"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People insist on giving me books."
J. K. Rowling
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
A Visit from St. Nicholas
A Visit from St. Nicholas
A Visit from St. Nicholas
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blixen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Inc., 1983)
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blixen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Inc., 1983)
Monday, 16 December 2013
Literary Gift Company
For those of you who are still Christmas Shopping, and for you all to keep in mind for birthdays etc, there is a really lovely website that supplies a hand-picked selection of beautiful and practical gifts for book lovers, including clothing, jewellery, perfume, reading tools, games, and much much more.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Literature Christmas Gift Ideas
Christmas is fast approaching everyone and it can be
difficult to decide what gift to give to your friend or loved one. Most people
enjoy reading over the Christmas period so a book is always a fantastic choice
for a Christmas present. Even for those who aren't big readers, these two books
I have chosen are an easy, delightful read and a fantastic way to get lost in
your imagination over Christmas.
If Nobody Speaks
of Remarkable Things, Jon McGergor - Price:
Approx. £7.99
“You must always look
with both of your eyes and listen with both of your ears. He says this is a
very big world and there are many many things you could miss if you are not
careful. There are remarkable things all the time, right in front of us, but
our eyes have like the clouds over the sun and our lives are paler and poorer
if we do not see them for what they are. If nobody speaks of remarkable things,
how can they be called remarkable?”
Jon McGregor develops his plot through the voice of a
female who lets us take a peek into the lives of the people who live on her
street, on the last day of summer. A subplot slowly reveals the female narrator
as she remembers the tragedy, that was the last day of summer. The reader gets
to learn and fall in love with the individuals and the families that take
residence in the street, snipets into the lives behind closed doors, that one
would not usually experience. You cannot read this book without finishing it as
the revelation at the end leaves you literally open-mouth dumbfounded, shocked.
Jon McGregor's style of writing makes this novel poetic in its reading and
appreciative of the remarkable things in life, that no one speaks of. I don't
know anyone who has read this book and walked away on completing it,
considering a little bit more of the world around them. It is a beautiful book
that suits all audiences and would make a great Christmas read.
As an author he has published many other books,
which are also worth checking out as they are just as brilliant!
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Student Services: Library Catalogue
The library catalogue can be confusing for both the first years and the
third years, but here is a very basic easy guide on how to use the online
library catalogue the University of Cumbria provides.
The library catalogue can be accessed easily from the ‘current students’
section on the University of Cumbria website here: www.cumbria.ac.uk/InformationFor/CurrentStudents/Home.aspx
From here
you should be greeted with the library catalogue homepage:
The search
bar will allow you to search for any book you are looking in the topic or
subject you are looking to research. If you do not know specifically the exact
book you are looking for it is advisable to search keywords or phrases.
I have used;
for example, ‘William Wordsworth’ for my search and I am presented with a list
of results.
From here, select
books that you feel are relevant to your search and list the lending collection
number which will usually appear as a series of numbers and letters e.g. 821.7/Wor
There are occasions
when the book you require may not be available at Lancaster campus, but accessible
from other University of Cumbria campuses such as Carlisle for example. There
is a reservation process and the selected book will become available at
Lancaster campus. This is as simple as clicking ‘reserve’ on the webpage.
From here
the library staff will notify you when the book becomes available at Lancaster
campus, where you can get it from a section in the library designated for
reserved books. This is easy to find as it is in the main entrance of the
library, but if you are unsure there is always a member of staff available to
help you, don’t be afraid to ask!
If you do
not have direct access to the library at the time you are checking for the
books you need, you can easily login to your account and create a list of the
book you wish to get, and save it for later. This means when you login you your
library account the list of books will be already therefore you, making the
process faster when finding the books.
This step to
step post has been designed to make your library browsing easier, and remember, the library books are split
into different sections also so finding the books becomes easier again. If you
need help, always ask a member of staff as they are there to help you.
UCSU: Blackpool Rocks Festival
The University of Cumbria is sponsoring Blackpool Rocks – the biggest indoor winter music festival in the North West. The festival takes place at Blackpool Winter Gardens on Saturday 21 December with The 1975, Disclosure and Wretch 32 headlining.
As part of our sponsorship, students are being offered a fantastic
travel and ticket deal for £36. This includes return travel through Stacey’s
Coaches with pick-up and drop-off points
in Carlisle, Ambleside and Lancaster.
Ticket bookings can be made by ringing Stacey’s Coaches on 01228 511127.
If you want to buy a ticket without travel, Blackpool Rocks is offering
a no booking fee discount to students which costs £26.50 and can be
bought here.
For more details about the festival and the full line-up, click here.
This is a fantastic way to start the Christmas break and with a
fantastic line-up at such an inexpensive cost who could resist!!
Monday, 9 December 2013
Dissertation Advice!
Doing a dissertation can be a very scary prospect, the process is long and working independently is often just an easy way for you to become a master of procrastination!
So, to give the students who are doing their dissertations - and those who will be in future - a little boost, here are some key points for writing dissertations, followed by the websites they are from and some other useful sites for you to use.
1. There will be one day, probably a couple of months before deadline, when you will freak out, doubt your entire thesis and decide to start again from scratch. You might even come up with a new question and start working on it, depending on how long the breakdown lasts. You will at some point run out of steam and collapse in an exhausted, tear-stained heap. But unless there are serious flaws in your work (unlikely) and your supervisor recommends starting again (highly unlikely), don't do it. It's just panic, it'll pass.
2. If your dissertation supervisor isn't right, change. If you don't feel like they're giving you the right advice, request to swap to someone else – providing it's early on and your reason is valid, your department shouldn't have a problem with it.
3. Think of a dissertation like a series of linked essays; each chapter is self-contained and has its own purpose, but they all connect together to contribute to the argument of your dissertation.
4. You don't have to start with the introduction – start at the chapter that seems the easiest to write – this could be the literature review or methodology, for example. Alternatively you may prefer to write the introduction first, so you can get your ideas straight. Decide what will suit your ways of working best - then do it.
5. If you're feeling overwhelmed, try identifying the one thing that you need to do next; often this will logically lead to further steps, and you'll be able to get started again.
6. Start with what you already know. When writing, pretend to tell someone the story. Then write the story. You may actually find it useful to record your own voice as you tell yourself the story so you can play it back as you write.
7. Keep full records of all your reading. Referencing tends to be marked very strictly in dissertations, and you can save yourself a lot of time and effort if you assemble the reference list / bibliography as you read, rather than leaving it until the very end of the process. (You can easily delete any sources that you do not ultimately use.
8. Plan for plenty of time to edit and proofread your drafts, and remember to allow time for binding.
So, to give the students who are doing their dissertations - and those who will be in future - a little boost, here are some key points for writing dissertations, followed by the websites they are from and some other useful sites for you to use.
1. There will be one day, probably a couple of months before deadline, when you will freak out, doubt your entire thesis and decide to start again from scratch. You might even come up with a new question and start working on it, depending on how long the breakdown lasts. You will at some point run out of steam and collapse in an exhausted, tear-stained heap. But unless there are serious flaws in your work (unlikely) and your supervisor recommends starting again (highly unlikely), don't do it. It's just panic, it'll pass.
2. If your dissertation supervisor isn't right, change. If you don't feel like they're giving you the right advice, request to swap to someone else – providing it's early on and your reason is valid, your department shouldn't have a problem with it.
3. Think of a dissertation like a series of linked essays; each chapter is self-contained and has its own purpose, but they all connect together to contribute to the argument of your dissertation.
4. You don't have to start with the introduction – start at the chapter that seems the easiest to write – this could be the literature review or methodology, for example. Alternatively you may prefer to write the introduction first, so you can get your ideas straight. Decide what will suit your ways of working best - then do it.
5. If you're feeling overwhelmed, try identifying the one thing that you need to do next; often this will logically lead to further steps, and you'll be able to get started again.
6. Start with what you already know. When writing, pretend to tell someone the story. Then write the story. You may actually find it useful to record your own voice as you tell yourself the story so you can play it back as you write.
7. Keep full records of all your reading. Referencing tends to be marked very strictly in dissertations, and you can save yourself a lot of time and effort if you assemble the reference list / bibliography as you read, rather than leaving it until the very end of the process. (You can easily delete any sources that you do not ultimately use.
8. Plan for plenty of time to edit and proofread your drafts, and remember to allow time for binding.
As well as the above websites our University website has some really useful advice on http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/StudentLife/Learning/SkillsCumbria/AcademicWriting/Dissertationstructure.aspx.
Friday, 6 December 2013
Creative Writing: 'Parade' by Alexandra McCauley
Alexandra is a third year studying joint honours in English and Creative Writing at the University of Cumbria.
The following poem was awarded joint first in the University of Cumbria Andrea Pendlebury poetry prize.
Parade
We hear the ‘duddlum,
duddlum’
of the lambeg drum
their arms swinging
possessively
all the youngsters
love to copy
all ages are marching
in the band
keeping flags in their
hands
and the stalls full of
tack,
shiny plastic toys
covered with the union jack
the roads are cordoned
off by police
as the crowds flood
the street
here they come, right
incline
marching without a
foot out of line
drunken protestants
fight and curse
here for the parade,
but no faith to the church
they yip and yo as
King Billy arrives on the horse
every year the
tradition is enforced
now comes the bowler
hats and oranges sashes
loyalist men in black
with handlebar tashes
the people line the
route that the bands take
Granda taps his foot
and to the sound the flutes make
a security
announcement is made to the crowd,
there has been a bomb
scare, everyone must leave now.
By Alexandra McCauley
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Student Services: Quest and JSTOR
When it comes to writing assignments, secondary resources are essential to write at university level and also to obtain the grade that you want. The library has a fantastic selection of books that are selected specifically to each individual module that you are taught, but as there are many students in each of the years, it can be competitive to get the selected books you need from the Library. Also, you should expand your secondary resources further than books in the library. Journals, eBooks and data that is provided online through systems like Quest and JSTOR.
Quest
Quest
Quest is a service that is brought to the students by the University of Cumbria Library. It is a fast search service that can quickly allow you to search and access all the journals, library catalogue and journals that the university has to offer.
The search process is easy. You simply search any key words or phrases you consider useful to a secondary resource you may need and you will be provided with results. From these you can save your results so it will allow you to refer back to them so no data is lost. This is service provides a wide range of secondary resources and will require you to check and read thoroughly through the information you access to ensure it is relevant to what you are writing your assignment on.
Quest can be accessed here: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/search/basic?sid=39fb1745-2b7b-4dd0-ac39-9a861ede3899%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=101
JSTOR
JSTOR is an external system that is similar to Quest but it has access to a much wider range of information and resources. It was designed in 1995 especially for colleges and universities to ensure the widest possible access to resources for students. It works very similarly to Quest just as before, be sure to thoroughly research through any resources you select as they may not be relevant to what you are studying.
JSTOR can be accessed here: http://www.jstor.org/action/showBasicSearch
Both services will require you to use your University of Cumbria login details to allow you to gain access to the information they provide. If you are unsure of your password and login detail you can contact the IT services that the University of Cumbria provide by emailing: itservicedesk@cumbria.ac.uk
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Prize Giving Event for the Andrea Pendlebury poetry prize and the Helen Clark prose prize
The event will be held on Wednesday 4th December, in the View, between 6-9pm.
The poetry winners: Alex McCauley, Helen Pye and the prose winner Hannah Tosh will be presented with their prizes and will read from their work.
After this there will be an open mic session where people are invited to step up and read their own work. There will be some nibbles and a glass of wine or soft drink provided.
All English and Creative Writing students and staff are welcome, and would be lovely if we could all go and support our fellow students.
The poetry winners: Alex McCauley, Helen Pye and the prose winner Hannah Tosh will be presented with their prizes and will read from their work.
After this there will be an open mic session where people are invited to step up and read their own work. There will be some nibbles and a glass of wine or soft drink provided.
All English and Creative Writing students and staff are welcome, and would be lovely if we could all go and support our fellow students.
Twelfth Night - The Dukes
Filter Theatre in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company present 'Twelfth Night' at the Dukes, Lancaster.
'Filter Theatre return to The Dukes with their explosive take on Shakespeare’s lyrical Twelfth Night. This show played to sell out audiences last time it came to Lancaster, so book early to avoid missing out. Olivia’s melancholic, puritanical household clashes head on with Sir Toby’s insatiable appetite for drunken debauchery. Orsino’s relentless pursuit of Olivia and Malvolio’s extraordinary transformation typify the madness of love in Illyria: land of make-believe and illusion. This story of romance, satire and mistaken identity is crafted into one of the most exciting and accessible Shakespeare productions of recent years. Experience the madness of love in this heady world where riotous gig meets Shakespeare.'
The performances are schedules to start on Tuesday the 11th February 2014 to Saturday the 15th February 2014. The performance times are as follows:
Tuesday 11th Feb - 19:30
Wednesday 12th Feb - 14:00
Wednesday 12th Feb - 19:30
Thursday 13th Feb - 19:30
Friday 14th Feb - 19:30
Saturday 15th Feb - 14:00
Saturday 15th Feb - 19:30
Ticket prices range from £12.50 - £18.50 (concessions a further £2 off)
All tickets for the Matinees are £8.
If you book before the 10th January, you will recieve a £2 discount on each ticket.
Go to http://www.dukes-lancaster.org/book-tickets to book your tickets!
University of Cumbria Drama Production - Romeo & Juliet
The final year degree students studying Drama, will produce and perform 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster.
'Jealousy, betrayal, two families at war… Can true love conquer all?
Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most performed plays, is the archetypal tale of two star-crossed lovers, whose young-love and tragic deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.
Join us as we recreate the greatest love story of them all.'
Performance dates start on the 22nd January, and end on the 25th January. The performances start at 7.30pm.
Ticket prices for Friday and Saturday are £10 (£8 conc), and for Wednesday and Thursday are £8 (£6 conc).
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