and a skilled showman as does Anthony Byrne for his bagpipe playing. Okay, I might be a bit partial to the sound of bagpipes!

So, after several years of attempting to see them I finally managed and, I think it's fair to say that it was worth the wait. Now hopefully I won't have as long a wait until next time!


(*) The male vocalists also had great voices and they sounded wonderful but as a backing choir they did get less chance to shine!

Welcome to your semesterly "this is what I'm doing" post!

Yes, yes, it's that time again. The second semester of my second year at university has just begun and I have had a week of my courses... time for me to write down what they are so that when I casually reference them later it doesn't cause such confusion.

First off is my compulsory course Advanced Research Writing or, as it used to be known and therefore how it's still called by basically everyone, Academic English II. Advanced Research Writing continues from my first semester course of Academic English I (now called Intro to Research Writing or something) and in this course we prepare to write our capstone (Bachelor's Thesis). Basically, in practice, we spend the next few months writing an article and, in groups, creating a journal in which to 'publish' the articles. Okay, it doesn't sound as soul-destroying as Academic English I and, you know, it might actually be useful this time.

I'll be honest, I felt that Academic English I was a complete waste of space so my hopes were really not high for Academic English II. I signed up for the teacher I thought would be best at teaching it and, turning up on the day, it turned out that the class was being taken by someone else. I resigned myself to months of frustration. And then I kicked myself for being so judgmental. I actually really like the teacher, probably aided by the fact that she's not simply teaching the dry course but giving it a personal spin and therefore making it feel interesting and worthwhile.

My second course is Literature and Science. As the title may well suggest, this course looks at the interaction between literature and science throughout history. Well, it starts in the early modern period but, you know, that's still a fair chunk. So far, we've mainly focused on the disciplinary conflict between the academic subjects but we should move on to look at how the two fields intermingled and inspired each other... perhaps limited too, who knows.

This course is taught by three of my favourite teachers and, as they said, with a class of around 15 (give or take as people join or drop out) what other university course would ever offer that kind of teacher student ratio! Each specialises in a different time period of literature, and I believe a different area within literary studies too, so there's a real breadth and depth of knowledge being offered. I think the reading load may be quite intense for this subject but I suppose that's one of the drawbacks of majoring in literature!

Then we have my accidental course History and Heritage of the Dutch Golden Age. I think the title of the course sums this one up. It's a study of the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) and the different things that were going on and related to it. The course covers aspects from the economy to literature, art to religion and, quite frankly, it looks fascinating. I love taking a period of time and a place and then attempting to learn about 'everything' - it's an exciting approach to history, I find.

However, I did not initially sign up for this course. One of my courses was cancelled due, I believe, to the teacher being ill and this was what replaced my art history course. So far, I feel it was a very happy mistake. The teacher of History and Heritage of the Dutch Golden Age - I really need to find a shorter title for that one - seems absolutely lovely. He's got a great sense of humour, is engaging, and seems to be genuinely interested in, and know, his stuff. He's also open to changing the course around in order to fit the desires and interests of the students and, I think, open to learning from his students. It's a wonderful attribute for a teacher to have. Oh, and another funny thing, at the moment I am the only non-exchange student in the class... not quite sure how that happened!

Finally, I am taking Political Shakespeare, something that won't be surprising to a lot of you. Again, this title is exceptionally self explanatory. The course mainly focuses on reading Shakespeare's works within the (political) context of their society. There is also an aspect of looking at how they have been used in later societies and the meanings that the works have been given or picked up and that should be interesting. It's taught by the wonderful Rebecca and, considering how much I have sung her praises in the past, I won't go into how awesome she is at teaching here but it's still the case.

Actually, I'm also taking three external modules through a distance learning program this semester. They are not counted towards my degree and I'm trying to keep it a bit quiet from the university but I'm really excited about them. Two of those are Shakespeare based and one is history based but I'll say more about those when they start, perhaps. Seriously, if I get through the next semester without wanting to chuck my Shakespeare books out of the window then I can be pretty sure I'm applying for the right courses post BA ;-)

I think including a picture of my nail art of this
week is pretty fitting at this point.

Add to this mix the fact that I've still not heard anything about my internship and this next semester is going to be a pivotal one, I think! Very, very excited!!

Holding on until this week is over

This is just an exceptionally quick post, written in panic, as my German exams approach. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty sure that I will pass... but as you know, I need to do a bit better than that and, to be honest, I'm feeling the pressure.

Tomorrow I'm presenting, in German and in front of my class, and that's something that terrifies me. Add to that the fact that it's examined. Urgh.

And then Friday we have the Final Exam of Final Examness. I managed to scrape an A- (quite literally by 0.2 %) in the last exam so I'm not too hopeful about this one. The only thing that's keeping me slightly positive about it all is the fact that, apparently, my grade was the third highest in the class. Considering I'm mentally rating myself as one of the worst in the class... it seems that I am being too harsh on myself. That said, I still need to get a good tangible mark... Oh grades how I hate thee!

Other than that, I've been attempting to arrange a community project/internship for university (we have to do a full time, four week placement to graduate) and I might have found something. Nothing is confirmed at the moment so I'm really not counting chickens but I am currently filling in my second application form and both people I've spoken to sound quite hopeful. Seriously though, this placement is super exciting so I do hope that I get it...! If not, I'm going to be panic looking, I can tell you that!

Anywho, there will be more posts soon and they will be a lot more interesting and a lot more optimistic than this one! Oh, and I will also reconnect my blog to facebook because apparently it's decided to disconnect itself... but until then

Tschüss!

A month in summary form

As I commence writing there is but half an hour until my dinner date with The Usual Suspects. Laura, Dania and Thijs are coming round to my, rather bedraggled, flat and we're skyping in the absent pair (Sonja and Leonoor). It's not really enough time to write even a short post but, as I've been absent for so long I felt I should really try to do something.

So, what has happened since I last wrote here? Well, firstly, the lovely Zoë came out once again but this time aiming to explore the museums. Sadly for both of us, it was right in the middle of finals time and I couldn't really spend much time with her. I think we both enjoyed ourselves regardless. We did take time out to go to the Midwinter Fair again and, to be quite honest, that has got to be my favourite festival of the season.

With the Zoë

The evening Zoë left was another social time, this time with the normal lot as we hung around and I painted Sonja's nails. It appears that, if I drop out of university for whatever reason I have a secondary career lined up. I also got to see my delightful neighbour Robbert before I left for England for Christmas and he left to study in Singapore, on exchange. However will I manage without his faultless optimism for a whole semester!

Sonja didn't look this bored the whole time, I swear!

As for Christmas, naturally, I spent it with my parents. We actually spent this Christmas in Wales in this tiny old cottage. It was owned by someone who was from quite a historic family and had worked as a antiques dealer so, as you can imagine, it was full of little bits and bobs to fascinate me. Did I mention we had to drive over a mountain track and through several fields (sans roads) to get there? The first time I've been grateful for there not being snow at Christmas!

Christmas dinner

Actually, this was probably the best Christmas I've had in a long long time. For that matter, it was probably one of the least stressful years my family has had in a long time and I guess it showed in the festivities. It was really relaxed, really pleasant. A lot of time together, a lot of good food, a lot of painting.

As for New Year, that was lovely in quite a different way. We went spent it in a local restaurant (in England) and had a thoroughly wonderful evening. Again, there was a lot of good food, good company, a bit of dancing. My father helped the staff pour the champagne for everyone - somehow that's become a tradition at this place - and that kind of meant we ended up with almost a full magnum on our table at the end of the toast... couldn't let it go to waste!!

This photo was taken before any alcohol was consumed, in my defense!

And then it was back to Amsterdam (which is honestly starting to feel like home) and to my second German intensive period. I've got to be honest and say that I am not enjoying it. I'm naturally very shy and use my language ability to cover that up... take away my language ability through making me speak in another language and it is hell for me. Not to mention the fact that, in the six months since the last intensive I have forgotten everything. That said, i still adore the German language and I am a quarter of the way through. Just another three weeks to survive. I may not be online or blogging while I fight with speed learning but oh well, I shall get through!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my speed recount of the last month. Wow, I managed it in circa. twenty minutes. If only I could write that quickly normally!

Not waving but drowning

I've got to be honest, I've always hated the poem that inspired the title of this post, ever since I first read it as a child and it made me sad. But that aside, it does kinda sum up how I've been feeling over the past few weeks.

The past semester has been basically non-stop which is wonderful in many senses but not great in many others. I've had a bustling social life and a lot of work. The work is interesting and it's why I'm here so I'm not complaining in the slightest. Well, the social life is something to be grateful for so I'm not moaning about that either. However, the two combined has meant that I've not stopped in months and, more to the point, I've neglected some dear, dear friends as time has flown by out of control. Actually, I've neglected a lot of people and for that I am honestly sorry!

The past few weeks have been particularly hectic, what with being in multiple countries and having more deadlines than I care to count. I was at a point where I was unsure of whether I was going to manage; it all seemed way too much! To add to it, apparently my body likes dealing with stress by giving me quite horrific nightmares which means I'm up all night and therefore can't work the day after... counter productive, body, counter productive!

Anyway, today I finally feel on top of things. Sure, I have a lot left to do but I've got it to a level where it's manageable once more so I thought I'd take five minutes out just to write this. I often write about the good things that happen in my life, and I'm incredibly lucky that I have a lot to write about in that regard. I don't want to ignore the harder times just because they're not so pleasant - they're a part of the life that I'm living and the life that I love.

I also don't want to pretend that they don't happen. It's funny, whenever I've written a post like this I've had someone come up to me and talk about it because they were happy to read that someone else was feeling the same way as they do. It's easy to construct a comfortable internet persona where it seems everything is perfect but sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that, for the most part, we all have similar basic struggles every now and then.

Anyway, what was intended to be a very short updating post became quite long and heavy so I think I'll say it's not for facebook and leave it here! Just in case anyone is concerned after reading this - I'm 100% fine and always have been. A little bit of stress doesn't hurt from time to time :-)

In other news:

Just over a week before I go home - really excited. Nearly Christmas - super excited. And before all that Zoë's coming out to visit again, I'm going to the Midwinter Fair, and it's Winter Formal which is a good excuse to dress up, if nothing more!

Wow, so much still to do! Really looking forward to the next week!