Cambridge Trip

It was a very early start when we set off for Cambridge on the 12th May. But some of us dozed on the coach while others tested our knowledge of the university town on the BISC quiz. When we arrived it was time to try our hand at punting – there are plenty of pictures for you to look at and see how it’s done (or not how it’s done, as the case maybe; some of us had more success than others…It’s harder than it looks!). As you may be able to tell, the heavens opened at one point and a heavy shower drenched us to the skin! Lots of umbrellas shot up, but the unfortunate people who were punting at the time definitely got it worst!

We then had some free time for lunch and people wandered round the market, or found a café to dry off in.

Our guided walking tours after that were very informative, the guides were good, and it gave us a good chance to get an overview of the town and learn a lot about the history. We heard about the ghost that lived in The Eagle pub, how Henry VIII was involved in building the colleges and enjoyed a tour around Trinity College, which was very impressive.

In our free time after the tours, some climbed up Great St Mary’s Church tower to get a good view of the town, some continued to walk around enjoying the beautiful architecture and interesting markets, while some had a look at one of the many famous museums in Cambridge.

Although it did keep raining throughout the day, at least it also kept stopping, so we had some chances to partially dry out at least! Our day in Cambridge was good fun, and though it was a long journey, it was worth it!

Click here to view photos from a wet Saturday BISC trip. Please do click on 'comments' below and leave us your feedback.

Brunel Trail

A small and select group of students from such diverse places as Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Japan met at 9:30am on Saturday by the Clifton Suspension Bridge for a guided walk led by the famous Elvyn Griffiths with Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the theme. We discovered how Brunel's father was a clever French engineer, and many other interesting facts throughout the day. To start with, we had a good look at the Bridge and walked across it to the exhibition centre and back. The Bridge was designed by Brunel for a competition, which he won. Therefore his design was built, although unfortunately not finished until after his death. Then we walked down through the Clifton and Hotwells areas of Bristol, learning much more about each other as we chatted, and about Bristol's history from Elvyn. Having arrived at the SS. Great Britain, we took a nice lunchbreak, then proceeded on board the ship which has been turned into an award-winning museum. She was the world's first ocean-going, propeller-driven iron ship, and we could see what life was like for the passengers, as well as how the whole ship worked. I think we will certainly be going back to the Museum, as there was such a lot to take in!
Click here for photos.

International Feast and Games night

About three people had booked in advance for the International Feast and Games night, so we were rather surprised, but very pleased, when more than twenty arrived bearing home-made food from around the world (as well as some cakes from Sainsbury’s…!). There was a lovely atmosphere as we all sat round the table passing Japanese rice, English cottage pie, Austrian chocolate cake and Belarussian cheese balls up and down to each other. After we’d all eaten as much as we could, Becky led us in a game involving drawing maps of Europe and the world from memory. We now know that Japanese geography lessons must be the best in the world, as Haruna and Yukari won this competition hands down! After this, we played Hannah’s “name game” where we had to describe famous people to each other without saying their names, then using only three words, then using no words at all. Our highlight from this game had to be Josh’s impression of Nelson Mandela in prison (hiding behind a stack of chairs), closely followed by Naved’s pirate impression, representing actor Jonny Depp! Maybe he will demonstrate for you one day…

Click here for photos.