To Tweet or not to Tweet

As Journalist's we need to be kept up to date with all the latest news and sometimes it gets annoying when we have to flick from one web window to the other so guess what....I have found a new web application that helps you stay connected with all the latest news and feeds all in once place.

Welcome to TweetDeck!

After the huge success of Twitter, a new web application has been launched.
TweetDeck is a browser that helps you keep in touch with what's happening now.

It lets you connect with people from Twitter, Facebook and other networking sites all in one place. TweetDeck lets you see everything, all at once, making it easier to stay up to date and organised.

TweetDeck has many other useful features. You can update new posts straight onto Twitter and see what new 'tweets' your contacts have uploaded. There are columns for you to design your own personal dashboard and options to create groups so that it's easier to follow your friends, colleagues and even celebrities.

The application works in Real time so that everything you search and view is up to date, and so you don't miss anything important, notifications appear in front of you to let you know the latest feed or post. This also means you can view and manage your direct messages and conversations.

It is a great tool for Journalists because they can stay up to date with all the latest breaking news and feeds all in one place. It is linked to other networking sites making it easier to stay connected all at once with collegues and business's instead of having to open different Internet windows and flicking from one to the other and because it is in Real time you are never behind on the news or important updates.

The application is easy to use and download. Search for TweetDeck and simply click the download button and within minutes it's done. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. To make things even simpler there is an option that allows you to save your user name and password. This means that TweetDeck remembers who you are and automatically logs you in straight away.

Overall this product is 'tweeting' good. TweetDeck is not only easy and free to download but is simple to use and maintain. I would recommend this application to anyone who wants to stay up to date with the latest news and feeds all in one place, all at the same time.

Is it free to download from: www.tweetdeck.com/beta

Money Money Money

It is officially only a few hours until the last installement of the student loans go in. Yes by this time tomorrow almost every student in the land will have some money.....well I say have some money, I should be saying will have had some money because no doubt as soon as it goes in, student's will be going mad and off on one HUGE shopping spree or drinking session!!!

Unfortunately for me my loan has to pay my accommodation which is depressing but like I usually do when people mention money, is go into a daze about what I would really like to buy right now.....well lucky for you I'm going to share my Top 2 :D


1: The Boyfriend Cardigan

New Look

£20.00

Comes in a range of colours

www.newlook.co.uk

2: Paul's Boutigue Handbag

Any designer store

£65.00

Comes in a range of colours

www.ASOS.com

Road Trip

It's 1:11am and I've just got back from a very random road trip. Yes at midnight me and my best friend got the munchies and decided to go to McD's! So after grabbing my car keys and purse, we hopped in the car in our pj's and dressing growns and off we went.

While singing along to my tunes I realised we had to stop at the petrol station, yes that meant I would have to get out in public in my pj's to fill my car up, wooo wouldn't I look cool :D

We finally made it home almost an hour after setting off and after been messed about at the Shell garage by some stupid woman at the counter and then been stuck behind some little chavs in there car at the drive thru I could have bloody used a stiff drink!

So with the large sugar and fat intake, the homemade popcorn, sweets, oreo's and mugs of tea, we grabbed the duvet and watched High School Musical 3, oh YEAH!!!

Addicted or what?

Yes it has to be said that at the moment every person I know is addicted to Facebook or one of the big social networking sites and when you get to university it gets far worse trust me. I never really went on it until I came to uni and now I can't go a day without checking it and updating my status, sad I no lol!

For those of you who don't know what Facebook is and god forbid why you don't know...it is a social networking site where you are able to stay in contact with all your friends and family. You can also update your status on your personal profile to let people know how you are feeling or what you are up to and believe me it gets addictive.

I update mine everyday or if you want me to be honest I sometimes update it more than once in one day....and yes that could be more than 3 or 4 haha!!!! OMG some of the status updates I have seen have been so funny and very very random.

The majority of students that I know have Facebook. For example the HUGE group email that has been set up for everyone on my course. It is so long it doesn't even fit on one page, you have to click on a link to see more posts and most of it is just us all rambling on about random things but it is entertaining and funny to read.

It is also good for been nosey but sssshhhh don't tell anyone I told you that! I love flicking through all my friends profiles and looking at what their doing or if there is any gossip to catch up on lol!

I would say though my New Year's Resolution for 2010 would be spend to less time on the site and become less addicted haha.....well we shall see how long that lasts lol!

www.facebook.com

Gaming

Now I'm not what you call a Gamer Chick and I sure couldn't tell the difference between a Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but I thought I'd do some reseach and tell you about the latest games that are hitting the shops seen as a lot of students are interested in the subject.

Most student's have a games console and most will spend their spare time playing on it. So whatever the weather I can guarantee the majority of people who have consoles will be glued to them, sad I no lol!

I have a Turquoise Nintendo DS Lite. It was brought for my birthday last year and I have around 10 games for it, my favorite been Theme Park and Super Mario Bros, but I can tell you now I am not addicted to playing it and could never sit and play it for hours non-stop.

There are many different consoles out there, the most popular been the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, however the Nintendo Wii isn't far behind.

New Releases


Wheelman - Vin Diesel stars as high octane driver for gangs around the areas of Barcelona. The fast car chases and intense storylines gives you the feel of being a stuntman in a movie.

Release Date: 24th March 2009




The Godfather II - This is a sequel to the first edition game to the tradiotnal trilogy of films. The game returns to the Coreleone family as you rank your men and hire new gang members, take your gangs online to compete and maintain the highest rank as Don.

Release Date: 10th April 2009


Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 - This is the sixth entry in the Call of Duty franchise. The next game brings back developer Infinity Ward as the general in command.

Release Date: 10th November 2009

1 year to go!

Yes I officially have 1 year left until I am fully qualified as a Broadcast Journalist! It has gone so fast and I'm in shock that this time next year I will be able to call myself a Journalist and go find my dream job!

On Tuesday we had our last Newsday as Level 2 students. I can't believe that it was our last one, this year has flown by. For the last week I was Presenter with Kelly and loved it. We had so much fun and a few times had to pinch eachother to take it seriously, especially when we had Zub singing in the ear pieces so all we could hear was her voice so keeping a straight face was hard! Everyone has worked so hard over the past year and we have all had a lot of fun times together.

The scary thing now is that we have to begin thinking about what we are going to do after we graduate and leave uni. I often sit and wonder where we will all be in years to come, whether we will have got the jobs we wanted or done the things we always wanted to do.

WaterWorld

Last week I went to WaterWorld for the very first time ever! Even though I had lived in Stoke for almost 2 years I had never been so I thought to myself, I have the day off so why not be a little kid again. WaterWorld is the UK's number 1 aqua park and can be found on Festival Park in Stoke on Trent. This is the place to go and re-live your childhood whatever your age. The waterpark has lots of different attractions to suit every type of person and whether you are a strong or weak swimmer.

• 4 Lane Family Multi-slide
• Twister
• Aqua Splash Jungle House
• Assault Course
• Black Hole
• The Python
• Rapids
• Space Bowl
• Nucleus
• Super Flume
• Outdoor Pool
• Water Cannon
• Bubble Pool
• Wave Pool
• Water Edge Cafe

I had the BEST time and really felt like a kid again. I would really recommend WaterWorld for a day out and here is a top tip: Go in the day when the children are at school and it is empty, so no screaming kids and long queues :D

DEAL DEAL DEAL!

Yes if your a student you can get a cheaper entry at £6.50 and even better you can pay £8.50 and they throw in lunch. Yes not only would you be having a day of fun you get a free meal as well, what more could you ask for!

www.waterworld.co.uk

Youngest by 30 years

I thought I best start doing some more posts as I've been so snowned under with GK Radio work and deadlines that I haven't had enough time to tell you what mischief I've been up to over the last couple of weeks so here we go lol!

Back to the title of this blog, yes.....on Monday night I was woken up at 2:30 in the mornin with the most horrendous pains in my back and stomach. So me been me I refused to go to the hospital as I am TERRIFIED of them and then if you had seen the Dispatches documentary I'd seen that night about the state of hospitals in England and especially in Stafford and Stoke I was definatley not going, so me been the way I am I got back into bed and tried to get back to sleep but could I? Nope! So at 4:00am I finally gave in.

Well you would think having lived in Stoke for a year and half I would know where the hospital was....well no is the answer to that question lol! In all the time I had lived here I had never needed to go anywhere near the place.

I couldn't move out of the bed, I couldn't put my clothes on and I couldn't walk to the car, god I felt useless! So feeling like a baby Ben had to help me out of the bed, dress me and then almost carry me to the car. When we eventually found the hospital which took a long time because lets face it the sign posts in Stoke aren't that helpful, we had to pay over the odds to park, what a joke and to top it all off, I had to give the woman behind the counter my life story.

I tell you if the fashion police had been around I would have been arrested on the spot lol, the robe I was told to put on was NASTY!! It was that horrible material and when you got up and walked round everyone had a nice view of your BUM!

I must have been the youngest by about 30 years! Everyone that was in A and E was OLD and at one point I even had to close my eyes, OMG they were walking round in the robes showing off their winkled bums!

I waited hours to see the Dr, in the mean time I heard a trolley pulling up to my curtain and my worst nightmare came true - NEEDLES! Now I have the biggest phoebia of needles in the world and when I see one, or even in the same room as one, I will scream and pass out. I saw the hand slowly appear around the curtain and that was it, I was off lol, tears, snot, screams and rambling as to why I wasn't have that needle anywhere near me.

Eventually I was allowed to go home and you should have seen me, I was out of that hospial like a flash!

Money! Money! Money!

As my mum always says to me "Money doesn't grow on trees" and for students it certainly doesn't and I would know as last time I looked outside my window there was no money tree ANYWHERE!

The one thing I find all my money goes on apart from clothes, shoes and handbags is FOOD, and I will admitt I love food! (And I do have a lot of handbags ask Ben).

As many of my friends will tell you I am a human dustbin lol and a very lucky one at that as I could eat all day, non stop and not put a ounze of weight on. This is not my fault, I must just have a very high metabolism lol, because let's face it, I'm not the most fittest of people I know. If it was an option of walking or driving, I'm afraid I'd drive!

My main weakness's are:

1. McDonald's
2. Sangams (The best indian takeaway in Stoke)
3. Beans and Cheese Oatcakes with chips from the Ember Lounge (Student Union Bar)


My favorite things to cook are Lasagne, Chilli Con Carne and Chips. I can remember when my mum broke her arm I had to do all the cooking and I learnt how to cook different dishes and these are just a few of my favorite ones. I lived on these in my 1st year at University...they are so easy and quick to make and if you have any left over you can freeze it and just heat it up when you next want some more.

They are quick and cheap to make, and as I am in a nice mood I'll share my secrets with you and help you create your very own dish's! Oh and I don't want you to follow in my tracks and waste your student loans on take-out.

Lasagne

Receipe One

Here is the first of my secrets: Lasagne


Ingredients:

500g of mince meat
1x box of egg pasta sheets
1x jar of white lasagne sauce
1x jar of red lasagne sauce
1x block of cheese

Step 1:
Break the mince meet up into a dish or tub that can go in the microwave.

Step 2:
Add in the Red Lasagne sauce. Stir well.

Step 3:
Heat in the mircowave for about 10 minutes.

Step 4:
Take the meat out of the mircowave and spoon out half of the meat into your dish that your going to use for cooking in the oven.

(Add in at this point any extra's that you may fancy like mushrooms, sweetcorn or onion etc...)

Step 5:
Cover the meat with a layer Egg Pasta sheets. Make sure you cover the whole dish, break the sheets apart if you have to, to fit. The pour onto half of the White Lasagne sauce and spread it out so it's covered the sheets.

Step 6:
Repeat step 4, adding in all the meat this time.

Step 7:
Repeat step 5 again. This is your final layer so use all the White Lasagne sauce.

Step 8:
Grate some cheese and sprinkle onto the top layer, covering the White Lasagne sauce.

Step 9:
Put in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Make sure you check near to 45 incase it has already browned on the top and will be ready to serve.

Step 10:
When the top is nice and crispy and bubbling take out of the oven and serve with salad, garlic bread or chips.


Leave me a comment and let me know how it went and what you thought :D

Photography

One of my hobbies is taking photographs. I love taking pictures and never go anywhere without my trusty camera. While at university I have taken some fantastic pictures to remind me of my time here. The main reason I take pictures it to keep memories of my life so I can look back and remember all the wonderful things I have done. Some people think I am weird because I always have my camera with me, but you can never risk missing a good photograph, especially funny ones that you can look back on and have a giggle.

I have a Casio Exilim Digital Camera with 7.2 mega pixels and 3x optical zoom, and yes it is PINK!

I would love the camera my dad's got, a Nikon but I've got a long way to go with the savings haha. My dad used to be a Photo - Journalist so I think that is where I get my passion from for taking pictures.

My dream can true last year when I went to New York. It was amazing and the experience was breathtaking, and I have to say it was a photographer's heaven and here are some of the photo's I took while I was there.

The morning after

It is the day after the Diversity Fashion Show and I am officially shattered, but surprisingly still on a high! I slept like a baby last night but still woke up tired and with hair that looked like a huge bush.

Next time I'll remember to brush all the hair spray out properly!! If your wondering why my hair was covered in hairspray well that's because for the show we all had our hair and make up done by professionals.

When it came to my turn I wasn't sure what to have done so I let them go wild and wild they certainly did. OMG!! I couldn't believe it when I looked in the mirror after part of me wanted to cry but the other part was like wow look how different it is, it's amazing. I couldn't believe it was only held up with grips and hairspray, well a lot of hairspray I should say!

I have to say I have never felt the way I did when it came to lining up behind the screen ready to come on....I was shaking like mad and couldn't breathe! I wanted to get out of there but knew there was no going back and all that hard work would have been for nothing, so I just went for it and walked out. WOW is all that came into my head when I stepped out and saw everyone, the lights and the camera's! The nerves were meant to go but they didn't but I was thinking what the hell just go for it girl and that's what I did! The confidence came more and more as I took part in the different catwalks.

First off was Stafford College. These outfits had been made by students like you and I. They were that good they had even made an appearance at the Clothes Show at the NEC in Birmingham last year.



Second was Newcastle College, this was one of my favorite outfits of the night. I had to wear a black top with a big white flower that had been made again by students and I thought it was gorgeous.

The third catwalk I took part in was Principles. Now I know what your thinking...that's a shop for old people, well not anymore they have re-branded and released a new line which I do have to say looked smart and classy. The same sort of things Broadcast Journalism students have to wear for a Newsday.

My fourth catwalk was Stafford College again but this time it was their neon collection. This was a very weird and strange catwalk but it looked amazing.


The final catwalk was Burlesque. Yes I had to walk down in front of people I didn't know in my underwear!!! Mad? Yes I was! In this catwalk we had to wear corsets, hold-up's or stockings and tutu's that had been made for us with tails to match in the same colour. Each of us had a different colour so we stood out. Seen as it was the very last catwalk of the show we tried to make a memorable one, and that we did, with our sexy walks and seductive moves with Drew the male model, I'm sure people will remember it for a while! Kiss by Prince will stay with me for a very long time, reminding me of the awesome time we had up on the catwalk.

For the Finale we all made our own tops to show our diversity. Each person had the same top and same colour paint but could put whatever they wanted on the front of the top to show that we are individual but the same as well. The idea's that came out was brilliant!


The weeks of practice and planning made the final results fantastic! Everyone worked so hard and it all paid off in the final show. Each catwalk was perfect and gorgeous. No one made any mistakes and it all ran smoothly.

The show was a huge success and I had so much fun. The experience was amazing and I will never forget it. I also made some great friends during the whole thing and will stay in contact with them for a very long time!

Your all STAR'S and deserve a big CHEER for all your hard work :D

Fashion Show

Nervous? Check!

Excited? Check!

Still breathing? Check!


With two days to go until the Diversity Fashion Show, I am officially bricking it now!!! After attending weeks of practise the day is finally here!

This is something I have always wanted to do, be in a fashion show, but now it has actually come down to it, I am so nervous about getting up on the stage and walking down infront of all those people :S

I found out about the show on the student union website and thought wow this is something I would love to do and here I am, taking part as a model for the Burlesque and Stafford College catwalks.

2009's Diversity Fashion Show will display a variety of styles, cultures and backgrounds, along with the lastest high street fashion. The show's profits will all be going to the Alzheimer's Society and Blackfriars Special School, a local school for children and young adults with special needs.

Burton, New Look, Peacocks and Miss Selfridge will all be making an appearence with their latest styles along with Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme Colleges showing off their custom made outfits.

The glamourous night wouldn't be complete with out performances from a local dance company and the University's Dance Society.

The Diversity Fashion Show takes place on Tuesday at the LRV, with the doors opening at 7:30pm and the show beginning at 8:00pm. Tickets are only £3 off the student union website or the union shop :D

Fancy a BJ Gobble???

Yes tonight is the famous Gobble - Time to Boogie :D

For those of you who are thinking what the bleeding hell is Gobble well I'll tell you......Gobble is the student night at the LRV on the Stoke campus.

It is held every Wednesday from 9pm to 3am and is open to all students and guests. It is a night of fun, dancing and drinking with a professional photographer taking pictures for the student union website.

If you don't leave at the end of the night drunk or even slightly tipsy there is something seriously wrong with you lol! What with the price and deals on the alcohol you are bound to get merry at some point and then why not top the night off as you leave and pick up the favorite that is the Hotdog!

I have to admitt though this is the first time for a long time and I mean long time that I have been to Gobble, what with been snowed under with uni work or having no money, I didnt manage to make it to any....but after been persuaded by my fellow BJ's and having a surprisingly good Newsday yesterday I couldn't say no this time. So bring on the "BJ" Gobble night!!!!!

So with 6 hours to go I should really be planning my outfit for the night.....what shall I wear...a dress? ....maybe a skirt and top? ..... or something completely out of my box that I brought the other day...yes I may just do that! Arghhh shoes!!! God I hate having so many pairs I don't know which ones to chose, oh damm and a handbag, I'll need it to match lol I'll stop rambling on now and go get my butt into gear and start tipping my room upside down to find the perfect outfit. This what having too many clothes, shoes and handbags does to you!

(Oh and by the way I will expl ain again to those of you who have wondering minds that BJ means Broadcast Journalist, tut tut tut to those who thought any different, gosh!)

Hectic or what!?!

With 45 minutes to go till the live news broadcast at 4pm, it's all systems go right now! Everyone is running around, stressing and sending each other mad.

Today I am Vision Mixer which I thought wasn't that hard but how wrong I was! It is one of the hardest jobs ive been given on a Newsday. You are basically in control of how the whole show looks when it goes live. I have to switch from one camera to the other and also bring in the VT for the titles, headlines, packages and weather. The last bulletin went really well, and I only made a few mistakes but for the first time I think I did pretty well!

I was very happy with the package I also did today for Radio about eating disorders. It contained an interview with the manager from Beat the National Eating Disorder Charity, and I earned myself a Ginger Bread man for the hard work I put in, made my day complete :D

Me and Mr Gingerbread Man

Bored? YES!

This has to be the most random post I think I'll leave on here, but I thought, I'm sat here doing some work for uni, I might as well post something on my blog.

It's about 3 on a Saturday afternoon and the the sun is shinning through my bedroom window and currently blinding me but I don't want to shut the curtains because the sun doesn't make an apearance here that often so I best make the most of it.

At the moment I am organising things for GK Radio on Monday which means searching all the news pages I can possibly open at the same time lol! GK Radio is the uni's student radio station. I choose to do this as one of my modules for Year 2 and really enjoying it so far :D

I am Producer this week so best get my ass into gear and sort out some good stories to put in the radio show. Our news slot is 12pm every Monday so make sure you all listen in! (www.staffsunion.com)

I am so sick of there been nothing interesting in the news apart from all this credit crunch stuff. What student's want to keep listening to us rambling on about the credit crunch which in fact really doesn't help us seen as we are in enough debt as it is!!!

And on top of all this stress of been in charge, I am trying to do a radio package and also writing the story for the filming me and Kirsty did yesterday for the Newsday on Tuesday. This is what been a hard core BJ does to you, having to juggle lectures, and uni work with making packages every week for TV and Radio. Stress, no life and lack of sleep comes to mind right now!

(Ohh by the way BJ stands for Broadcast Journalist, incase you have the type of mind that wonders).

This is what happens to you as a student been stuck in your room doing nothing but uni work, you begin to ramble on and constantly flick through the TV channels looking for something to watch when you already know there is nothing on. Bring on the Friends box sets that I've already watched like a million times lol! Hmmmmm could go for a walk in the sunshine, might help me think of some exciting things to include in my news slot other than the credit crunch or people dying.

A Journalist's best friend

As a Broadcast Journalist you are expected to be able to work in all 3 area's of Journalism

• TV
• Radio
• Online

It is key that you are able to perform in all 3 so that when you go out into the professional world you can get a job in any field as your skills and knowledge will be limitless. Therefore you must be able to use the technology from all 3 area's, especially TV and Radio for when you go out to do packages.

The equipment you will work with will be like an annoying brother or sister that follows you around where ever you go. You will spend so much time with it, it will become your new best friend. You might as well clear out a spot in your room for it will practically be living with you.

To adopt your new friend you must book it out from the Media Centre for as long you need it and then you are ready to go......ohhh but don't forget to feed it, i hear batteries go down very well and give it that big boost of energy it needs.

Two main pieces of equipment:

Sony V1 Camera (you will also need a Tripod to stand the camera on)


Marantz Audio Recorder (used to recording packages for radio)


And not forgetting the 3rd and final best friend.....the Notepad and Pen. A good journalist never goes anywhere without having a pen and pad at the ready and if you want to be extra good, take a spare pen just incase the other one doesn't work!

Newsday

It's 8:55am and i'm already at uni in the Newsroom ready for my jam packed Newsday, too early i tell you! The weather is not very nice either so that hasn't given me the nice feeling you want for a long day having got up at 7:00am to get ready.

I am Radio Presenter this week. I really enjoy doing radio. My editor is Mark and my co-presenter is Ore.

As part of the course you will have a Newsday once a week. In year one you have a 9-1pm Newsday and in year two it lasts from 9-5pm once a week. On a Newsday you are given a different role each week. You are then split into two groups - TV and Radio. The Newsday are there to help you understand what it is like to work in a real newsroom and gives you a chance to do different jobs and find out what you are good at or enjoy the most.

We have 3 radio shows on a Newsday, 10am for 5 minutes, 11am for 10 minutes and one at 12pm for 15 minutes.

TV goes out at 2pm for 5 minutes and 4pm for 15. TV is a lot harder and takes more time to organise so when we have finished doing radio, everyone helps out with TV making everyone's jobs much easier.

Do NOT get me started on the Online part of the Newsday lol! It annoys the hell out of everyone even though it is important, it just rubs us up the wrong way. We HAVE to upload the news stories we write during the day but we get so busy trying to do radio and TV that we kind of forget ooops.

Staffs Live

I try and upload as many stories as i can and one week i uploaded my video of filming i did about a murder in my home town and it has had a far few hits which i am very happy about :D

I drove back home to get the footage at the crime scene, so did all the filming myself and then got James to do the voice over of the story i had wrote for my piece.

This is my package i did for my Newsday. It can also be viewed at Staffs Live or You Tube.

Click here for the full story online

Valentine's Day

Yes it's less than 12 hours till Valentine's Day. The one day of the year that people either love or hate. February 14th is Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day and is a special occasion celebrated by people all over the world. It is the one day of the year where lovers express their love for one another by sending cards, flowers or presents. Hearts, doves and the figure of a winged cupid are modern symbols associated with the day.


Here is a little idea for doing something nice for someone you love. Plus it is really cheap to make. My tip for making a nice little surprise is making chocolate fudge brownies in heart shapes.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of unsifted flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 cup of butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2x tablespoons of water
• 4x 50g bags of baking chocolate squares
• 1x teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2x eggs
• Heart shaped cutters

How to cook:

1. Melt in a saucepan on a low flame the chocolate squares, butter or margarine, water, sugar and vanilla
2. When melted and smooth remove from the hob
3. Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt
4. Gradually mix into the chocolate mixture
   (add in chocolate chips or nuts if you like)
5. When throughly mixed spread into a greased baking tray
6. Put in the oven at around 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes, check every so often so they don't over bake
7. When done, take the brownies out and leave to cool. Then use the heart shaped cutters to cut out the heart shape

Accommodation

In the first year of university you will live in the on campus accommodation. These will either be ensuite or non-ensuite. Clarice Cliff is the ensuite block and Wedgwood, Royal Daulton, Spode, Minton, Ainsely and Leek Road houses are the non-ensuite halls. In the ensuite halls you get your own bathroom, where as in the non-ensuite you have to share the bathroom with other girls.


The flats in Clarice Cliff are mixed but because of having to share bathrooms, the non-ensuite halls are same sex on each floor. Having your own bathroom costs a bit more each week but like me you may prefer to pay that little bit extra because i personally couldn't share a bathroom so i lived in Clarice Cliff. I had lots of fun and made some great friends and flat mates.

In your second year you have the choice of who you want to live with. You can rent out a house near to the uni or you can live in College Court.


That's where i am living for my second and third year. It is just up the road from the uni so isn't far to walk to lectures. All your bills are included along with the Internet.


There is 24 hour security and you can't get in or out without having an electronic key fob. There is a laundry room and common room with Sky TV and pool tables. The flats are modern and have come with fully funished both in the kitchen and bedroom. I like living here as it safe, all my bills are included and only a 5-10 minute walk to uni everyday.

University

Staffordshire University's main campus is in Stoke on Trent. It then has two other campus's, one in Stafford and one in Lichfield. It was founded in 1992 and has grown into one of the countries most successful and popular universities.

There are 16,000 students at the university, coming from all over the UK and even from around the world. It is well known for having a wide range of ages, backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles making up the strong bond and community.

Broadcast Journalism BA Hons:


This course is accredited by the BJTC and is taught in the new Broadcast Newsroom, with facilities you would find in a professional Newsroom. You get taught how to write for the news, how to be a reporter with good interview skills and how to present for TV, Radio and Online.

On the technical side you get taught how to use TV camera's, work in the studio taking on various other roles and also how to produce and direct. You learn how to use Pro Cut for editing and Burli so you have access to the very latest news feeds for news stories.

www.staffs.ac.uk

I'm famous!

I don't know if anyone has seen the Bupa Advert? Well according to that Laura (me) is a green triangle with an ipod who goes to hospital to find out why she keeps falling asleep on the bus. The verdict it Laura is anemic. I love the advert and everytime it is on, I'm like yay! I'm on the TV.

Welcome

Hey i'm Laura and this is my blog.

This is the first blog ive ever made so im don't really know how to start one, so ill begin with introducing myself.

I am Laura Jayne and i am the big 21 this year :D
I go to Staffordshire University where i am currently studying Broadcast Journalism in my 2nd year. I love the course and my dream is to be a presenter on Sky Sports or to be the first female editor in the U.K.

"What a Week"
is about life as a student at University. I will tell you the highs and the lows of been a student and the experiences i have had.