who wants me to be his wife

Sometimes he makes me so happy

I am grinning from ear to ear

even though we have been dating less than a year

Other times he surprises me

Making me a nice hot cup of tea

Often he buys me lunch

Despite the credit cruch

He always cooks me dinner

And any boy who does that is always a winner

He always talks about exciting things we can do

Weekends away and holidays by the ocean blue

I can’t wait to do these things we always say

But that means I have to wait many paydays

Is this what love is like?

I have never experienced this before

Sometimes I wish he would do more

Leaving me little love notes around the flat

Instead of making jokes about my deceased cat

Calling me to check how I am

Instead of leaving his phone at the house of his friend Sam

Every day of the week there is an excuse

It starts on Sunday when people come off the booze

And is often called those Sunday evening blues

People are sad to start work the next day

But then Monday comes around

And everyone has that “Monday morning feeling”

Where no one can work and they are still reeling

From the events that happened on the weekend

People tend to nod with understanding

As if to agree their colleagues are not being too demanding

They are paid to come in and work

But Monday seems a complete write off

Tuesdays has to be the most productive day of all

They had Monday to recuperate

And can work without getting irate

It is not mid week so they are still full of beans

And everything is just how it seems

But Wednesday is just round the corner

and now there more reasons not to work

Call in sick or leave early with a smirk

“I am too tired it is mid week”

I cannot believe people have such cheek

Then when it comes to Thursday

There is a sigh of relief

“Only one more day” they say in disbelief

Finally Friday has arrived

Who would have thought some had survived

To the end of the week without calling in sick

Those are the ones that don’t take the mick

It is that time again

When the clocks go back

And we miss an hour of the light

We hardly had a summer of those long warm nights

And now winter is very near

It has come around so soon this year

The darkness has fallen thick and fast

We leave home with it wrapped around us

And come back from work after dusk

Night time for more than 12 hours a day

It makes us want to go on holiday

But we can’t and have to wait

Till we get our Christmas break

This time of year makes many depressed

There is a certain condition that people can get

When they lack that vitamin D

Which gives their bones and skin so much energy

The dark comes first, then the cold

And finally the first snowfall

This is when I know winter has really arrived

Some love this time of year

For me it only brings a tinge of fear

Always cold, never warm

Wrapped up in my coat it seems all year long

Never wanting to part from my jacket

Despite the persistent cries

From everyone sitting next to me inside

The highlight of this season

Has to be without hestitation

One of the most celebrated festivals of them all

Friends and family you hold so dear

Come together and spread the cheer

On this day of celebration

Everyone is full of love and admiration

Halloween comes from the pagan festival Samhain, which the Celts celebrated on what was their New Year Eve, October 31st. Samhain marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter which brought the evil spirits. The Celts believed that on this night, the barrier between our world and the spirit world was at its weakest and the spirits would return to the earth. They built bonfires and in England carved out faces in the turnips to warn off the evil spirits. The festival was celebrated by lighting bonfires and sacrificing crops and animals. The bonfire was also believed to protect them during the winter months.

Samhaim was officially recognised as All Hallows Eve by Pope John 14th in 1006. November 1st was known as All Saints Day or All-Hollows and the following day, November 2nd was celebrated as All Souls Day to honour the dead. The three festivals together were called Hallowmans.

The Celts believed the spirits of the dead would possess people’s bodies. They dressed up in scary costumes to ward off evil spirits from taking their body. When the Irish moved to America in the 1840s they brought this custom with them. And now children dress up in all sorts of costumes, from cute little fairies to blood thirsty vampires and knock on neighbours doors going “trick or treating”.

Now, the history of trick or treating, actually comes from a mixture of different origins. One was the Celts, who believed the devil would play tricks on the living so they gave them food when they visited their homes. The ninth-century Europeans had a custom called souling. On All Saints Day, Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes” – pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes a beggar received, the more prayers they promised to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. People strongly believed at that time that the dead remained in limb and that prayers could send the soul’s passage to heaven. Lastly, the Irish peasant practice was to go door to door to get money, cheese, eggs, butter apples in preparation the festival St Columb Kill.

With commercialism, Halloween has thrived in the United States with thousands of children trick or treating, parading about in a variety of costumes. It is now the second most popular holiday after Christmas for decorating and sales of sweets.

Halloween is just under 3 weeks away and is on a Friday for the first time in years, what will you do?

Here are a list of some things happening in London and in your area.

London Halloween Parties

Events in England

More exciting Halloween events throughout the UK

What a difference these towns are
One is up north on the river humber
That never seems to wake up from its slumber
The other is down south near the river thames
A short train ride away
From the capital of the UK
It is not a fair comparison
As both places are very old
But one was a docking port
And the other famous for its salt

Epsom was always seen as quite posh
Had nice shops and restaurants with good nosh
Hull was a poor mans town
But it has certainly turned itself around
There is a lot to see and do there
Like the big aquarium on the river front
Or the princess quay shopping centre

You may be surprised find out
That Hull’s football team has a lot to shout about
Hull city is now in the premiership
And have been winning a lot this season
So now you don’t need a reason
To go up the M1 and take a trip
To the place where it is never dull
In Kingston Upon Hull

Rainny Venice

My sister and I flew into Venice on Thursday evening for a long weekend. When we arrived at the airport, we had to wait which seemed like ages for a bus to take us to the outskirts of Venice where we caught a boat to St Mark’s square. It was such a rainy and gloomy evening, but you can’t expect great weather in November. We stayed at a 3 star hotel called hotel Paganelli, five minute walk from the Palazzo Dulce and St Mark’s Square. It was a nice little place, only about 6 rooms. Breakfast was included in the price of the double room we had and was about £140 for 3 nights.

Friday we decided to walk around St Mark’s square and the little streets just behind it. However, as there had been so much rain in the weeks leading up to our trip, we found a lot of Venice was flooded. You can see in the photo, what normally is a busy St Mark’s square is submerged under half a foot of water. Parts of Venice were flooded just in the morning when the tide was high. But we still needed to buy ourselves a pair of rain boots or “wellies”!! A bargain for just 10 euros, considering how often I was going to use them. The rain didn’t stop us and we walked for what seemed like ages around Venice.

We went to the Rialto bridge where there are lots of market stands. Here, we purchased many Venice souvenirs and Christmas presents. We also went into the Palazzo Dulce, you should go in the morning to avoid the queue. There are lots of “free” things to do in Venice. St Mark’s Basilica is free to enter, but expect to queue here as well. The Santa Maria della Salute – the main part is free. I Carmini – the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo which has paining by Lorenzo Lotto and Cima da Conegliano is free.

The last day we were there, it was nice and sunny. We took the opportunity of this good weather and walked all the way along the waterfront to the park Parco delle Rimembranze. If it is sunny, you should take a gondola, it is about 80 euros for a 40 minute ride and some gondolas take up to 6 people. There are gondolas all lined up just outside St Mark’s square, it looks just like it does in the “movies”.

I would recommend going to Venice in the early autumn or early spring to avoid the huge crowds that descend on the city. November probably isn’t the best time to go, although if you are sticking to a student budget, it is the cheapest. Even the shops give you discount as it is very quiet, we managed to grab quite a few bargains when we were there.

When to go
With an almost perfect climate – the average temperature in summer is 75C-80C, in winter around 65C – San Diego is an all year round resort and an ideal retreat for winter sun. The added advantages of a winter break are cheaper fligths and fewer people. January and February can be wet, but early spring is good as the State Parks, a couple of hours out of the city, burst into colour as the desert blooms.

The top attraction has to be the world famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. Set in 100 subtropical acres, it’s home to one of the few baby pandas to be born recently in captivity. Admission, including a bus tour and the aerial tramway, is $34 for adults and $24. Standard admission is $24 for adults and $16.50 for children. For those also wishing to go to Sea World and the San Diego Wild Animal park, with more than 2,500 animals, a three for one pass can be purchased from £60 for adults and £50for children.

Balboa Park is made up of a magnificent collection of buildings, museums, gardens and a centre for the perfomaing arts. Downtown San Diego includes to Victorian-style Gaslam Quarter along with Horton Plaza and Seaport Viallage next to the marina all of which are stops on the Trolley Tour.

Harbor Cruses from Embarcadero offers excursions that allow vistors to see one of the world’s most sheltered harbours, as well as the famous Hotel del Coronada, where Marilyn Monroe cavored with Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot.

Food and drink
Seafood is a speciality of the area, notable in Anothony’s Fish Grotto, opposite the Holiday Inn, one of the most frequented fish eateries in town, with panoramic views over the harbour and reasonable prices. Main courses vary from $14 – $30. Reservations are necessary.

Fidel’s at Solana Beach offers Mexican cuisine in a friendly atmosphere. The Edgewater Grill at Seaport Village on the waterfront and serves everything from pasta to seafood. The margaritas are recommended.

Nightlife
The Gaslamp Quarter is the home of nightlife in the city. Croce’s Jazz Bar has the live jazz in the Victorian-style bar and Croce’s Top Hat Bar and Grill has live R’n'B nightly with an ambience reminiscent of the New Orleans French Quarter. The Bazaar del Mundo in Old Town has nightly perfomances of flamenco dancing.

Out of town
No Trip to San Diego would be compelte without a trip acrosss the boreder to Tijuana, in Mexico. The Trolley goes to the border and a bus takes you into Tijuana where you can sample bullfighting and jai alai, a tpye of pelota. But shopping is the main reason for a visit. Silver jewellery is a good buy, as well as crafts and duty-free alcohol.

So next time you are thinking of getting away, try a break to San Diego

Written by Jennifer Turnbull

A View of Brighton beach

It doesn’t take that long to get to Brighton, about an hour from Cheam, Surrey down the M23. However, there is a lot of traffic getting into Brighton town centre and parking is expensive so I would advise taking the train especially during the peak season, there are fast trains from London Victoria, takes just under an hour.

When we arrived, we took a walk along the beach . There was a great atmosphere, there are lots of bars and restaurants, a few clubs, and as it was such a nice day, everyone was outside. People were also playing beach volleyball and basketball on the courts.

We walked to Brighton Pier, which is home to arcade games, rides and attractions and a restaurant where you can have the famous “fish and chips”, although we ate at Harry Ramsden.

We went to the Lanes, famous for its intricate maze of alleyways with antique and jewellery shops. The Lanes was the heart of the old fishing village Brighton. There are lots of buskers down the lanes and we saw two very good young musicians entertaining the crowd.

Then we visited the Royal Pavilion, which was the palace of Prince Regent (George IV), remodelled by John Nash between 1815 and 1822. The residents of Brighton and Hove have reduced entry during the winter months, but last weekend, it was £8.50 for an adult.

If you are in Brighton over the summer, there are a lot of free events to attend. This year there was the Summer Festival Week 26th July – 3rd August 2008 and the Carnival Parade and Park Event Saturday 2nd August 2008. There were french markets to visit, Pier to Pier Swim – a swimming race, a BHF Sponsored Sea Swim. This autumn, there are a lot of fun raising walks and runs. This Sunday, there is the Brighton Triathlon in Madeira Drive and in October is a 10Km Cancer run.

There is something for everyone in Brighton. So don’t hang about, get on a train to Brighton today!

Time Square

There are lots of places to stay, hostels and hotels. I highly recommend staying somewhere midtown as you are right in the middle of the main attractions. Bring some walking shoes as well, you will need them. The first time I went to New York, I stayed at Chelsea International Hostel, just north of Greenwich Village and south of Midtown. It was cheap and in a good location, but quite overcrowded and the rooms were very basic. The second time I went to New York, I stayed in the Hotel Wellington, which is a few blocks south of Central Park. It is between West 55thand West 56th Street.

I was overwhelmed the first time I went to New York, there was so much to see and do. I would recommend just walking around Manhattan to get yourself orientated. Walk to Central Park, there is an ice skating rink in the winter which is open to the public for $14 (to hire skates) or a roller skating area in the summer. If you like horses, you can take a tour of the park in a traditional horse and carriage. The best time to go to NYC is in the spring or the autumn where the temperature is pleasant as winters can be very cold, and summers very hot and humid. However, January is cheaper, as it is just after the Christmas rush.

With the credit crunch sinking in, you may think that you can’t afford New York. But there is a lot to do in New York that is free. Wear comfortable shoes and walk to
See the Chrysler Building (405 Lexington Avenue), Empire State Building (350 Fifth avenue – it will cost to go up the Empire State), Grand Central Terminal (42nd Street and Park Avenue), Rockefeller Centre and Flatiron Building, (175th Fifth Avenue). Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for view of Manhattan skyline and take your own panoramic photos of NYC. The Staten Island Ferry which goes between Manhattan and Staten Island is free and gives you great views of lower Manhattan, harbour and the Statue of Liberty.

Throughout the year there are free indoor and outdoor events downtown, south of Chambers Street, such as South Street Seaport which has outdoor concerts and performances. South Street Seaport is an historic district with a museum as well as shops, cafes and restaurants.

If you love shopping, New York is the place for you. 5th Avenue is the famous street that everyone flocks to when they first arrive and where you can find Tiffany’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, FAO Schwarz, Louis Vuitton and the famous Trump Tower. If you are feeling flush, treat yourself to a stay at the Plaza Hotel, on the corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street.

For better shopping bargains head down to Avenue of the Americas where you will find TJ Max and Filene’s Basement, (both located 620 6th Avenue between 18th and 19th street). Alternatively, go to the Morningside Park Famer’s Market which is open on Saturdays from 8:00 am from early July to late November. Here you will find local meat products, organic locally processed nuts and nut butters and local farm produce. China town always has bargains, and Greenwich Village has a lot of quirky shops.

There is a lot to see and do here, so I would recommend going for at least 5 days. You can always find a deal online, lastminute.com, ebookers, STATravel to name a few booking destinations.