Halloween Blues

when halloween looked like this..

When people clocked that Halloween was on a Friday this year, there was a mildly audiable clap of excitement that it wouldn't be on a "school night".

But now Halloween is less than a week away, it seems everyone is left without plans. It's like the downgraded version of New Years Eve when everyone acts aloof and keeps their plans open, except that in this case there are simply few options in the first place.

Why aren't there hoards of (actual) good sounding halloween focused club nights to cater for our needs? All of the ones I've heard of sounds rather disappointing.

can't someone be stupid enough to advertise a house party on facebook? i'm in the mood for some dressing up and apple bobbing and god damnit, i'm too old to trick or treat..

Start The Bus it is, then..


pics, flickr

St Brendans Sports Review 15/10/2008

Welcome back to the St Brendans weekly sports review. We start with the St Brendans football first XI and their fixture against Bridgewater College.


St Brendans started the match looking to dominate early on, however a lack of concentration lead to an early set back as Bridgewater took the lead from a well worked corner. The lads had it all to do. The goal forced St Brendans to go on the attack and try and bring it level as soon as they could, Alex Nash , George Knight and Sam Baker all creating brilliant chances to equalise in the first half, but the Bridgewater keeper remained defiant.
The second half was no change. The lads hit both posts and the crossbar through Alex Bakker and Chris Hemmings but they still could not find an equaliser. The match seemed destined for a Bridgewater victory, until, with 10 minutes to go, a long ball was played up into the Bridgewater penalty area, causing a nervous goal mouth scramble, eventually the ball landed to Kurtis Henry who fired it home from close range.
With a matter of minutes to go St Brendans went on the attack again, searching for a winner, the ball landed to Kurtis Henry who almost pulled off a cheeky back heel that deserved to go in.
A fantastic performance by the lads who deserved to be winners on the day. Congratulations to Kurtis Henry who picked up the Man of The Match award. Final score, St Brendans 1 - 1 Bridgewater.


Next up we have the Rugby, as St Brendans took on Katharine Lady Berkeleys in a thrilling encounter.


This match truly is the definition of 'a game of two halves'. St Brendans started the match poorly and the first half went down hill from there. They couldn't cope with the strong attack of Katharine Lady Berkeleys and it proved evident when the lads went into half time 10 - 0 down. St Brendans had to pick up their performance if they wanted any chance of salvaging anything from this game. That's exactly what they did. The lads played the second half with a strong determination to win as they knew they had to pull off something special. They were creative in attack and organised in defence and managed to level the game at 15 - 15 with trys being scored by Ottis Smart, Oscar Sarvage and Ben Taylor. Luckily, thanks to the try count (St Brendans 3 - 2 Katharine Lady Berkeleys), St Brendans were crowned victorious in this close encounter. The lads showed great maturity to come back from 10 - 0 down at half time and they thoroughly deserved the result.


Now we move on to Basketball and The St Brendans Hussell's match against Gloscat College.


After St Brendans' disappointing result against Richard Huish College, it was important that the lads bounced back with a win. Their defence was vulnerable at times but the Hussell's attack was unstoppable and great to watch. The lads knew that they had to win this week and win well. That they did, beating Gloscat College 61 - 40. A great performance by the St Brendans Hussell with everyone working hard for a well earned result.


Finally, we move onto Netball as St Brendans took on Gloscat College.


The Netball team capped off a brilliant week for St Brendans as their emphatic 28 - 10 victory over Gloscat College made it 4 wins out of 4. They put in 100% effort and it paid off as Gloscat never looked like winning this encounter between the two sides. A brilliant performance by everyone involved, especially Alice Hajek who picked up the Man of The Match award.

Congratulations to everyone on your brilliant results this week, keep it up and good luck in your upcoming fixtures.

'ESSER' PLAY AT URBAN OUTFITTERS CABOT CIRCUS.

The up and coming band, which have supported the likes of Bloc Party, are hitting the Indie music scene hard with their latest song 'Headlock'. Their secret gig at Urban Outfitters Bristol, taking place on the 20th October will be totally unmissable, with the added bonus of free beer!

Amanda Palmer at the Custard Factory in Birmingham

Amanda Palmer at the Custard Factory in Birmingham, 3rd October 2008

If you’ve ever seen one of those amazingly intricate and beautiful designer adverts in Vogue or Grazia that you’ve wondered how that all came together to make the final picture, then you’ve already experienced what Amanda Palmer’s recent show was like. All done without the aid of Photoshop too. I use the word show instead of gig or concert, because this wasn’t a 45 minute set with one old song and the new album in its entirity without any kind of entertainment making you wonder why you paid 20 quid for it.

It’s worth coming to the freezing cold Custard Factory in Birmingham and paying £4 for a glass of wine to experience what Amanda Palmer is trying to tell you. Having created the spectacular album that is ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer’ with its own youtube mini video series, crime scene photos and lists of prospective subjects you don’t expect to resold stale wine. As she is raised from the dead she plays her opening track on the album ‘Astronaut’ in a vintage white veil and corset, something only she could pull off.

To help her create the atmosphere she has hired the help of ‘The Danger Ensemble’ a group of dramatic actors and artists from Australia, who she tells us has come for no money but beer and the spare change people throw at them. They deliver what is expected; a dramatic interpretation of Amanda’s songs, only slightly ruined by the rendition of ‘Strength through Music’ about high school shootings that supposed to be sincere but ends up tacky; I mean everyone has seen a Michael Moore film. Then she plays a song about playing Guitar Hero and all is forgiven.

As she introduces her Neil Gaiman (ed: fantasy and graphic novel author) inspired song which starts with the line ‘I Google you, at 3am when I’m drunk’ somehow she doesn’t seem comfortable in the atmosphere that has been forced on her and that is a normal concert because like modern art, you either get it or you don’t. The best thing about Amanda Palmer is that even though she’s making serious points and personal outlets she still cant take herself seriously, with the show ending with her mouthing the words to Rihannas Umbrella with the Danger Ensemble dancing with Umbrellas around her as the sprinklers as set off.

EMILY WADDELL

stylecatcher

we (the royal we..) will be lurking about the refectory, snapping "proof" of style in and around college.

first up are these guys..

charlie baldwin

i thought his vintage jumper was pretty rad.

niki scrase

top marks for her urban outfitters lenseless geek glasses working of the cup as a fashion accessory (even if it wasn't on purpose..)


sam berrow

with his nonchalant "oh, you like my style?" crossing of the arms, we're onto a winner.

STEVIE MACKENZIE-SMITH

St Brendans Sports Review 1/10/08

Only the one match to report on and that was the college basketball team’s home fixture against Richard Huish College.

After the St Brendans Hussell’s comprehensive win last week against Weston, the lads rightly went into this match full of confidence. However, that confidence was smashed after their heavy 27 – 61 defeat to a strong Richard Huish College team. The lads put in everything they could, and there was no question about their desire to win, but they were simply beaten by a better team on the day. This loss has proved that there is no such thing as an easy game in this difficult league.

Good luck to everyone in your upcoming fixtures

Sam Cook

I’ve Loved You So Long (Philippe Claudel, 2008)

A delightful film with an unexpectedly thought provoking and moving story to tell, a film that demurely, yet with abrasive honesty, unveils a gritty past with a tragic secret, a film with heartfelt acting and a host of wonderfully charismatic and emotionally accessible characters, I’ve Loved You So Long is stunning.

The film is a portrait of the difficult struggle of a forty-something woman, Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) as she begins her settlement into a life of normality with her sister Lea and her husband Luc (Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius) and their two children, after being released from prison where she served a fifteen year sentence for murder. Harbouring a painful memory from both hers and her sister’s past, we see Juliette come to terms with the reality of her new life as a free woman with the help of her sister and a new-found companionship with Lea’s colleague Michel (Laurent Grevill).

Claudel cleverly depicts the tale of the heartbreaking rift that tore these two sisters apart through an array of powerful dialogue and frequent warming humour in an emotional equilibrium of scenes between the two women as we find that Lea, although Juliette had come to face the facts of her past, is still desperately trying to reach out to her long lost elder sister to unravel the truth and to lift herself out of the agonizing bubble of denial that her parents have kept her in since her sister’s imprisonment, and attempt to re-establish the treasured bond between them that was snatched away fifteen years ago.

With all the elegance of French cinema, and the magnificent emotional rollercoaster ride we experience, the beautifully devised and directed I’ve Loved You So Long will not be one to disappoint.

Rosa Morrison

the new student voice of st brendans

don't know about you, but we're sick having newsletters and magazine shoved into our faces that are crammed with boring college information and more suited to our parents. we've started this blog as a way of talking about what we want to. this is the student voice, written for us, by us.

this is the new wave.