Help spread the Shoestring word!
I have a favour to ask.
As you might know, I'm busy planning my travel magazine Shoestring, and I am still looking for contributors.
I have designed for Shoestring and would really appreciate it if you could print them and distribute them around university notice boards, halls, student bars or community centres. One of the flyers is in English (below), the other is in German (above). Although the magazine is based in the UK (due to me living here), the authors can come from around the world and talk about every country on earth.
What's the verdict?
just as I thought I was leaving Carlisle for good, Carlisle tried to lure me back. Well, not the city itself, but Her Majesty's Courts Service. That's right. I've been summoned for Jury Duty at Carlisle Crown Court.
And yes, I did get a slight shock, receiving a letter from court.
The problem is though that I am not eligible to actually be in the jury. Jurors are picked at random from the electoral register, which I am on, if only locally. I can't vote in General Elections. But jurors must also have lived in the UK for 5 years or longer. I have been here slightly less than 3 years now. Besides, I am a German national and that's not going to change anytime soon.S
o I'll fill in the form and send it back - it's a legal requirement - and ask to be excused due to not having lived here long enough. That means though, that should I ever get another summons, I must attend. Unless I'm working for the local media by then, in which case I would almost definitely be in contempt of court...
Know what you are voting for!
A good tool, that will let you compare your views against that of the parties is VoteMatch. You will be given a 30 question quiz, showing you statements on topics like Crime & Justice, Employment, Immigration, Tax, Education and Health among others. All you do is read the statement, and tick a box whether you agree, disagree or are open-minded about it. At the end, you will have to choose three parties you would consider voting, and your answers will be matched against their policies. A chart will tell you which one of the three chosen parties you agree most with, and you can then go and see whether your answer matches what you think the party stands for. It is only meant as a guidance tool, but I urge you to have a play around with it.
Ideally, you will read through the policies of all the parties, and weigh them against your own view on things. It doesn't matter whether your mum and dad always supported the Conservatives, or whether your boyfriend will vote Labour. You should make up your own mind, and vote accordingly.
Whatever you do, don't waste your vote! If you don't agree with the three main parties Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats, then vote something else - UK Independence Party (UKIP), Green, British National Party (BNP), Monster Raving Loonies,... at least that way it will be registered that you are unhappy with the way things are being run. Your voice will be heard. But scribbling obscene words or paroles onto the ballot, or ticking every single box will mean your paper goes into the bin - you will have wasted your vote, so you could have stayed at home to start with.
Tonight at 8pm, the leaders of the three main parties - Gordon Brown (Labour), David Cameron (Tories) and Nick Clegg (Lib Dems) will meet in the second televised prime ministerial debate. Watch it on Sky, BBC or online, or listen to it on the radio. It should be interesting! Champion reporter David Simister will also keep you updated on Twitter about how it's all playing out.
Christmas in the UK
This Christmas was the first I celebrated with my boyfriend, and the first I celebrated in the UK.
And although it was great, it was also.... different.
At home in Germany, we celebrate on 24th December. Usually we decorate the tree either on the 23rd or during the morning of the 24th. We go to church in the afternoon for an hour, and then the whole family gathers at my parents' flat and we open our presents. After that, we have Christmas Dinner in the form of meat fondue and later some coffee.
This year, my boyfriend and I decided to open our presents on the 23rd December already, as he'd also gotten presents for his housemates, and they left for their parents' houses that night. On Christmas Day, we then met up with nearly the entire family at my boyfriend's parents' house at 10am and opened our presents, before half of us were kicked out of the kitchen so that the rest could prepare lunch. We had turkey for lunch, complete with stuffing, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, pigs in blankets and gravy. We each had Christmas crackers, and ended up wearing those funny paper crowns. Later, most of us played Scattergories and Charades while getting drunk and eating too much cake.
It was a really nice Christmas, but it was still weird not to be home.
Mini-ing
Greyhound launches in UK
Equipped with leather seats, free Wi-Fi and newspapers, Greyhound can get you to the southern coast in less than 2 hours from the capital. More destinations will be added in 2010.
Greyhound buses are the transportation of choice for millions of Americans and Australians every years.. For 95 years so far, the company has offered American travellers a cheap way of getting across the United States and Canada.
Tickets for a Greyhound journey in the UK can be booked on greyhounduk.com.
