A Very Long Absence

Yeah. Sorry.

I might be more motivated if I actually wrote interesting things...

So over the past six months, I:

My Body Shop Shopping

There was an offer on at The Body Shop (spend £40, save £20), so a buddy and I popped down to grab some long coveted stuff:

(Clockwise, starting with the shampoo: 1 - anti-dandruff ginger shampoo, 2 - tea tree skin clearing foaming cleanser, 3 - eyelash curler, 4 - lip and cheek stain, rose pink)

We got £42 worth of products between us, they took of £20 and we split the cost evenly. So all this was £11 for me. HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? I mean, the lip and cheek tint alone is £10!

So, any good?

Harry Potter Studios

These huge buildings just off a road in Watford is the place where most of the Harry Potter films were shot (when not on location). It's absolutely amazing. If you're a big fan of the films, this will definitely be a great birthday/other special occasion treat! Even if you're not (like me), it's still fantastic for looking at behind-the-scenes stuff.

It was a bit annoying with all the tourists - you genuinely could not move an inch without suddenly having an iPhone in your face. I must've photo-bombed so many holiday snaps

Anyway: here we go (massive post, but this is probably 1/10000th of what there was to see):

Post-Exams

Finished exams a few weeks ago, and was happy, exhausted and generally shocked that there will never be a school-esque routine ever again.

So far, I've flooded a table in Yo Sushi (oops), went to the Harry Potter Studios (amazing) and finally watched the first season of Sherlock (just wow). My friend started chanting "ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!"

(At Yo! Sushi. I get mesmerized by the dishes going round the conveyor belt. As the meal progresses, I  end up leaning closer and closer to those bright hypnotic dishes)

Educational Reforms

So I got an email from NUS about this petition: 

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/get-involved/education/oppose-changes-to-a-levels/

I signed it straight away and then directed me to write a letter to my local MP. So here's mine. Please sign the petition, you don't have to be a member of NUS to do it.

"Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision."  - Denis Waitley

My name is Chris and I am writing to you to raise my concerns with the government’s A-level and AS level reform.  I feel my opinion is just as valid as MPs' who claim to know better than students who have first-hand experience with the educational system and process. As you know, from September 2013, the government is reforming A-Levels, with mid-year January assessments being removed; limiting opportunities for resits, with synoptic assessment taking priority.