A bit of fun before crunch time

Saturday I went to Glasgow with some friends to see the comedian Michael McIntyre.  I hadn't heard of him until I was invited to go along to his show.  He is probably now my favourite comedian.  I don't think I have ever laughed so hard.  By the end of the show we all felt like we had done an ab workout from all the laughing.  He is able to turn everyday events into absolutely hilarious stories.

His live show in Glasgow - Happy and Glorious

Here is one of my favourite skits of his.  He describes how he thinks the kilt came about.

Michael McIntyre - The Birth of the Kilt


Last night a few friends and I went to see the last Hunger Games movie.  While not my favourite movie in the series I still really enjoyed it.  Plus it was nice to have a night out and relax since exam stress is starting to loom.

Lastly, I promised photos of my room many posts ago so here they are (finally!)

Desk with a view

Tonight I am headed back to campus at 9:30pm.  I am helping out with a telethon.  From 10pm-3am I will be calling North American applicants who have been given an interview to see if they have any questions.  I really appreciated it when I was called after being accepted to Edinburgh so I thought I would call and hopefully make someone else happy.  (Plus the offering of free food at midnight and a grocery store gift card didn't hurt!)  It should make surviving lectures from 10am-5pm tomorrow quite interesting!

Bonfire Night

November 5th is Guy Fawkes night, also know Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night.

I hadn't heard of Guy Fawkes night until coming to Edinburgh.  It is a bit of a strange holiday in my opinion.  Essentially, in 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the British Parliament but was caught guarding the gunpowder he and his fellow plotters had placed beneath the house of lords.  To celebrate the fact that King James I survived the plot on his life, he lit bonfires around London.  So now as a tradition every November 5th in the UK, people light bonfires to burn effigies of Guy Fawkes and light fireworks. So they celebrate Parliament almost being blown up, but not quite.  And boy do they take this tradition seriously!

My first encounter with Guy Fawkes Night was last year.  I had decided to stay late in the library and study.  After a while there was an overwhelming smell of smoke in the library.  However I couldn't see any smoke, the smoke detectors weren't going off and the few people around me seemed perfectly calm.  After I left the library I was able to figure out where the smell was coming from.  Outside!  The air outside smelled like a bonfire.  And there were fireworks going off everywhere.  And the number of fireworks only increased as we went into the city.  People were setting them off in the street, in their gardens and in parks.  There are also professional displays set to music.

So this year I decided I wanted to be in the city for Guy Fawkes night.  And I was not disappointed.  I was able to sit in my bedroom and watch the fireworks out my window.  Not a bad way to spend an evening!

The view from my sofa

Now the other thing is, Fireworks Night really turns into fireworks week.  Starting on Halloween there are fireworks every night and there are still fireworks going off tonight!  Although the winds gusting to over 50 miles per hour tonight does seem to be hindering their fireworks displays.


Finally a picture that goes with my last post.  The winning Dick Vet Hockey Team!