Corrie's blog

This weekend was full of music, again. This is largely due to the fact that it is coming up to the end of term; Christmas concerts in great numbers after we’ve all spent this term working our butts off to be ready in time. This Tuesday (tomorrow, in fact) is the Sinfonietta Winter Concert, where we are playing Liszt “Heroide Funebre”, Humpeldinck “Hansel and Gretel Overture” and Mussorgsky “Pictures at an Exhibition”. If you are reading this and you aren’t in the orchestra, and you are in London, come see it - that’s an order!

On Friday was the choir concert. At the last minute, Tom was asked to play in the orchestra and I was stewarding. This meant I spent the night behind the ticket desk looking after money and selling programmes. I did this with a guy called Al, who told me what is possibly the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard about Imperial.

We aren’t connected to the National Grid for electricity - underneath the EEE building, two massive generators work day and night to provide all of our electricity. The water pipes go around these generators to give heated water; we share with the Science Museum too. If you ever walk through the ‘service’ area of college beneath the walkway, this is why it’s always so hot down there. Interesting? This fact made my week - thanks, Al!

After the concert, John S (of Christmas lunch fame), Tom and I made our way down to a pizza and pasta place in South Ken to join the Imperial College String Ensemble (ICSE) for dinner. There was a candle on the table, which provided much amusement, and on the bus home we sent Toby (who has a very destroyed knee) upstairs first with his cello on his back. He then had to reverse when he realised it was full up there - very amusing, as he can barely walk. We aren’t cruel. Joh was also a bit forward, and leapt onto two women when the bus started moving. He’ll try tell us all that it was because he wasn’t holding on - we know the truth, John.

On Saturday Tom had a lab report to write and I went to visit Kathy and Lucia to have a brief Christmas get-together as Lucia is leaving on Wednesday and missing our Materials dinner. They gave me the best presents ever - a “Sneezy” tree ornament and New Moon poster from Lucia, and an Allergy-Free Cookbook! Both made me very happy - thanks guys! I was supposed to take ingredients for food, but I didn’t realise, so I didn’t. We ended up buying takeaway, and I smashed Kathy at ping-pong (almost literally; apparently, I can’t aim for the table!)

I then had to toddle back to College with Tom to help steward for the ICSE concert. They played really well - better than I remember hearing them play before (in a good way!) I can’t really remember the pieces names, hopefully someone will comment and tell me. Hannah (my housemate), Tom and I had a good time selling tickets, then wine and juice. After the concert, we helped finish off the open wine bottles (John S bought four glasses, the wino!) and then headed off to Nando’s for a social.

Tom, John and I shared a platter of chicken wings that came with chips and peas. I had had such a large meal with Lucia and Kathy that the only thing I ended up eating was a strip out of the bowl of peas to make a stop-sign. Also, Pepsi is refillable at Nandos - we all had so much sugar that by the time we were kicked out at midnight, we were all really high-spirited. The photos from this make me laugh out loud (quite embarassing, as I’m in the library). A selection of the best is shown! 

On the way back to John’s house, everyone got rather silly, and the men got involved in…well, the videos say it all (you might want to turn your sound down).

I missed the piggy-back when John was on Ken’s back, and Will jumped on. I don’t think Ken’s knees will ever be the same!

When we got back to John’s the night calmed down drastically and ended with a run-through of tour photos that John had stored on his harddrives. I got to bed at 3 am, quite a late night for me!

Sunday wrapped up with more music - Sinfonietta had a rehearsal for the concert on Tuesday, and we headed back to John’s to watch Merlin and eat a mountain of pasta.