Christmas Party Photos

Fionn Regan

Last night some of us went to the Fionn Regan concert in Islington at Union Chapel. It was such a great venue and not what i expected at all. It was small and initmate and dark with a beautiful stained glass window above the stage. We crammed into church pews and listened to beautiful mellow music and stories about being attacked by ostriches and warnings not to piss on electric fences, before watching fionn fall off the stage. It was wonderful to tip my head back and listen to the music bounce around the dome above my head. At first i was slightly distracted by the hairstyle of fionn regan which kept reminding me of luke skywalker's hair in episode IV.In a room upstairs there was a bar which maintained the dim lighting. It was wonderful to sit with my friends with a glass of mulled wine, soaking in the atmosphere, nestled in the shadows and just feel absolutely content. We have reached the end of the term and we are a step closer to qualification.

My version of events

Esther sometimes blogs about the people she sees and who or what she imagines they might be. Her latest subject can be read about here. Below is my alternative insight into this stranger...

(to be read in some indefinable, unplaceable, foreign accent)

Day one on new job as international spy (well maybe not so international, they have stuck me in cold and wet Belfast, but musn’t complain). Where was I?...Day one and I am on the bus on my way to my rendez-vous with Legrand Bouche, my contact over here. It is my mission to find out who has been selling all our secrets (like my recipe for grilled cheese sandwhiches, I recognised it in that new cookbook Bouche gave me in the secret santa). I have chosen my teacher disguise and I have placed my mission plans inside this book ‘the state of Africa’ so no one will realise what I am actually reading. One minute, what is that woman looking at? Out of the corner of my eye I can see that she keeps looking over here. She is trying to be surreptitious but I know a spy when I see one! That isn’t an ipod! It’s a death ray! (why don’t I get one of those? What do I get? A bloody cookbook.). Aha! She is looking out the window I will get out quickly at the next stop before she can stop me. Oh no! She is looking my way! Stay calm, pretend to be a teacher, think like a teacher; Get out of my way you stupid schoolboys!

That was close, but she may get off at the next stop and double back. I must find somewhere to get lost for a little while. I wonder if there are any of those ‘European nightclubs” like in Alias, I could wear my Jennifer Garner disguise…

Christmas celebrations

Friday night was our christmas meal. We all seemed to have been looking forward to it for so long; getting through the last few weeks by thinking of a weekend when we can all let loose. It was a great time and it was lovely for us all to be together and relaxed. The food was great, the company even better. Afterwards we went to revolution for a boogie and it seemed all of esther's weirdo's were gathered in one room. I felt like telling a few of them that they were in the wrong place "esther's in N. Ireland" but i don't think they would have heard me over the music. Later as we sat in the SLT house we wondered if all men get like that when pissed. Do the nice guys we know, when out in an all male group and after a few drinks, get like that? Decide it's okay to go up to a group of women and grope them? Did those guys really think that a leer and a wink will make it okay?

Sunday (after a long lie in) we went to watch the rugby (London Irish v Ulster). It was great (at times it was like watching a wildlife documentary when rhinos charge into each other) London Irish won. (esther, your accent was everywhere last night, maybe thats why the weirdos were so confused and unable o home in on you) Helen and I were caught on camera doing the warm up dance (a photo of this will be put up here at some point). It felt like winter last night, crisp and cold. We walked home quickly and huddled on the sofa in our pyjamas and blankets eating pizza, drinking wine and watching cocktail. We laughed at the thought of tom cruise standing on orange crates for kissing scenes and talked about our favourite cocktails. Work seemed very far away.

Curiosity killed the cat...

The future of speech and language therapy

As i sat in the living room last night, trying to get some reading done, i became aware of a noise as if people were jumping up and down on the floor somewhere above me. I chose to ignore it, determined to finish reading the article on cochlear implants. After about 15 seconds the noise stopped and i continued with my work. Then a few moments later the noise started again and this time i could hear laughter (don't worry i'm not imagining things and hearing voices...well no more than usual). I tried to keep my resolve not to be disturbed from my work but this time curiosity got the better of me and i abandoned my work and went to investigate.

...but satisfaction brought it back.

I started to climb the stairs up to the first floor but i saw nothing to explain the noise so i turned the corner and looked up the second flight of steps and saw Laura jumping and dancing around on the landing between her and siobhan's rooms. I could faintly hear music drifting from Laura's room. I asked her what was going on but i received no reply then the song hit the chorus, Laura jumped down into a crouch and Gemma and Shiv emerged from the rooms to either side of her, jazz hands out and then they jumped back out of sight. The dancing/jumping continued and the girls continued to emerge from the rooms on the chorus, big grins on their faces. This went on for awhile and Rachel attempted to take a photo but they would not stay still long enough.