Buongiorno bella Venezia!

First of all, a massive hello and welcome back to my blog!

It has been a very long time since I have blogged and this has been for a number of reasons. First of all, what a wonderful year 2013 is shaping up to be. I hope you’re all having a lovely year so far.

So…what’s new? Since I last wrote to you I’ve lost two relatives, been to Venice, ended up with kidney stones, attended a lot of formals, met up with some incredible friends, gained work experience with The Times, written guest posts for all sorts of fantastic travel websites, written over 10,000 words worth of poetry-themed essays for my MA, lost 7 pounds of weight (slowly but surely!), wrote two posts for The Independent and found out that this blog has reached over 114 countries. Phew! What a busy term this has been.

Safe to say, it has been an incredibly emotional term in Durham. Not simply because of personal family losses but on the other end of the spectrum – finding out just how happy i am in my new surroundings, and how many genuine friends i have made in such a short space of time, it’s the quality of time that counts, not the quantity after all!

Easter has been truly lovely – i’ve over indulged in social activities, visited old friends, met up with new friends, spent some quality time with the family and taken some time off from work, and made the most of the break. This has had an incredible outcome and has been a real benefit to my health, mind set and happiness. I feel refreshed and excited to get back to my new love, Durham and continue studying what I enjoy so much. I feel incredibly privileged for all opportunities i receive and gain, so it is with great pleasure that i can prepare for my work experience with The Times commencing in early May. There may be the small big issue that I am yet to start my 4 essays…but that’s for another day, carpe diem and all that!

SO…onto Venice. This is actually the third time i have visited, but the first time of writing about it. It is a truly beautiful place rich with history, a beautiful language and interesting tales of the past of Venice..it’s a lot more exciting and sometimes revelrous, a bit more than we may imagine. Thanks to my wonderful Dad and his incredible social skills, our family were offered to stay in a Venetian Palace courtesy of his friend and client who is a fascinating character in himself. So that being covered, we spent 5 glorious days basking in the water-filled-streets, lapping up the venetian masks, and consuming copious amounts of spaghetti…it would be rude not to, right?

The palace is the one on the left. <<<<

It was beautiful, with a gorgeous interior, and inspiring views. I already miss the morning wakeup call the seagulls so kindly provided us, and the relaxing sounds of the water nearby. *sigh*

What a lovely way to end an equally marvellous Easter break. However it is a little alarming that i am convinced i’ve finished my MA…when in fact it’s not even half way through! My family and I spent Easter weekend in our Caravan and beach hut by the sea, and was a different but necessary way to spend the weekend, in the sun! The dogs loved it, as did we, and I’m sure one of these days I will return home from Uni and my family will have moved there permanently…hopefully with some more warning than that however.

If there is one thing I have learnt this year so far, it is that seizing the moment is of paramount importance. When we lost Uncle Fer it was a difficult time, and it left me realising how short life can be. Not to be morbid or pessimistic, but i prefer to have found an optimistic twist, where i make the most of each day and do at least 1 nice thing for someone daily. So keep an eye out – you could have a message in your inbox telling you why i like you and why i’m glad you’re in my life.

Now, for the upcoming months. I’m going to be celebrating
a lot of friends birthdays, and even my own in late June
when I will be turning 22!
When I return to London for my week at The Times, I will be dining with friends from Liverpool in the evenings and generally enjoying the time i’ve got back here. After that, it will be numerous antics in Durham including a college musical, before getting on with the big D(dissertation).

For now, I think that’s enough warblings. Keep an eye out on my upcoming posts for The Independent, they’ve been an utter joy to write and I am looking forward to when they’re published in June. I will keep you all posted with various other writing exploits!

Take care for now and keep positive!

Love,

S ‘ n ‘ S

X

Your future begins in a minute

2013. The aspirin shelves have been raided, enough alcohol has been consumed to sink a submarine 100 times over, and the New Year resolutions have been declared on Twitter/ignored completely. So…what is the first thing you’re going to achieve this year? Lose those pesky pounds the clotted cream and mince pies helpfully contributed to your big W number? Learn to drive? Learn to love…again? Whatever it may be, I hope this dark (post 4pm) Thursday 3rd January is treating you well, and you’re not already reluctant to be back stuck in to the 9-5.

This post has been inspired by a few conversations I’ve had with various friends over the past couple of weeks. Is it me or does time pass by even faster each 365 days that pass by, each year that you grow closer to becoming ‘older’? I’m so sure I blinked when looking at the tree and it was 31st December 2012.

Regardless of what your resolution(s) may be, the point is that 2013 is a fresh, new, exciting year for all. ‘Happy New Year! May all your wishes for the year come true’ was a lovely sentiment that sprung across both my Twitter and Facebook feeds and left me thinking…what am  I wishing to happen this year?

Last year, *see my last post* (shameless plug) in a nutshell told you lovely readers what I’d enjoyed and experienced the past year. A pretty solid set of events paved my near-future; turning 21, graduating with my BA, beginning my MA at a new, and top University, makes 2013 a tough act to follow. However, never settling to be the supporting actor in my ever eventful life, 2013 is going to be just as, if not even more memorable than the happy, comfortable, and generous 2012.

Discussing love lives, career plans, University concerns, and everything under the sun, if there was a commentator reporting on our lives and goals in a horse-race like fashion, I know for sure who would be racing ahead, leaving me behind for dust, a jockey bolted by his own horse. How very selfish of me. ‘Who would be racing ahead, leaving me for dust’, however is it totally un-natural and ‘inhuman’ to compare with our friends? How could you not look at the amazing prospects your friends have, and compare with your own ‘I guess I’ll have x, y, and z.’ Not that I’m envious or jealous, there’s nothing in the world I want more than to see my friends be successful, happy and healthy, except perhaps Richard Armitage declaring his undying love for me, but that’s another story.

I guess the one big thing I’ve already realised this year, is that we’re all on different pages of a fascinating story book that is entitled ‘Life’. While some friends are already at page 47; engaged/in a solid long term relationship, even pregnant, I cannot help but feel stuck traipsing through, word by word, on page 26. But hey, slow and steady wins the race….right?
What makes it so hard about this race to the final post is the shift in ‘being in it together’ in Deck chair blazers, suffering the endless hymns in our Convent school masses, to suddenly growing apart and potentially going our separate ways.
I’ve never been one to ‘settle’. An avid traveller, I know i’m happiest when I’m learning something new, meeting someone new, or acclimatising to somewhere new. It’s just what I’m like. Though i’ve learnt now that the thing i always did take for granted is that my relationship with people would always stay the same, in the same location, forever and ever, until the pub no longer needs to I.D us for drinks (PLEASE this day don’t come anytime soon), when in fact, that’s never been something I’ve wanted for my future.

“Your future begins a minute after I write this. It’s already begun, it’s always there, and it is up to us when things happen, but I bet they will all happen in good time” was my response to a friend having a similar crisis. Perhaps this wordy, over-lengthy post is just a precedent to a forthcoming post ‘When you know you’re a grown up..’
We shall see, until then I’m going to continue googling Grad schemes, travel internships, ANY internships, and then go and play with some lego for a while…

Lovin’ life 2k12

This blog is beginning to sound like a broken record/blog but it has indeed been another while since I last put mind to fingers to WordPress.
Safe to say, 2012 has been a remarkable and memorable year for an array of reasons. The collaboration of Queenie and James Bond, The Olympics, and a wealth of medals later, Great Britain shone as a shining star in not just Europe, but the entire world. GB pride? Absolutely.

Not only has it been a great set of events to reflect on as I sit by the fire, warm cider to my right, for the first time in 5 years I stay in, keeping my sister company, to see in the New Year.

Inevitable ups, and some downs, 2012 has all in all treated me wonderfully, and I could not be happier. Similar to the BBC studio when Mo Farah came first in both of his races, I have been left feeling flushed from marvellous experiences, friends, family moments, academic opportunities, journalistic roles, and lots of laughter.
I thought it a nice way to round up 2012 for me, as a Graduate, and now, 21-year-old woman to reflect on achievements, big and small.

Despite being burgled while I was in the house back in April, while talking to some of my closest friends on Facebook Chat, and getting third-degree burns from some mis-sold sunburn in Morocco, the bad was far outweighed by the good. A testament that hard work does pay off, this year has done my confidence the world of good.

Graduating from The University of Liverpool as a holder of a 2:1 degree in English, it was the perfect conclusion to three fantastic years in a city that I will forever adore.
Gaining my place to study an MA Studies in Poetry at the prestigious Durham University affirmed that my appreciation for education, and poetry, (yes I probably am the only person in the world to like it), was still true.
I sit here, four months later into my MA, happy and content in my new beautiful surroundings, with a bundle of fantastic peers and new friends. They say it’s not the quantity of time you have with your friends that matters, but the quality of the friendships, and they are absolutely right.
Writing for Channel 4 back in September was an absolute joy, and is something I will be forever proud of. Defending the value of Degrees and University education, it reminded me exactly why I appreciate the privilege to study, and to do so freely.
I’ve not once written about my love life on this blog, and I don’t intend to that much (too gushy gushy) but this year has been lovely. If anything, it has taught me to be honest with feelings sooner, and tell that special person that you like them, but then again, better late than never!
Travelling to Madrid to see one of my best friends in her place of study, and having one of the best weekends EVER while making new Spanish amigos – too.much.fun
Going on possibly one of the last Family holidays for a while, travelling around Florida, seeing Spain, France, and going to Morocco with my best friend from Uni, so many photographs and even more memories.

So…what a year it has been. Nationally and personally, I won’t be forgetting 2012 for a long time. I hope all you reading this have had an amazing year, and I wish you the very best for a repeat next year!

Love and champagne!

 

Dear sender…

Once again writing on this blog has taken longer than anticipated, but safe to say the past month has been a whirlwind of experiences and University life up in Durham. Halloween parties have occurred, copious amounts of alcohol has been consumed, tutorials have been enlightening, new friendships formed, and even more alcohol drunk. If there is something I have changed in my mind so far here as a Postgraduate, it is what I want to get out of post-University life. Seems a little crazy only a few weeks in to Michaelmas term, but even this blog is something I want to steer in a new direction. Instead of focusing completely on ‘I this, I that’, I (forgive me one last one) want to try and change the tone and course of direction for this blog, and while the readership has been absolutely mind blowing, touching too many countries to mention, I feel I’d like to branch out to more of a readership, instead of just ‘Clare does this, this month.’

Studying here in Durham has taught me so far that if you are passionate about something, do not hide it. I’ve never hidden writing as a passion of mine, so internship applications sent and competitions entered it is time to step away from the mentality of ‘Clare the student’ and instead consider my future as a serious writer, if you want something enough you can eventually achieve it, right?

Now I don’t often do shout outs to friends often, but I had to include a little bit on a good friend of mine, Rose. I’ve not hesitated in the past to let her know how much of an ambitious, fantastic and genuinely one of a kind girl she is, and how fortunate I feel to be one of her friends. A successful and incredibly busy Summer later, Rose is well on her way to her dream job, in fact, she was offered a dream job not too long ago. Hard work, determination and persistence pays off, and being here in a new University with new people who are all of such a fantastic calibre has encouraged me to step up my game even higher and work to my fullest potential. I know how fortunate I am to be able to study for another year, especially a subject that is so well suited to my interests, so I’m going to relish every opportunity given, and I’d like to think I’ve done a tiny bit towards that so far.

One thing I wanted to talk about on this post (now i’ve got the “I am loving life 2k12″ bit done with) is how much I am enjoying going back to basics and resorting to communicating with some of my nearest and dearest via pen and paper, in the form of letters. Now I know this may seem a little Downton Abbey, and perhaps a little cringe-worthy to some, but writing letters to various friends and family these past couple of months has made me feel even more settled into my new home than I had ever envisaged. There’s something quite personal and invaluable about reading the words of someone you care about a lot. More personal than a text, though of course a lot less instant, letters are not the most time-efficient of communication methods, though they are the more heart-warming for those sentimental or just those who want a hard copy of someone’s words and how they are getting on. I have kept birthday cards from my 15th birthday onwards, so I guess you can deduce how much reading other people’s words mean to me, it’s kind of soul-reaching.

Before I get into a philosophical power of word battle with myself and you, my lovely readers, I wanted to say a big thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this blog. Knowing that so many people in absolutely diverse and geographically distant countries have skimmed their eyes over my rambling, annoying, self-divulging at times words, is really mind blowing and incredibly flattering, so I just hope I can continue to do you all justice in the continuation of this blog.

Thank you, and a happy, lovely weekend

Hello from Durham.

Just thought I’d use the rare free-time I have to write a snappy but informative post about my first few days here in Durham.

If you’ve tried to contact me via text, skype, phone, carrier pigeon I may be a little slow in replying, it isn’t anything personal, the signal here is not particularly great and I’m busy socialising, mingling and trying to convert a fellow student to stop hating poetry.

So, I guess a lot has happened already since being here, and I’m not just talking about the return of hellish hangovers. Currently I am sat with my door propped open, listening to Gorillaz and Crystal Castles, completely settled in my new environment. I don’t think I speak simply for myself when I say how welcoming the University have been already and with a new group of friends and already some private ‘in’ jokes I feel like this year is going to be a brilliant one.

Promise I’ll get in contact with you all soon when term officially begins and the poems are coming thick and fast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s in the suitcase?

The time has come where I am allowed to ring out the old “this time next week I will be *insert exotic or daunting place here* spiel”. So to avoid further disappointment here  it is…this time next week I will be comfortably in my new student room residing at Durham University.

I won’t bore you all with the details of my applications and the like but in a nutshell it has been a long journey from pre-applying lack of confidence in my abilities to continue studying, but now, here I sit, typing frantically (60 percent excitement, 40 percent apprehension) counting down my final few days in Essex.

My three years of studying in Liverpool, capital of culture (always will be) have been truly life-changing. I’d be an idiot to try and sum up the last three years in a coherent sentence, no amount of words can do my experiences justice, but simply the memories and gaggle of wonderful friends I have made during my time there speak for themselves.

However, I am incredibly excited to get started in Durham. I have reached that point after a good few months of relative rest, travelling, excessive writing and socialising that I feel ready for a new challenge, and to tackle some hefty poetry collections head on. Knowing a group of my friends who, for various reasons, are unable to continue studying at higher level even if they would give a limb to do so has really encouraged me to appreciate what I am about to do in the next 12 months. I do not doubt it will be hard work and I certainly will be cursing the degree at some point or another, however what I do believe is that I’ve got an exciting year in store, and that I’m going to make the most of every opportunity that comes near me, if not for myself but for all my friends who will be living vicariously through me.

Returning to my beloved Liverpool for the past week has been truly special. Sofa surfing at the abodes of various friends not only helped me relax and stop feeling anxious about my big move on Thursday but enabled me to spend some quality time with those who mean the most. It sometimes takes you to leave a place or a person to realise just how much you appreciate and need them, and this week has certainly been an eye-opener. I ended my summer how I started it, with my best University chums in Heebie Jeebies, Camel Club, in Leaf on Bold Street, or wandering around Liverpool One. Safe to say Durham has a lot to live up to and that if I’m half as happy in Durham as I am and have been in Liverpool then that is just fine with me.

SO…I bet you’re wondering what this post has to do with my title. Well, quite simply I thought i’d comment on a few treasures that I’ll be taking with me to Durham, to the next chapter of my book of life, and why.

First on the checklist is my beloved £3 vintage suitcase bought from a charity shop in Liverpool. I fear I may be cursed from this case because two minutes after I had purchased it I (accidentally) whacked a Nun on her shins….so, I will leave you to decide for yourselves about the luck of the case. However, for three pounds how can you go wrong? Except maybe..go to hell. Inside the case is literally pile upon pile of jumpers, cardigans and my favourite knitwear. I have taken the “ooh it’s going to be cold up’t North” view and used it as an excuse to buy any jumper I see in my sight. It’s necessary, right?

Now I’m a sentimental and nostalgic kind of girl. Ask any of my course-mates from my English BA degree and they will tell you of my obsession with time/the past/memory. Aside from being a wonderful essay title, I actually do relish memories, hence why I’m the annoying papper on every night out, gathering and general meet-ups. I have an awful memory so I rely on the photographs to pinpoint me to a time when dancing with a quadvod was socially acceptable. While I don’t want to admit to be materialistic, I do cherish some of my possessions, for example my pastel pink bear that rattles when you shake it, given to me from my Foster Mother when I was 1, things like that. So this next item on my list comes from a very good friend of mine, Charlotte. We’ve been friends since suffering a certain Latin teacher in year 9 and I’m thrilled to say we’re still friends now. I can’t put into words how fantastic a person Charlotte is, and her family always felt like they were another adopted family to me, I sound a little greedy but you have to appreciate when people make you feel welcome. I can’t begin to list the experiences we have had together, but believe me there has been some fantastic ones. Look in my poetry book that I wrote when I was sixteen (cringe, I never show anyone anymore so you will be lucky) and you’ll see that most of the friendship poems are dedicated to Charlotte. Quickly explaining the —->, it was a birthday present back in 2007 (has the date on the back) and always makes me smile when I see it. We nicknamed each other ‘spud’ back in those dreaded Latin lessons, and it still sticks to this day, funny thing is we can’t remember why it is we chose “spud”. Nonetheless it remains affectionate and loyal, just like our friendship.

Okay, that’s the friendship bit nearly over. Next up is the final version of my packed suitcase. On top of many jumpers now lie three vintage drink mats, that I bought in a local shop in Essex. To the right are my staple necklaces, the chunky black one was £2 in the sale from Dorothy Perkins and has been attached to my neck ever since. Along from that is the statement rope necklace from Primark, also £2. Go right of that and you’ll see a wooden photo frame (£1 from Poundland in Liverpool) with a photograph of my best friend from home and I standing beneath a tree in the woods this Summer. Emma and I have been friends for 9 years now, so my room in Durham would not feel at home without a picture of her somewhere, just like my home home (Essex) room and Liverpool room(s).

Finally, this is the most sentimental part of the blog, where I show you my ‘key items’ that I am taking with me for various reasons.
Home accessories and bedroom decorations are my favourite when it comes to shopping, so I will finally run through what is on the list of that.

Starting from the left: A photograph of some of my fellow English course friends before our English Ball earlier this year. Not everyone is in the photo but Natalie, Rosie, Sim and Aoife are all fantastic examples of why making friends at University is vital and that making friends at Uni is not the end, but just the beginning. Next along is a wine glass (you may be able to see it) which says “Happy 21st” on it, I have used it to store my rings, mainly because I have loads more glasses for wine… In front is my LSMedia “Editor of the Year 2012″ award that I received for my role as Travel Editor for my University Newspaper. This is particularly important to me as it embodies all the hard work and the enjoyment that I put in and get out of writing and that making an effort in writing does pay off. To think the travel section was going to be scrapped but now this year has been handed over to another editor to keep it going strong. The open Laura Ashley Jewellery box to the right, a birthday gift from Emma as featured earlier, has been with me in so many different bedrooms in many different places. Always a favourite. Next to that, a clear vase with some artificial flowers, only £2 from Asda and Poundland combined which instantly lifts a room, a definite must for my new room. Finally, the sun may obscure the clarity of it in the photograph but in the bottom right corner is a horseshoe, painted silver with a purple ribbon. This was given to each of us by our form tutor back in Year 9. I really respected Miss Hayward and I remember the amount of time she put in to paint each horseshoe, so I take it with me everywhere, with her intention that it brings you luck. Liverpool worked out perfectly so perhaps there’s some truth in it, i’m not superstitious but it looks nice in a bedroom all the same.

I think that’s finally it (you’ll breathe a sigh of relief). I guess this frantic typing expels a feeling of excitement, hyper mixed with a few nerves. I probably won’t get to write another post before the big move later this week so I hope you enjoy this post, and I guess I’d love to ask you to wish me luck, for the second University experience of my life so far.

Love,

Why getting/keeping/being fit is not a temporary fixture

We’re hounded by statistics that label us slobs, lazy and ‘obese’. With disease on the rise and Fat Frogs on the ever sugar-high, getting fit and healthy is becoming increasingly important in everyone’s lives.

I’ve always admired the ‘fitness freaks’ on TV programmes, in the gym or running down the road faster than the 80A bus in Liverpool. On a personal level I have always been relatively fit, though this may come as a surprise to a few. Name a sport, i’ve probably tried it at some point. Boxing, fencing, running, badminton, tennis, rounders (i’m a hidden gem at this, i’m not even ashamed to admit it), and dancing. Dance took up 13 years of my life, before deciding to give it up and pursue Music instead…probably worked out best in the end in terms of academic results and the likes. However, being good and competent at sport is something I really miss since having gone to Uni. Find me on a Saturday pre-Liverdamage years and I’d be helping to coach 4 classes of various aged children my favourite sport, tennis. I wonder if this is a fact many people know about me, we all know I like to keep secrets and various things to myself.

However this is not going to be a post where I divulge my ‘darkest’ most ‘interesting’ facts of my life, my post back in April saw to that and i’m all out of interesting,  Eastenders-material confessions. SO…what is the point of this post I hear you ask? Well, I guess it’s a promise to myself, and to those reading that this is my first step to getting that kick-boxing, tennis fanatic in me back again. Three years of relatively no exercise and a LOT of drinking (don’t believe me if i tell you otherwise, i’m probably drunk anyway) and I leave Liverpool with a degree in English and a sluggish, lethargic body.

Some people need to tell someone their plan before getting on with it, and if i have this new-clare-vision down in writing then there’s no going back. Some of you may know that i’ve recently returned from working at Reading festival…if not then you can read the post about it before this one *cheeky blog promotion here* and not only did i return dirtier, grubbier, happier and with more friends, I returned a whole 8 pounds lighter. Now this was a real shock, but a bloody pleasant one, and it is something that I do not want to undo…turns out White camp IS a mission from the main site (we knew it all along). So the plan of action is to continue this, and enjoy continuing it. Diets, fitness and ‘getting healthier’ is so often seen as a temporary, short-term fixture in life, yet at 21 I want to install some real life fitness habits and enjoy myself at the same time…though I KNOW how hard it is to drag yourself to the gym on a cold morning.

I’ve recently put into place some new fitness tips and methods that as of current I am still enjoying. Having a couple of acres of land and some energetic and bouncy pets…believe me Lily my dog is a springy sheep-esque dog, means that going for a run to and around the woods nearby works a treat for both of us. Having a trampoline is also beneficial, who knew that black springy object sitting in the garden could be so fun and help you get fitter. Well I lie because I did, granted I used to just do flips on it and not any proper exercise, but that’s not the point. Exercise can be fun, and seeing the rewards are even more fun. I don’t want to be mistaken for a pudding in the dinner queue of my new college at Durham University come October. So, I Clare Dyckhoff, vow to you, my readers that this is the start of pre-University fitness Clare, and if any of you are inspired to do the same, please let me know, it’s always good to have fitness ‘buddies’. N.B. Emma, “what do we say to takeaway?” “EW!” What do we say to bad food?” “I don’t love you no more”. Okay that last bit was just the endorphins talking I think but you know what I mean!

Fit ‘n’ Fun from,

 

S’n’ S x x