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A 'Fresher Perspective' blog: making the most of the summer break

Introduction

Sophie will be giving a frank portrayal of university life and the role alcohol plays in it. In her latest update she marvels at the British abroad and has a great time at Latitude festival.

Ok… so I’ve not written an entry for a while, not out of neglect but due to my two completely parallel…but both amazing holidays.

First of all I spent a week in Menorca, as I predicted I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol. It was a family holiday and being surrounded by my younger cousins, I felt no particular need to drink. My parents however, spent a lot of time in the British bar in town. I find it quite amusing that people feel the need to go to British bars abroad. It was in fact the busiest place in Son Bou.

So in terms of alcohol, I have very little to report about Menorca, other than my shot of Menorcan gin on my lemon sorbet desert.

The day I arrived back in England, I packed my bags and jumped in the car to Latitude festival, I definitely made up for the tee total beach holiday once I got there.

It wasn’t just the crowds who were drunk… the artists too. The female lead from Crystal Castles appeared on stage, whiskey in hand whilst crowd surfing and eventually punching a fan.

I on the other hand was not involved in any violence, but instead spontaneously got married. Luckily the priest was a fairy and no papers were signed, although we did say our vows in front of pixies and other woodland creatures. We didn’t have time to get a quick divorce but I’m pretty convinced there was no binding verbal contract.

I think the day after the wedding was one of the worst hangovers I have ever had. My blow up bed wasn’t helping me, causing a severe seasickness.

Although I had a fantastic weekend, the frightening fact that two sexual assaults were committed at the festival whilst I was there kept me alert and stopped me from wandering off alone. Sometimes I forget I’m very vulnerable (especially when drunk) and I’m very lucky I have brilliant people around me who all look after each other.

But overall, I crammed so many amazing memories in over the last two weeks, saw almost all of my favourite bands and now I’m experiencing the post holiday blues, luckily I’m off again one last time before it’s back to working hard!