Since we last caught up, the holiday season has gone by and we all went on our own adventures for our four week long break. In previous years, the flat closes down and students were encouraged to travel. That was pre pandemic, when we were all a little less concerned about interacting with strangers. Taking the current state of the world into account, there have been a few adjustments to how breaks are handled.

Firstly, the flat remained open throughout. This meant that if we decided not to travel we had a place to stay which was very helpful. Secondly, we were encouraged to keep our travel within the country. This was a big bummer for most of us seeing as visiting home or a few European countries was how we planned on spending Christmas and New Years. However, considering our safety and others, it was worth it and there was still plenty of fun to be had within the UK. 

Some of us visited family and friends in nearby cities, and some of us worked on getting to know Nottingham a little better. Here’s what I was up to. 

Christmas spirit was high in Nottingham. One of the best parts of the season was the Christmas market, which is very common in UK cites. Vendors gather to host a market filled with Christmas decor that feels like you’re in a magical Christmas village. Something else I got to do was see the Pantomime. Pantomime is described as a type of musical comedy stage production. It started in England and is usually performed around Christmas into the new year. The Nottingham Playhouse Panto put on a beautiful performance of Beauty and the Beast. 

It was nothing like I thought it would be. Not knowing much about the show, I was expecting something formal where the audience would be expected to be quiet spectators as the show went on. I was very wrong and I’m so glad I was. They took the classic Beauty and the Beast and turned it into a musical with remixes of current pop classics and audience participation was heavily encouraged. The crowd favourite was Joan Jett’s ‘I love Rock and Roll’ but instead we were screaming LadBaby’s version about Sausage rolls. (a savoury pastry snack that is widely enjoyed across the country) We all watched Belle and the beast fall in love and sang along as they did.

Later in the break, I spent a few days in London with my best friend from highschool. We went to Winter Wonderland, an even bigger fair with vendors and rides. My favourite part though, was going to El&N. It’s a cafe that built its brand on being ‘instagrammable’ and its whole personality is that everything is pink. Now, that might sound like a nightmare to some people but for a young adult that loves pink and picks her drinks mostly based on how pretty they are, It was perfect! (I am unapologetic about how basic that sounded) This was a treat.

So, we may not have gotten to see the world like we had hoped but from virtual christmases to short day trips we all did our best trying to make the most of the break.

Now it’s January, and we’re all consumed by finals but I’ll be sure to stop by soon and fill you in on our first set of exams at the University of Nottingham.

Best wishes for the new year,

Tala x