Stag do:- Definition... to live like men!

In a few weeks time, my brother will be getting married – How fantastic is that? Jon and Nay have been together for almost four years now and I couldn’t be happier that they are tying the knot! It was necessary then to send her away on Friday as it was time for the once in a life time event. The Stag Do!

Now, Stags have been around since the beginning of time, indeed evidence shows that even Adam had a night of banter before tying the knot with Eve, and whilst each Stag do is different, there is one crucial concept that will be ever present. A night of being men. Some would be shocked due to the lack of a stripper at my brother’s stag – People forget that apart from other reasons, seeing a woman take her clothes off in a confined space whilst sitting with my brother would be the definition of a sea of awkward turtles! – we did manage to meet this objective. Some things that happen on a stag, stay at the stag, but there is one part of the weekend that I have to share with you.

We’ve all heard of paintballing, and many of us will have played it as well. Yes it is fun, but there is just one issue: Once you’re hit, you’re out. Frustrating, no? Take away this ridiculous rule, add a couple of marines, replica G36cs, unlimited ammo and a Napoleonic Fort, and we are getting somewhere. I am of course, talking about airsofting, and Saturday was my first venture into the explosively addictive and incredibly fun sport with the hosts of Southwest Wargames. As it says on the website, airsofting is’ Call of Duty for real!’, and all of us that attended were more than impressed. From breaching and clearing to assaulting and defending a fort, the marines had a fantastic event planned for us... we even got to experience being part of a firing squad! I would definitely recommend these guys for any event; my only concern is that the nearest HQ is in Plymouth! I’m sure that won’t stop me though!

Jon is now a man, and what a fantastic weekend we all had. To Jon and Nay! 

Royal Holloway Summer Ball 2011

Yesterday night was one of the most energetic nights that I have ever experienced on campus at Royal Holloway – the ever famous Summer Ball. Hosted in a castle, packed with over two thousand students with various areas of entertainment throughout, it promised and delivered much! I have to say that I was apprehensive before going. £75 was a lot of money to be spent on one night’s entertainment, yet I was not disappointed with the outcome of the night. I spent the night enjoying the company of my friends, viewing the beauty of our campus from the heights of the Ferris wheel (a truly remarkable sight!), listening to a selection of live music and being bashed in on the bumper cars as our own car failed to move in any other direction that a continuous circle. Also, it is important to add that an opportunity to suit up should never be missed!

The aspect of the night that surprised me the most though was the concept of a silent disco. I have heard of silent discos on many occasions, yet the idea befuddled me. I didn’t know how you could enjoy listening to music through headphones with other people doing the same thing for a long period of time. Surely you can do this in your room without having to go through the trouble of hiring out special headphones? It turns out that it was a lot of fun. The headsets provided two channels of music; Channel One, which had some classics such as S-Club, and Channel Two, which had more contemporary house music. The tent that held this strange form of entertainment was packed and this was probably the main reason why I enjoyed it so much. Everybody was buzzing and singing along to the music, something that would normally happen in a club, yet the nature of headphones and your own space allowed for a more personal experience with the music. As I’ve said before, music is something that fits in any scenario, and it was no different last night. Silent disco is strange, yet thoroughly enjoyable... If not only for the out of tune singing that could be heard all too clearly.

Royal Holloway’s Summer Ball 2011. Amazing. Hopefully there will be a better line up next year as I’m not such a fan of Chipmunk, yet I’m sure it will be as good an experience as this year has been.