The unspoken rules at University

Here’s some helpful tips to help you through your year that no one will ever tell you.

Pre-drinks: Back at home, this was never a thing. You would get ready, go out and get smashed. But now you’re a poor student, it’s a night out essential and can sometimes be better than the night out itself. Pre-drinks also involved A LOT of drinking games; the ever-telling ‘never have I ever’ is where you learn that your housemate had sex with someone in a fast food joint and ‘The ring of Fire’ where you end up drinking shot upon shot of absinthe (really would not recommend). You will live for the pre-drinks – however your hangover the next day tells a different story.

Don’t buy text books straight away: This is definitely one for the freshers. You may think you’re smart getting all your books in early but out of those 15 you've brought, you’ll probably use a grand total of two. The library is a god send so use that as much as possible! Think of the jagerbombs you’ll be missing out on if you get that ‘important’ text book and then realise you've been using it more as a coaster than a research method. 

You never sit at the front of the lecture theatre: Ok, this does vary through the year. As fresher’s, you may want to make an impression and sit at the front but as the year progresses (and you begin to experience nights out in the week) you slowly shuffle to the back. The only ones that sit at the front are either late and have nowhere else to sit or the ones that you wonder ‘how the hell did you get on this course?’

Once in your stay here at University, you will do the walk of shame: It doesn’t even have to be post-coitus related; for the commuters out there, this will happen quite a lot. The amount of times you’ll get asked to go out after your last lecture & realise you have no fresh clothes for the morning after is ridiculous. A top tip to avoid this is to always keep a spare set of clothes at one of your best friend’s house. Also, if you do happen to do the walk of shame – walking through the campus at 10am is not a good idea. People will stare and snigger. Just no. 

McBusted: review

Hello Beautiful!

Ten years ago, when IPhones didn't dominate people's lives and tweeting was just something bird's did, pop rock band Busted were reigning high in the charts and had won the heart of every teenage girl in Britain (including mine).

They were living the dream, a career they worked so hard to achieve.

However, in 2005 the band shockingly broke up after band member Charlie Simpson decided to move onto a new band. I won't lie - my little pre-teen heart broke into a million pieces.

So when I heard the the remaining two members, Matt Willis and James Bourne, were teaming up with identical band McFly to create a superband - you can imagine my excitement.

I have been to see McFly when they performed their 'Radioactive' tour in Nottingham when I was younger, and continued to look forward to seeing the band newly named 'McBusted'.

The support bands, Young Brando, EofE and the 3 dudes did well to warm the huge crowd. Their catchy rock songs caused the audience to get up out of their seats and dance.

Starting just before nine o'clock, the stadium went dark and a video lit up on the two screens at each side of the stage. The video featured the same concept as those portrayed in the film 'Back to the Future'. Moments later, a DeLorean landed on the stage containing the two remaining Busted members. They were then shortly followed by McFly members Tom, Danny, Dougie and Harry.

Opening hit 'Air Hostess' sent the crowd into a frenzy - even young teenagers who would have been children at the time sang along with the band.

Throughout their performances, McBusted made good use of their stage and the ringed catwalk which extended from it.

Their interaction was flawless - especially from Matt and Dougie who were constantly circled the crowd and asking the audience if they were having a good time or if they were ready to do so.

The set list was evenly distributed amongst the two bands - with the set opening with three Busted and followed by three McFly tracks.

Half an hour in, and the band disappeared off the stage to reappear on a UFO at the back of the arena. Whilst on here, the band played 3 songs including the popular 'Star Girl'.

The boy's energy bounced off one and other. Their laddish charm made the crowd laugh as they performed hilarious jokes and poked fun at one and other. One stunt involved Matt wearing a wedding dress whilst performing 'Crashed the Wedding'.

After an hour and a half, the show came to a sad end - but all the band members vowed to make a return to Nottingham.

Could this be a hint of a second tour? I hope so.

Furthermore, this is definitely in my top 3 for concerts I've ever seen. For anyone attending a McBusted gig, it will truly be a memorable experience and a blast from the past.

Rating: 9/10

Review: Ellie Goulding

See original post here: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Review-Ellie-Goulding-Capital-FM-Arena-Nottingham/story-20772587-detail/story.html

IT was an effective way to kick off her first major arena tour; sporting an outfit that appeared to show one of Britain's biggest female artists completely nude underneath a body suit of black panel strips.

The wow! factor of Ellie Goulding's stage wear was easily matched by the show she put on for Nottingham fans at the Capital FM Arena on Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old singer behind the hits Burn, Anything Could Happen and Starry Eyed, said how she'd not performed in such a large venue before but it was clear from this tour opener that arenas suit her.

A beautiful indigo beam lit up the stage, revealing a backdrop of huge squares, reflecting the cover of her latest album, Halcyon Days. Throughout the show, beautiful graphics and photos flooded the screens - including one of her mum, as the singer would later tweet: "Thanks Nottingham! Buzzing! My mum loved her cameo on screen."

It was Figure 8, with which Goulding opened the show in that aforementioned 'nude' bodysuit, over which she wore a glittery hooded bomber jacket.

After Ritual, came latest single, Goodness Gracious, the first proper singalong of the night.

For each, Goulding displayed remarkable energy, using every inch of the stage, suggestively grinding to those in the front few rows and looking like she was having a blast.

The set was, as expected, all the hits and more from her two studio albums, the No. 1 Lights and No. 2 Halcyon, along with the extra songs from the reissued 'deluxe' editions, Bright Lights and Halcyon Days. As a result it was a mostly uplifting, dancey vibe but with the more sedate and touching ballads thrown in, such as How Long Will I Love You? and her cover of Elton John's Your Song.

It is easy for performers to become consumed by the need to deliver a well-rehearsed set at an arena show, sticking to the structured routines that have been worked on for weeks in advance. But Goulding didn't appear overwhelmed and relaxed into it,

chatting to as many in the crowd as she could, sharing jokes and encouraging them to light up their phones.

As she broke into I Need Your Love, she shouted for us to "dance like you've never danced before", joking that she wasn't much of a dancer herself.

It was Burn, her first UK No.1 single, that closed the show.

"I really do have the best fans." she said. "You have all stuck by me from the beginning and I can't thank you enough."

There was only one way she could have done that and that's exactly what she did; by putting on a show to remember.

Review - Union J Hits Nottingham

Photo by Kevin Cooper (more at facebook.com/EGNottingham)

AS one might expect from fans of an X Factor boy band with over a million Twitter followers, it was teenage screams throughout Union J’s set at the Royal Concert Hall on Sunday night, part of their first headline tour, Magazines and TV Screens.

The quartet – consisting of George Shelley, Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett and Jaymi Hensley - have gone a long way since getting together on last year’s ITV talent machine, with three hit singles, a No. 6 album, two books and this 20-date headline tour that runs in to the New Year.

Turning out to see them in Nottingham was this year’s X Factor winner Sam Bailey, who had a busy time on the balcony having photos taken with fans.

Before the main event at 9pm, there were four support acts; Eylar Fox, Ollie Marland, Room 94 and Five Angels, who all had the crowd on their feet dancing along.

While the former two suited the Union J sound, Room 94 had an edgier rock sound, closer to that of Lawson and lyrics about teen romance sat well with the audience.

But they saved the hysteria for the Union J, who opened with Where Are You Now, the quartet making full use of the stage, bouncing around it and encouraging their fans to join in.

Any group with just one album to their name, needs a few extras to fill a set and in Union J’s case they were covers of Katy Perry’s Roar and One Republic’s Counting Stars.

Debut single, Carry You, the video for which was filmed in Nottingham earlier this year, sent the crowd into overdrive and even the parents were out of their seats, dancing along.

The light from a thousand phones lit up the venue as they ran through their second hit single, It’s A Beautiful Life, while latest single, Loving You Is Easy, closed the set.

The fans clearly enjoyed it but what of the group? Yesterday, Josh described it as “my favourite show of the tour so far!” on Twitter, adding: “NOTTINGHAM......you were insaneeeeeeeeeeeee.”

Union J have slipped right in to those pop shoes left behind by JLS and are racing after One Direction for the title of Britain’s biggest boy band.

The day I met a prince ...

Hello my Lovelies!

Friday, was one of those days that only happen once in a blue moon. In the city of Nottingham, his royal highness Prince Harry came to visit the town folk; in which he opened a charity and also visited Confetti who are also in partnership with our university to create Nottingham TV!

The Prince's cheeky grin

Our day started by waiting outside the Confetti studios from 11:45. At this point the crowd was quite small, meaning that we were able to get a brilliant shot of the Prince when he arrived. Soon, the crowds began to grow - and entertainment was introduced in the form of delicious cupcakes! yum!

My first sighting on Prince Harry

By the time 1:45 came along, the crowd had grown to over 500 people - and also included one owl and one white dog (so adorable). The crowd anticipated the presence of Harry, and with him already being 15 minutes late - excitement was becoming heightened. Out of the blue, a white Jaguar had turned onto the street and uproar was created through the crowd as we all seeked of a sight of prince Harry.

Unfortunately, he was swiftly moved inside for an hour to do things such as Djing, playing on a game which had his face on and creating a short film scene. This could all be seen on a big scene, which was open for the public. 

When he did eventually come out, the crowd once more went crazy as he began to shake hands with citizens. He was only a few metres away and I managed to talk some great photos of him.

The Prince with The Nottingham Post

I do love Prince Harry; all his work for the deprived families really hits the right message out to the public and reminds us all of the work that his mother - the late and great Princess Diana - did for the people of England. This day will forever be a favourite of mine - and I will hopefully be able to meet Prince William and Kate one day - one day ....

Have you ever met any Royalty? 

Instagram: lulujade

Twitter: LaurenJLee94

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xxlulubbzxx

Apologises and something EXCITING!

Hello my Lovelies!

Firstly, I want to apologise for my non-excusable absence. I have been, well, really busy and rather lazy over the Easter Holiday period.

My main reason for this was because I celebrated my 19th birthday on Easter Sunday. Because it was Sunday, I didn't actually do anything that exciting - just some much need family time and snuggles with the boyfriend (just because I'm 19, doesn't mean I have to act like it)

                             

My Lovely Gifts; Just Cavelli Perfume with free bag, Juicy Couture handbag, Lush gift and Easter Eggs! 

                         

The Perfect Gift: Audrey Hepburn in all her glory

As you can see from the images above; I was pretty spoilt (no, I am NOT bragging) and I am do grateful for everything I got.

                                 

Homemade Birthday cake - Delicious!

Now, for some BIG News;

As you would have guessed from the title of this blog, I am an aspiring journalist and being a student at Nottingham Trent University has opened so many doors for me that I couldn't be more grateful. One of these opportunities really excited me and has confirm the fact that I want to become a journalist.

You may have heard of the band Rudimental with their top selling track 'Feel the Love'

Yup, thats them :)

Well ..... I can officially say that I have successfully interviewed a member of the band!

In any journalists view, this has got to be one of the highlights of my career (so far ;) ) and the article that I have written will be published in The Nottingham Post in a few short weeks.

So if you live in that area, keep a close eye on the paper! :D

I will be putting up some more posts tonight as I have the night off, so stay tuned folks!

Lauren

xoxo

Twitter: LaurenJLee94
Instagram: lulujade