I just believe in being whoever you are, be it a chino-wearing, rabbit-walking, pipe-smoking eccentric or a jeans and t-shirt-wearing X-factor enthusiast. We seem to live in a culture of exclusion where we label people like we label music; how about forgetting that and just being a human being? What’s wrong with people wearing clothes that they think other people will appreciate to feel better about socialising? Is it any different from women that feel more comfortable socialising when wearing make-up? If people want to
have the image of ‘being a kooky academic’, let them, if people want to wear ‘way too tight skinny jeans’ or items ‘bought off a stall in Camden’, what the hell is wrong with that? You ask ‘Why don’t you get on with having fun?’ but if sitting in Crosslands or Stumble Inn chatting with my mates about theatre or ‘the meaning of life in relation to quantum physics’ isn’t your idea of fun, it doesn’t mean I should listen to your imperative notion of ‘real things’. I’ve always found the people I get on with the best are so varied in their interests and passions because they’re their own people. They might fall into the generic genres that young people like to use, but not out of intention. Even if they did, as long as they’re happy, I don’t see a problem.

Everyone changes when they get to university, you learn more about yourself as you grow up, you discover academic interests that, at school, you’d have thought were insanely geeky to like. There is a certain naivety to think that you won’t find eccentric academics at a university, especially one as fantastic as ours. If you really can’t bear those people, don’t talk to them, you’re wasting your own time, not theirs. If you think people can put that much effort into pretending to be kooky, you need to address your level of social paranoia (or you don’t if you enjoy being that way). Rather than ask people to stop ‘wasting your time trying to ram [their] actually somewhat average intelligence down people’s throats’ why don’t you follow that principle with a more mature view and accept that everyone is free to be what you’d call a ‘hipster’ just as you’re free to chill out and talk about the X-factor. In fact, I might go to Founders this second and walk my rabbit, listen to JLS on my iPod while smoking a herbal cigarette and reading Hello! magazine…

For a relaxing Italian getaway, head for the crystal-clear Amalfi waters and archaeologically wealthy Campania.

Amalfi is legendary. A coast lined with luxurious islands scattered in the turquoise waters of theMediterranean, archaeological gems in the shadow of the Vesuvius and magical rural villages with sweeping views are only a fraction of what earned this destination the label of the Italian Cote d’Azure.

Situated around three hours drive fromRome,Naplesis the capital of theCampaniaregion and the second largest city ofItaly. It boasts of noble origins from the times of the Hellenistic Greece colonisation, which left behind many extraordinary sights.Cumae, a city set high into the rock face andPaestum, ancient Greek temples, are just two examples.Pompeiiand its neighbouringHerculaneum, however, are the real treasures. Overwhelmed by the Vesuvius explosion, the two cities have been preserved down to the elaborate floor mosaics, colourful frescoes and even the masonry beds in the brothel.

After a heated day visiting the sights, the underground system ofNaplesis a breath of fresh air. Guided tours through half-a-meter wide black water canals and war bunkers will induce some level of claustrophobia in everyone. So head down toNaples’ most sought after pizzeria, Da Michele, afterwards. Having only two classic pizzas on offer, this buffet is constantly packed to the last seat.

If it’s a soul-soothing hideaway you’re looking for, don’t look too far.Capri, the luxurious island with its enchanting narrow streets and heavenly lemons is, by no accident, called a true paradise. However, the coastal cities such as Amalfi, Positano orSorrentoare not far behind when it comes to atmospheric feasting. Everywhere, you can rent a boat or take a diving class or you can relax on one of the thousands of beautifully secluded beaches with sparkling blue waters.

As a cherry on top, the coastal villages are known for their custom-made leather sandals which can be ready for you within hours.

Campaniais a region often overlooked, which makes it a true treasure trove of traditional Italian culture and history, bewitching even the most convinced cynics with its romantic powers.

A county steeped in history, there is of course the quaintvillageofHaworth; birth place of the Bronte sisters. Here, you can muse over the lofty views, take a wander around the Bronte museum and parsonage before stopping by the allegedly haunted ‘Black Bull Inn’ for a pint, where there is guaranteed to be an old Yorkshire man with a ghost story or two.

The birthplace of Yorkshire pudding, the roast dinners inYorkshiretruly are first-class, with lots of pubs doing a great carvery for as little as £5. For the shopaholics out there, the White Rose centre in Leeds is perfect to shake off the countryside for a little while and indulge in a little retail therapy, (‘little’ being the operative word; remember those uni fees!)

With cosy B&B’s asking for prices starting at around £22 per person, per night, you can’t go wrong. So grab your mates, special someone, or even just that pile of work that might seem a whole heap easier with a fresh view from the window, get yourself a cheap train ticket and wrap yourselves up warm for a festive mini-break of pubs, Christmas markets and some truly spectacular views. Who needsHawaii?

In October, Camdencrawl opened its launch night in London’s new “flagship” venue, The Star of Kings. The launch night proved a huge success, packed with young talent from professional comedian Tiernan Douieb and Phil Nichol. The night also included live performances from the “new band of the day”, Two Wounded Birds and British post-hardcore band Young Legionnaire: a small appetizer of the new energetic entertainment yet to come toLondon’s Camden Crawl.

Camden Crawl 2012 will be an action packed three day event from May 4^th -6^th. The UK awarding winning festival features new upcoming artists, comedians, eclectic live music, art workshops, karaoke, film, pop quizzes and exhibitions. More than 250 new alternative artists will swarm to the two mile stretch of 50 venues in Camden and Kentish town for this annual event. Artists such as Adele, Florence and the machine and Mumford and sons are among many of the famous faces that have played in the festival at the start of their careers. Who knows which artist you might witness the making of?

Camden Crawl night marathon 2012 opens on the 4^th of May in Camden’s exclusive nightclub KOKO. The opening event includes 6 live acts as well as a soon-to-be-announced special guest and headliner. Tickets for the opening night at KOKO can be purchased on http://www.thecamdencrawl.com/ for £21.60. For both opening night and weekend you pay £67.50 and for just the weekend you pay £62.10. Tickets include a programme guide, festival magazine as well as the 2012 Camden Crawl compilation album. Don’t miss out on this cutting- edge event; you never know which potential celebrity of our generation will be there!

Before I went travelling I was fore-warned that I’d probably come down with a stomach bug, but two weeks into my trip everything was going fine. Skype calls from my parents generally involved my Dad asking if I’d ‘pebble-dashed the toilet yet’ and seeing as I’ve been unfortunate enough to inherit my Dad’s somewhat sensitive stomach, I was pretty proud to say I hadn’t.

However, low and behold, three weeks into my trip, the day after Songkran (Buddhist New Year) – having swallowed too much water throughout the traditional celebratory water fights – I finally got the trots! I’ve included, for your reading, my diary entry from the following day:

16^th April 2010 

“DearAsia[Yes, I really was that sad! Sad enough to keep a diary in the first place and also to address my entries to the continent I was travelling around] I have been hideously ill! Either I ate something that didn’t agree with me or it was the water I accidently swallowed during the water fights. It was, to say the least, horrendous. What’s more, it started at night so I couldn’t get to a pharmacy until the morning.

I was scared to sleep in case I shit the bed to be honest! So I spent the majority of the night watching films, in between staggering back and forth to our bathroom [thank God we weren’t staying in one of the shitters, with no air conditioning and shared toilets that had to be manually flushed]. Any water I drank went straight through me within minutes, literally! The phrase ‘shitting through the eye of a needle’ doesn’t quite cut it. I didn’t know what to do with myself come morning; I’d been on and off the toilet every five minutes for the last twelve hours.

In the end I went downstairs and started crying to the receptionist – Carla [my cousin whom I travelled with] was still in bed and laughed, when clutching my stomach, I said ‘I think I need to go to hospital’, so no sympathy or help whatsoever from her! – Eventually she realised how ill I was and helped me get to a pharmacy, no mean feat when the nearest was a twenty minute drive away and all fears of following through in the back of a taxi were extreme. Thankfully, my fears weren’t confirmed and I made it back to the hotel without soiling myself and this is where I’ve been confined for the past two days.”

On the other hand, you could be really lucky; my cousin was constipated and had to get sachets from the Pharmacist to make her crap – the bitch! Nevertheless, honestly, heed my advice: go prepared, because it’s really not worth two days in bed, Imodium, anti-biotics, pain killers and re-hydration sachets, not to mention the burnt out arse hole!

Tommy’s bar will be transforming into an art gallery showcasing your talent on the 24th of November, from 12pm -6pm. The new and improved exhibition will be the second at Royal Holloway and the first of a few to happen this academic year. The innovative showcase intends to pull down the barriers put up between the viewer, the art, and the artist by providing the chance for visitors to partake in enjoyable art related quizzes, along with the rare opportunity to talk to the artist during the showcase. All donations will go towards the charity RAG and campaign Love your neighbour . So make sure you come along to support your university in making this year’s most memorable charity event!

If you are interested in displaying your work, or have any further questions please contact either Chloe Amsellen or Joseph Yiasemides via email; Chloe.Amsellen.2010@live.rhul.ac.uk, Josephyiasemides@gmail.com.

Lady Gaga – Photo by John Robert Charlton

Brit Awards in that iconic piece of sartorial patriotism the relationship between music and fashion had never been stronger. Girl power and Brit Pop captured the zeitgeist, the fash pack were all wearing grungy leathers and flannels, and all I wanted for Christmas was a pair of platforms like Baby Spice. Music and fashion – a new-found marriage of perfection, right?

But this inextricable link was not formed in the decade of ‘anti-fashion’, of Blur, and of Nirvana – it’s much older than that. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, dates it back to London in the ‘swinging 1960s when Mick Jagger, wearing a dress while playing in Hyde Park, shook up society’ and numerous other commentators label Elvis, David Bowie and Madonna as the lodestars. So how has this creative relationship developed since then?

The ancient adage of ‘what we hear is what we see’ undoubtedly still resonates in 2011. When we see Coco Sumner’s angular face, dark hair and androgynous style we can almost hear the low, husky voice and dark lyricist of the song ‘Self-Machine’. It’s the same with the avant-garde crew of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce. Take away the fashion, the leotards and the crazy dresses and headpieces, and their music is suddenly strangely lacking. Hollow almost. The zany lyrics need their fellow medium of eccentric outfits. Rihanna’s most famous video (‘Only Girl in the World’; look it up if you haven’t seen it) is a case in point. A video, that is all about the visual, presents an effervescent Rihanna dancing around an exotic desert locale in the most fabulous clothes. She is completely alone and completely amazing, and what we are presented with is another video that pushes the boundaries of the different but not opposing industries.

But it is not simply fashion that influences and enhances music. The relationship is completely reciprocal. With popstars headlining advertising campaigns for fashion houses (think Lily Allen for Chanel or Madonna for Dolce & Gabbana), one thing is crystal clear: we’ve come a long way.

Described by Marketing Director Lorelei Marfil as “the authority, the ultimate source”, HerUni.com is packed with articles on style, beauty, health, love, culture, lifestyle and news “for the smart and sophisticated female student.” All content is written by students from the University of London, and therefore the website provides a great platform from which budding journalists and bloggers can launch their online career.

Furthermore, the website has pages devoted to individual universities, meaning that students from Royal Holloway are able to contribute to their own MyUni section. Marfil explains how “HerUni’s granular content created by students for students tackles the problems and issues faced by Uni girls every day.”

In an interview with The Orbital, Director of HerUni Geraldine Haneine expressed how valuable HerUni.com can be to potential journalists, explaining that personal blogs have “a certain limit”, and that to be published on the website would expose a writer to a readership in its thousands. Indeed, HerUni.com is rapidly gaining a strong reputation, recently receiving Handpicked Media’s ‘Get Blogging’ award, and the prestigious Best Student Blog Award at the 2011 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards. As Haneine points out, the person reading your article may even be a potential employer.

To write for HerUni.com, please contact e.pressnell@heruni.com.
For Marketing, Press, and all other editorial enquiries, please email lorelei@heruni.com.
Website: www.heruni.com/my-uni/royal-holloway
Twitter: @HerUniRHUL

Also known as the ‘Roof of Africa’, Mt Kili stands at 5895 metres above sea level – it was no mean feat! All in aid of ‘Childreach International’, I, along with six other RHUL students, was climbing for a fabulous cause, organised through our campus’ RAG society. We each had a fundraising target of £2440 which all of us managed to reach, and some of us exceeded – my personal total after seven months was £3790.

The trek took six days – four and a half up, one and a half down. It was certainly the most physically (and, perhaps, emotionally) challenging thing I have ever done. However, I never once regretted it! Our goal was always in sight – the glacial peak of this formidable mountain. We were given the opportunity to visit the school in Moshi (Tanzania) which our money was going towards – we spent a day with the children, playing and teaching, and it really helped us to persevere through our trek!

Although exhausting, I had the time of my life. I would highly recommend getting involved in such events – it’s a great way to raise money for your chosen charity and you get to go on life-changing expeditions.

First, apply a primer to the eyelids for a longlasting, intense effect. Then pat on the yellow. Apply a darker colour above in the crease and blend. We have used a bright orange. Especially with this bright palette, blending the colours is key.

 Smudge a different colour underneath the bottom lashline. Finish it off with a pencil. To tone down, use black mascara and eyeliner and create a wearable look. To stand out, use a blue or a purple as the picture shows.

 As the eyes are a framatic part of the face, this look should be balanced with simple lipgloss and blush.

 Notice that the eyebrows must always be defined. This gives structure and will help to avoid the clown-look.

For more inspiration go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalia-Dadas-Make-Up/136282116449917?ref=ts