What's a Bank Holiday?

A few of you have been asking about the Bank Holidays we have here in the UK since we had one yesterday! I have just done some research online and discovered one interpretation of the origin of the term "bank holiday" as a:

"Term Roosevelt used shortly after taking office to describe his plan to prevent any more panic runs on the nation's banks. He ordered all the nation's banks closed for a "bank holiday." "

It refers to the holidays throughout the year where a particular event or person is celebrated. They are public holidays, always on a Monday, where many shops and businesses are closed for the day, or earlier than usual. Wikipedia online has a good definition of a bank holiday, and also lists all the ones we celebrate here in England:

Wikipedia - Bank holiday

The next one to arrive will be on Christmas day!

Tonight's the Night for Dancing

Tuesday again!! We'll be heading to the club around 10-10.30pm tonight, Timepiece nightclub in the city centre, behind Boots! Come along for cheap sangria, good music and some funky dancing!!

Rubber Duck Race on Monday!!

This Monday there is a rubber duck race in the River! It starts at the pub Mill on the Exe, which is in St Davids, and finishes on the Quayside! The race begins at 11am, so get there nice and early! There will also be a BBQ and some entertainment, with all money going to the local Cystic Fibrosis Charity, so for a very good cause also. Apparently, the history of this race stems from an event in 1992, where a ship transporting rubber ducks lost 3 of its huge containers, which forced around 29,000 rubber ducks to be washed into the Pacific Ocean! They all ended up in various places, from Indonesia to South America, Alaska and Russia! Come with a camera!

A Note About Sport Sunday!

Unfortunately, this Sunday there will be no basketball or badminton available in the sports hall, the court has already been booked out! But there will be the usual table tennis and outdoor football!

Weekend of Goodbyes..

So tomorrow sees another weekend of departing students, and the last one before the massive departure in mid-September...we hope you all had a great few weeks/year with INTO, Exeter and the U.K! Some of you are returning soon, and others are not, so to those going on to different paths GOOD LUCK! Whenever you mention your experiences here we hope it's with a smile!

Thursday Dancing!

Hey everyone! So tomorrow (Thursday) we have organised a night out in the nightclub Timepiece! The music will be R'n'B and hiphop, so great to dance to!! Meeting outside the shop Boots on the High Street at 9pm, remember to bring your student card, free Timepiece discount card (I will bring extra ones so you can collect one from me tomorrow) and identification!! The discount card will allow you in for free!!

Tuesday Drinking and Dancing!

It's Tuesday again!! If you fancy coming out for a drink and dance, we'll be in the Firehouse pub at 9pm, then move to the nightclub Timepiece around 10-10.30pm! Remember to bring identification with you!

END OF TERM PARTY!!!

To celebrate the end of all classes we have organised an end of term party!! It will take place on the 9th of September, in the Squash Club on the campus, which is on Prince of Wales Road, near St Germans accommodation and the cricket ground...it starts at 8.30pm and is free for all INTO students! There will be a bar, music from teacher DJ Giff, and a bouncy castle! All you have to do is come wearing anything that is black or white!!! We look forward to seeing you all then!

Wednesday Picnic and Games at Duryard!

This weeks picnic and games at Duyard will take place on Wednesday, 2-4pm! Like last week there will be free food and drinks, and some games to play, and it's open to all INTO students! Hopefully the weather will be nicer this week, so we can enjoy sitting out on the grass and relaxing! See you then!

Sports Sunday!

I hope you all enjoyed the daytrip today to Stonehenge and Salisbury! Hopefully see you all at sports tomorrow: 1.30pm-2.30pm, in the sports centre at the University, right at the top of the hill! Free badminton, table tennis, basketball and football!

Stonehenge!

Places are going like hot cakes! So, please make sure you sign up today or tomorrow to ensure you get a place on this fantastic trip! We'll also be going to the beautiful town of Salisbury, which has stunning architecture and great shopping.

This Saturday is not to be missed!

Picnic and Games at Duryard!

Hey everyone...we have organised to have a picnic and games afternoon in Duryard this Friday! Everyone is welcome, and will be from 2-6pm..there will be free food and drinks provided, and also board games, giant frisbee and rounders (like baseball and softball), football and tennis! And it will take place every Wednesday! If the weather is bad, then we'll go into the library and play games, if the weather is good, then outside on the grass!

Timepiece Discount Cards!

Just to let you know, we have special Timepiece discount cards for INTO students! They are available from the reception in the Old Library, and entitle you to free entry to the club Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and cheaper entry on Friday and Saturday (just £1). Next Thursday there will be an organised night out so come and collect your card now! The music will be R'n'B and Hiphop!

Free Film Tonight!!

Today is the Free Film screening of the great 'I, Robot'! Don't forget, if you would like to come we are meeting outside the Old Library at 6.30pm..and there's free popcorn!!!

Tuesdays Dancing!

So today is Tuesday! So another chance to dance! Timepiece club around 10.30pm tonight, and if you fancy a drink before, we'll be in the Old Firehouse Pub around 9pm! Have a great day and see you then :)

Stonehenge!

Don't forget that this week we're going to Stonehenge!
This amazing stone circle, created around 3500 years ago, is one of the UK's most famous attractions! Places will go quickly, so please make sure that you sign up at reception or see one of the Summer Support Team!

Also, we will be visiting the near by town of Salisbury where there are plenty of things to do!

Why don't you have a look at the fantastic medieval castle or wonder through the historic streets of this beautiful town!

The Weekend!!

So here we are faced with another weekend packed full of fun! Saturday is the 4th daytrip to the amazing Eden Project in Cornwall, an incredible exhibition of ecology and the conservation of the environment, including a tropical and Mediterranean bio-dome filled with fantastic plants! Meeting as usual outside the Old Library at 8.45am! Check out their website:

http://www.edenproject.com/


And of course, Sunday is Sports day! A free hour of basketball, badminton, table tennis and football! 1.30pm-2.30pm at the sports centre at the top of the hill on campus; every week it's becoming more and more popular!

'I, Robot' next Wednesday!!

Hello everyone! We have organised a film night for next week! We will be showing 'I, Robot', an excellent thriller with Will Smith, on Wednesday the 18th August. It will take place in Queens Building, in a room called LT1, (a lecture theatre with a big screen) which is just next to Queens Café. So you can either meet me outside the Old Library at 6.30pm, or outside Queens Building at 6.50pm! The film will start at 7pm...and it's free!

Open Air Cinema!

Tomorrow the 12th of august in Northenhay Gardens there is an open air cinema!

"Sit back and savour the unique experience of films al fresco on our big 10 meter screen, with the twinkling skyline of the city as a backdrop. We’ll also be showing some of the short films that have come out of Exeter Phoenix Digital in the last few years."

Even better they are showing the big lebowski! one of my favorite films! It is directed by the Coen brothers, and stars Jeff Bridges and John Goodman! Before the main film a number of short films by local directors will be shown.



We will be meeting outside the old library at 7pm and we can walk down together. The entry fee is only £1. It will be a great way to help your English listening.

You can meet us later in Northenhay Gardens if you like. Here is a map with directions from the old library.


View Larger Map


Ciaran

Tuesday Timepiece!

So everyone, tomorrow is another Tuesday where we'll be in Timepiece dancing! This week with a difference: we're celebrating a friends farewell party, so will all be dressed up! See if you can guess who we all are...good luck to you all! See you around 10pm in the bar :)

INTO Hoodies!

This week has seen the arrival of our brand new INTO Hoodies! If you would like to buy one of these unique and very cool souvenirs, just come along to reception in the Old Library, and choose from either pink or grey..as you can see, they are a must have for all students! And only £20 each! If you would like to see more cool photos take a look at the Facebook INTO Exeter page!

This Saturday!!!

So as you may know, this Saturday there is no organised day trip! But that's no reason for you not to go and explore some of the South West on your own!

If you want to stay in Exeter, why not try a local pub fun day! It's called 'The Thatched House', which is in Exwick, on the other side of the river behind St Davids Train Station. It's a whole day of entertainment, raising money for the FORCE Cancer Charity and Devon Air Ambulance, starting at 12 noon and finishing with an evening of races, which start at 7.30pm! There'll be a barbecue, stalls and games to keep you entertained! Here is the webite with more information:

http://thatchedhouse.net

If the weather is bad, how about a day or night at the cinema? Exeter has 3 in the city centre - the Odeon Cinema and the Vue Cinema, which both screen mainstream films (I went to watch the new Karate Kid film this evening and it was fantastic!) If you like something a bit more international, we have the Picturehouse Cinema, which shows many non-English films, and it also has a very nice bar upstairs with a great view of Exwick!


Exeter also has a Tenpin bowling alley, which is situated near the Quay and river Exe (the address is 3-4 Havenbanks Retail Park, Exeter, EX2 8BY, phone number 01392 439090). It's called the Megabowl and games are £6 each, or £11 for 2 games, and you can eat dinner there and then enjoy a nice drink from the bar whilst you're bowling!



For exciting days out outside of Exeter, you could try one of many beautiful beaches. We're very lucky here to have great access to the sea, either via train or bus. Use the links on the right of this page to find the times and prices of both forms of transport! Many of you have already been to Sidmouth, and if you liked that then there is another great beach further along and in the county next to Devon, Dorset, called Lyme Regis. It's accessible by bus only, so you'll have to catch one from the coach station on Paris Street in the city centre. The journey should take around 80 minutes, but it's definitely worth the trip! It's a very historic town, has a nice stretch of beach and had the famous 'Cobb' which reaches out into the sea. It's also an important site of the Jurassic Coast with many fossil discoveries, which range from small ammonites to larger dinosaurs!



If you would like to see the South coast by train, then there are a large number of close beaches you can easily visit in one day. Last weeks day trip to Sidmouth began in the local beach Exmouth, which is where we caught the boat from. The train takes 30 minutes to get there, and it only costs £3.40 for a return ticket! A bit further along the coast lie the beaches of Paignton and Torquay, which are much larger, and Paignton even has its own Zoo!


So there are a few suggestions of what you could do this Saturday! And remember if you take any pictures, you could send them into us and we'll share them on the Blog! Now let's just wait and see what the weather does...

Welcome new students to INTO Exeter!

So last weekend we had an intake of new summer school students, welcome to Exeter! Ahead of you lies a fun-packed summer, with many social events which you will see advertised here, and on the noticeboards in the INTO buildings: 2 in the Old Library and 1 in Duryard. We also have 2 boards in Thornlea, another building used for pre-sessional teaching. If you have enough time take a look at our history here on the blog, read through our posts and see what we've been doing so far. This is a very useful resource for you all, we out a lot of information on here, including the 'useful links' which is on the left of the page, with important details such as bus/train websites for tickets, work and health, and an online noticeboard for buying and selling anything you wish! And please become a fan of INTO Exeter on Facebook!



Also! This blog is written by all 3 of the Summer Support Team, so remember if you see us around please come and say hi! Here is our picture, from the left: Ciaran, myself (Jon) and Hetty. If you have any questions about the social programme please ask us if you see us, or e-mail us, our addresses are at the top of the blog!

Enjoy your first few days and we hope you all settle in nicely!