Im always keen on doing new and exciting activities, some say cycling in London should be exciting enough, I disagree and in this nature my awesome girlfriend surprised me with a day of swinging through trees (literally), 50 feet above the ground at Go Ape. I had no idea what I was going to be doing until I had to strap a harness to myself with various ropes hanging from it. We got briefed (briefly) on how to be safe when navigating through the foliage and were set off on a mini adventure in a mini woodland.

Once you get up there you deal with the task at hand and luckily I dont fear heights. Several courses are spilt up with various ways to pass from one tree platform to another. Shimmying, leaping, swinging and everyones favourite zip lining are all welcome here. Extra points are awarded for style of which I had very few points awarded as you can see in the video here >> zip lining

A Tribute

Sadly, an artist that shaped my adolescence passed away recently. Adam Yauch AKA MCA from The Beastie Boys passed away on May the 4th after a 3 year battle with cancer. I was first introduced to the BB’s by my brother with the Licensed to Ill album which featured the notorious Fight for your right (to party). This was my first introduction to Hip-Hop and a genre that shaped the way I grew up. I was lucky enough to see the BB’s 3 times in one week when they were on their ‘Mix Up’ tour in 2007. A friend and respected UK DJ (DJ Pager) passed myself and a friend some free tickets to see them in Brixton at the Academy, later that week a few of us went to Bestival where they performed twice. Needless to say they amped up the crowd and it was an amazing experience. The BB’s had a wealth of musical influences and styles at their disposal such as punk and funk, rap and rock and for all of those that dont know much more than their classics such as Fight for your right, Sabotage and Intergaltic, heres a spotify playlist ive made for your enjoyment, just click the link >>>>>>>>> RIP MCA

And on a lighter note

see ya later

Being topical, I thought I’d write a blog on fun facts about Valentine’s Day!  If you ever wonder why we spend 1 day a year buying flowers, treating our loved ones to chocolates and bubbly (personally I think that should happen every month?!) then read on find out where it all began.  I’ve also added my own thoughts to give the blog some attitude, if you don’t agree then feel free to COMMENT!

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day

When did it all start?

There are various theories on the origin of Valentine’s Day, but the most popular dates back to the time of the Roman Empire during the reign of Claudius II, 270 AD. Claudius didn’t want men to marry during wartime because he believed single men made better soldiers. Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret wedding ceremonies. For this, Valentine was jailed and then executed by order of the Emperor on February 14. While in jail, he wrote a love note to the jailor’s daughter signing it, “From your Valentine.” Sound familiar?  No actually, I’ve never had a letter written to me from a prisoner in jail?!

Flowers

• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
• 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day – wow, is that desperate?!

Roses

• The red rose was the favourite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
• Red roses are considered the flower of love because the colour red stands for strong romantic feelings – never would have guessed that one…
• Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine’s Day time period – anyone interested in opening a rose shop for 3 days a year?!

Greeting Cards

• Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all Valentines – are you going to let this go guys?!
• Teachers will receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets – teachers, really?!  Think they missed out my school in this survey…

And… More fun facts about Valentine’s Day

• Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, United States and Italy.
• The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife – Mughal definitely set the standard with this one
• Every Valentine’s Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet – do they know it was a story?!
• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.
• In the US, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts – typical!  

44 days.

44 days long days since my last blog. You must be having serious withdrawal symptoms but I’m back to give you your fix of YouTube, stupid purchases and LADS.

The last six weeks have been very busy, I have been up to Scotland forChristmas, back home in Jersey for New Year and up to visit all my university friends in Hull. Since I have been seeing so many people again there have been a lot of hugging going on, which makes me very happy. I love a good hug! There are so many occasions for one as well, a welcome hug, a well done hug, a goodbye hug, a hello hug, a drunk hug, a comforting hug, even a three-way hug! They are so underrated and way underused. So because of all the hugging I have been doing lately as soon as I saw this video I knew it was going to be my ‘YouTube Video of the Week’. A hug makes someone feel better, it makes people smile and nothing bad has ever come from a hug! So in dedication for this video I want all of you who read this (Hi mum!) to take this weekend and do three types of hugs…

1. Hug someone you should do a lot more often – There is probably somebody in your life who you love to bits but don’t ever show it enough. So show it with a hug.
2. Hug someone that seems upset or down – If someone is feeling low and hasn’t had the best of days, just take 5 seconds to give them a big fat hug. I bet they will be the best 5 seconds of that person’s day.
3. Hug a stranger – It doesn’t matter where you are, just make eye contact, smile and ask somebody if they would like a free hug. Don’t be shy, the worst that can happen is they say no and it’s their loss! When you do get someone, give him or her a warm, platonic hug. That means you wrap your arms around them over their shoulders or just below their arms and maybe pat their back gently a few times. (Try to avoid being a creep and touching people below the waist and no need to touch hips either!)

Many of you will just think this is odd, and you are the one’s who are missing out. I have no doubt that if you complete all three of these you will feel great and you’ll have a big smile on your face by the end of them.

Now it’s on to my ‘Purchase of the Week’ feature, which I’m surprised, is even happening because of how broke I am. This probably makes this decision easier since I haven’t been able to buy much! My purchase of the week is my ticket to UK Bass Culture at the 02 Academy Brixton on the 2^nd of March. Now I’m not sure how many bass heads read the RMP blog but those of you who are will know this line-up is absolutely amazing and will be an incredible night! I have friends coming to visit me from Jersey for the event and it’s going to be a weekend to remember, but one I am most likely to forget!

Finally we are on to the ‘LAD of the week’ feature. This isn’t actually a story from this week, but it was after my last blog and because of what this guy has gone through he more than deserves it! On BoxingDay, in the middle of the busy Christmas football period, Gillingham faced Crawley Town in a league match, little did winger Chris Whelpdale realise it was going to be a game to forget. In a collision with an opposition player late in the game he took a knock to his “man area” after originally thinking it was nothing too bad he had a look and turned out he had tore his scrotum! OUCH! The 24-year-old had to have 5 stitches and his manager described the injury and “disgusting” adding “I don’t think his wife would be happy either!”

Now the injury alone may just warrant this award. The main reason, however, for Whelpdale being dubbed ‘LAD of the week’ is because once he had taken the expected LADS banter from the guys in the changing room and got himself stitched up he returned 4 days later to play Dagenham & Redbridge! When we look at the likes of Carlos Tevez who are sitting on the bench sulking for half their career and compare them to the likes of Whelpdale who even with a “broken zone” manage to turn up for a scrappy League Two encounter there is only one winner in my eyes! Chris, we salute you sir!

It’s been fun, but it’s time for me to shut up and you to get on with some work!

Adue, Kwa Herini, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye!

Tom

On Wednesday 18^th January, The National Placement & Internship Awards, sponsored by PwC and supported by AGCAS and AGR, were attended by over 300 representatives from both the corporate and higher education world.

The event kicked off with the unveiling of the results from our recent First-Year Student Survey by our On-Campus Promotions team, followed by an incredibly inspiring and motivational key note speech from Olympian and former World Record Holder Steve Backley.

As a few of you have already requested, please see the industry facts and stats mentioned by Ollie during the Awards Ceremony.

You can also click on the link at the bottom of this post to view the presentation slides from the On-Campus Promotions session, ‘An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students’.

Thanks,

The RMP Team

Ollie’s Facts & Stats of the Higher Education Industry: 

Where do we see the market heading?

In the UK last year there were 1.8 million full-time undergraduate students in higher education. 477,000 started in September, which interestingly is 5.6% up on last year’s stat. This year, with the increased tuition fees coming in for September 2012, UCAS have already seen 15% reduction in university applicants. How do we see this affecting the market?

Fewer students at universities will hit the institutions, and from reading through the 60+ university nominations across the 3 university categories, it’s overwhelming how much they are investing heavily in their employability agenda quoting figures in the tens and hundreds of millions of pounds. With fees rising so significantly, the return on investment from entering university to coming out of the other end is being increasingly scrutinised by students and parents. Therefore we personally see placements and internships playing a much greater role in academia, encouraged through:

• A rise in accredited work-based learning modules

• Increased resource and provision from the university

• Heightened awareness from students, and at an earlier stage

How are employers changing? The recent recession has taught most businesses to be more effective and justify every pound they spend. Across all our 200 clients, we see the average retention rates from undergraduate schemes to graduates is between 60 – 70%. This outlines how in the long term, attracting and retaining the best talent early can be a more successful and efficient form of recruitment. Anecdotally, we are seeing more and more companies engaging with the best talent earlier through starting and growing placement, internship and insight programmes and that’s reflected in our client base doubling in the past year.

Latest Graduate research from the article below in the Telegraph outlines:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9005585/Graduate-job-competition-hots-up.html

“An extra 50,000 graduates are set to leave university this summer compared with five years ago”

“Employers have already received 19pc more graduate applications for roles compared with last year”

More than half of the recruiters warned graduates with no previous work experience had “little or no chance” of landing a job this year.

Specifically in the investment banking industry, 3 / 4 of investment bank graduate jobs will be taken by candidates who have completed industry placements.

More than a third of new graduate jobs this year will go to students who have already worked for the employer – a record high

In conclusion… All arrows point towards early identification, with placements, internships and insights becoming increasingly important…

-          to students needing to gain work experience before they graduate

-          to universities needing to differentiate themselves through their employability agenda to attract students

-          and to employers looking to recruit the best talent earlier, and most effectively

On-Campus Promotions Presentation Slides:

Please click on the link below to access the slides from the On-Campus Promotions session, ‘An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students’ hosted by Ali Lindsay and Amber Jones.

An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students – presentation slides

We are delighted to announce the Winners of the 2012 National Placement & Internship Awards!

The Awards, sponsored by PwC, took place yesterday at City University, London, and were attended by over 350 representatives from both the corporate and higher education world.

The event kicked off with the unveiling of the results from our recent First-Year Student Survey by our On-Campus Promotions team, followed by an incredibly inspiring and motivational key note speech from Olympian and former World Record Holder Steve Backley.

The Awards were then presented by RMP co-founders Oliver Sidwell and Chris Wickson, closing with the announcement of the 2012 ‘Best Placement & Internship Employer’. Congratulations go to Barclays Capital.

For a full overview of the day and to find out which employers, universities and students picked up the prizes, visit our Awards website via the link below.

Check back next week for photos and videos from the day too!

The RMP Team

*Order of Awards presented are as follow:

University Awards:

Best University placement / Careers Service: Brunel University (Highly Commended: University of Dundee). Most Improved Commitment to Employability: University of Birmingham Careers & Employability Centre University Personality of the Year: Jim Wood, Newcastle University (Highly Commended: Graham Kaye-Taylor, Brunel University)

Student Awards:

Best Placement student: Lillian Hiscox, Microsoft Best Intern: Sophie Petrie, HSBC Best Student Contribution to a Small to Medium-sized Enterprise: Michael Daniel McAllister, Buzzlines Travel Best University Society: University of Warwick History Society Best On-Campus Promotions Brand Manager: Amelia Marchant, University of Surrey

Employer Awards:

Best New Provider of Work Experience: Cooper Industries Best Short-term Insight Scheme: Linklaters (Highly Commended: Simmons & Simmons LLP) Best Diversity in Work Experience: Civil Service Fast Stream Best On-campus Marketing Campaign: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group/ThirtyThree (Highly Commended: Ernst & Young/SAS and PwC/ThirtyThree) Best Small or Medium-sized Enterprise: ProspectSoft Distinctive Contribution to Work Experience (Special Judges’ Award): Champions Life Academy Best Medium-sized Employer: SAP Best Placement & internship Employer (Headline Award): Barclays Capital

*Note – the last two Awards were based on student-written reviews from RateMyPlacement who have completed placements and internships

www.rmpawards.co.uk

Thanks to all our sponsors for supporting the National Placement & Internship Awards 2012

Hello! and welcome back to our blog, we’ve been off the radar recently due to the Christmas holidays and our highly successful NPIA’s that were held on the 18th of this month (January), but we are back now and all have more than enough juice to supply you with an eclectic mix of blog related banter, so buckle up and welcome to 2012 with RateMyPlacement.co.uk.

About now is make or break time for all those that wanted to get fit and haven’t done so as they have petered out of steam or lost interest. Much of the time people set unachievable goals which dis-heartens them and they then give up. Below, I’ve put together a couple of brief tips that may help you promote a healthier life style. I want to give your brain a work out too with a few educational app’s and lets not forget to reward our selves in the Leisure section.

Health

Running is the goto exercise to get slim, not necessarily. You can burn calories from lifting weights and that involves no running what so ever! The larger the muscles you use the more energy your body consumes ipso-facto more calories are burned, using a legpress is a great way to expend some calories and better yet, your sitting down!!

Metabolism is key when exercising, as a good metabolism means your body can burn the food that you put in it more efficiently. If you have 3 large meals a deal, your body struggles to process all that it consumes, much in the way a shredder jams if you stick too much paper in it. Don’t skip breakfast, instead, grab some scrambled egg and spinach on a slice of wholemeal toast, this is a really quick meal and gives your bodies furnace a kick start to the day to begin processing food. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water too (2 litres) and get that veg & fruit in side of you, try substituting carbs such as potatoes for more veg like broccoli or carrots. Click here for 8 ways to speed up your metabolism.

Sleep is an often over looked part of being healthy. Its important to get a good nights sleep (8 hours is real good), it gives your body a chance to repair after exercising and your mind to rest so you are less stressed. Those that sleep less tend to consume a lot more food as they need the energy to operate while awake. Try not to use your bed for anything other than sleep & sex, this way you only associate your bed with these two activities. If you watch TV in bed a lot your mind struggles to get to sleep as you begin to associate your bed with other activities that won’t allow you to rest properly – I discovered these facts when I was having trouble sleeping myself.

If you want to set your self goals and monitor your results, NIKE have released the Nike+ FuelBand. It is essentially a device that measures your activity, with the aid of a computer or your smart phone you can connect to the wristband to set your self goals. The band gives you your calories burned, steps taken and the Nike fuel score… oh theres also a watch on it too. Its due to launch in the UK in may and will cost around the £100 mark, if your serious about exercise and logging your results this maybe a good motivator.. not too sure how it works with less cardio based activities though.

Education

Many of us have smart phones and seldom time to educate ourselves but we have plenty of time to play games while sitting on the train into work or at the back of the classroom. Check out these two apps:

Night Sky £0.69 link Allows you to point the app towards the “Night Sky” (also works in the day) and identifies constallations for you, you can also identify planets with your naked eye and go satalite spotting. How is this eduction? I dare people not to be impressed when your busting out constellations and they can barely point out the big dipper.. and “no thats not the north star, it’s Jupiter”.

The Crystal Maze £0.69 link This is an absolute classic. The app itself comes packed full of everyones favourite zones including Aztec, Science and Medieval zones, along with a Richard O’Brian sond pack!!!! There are various games that will test your lateral thinking as well as some basic puzzle solving. All crystals are cashed in at the end of the game for extra time in the Crystal dome!!!

Heres a bonus video of the 90′s classic game show that is a favourite in the office;

Leisure

And finally, my favourite part of the blog, when I suggest movies I’ve seen and/or want to see. Theres been a few movie releases recently that have been massive, one of which being:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 7.3/10 Now I’m a big fan of reading but have never felt compeled to read this series of books. I’m not too sure why, regardless, I was unsure as to what to expect but enjoyed it nonetheless. The main character is interesting and you do jump on her side even though she is insane for what ever reasons. Pretty tense in places and un-funny throughout but I guess its meant to be a thriller. DC is good and refreshing when not playing the smarmy James Bond. 7.3/10

War Horse 6.8/10 Spielberg loves a war time epic and this doesn’t disappoint. Quite a romantic storey of a boy and his horse getting separated during WW1 and re-united over the course of the film, its kind of like Saving Private Ryan meets Black Beauty with an essence of Forest Gump sprinkled on, in the way the main protagonist infiltrates so many stories. Defiantly worth a watch and I’d like to hear from anyone that has seen both the theater production and the movie and how they compare.

Im still itching to watch Goon with Sean William-Scott who I always find hilarious and looking forward to Wes Andersons, Moonrise Kingdom, which if on par with the Life Aquatic is going to be pure gold.

until next time people..

So, I’m not sure if any of you know but its actually Christmas Day on Sunday, shocker, I know. So since it’s so close to the big day, it’s only right I do a Christmassy blog to get us all in the mood…right? WRONG! I’m sure you have had just about enough of what’s the top gift to get this year and the best way to recycle your tree. So I’m going to stick what I know, funny videos, good purchases and LADS!

Let’s kick things off, as always, with the ‘YouTube vid of the Week’. This week, we’re sticking to something short, simple and just god damn hilarious.  We can thank Ollie Sidwell (yes the founder of this fine company) and his weird sense of humour for this fantastic clip, cheers Sid! And the ‘Mother of the Year’ award goes to…….

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne3OMr1_Pxo

Now the award for ‘Purchase of the Week’ award doesn’t actually go to something I personally bought, but acquired through a very generous secret Santa.  As our Christmas social got underway last week we all exchanged gifts and I unwrapped (from my beautiful Metro newspaper wrapping) 3 gifts, the Hollyoaks calendar, a book called ‘The Game’ and a condom (very LADish). The gift I will be talking about is the book ‘The Game’; it’s something I hadn’t heard of before but has apparently created a lot of buzz. It is a real life story about a shy retiring writer, Neil Strauss, (pictured below) who suffers from a lack of charm and confidence when it comes to attracting the opposite sex. He decides enough is enough and wants to change his ways by studying world renowned PUA’s (pick-up artists) and their theories and techniques. Once he had adopted them and takes on the role of his alter ego ‘Style’ his amazing story begins. This story includes using his techniques on Britney Spears, receiving life coaching from Tom Cruise, moving in with Courtney Love and being officially voted ‘World Number One PUA’. I’m only on page 126 and I’m already engrossed and am sure it won’t take me long to finish.

Whilst reading it on the tube the other day a guy, who had read the book, interrupted me to tell me that he loved it and swore by it’s techniques. So a definite book for all the LADS out there!

Which brings us swiftly onto ‘LAD of the week’. This man is a smooth talking, smartly dressed and incredibly talented LAD. Women want him and men want to be him. Love him or hate him, there is no denying this man’s class. Even as I write this I am listening to his wonderfully received Christmas album. I am of course giving this award to Mr. Michael Bublé. Once again he has the whole country swooning over him whilst be bangs out great performance after great performance, with his big band behind him it seems as though nothing can stop this man from turning any song into a classic. There will be LADS out there who disagree with this week’s award but he is talented, loaded, women everywhere will do almost anything to be with him and all without having a six pack…LAD.

As always it’s been a pleasure and it’s time for me to shut up and for you to get back on with some work!

Adue, Kwa Herini, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye!

Tom

Loughborough graduate Rebecca Griffiths tells us how she found the inspiration and courage to start her own business and some top tips for those of you who want to do the same! Since this is something we can relate to here at RMP we’re delighted to let her tell you her story. Here’s what she had to say…

For me, graduating from Loughborough University was one of the most daunting experiences. Being released into the real world is something that most students dread. It’s even harder still when after three years of study you still haven’t worked out what you want as a career. This was my dilemma.

I would never have imagined starting a business but today, I am writing this blog post following the launch of my new online fashion store wantherdress.com. The website is a family business and was created with my sister, a graduate of Leeds University.

I had never seen myself working in the fashion industry; I had studied drama so it was a very unlikely move. It soon became clear to me that the fashion industry was the way forward, since all my interests were within it and e-commerce, especially in fashion, is continuing to grow making it one of the most popular ways for customers to shop. Now I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. You don’t have to stick to what you have studied, there are so many opportunities out there and you can adapt your experiences from university to suit the career you love. Charlotte, my sister, knew shortly after graduating that this was her dream career. This made the perfect balance when working together.

The creation of wantherdress.com has taken around five months from the initial idea. Starting a business is extremely difficult, but the most challenging part is having the guts to go for it. We have learnt so much already. As young women and recent graduates, we have found that sometimes it is difficult to be taken seriously by the people we deal with. We have now built more confidence when dealing with suppliers and other partners to ensure that we are receiving the best service from everyone.

The goal for this website is not just to be an online store. As you can see by the name Want Her Dress, it has more of a social context to it. Our eventual aim is for the website to be a social network for girls and women to share their fashion experiences, style tips and photos to encourage others to Want Her Dress.

Tips for students looking to start a business:

• Rather than constantly talking about ideas, take action.
• Don’t be put off by others or talk yourself out of it.
• If you believe you can do it, you’re right. Never give up.
• Never be embarrassed about what you don’t know, never pretend to understand something you don’t, just ask.
• Enjoy it…business should be fun!

Visit our website: www.wantherdress.com. You can also follow Want Her Dress on Facebook: www.facebook.com/wantherdress & Twitter: @WantHerDress for exclusive posts on offers, photos and an insight into the day-to-day workings of the team!

Words by Rebecca Griffiths

Photo by Tomal Price

So it’s been another couple of weeks, which means another blog. Actually got my first couple of recommendations for YouTube video of the week and LAD of the week recently so cheers for those guys. So let’s crack on…

First up, ‘YouTube Video of the Week’. Now I thought that I would get some inspiration for this weeks video from TV show ‘Rude Tube’, so I sat down to watch it and it turns out that weeks episode was all about sex so thought it might not be appropriate for the innocent minds of RMP and our users…

I was also shown a hilarious video by Wicko AKA Big Dog yesterday but similarly its not exactly appropriate, so you’ll have to ask him yourself! This weeks choice is a bit of a mood lifter, so although there may be some rubbish people out there, this is just to show that there are still some people out there doing some amazing things and to confirm that in general PEOPLE ARE AWESOME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0Cazxj_yc

I’d absolutely love it if you guys commented below and told me out of those, which was your favourite little clip. Mine is the guy doing that flip thing on the big bouncy ball (Not it’s technical term I’m sure).

So it’s that time for my ‘Purchase of the Week’ feature and I’m surprised I can even do one this week due to the pathetic attempt at a bank account I claim to have. I was recently on the road down in the beautiful South-West of England attending the Plymouth and Exeter Careers fairs and got peckish so decided to venture into a sandwich I have never tried before, a mouth-watering Bacon, Brie & Cranberry baguette. Now to many of you this may be the norm, maybe even a weekly occurrence, but for myself it was a strange combination that I had previously decided to steer clear of. I mean I’m sorry but who sat there hungry one day and thought “ohh you know what I could really do with? A bit of bacon, cheese and fruit!” It’s odd and you can’t deny it! However, as I have recently discovered it’s genius. I was just sat there letting this crazy arrangement of flavours do backflips on my tongue and absolutely loving it! So the moral of this story is to just try something different, if you can’t afford a holiday, you can at least let your taste buds take one!

Now time for something that I always like to put a lot of thought into, ‘LAD of the Week’. This week it’s a bit of a remember a LAD award as it goes to a natural born performer who played in one of the greatest rock bands of all time and had millions of people across the world left in awe as he dominated any stage he graced. I am of course talking about the late and ever so great Freddy Mercury, who 20 years yesterday we lost in an untimely death.

Queen has sold over 300 million albums worldwide and continues to live on through various fantastic (and not so fantastic) tribute bands as well as continuing to inspire many music-makers of the modern era. He is undoubtedly a rock-god who used every inch of the stage to perform classics such as ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and their most played song of all time ‘We Are The Champion’. Not only does he live on through his music but through The Mercury Phoenix Trust which raises awareness and helps educate those in the developing world of AIDS, the disease that took the legend away. So the only thing really left to say is RIPLAD.

As always it’s been a pleasure and it’s time for me to shut up and for you to get back on with some work!

Adue, Kwa Herini, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye!

Tom

I hope your Guy Fawkes nights and Halloweens went well and would be keen to find out what events you attended and costumes you wore. My Halloween was pretty un-eventful in the end but Bonfire night went out with a BANG – haha pun intended. I decided to spend a load of money on one fire work instead of some money on a load of fireworks, check out what £35 gets you if you go to the right place in the video below.

£35 of Firework

RUSSELL’S REVIEWS

As mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to attend a couple of exhibitions and did so! The Power of Making @ the V&A, and Hidden Hero’s @ the Science Museum, both situated down the aptly named Exhibition Road in London’s South Kensington.

The Power of Making celebrates innovations in craftsmanship and the manipulation of mediums we come in contact with every day such as clay and Nylon and Technologies from steam bending wood to Milling spider-bots! It was packed when I entered the airy room of the Victoria & Albert with a single file queue of people ant marching around looking at every extremity of all the interesting artefacts on offer. Some of the pieces included a Mahogany bicycle, a puppet from the Wes Anderson film ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and a 12 foot gorilla made of coat hangers (see above). Even if craftsmanship or making isn’t your thing, you will find something that interests you here and plenty for you to point and say “How did they do that?”. Its FREE admission and runs until the 2nd of January 2012.

Hidden Hero’s is a display of everyday products that go unmentioned and un-noted as we use them everyday without thinking about their origin or history. To be completely blunt, you pay to look at tin cans and post-it notes… I wouldn’t waste my time checking this out again, even though the annotations are very interesting the exhibition itself lacks a quality that you would expect from the Science Museum, Vitra and a £6 entrance fee. Instead, check out the website 10 x more engaging and free!

Summary: Definitely visit the V&A, the POM exhibition is free, interesting and engaging, once your finished there you can tour the rest of the V&A and its vast library of treasures, then spend £6 on lunch and vist the Hidden Heros exhibit via the comfort of your arm chair and laptop.

10 Second Review – Colombiana (IMDB) In Columbia a little girls gangster parents get killed, grows up wanting to be a killer and seeks revenge. Fast forward 10 something years, she’s a contract killer, (played by Zoe Saldana) and a good one to boot. Kills everyone. 5.3/10

Before I sign off, I’d like to congratulate Tom WIlson for Winning the ‘Blogger of the Month Award’ here at RMP. Tom has been Awarded the dazzling Blogging Trophy to display on his desk for a Month on behalf of Team Goose for his outstanding contribution to the RMP blog and interesting Feature ‘Lad of the Week’ as well as some munchies to keep his sugar levels up in these cold winter evenings. Well done Tom!