Well, the Corbins were on Thursday night. I didn't win the award, but it was darned good fun all the same. In spite of having to get ready in very little time due to an inconvenient lecture (honestly, these lectures are always getting in the way of uni life) I managed to make myself look presentable and arrived in time.

The team organising the event had obviously put a lot of effort into it- there was even a red carpet, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a red duvet-cover (the poppers were showing). there was a photographer at the entrance and buck's fizz on the door. We also got a preview of a pretty good band, Radio Luxembourg, who're playing at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre sometime soon. After the awards ceremony, which was pretty swift, there was a party with plenty of nineties musical cheese. The only downside was the lack of Courier writers present- but this was compensated for by the extreme enthusiasm of the university radio (Bay Radio ) DJs and producers.

After much dancing and my friends and I embarrassingly getting through four bowls of crisps and one of peanuts, we called it a night and went for chips in all our finery. On our way to the chip shop, I was stopped by a young, rather enebriated Scottish feller, who first asked me where I got my shoes; he then declared that they were the best shoes in the world, got down on one knee- which was pretty impressive considering the state he was in- and proposed to me. I'm SO wearing those shoes again.

All in all it was just one of those thoroughly fun, slightly surreal evenings that I'll remember for many years to come. Super high five to those who organised it.

Hey, sorry for the blog double-whammy. Just to draw your attention to a Click-to-Give site, The Hunger Site. The idea is that you click once a day and the sponsors donate a certain amount of food to the hungry for every person who clicks. It's a good idea and from what I can see it's genuine, though if anyone knows better, let me know.

Here's the link:

http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1

My ego has received a fair stroking this week. Two good things have happened to me: I got a first on an essay, meaning I'll panic less about my exam for that module and I'm told I've been nominated for the Corbins "Best Arts Writer" award. The Corbins are the Aberystwyth annual student media awards, started, I presume, by someone named Corbin, and I've been nominated for my theatre reviews in the student magazine. I'm not expecting to win it, but the nomination makes me happy.

So, this means I've got an awards ceremony to go to. It's a formal evening, which means a dress. There is one problem with this: I never wear dresses. I buy dresses- my wardrobe in Watford is full of lovely dresses, but I've never worn any of them more than once. They usually get lent to my younger sister, who looks so irritatingly good in them that I know I'd only depress myself by wearing them after her. Now, because I never wear dresses and rarely attend these formal whatsits, opting for a meal and a drink in the pub to celebrate anything, I left all my lovely, neglected dresses at home.

Dress shopping was called for. I grabbed two fashion conscious friends and drove them up the wall while I discarded dress after dress- most being too tight or baggy in the wrong places. Then one of my friends spotted a cute little polka dot dress. Not too short, some elastic on the back and nipping in at the waist. BUT strapless- something I have a huge phobia of.

I learnt the art of making the best of things as a result of this: I bought the dress, and was delighted with the price tag, £28. We then went and got me a cheap silky scarf which I hacked to pieces and made straps out of. I've never been much good at sewing (my textiles teacher dreaded lessons with me as I always managed to break any sewing machine I went near), but I could just about manage to get both straps in the right places and the right length.

Today I cancelled out the savings I made on the dress by buying some pretty shoes. After all this shopping and handy craft, I feel like a right girl.

I'm WELL put out, I have to say. You see, I've been taking a module in Drama, Theatre Skills in the Community, which I initially took to give me the right number of credits and at first I hated it, I really did. All we seemed to be doing was playing theatre games and listening to anecdotes about random community performances. Then a few weeks ago I was shocked to discover I was actually starting to enjoy it! I started to see how the games could be of use in developing acting skills, and the anecdotes and talks from various theatre workers began to make sense in terms of how one might go about putting one's own community performance together. I especially liked hearing from the fabulous and zany Joe Ford, a young practitioner who works with delinquent youths whom he educates and rehabilitates through the medium of drama- awesome stuff.

So, I'd just started to like this module. I'd even decided what I was going to present for my hypothetical event (which we are to be examined on)- I hadn't worked out any of the details, but I had an idea. And what an idea! It would have been wonderful, I'm telling you. Glorious! I would actually have been able to talk about it for the full twenty minutes of my exam. Alas, it was not to be. My plan was to adapt the Malcolm Pryce novel "Aberystwyth, Mon Amour", a crime spoof set in Aberystwyth, and present mini site specific performances. I suppose I was lucky then, that someone has already had this fantastically original idea and that they fell down on the issue of rights, which aren't available because some film comapany has them and is doing nothing with them. Grr. Well, now I know. I can't believe, however, that having never met anyone else who has actually read this book, the matter of rights for it came up in my lecture. Sigh. That'll teach me to do my research. Fortunately I have a back up idea, but it's not as good.

On the topic of Drama, I am loving Doctor Who at the moment (yes, bad link, sorry). Catherine Tate is just brilliant as Donna- proper old-school companion, though I think she needs to start wandering off by herself a bit more. I was also glad to see the Doctor get away from Earth! More episodes like the last please!!

I was at the cinema in Garston earlier and an Edward Monkton advert for the Harlequin was shown- the one where the frock tells the lady that it will make her a "beautiful and whole and complete human being" if she buys it. "They're not being subtle," my friend commented, laughing. But then, nothing ever is these days. More and more advertising companies, realising that these days people are tuned in to a lot of the psychological tricks they could play on us, instead use irony and the obvious, tongue-in-cheek. Are they trying to say, "Hey consumer, I respect that you're intelligent and worldly and I can't fool you, but please buy this stuff"? The idea of trying to send subliminial messages in advertising is becoming a joke to be exploited, which maybe isn't such a bad thing, but maybe just leads to something even more subtle.

I have to say, there wasn't a great choice of films, especially as the movie of the moment, The Orphanage, is not being shown in Watford's Vue cinema. This happened last time there was a really worthwhile film on, Little Miss Sunshine- Watford didn't get it. The Orphanage is apparently not being shown in Vue cinemas, for reasons beyond my ken, probably to do with it being a foreign film, whereas Little Miss Sunshine- well, there wasn't really a reason. We want good movies!!

There were a few appealing options and we settled on Step Up 2 The Streets, about a street dancing girl who goes to a performing arts school and causes a stir with her alternative style. It was a bit of Fame, a bit of Billy Elliot, a bit of Save the Last Dance, life affirming, visually impressive etc. Very entertaining but hardly original. There was a trailer for a new rom com, where two strangers get married by accident in Vegas, then end up with each trying to get the other to end the "marriage" as there's £3000,000 at stake. I wasn't really inspired to see it. Not because it doesn't look good (though again, a bit of a patchwork of several other movies), but because the trailer told me pretty much what happens from start to finish. At least leave something to surprise the audience.


On a more serious note, I've been meaning to write something about this Embryo Bill business. I was pleased to see the PM's decided to allow MPs to vote with their consciences. I find the idea of whipping slightly odd in a democratic society. The interests of the constituents should come before those of the party. The only reason any MP is in a job is because they were put there by their constituents.

To be honest, this bill worries me. Religious beliefs aside, there is something exceedingly disturbing about the idea of interfering with life at its most vulnerable stage: creating one human being for the sole purpose of treating another, not for the sake of creating a new life in its own right; creating animal/human "hybrids"- that part is just weird (seriously, why??).

The part which will prevent fertility clinics turning away lesbians and single women makes more sense: I'm not a fan of IVF, but as long as there's fertility treatment available, it is absurd to insist that it can only be used to help create nuclear families. The "need for a father" is rubbish- the presence of a father does not ensure security for a child. There are plenty of women, straight and gay, who raise children without a father present. "Supportive parenting", as it is phrased in this bill, is much more sensible.

However, what I've seen of this bill just makes me feel deeply uneasy and I think it at least requires a lot more thought.

As you'll probably have heard by now, there is a campaign running in Watford to prevent the deportation of twins Zoe and Moses and their mother back to Zimbabwe. The twins attend the Watford Grammar schools and have lived in the UK since they were primary school age. If they are sent back to Zimbabwe- well, you've seen the news stories. They are also at risk from their father who has a history of abusive behaviour. If these kids are deported, their chance of a decent future will be ruined. They and their mother are well established here and are valuable members of society- the children do a lot of community work and their mother has trained to be a nurse. Why send them back and destroy their lives? If you agree, please sign this petition:

http://www.zomo.org.uk/index.php?option=com_beamospetition&pet=1&Itemid=41

If you want to find out more before you sign, I believe you can read about it in the good ol' Watford Observer, or have a look at Zomo.org.uk. I realise that there are many people in awful circumstances and we can't save everyone, but we can help these three people.