Why buy Mince Pies when you can have great fun making them whilst singing along to some top Christmas songs in your kitchen (and possibly annoying the neighbours). Our Marketing and Communications Crew member, Kathryn, shares her simple step-by-step guide on how to make them – what could go wrong?

Shopping list

• 225g of butter, diced
• 350g of plain flour
• 100g of (caster) sugar
• 280g of mincemeat
• milk
• Icing sugar

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180^oC for a fan oven or 200^oC for a normal oven.
• Rub the diced butter into the flour until the mixture

While studying in Southampton, you have the perfect opportunity to explore a new city. After visiting the outlets that you have on your doorstep at the Students’ Union, you may want to branch out further afield. From the weird to the wonderful, here are some of the quirkier places to visit that you may not have come across before…

Southampton Reptile

Centre for snakes, geckos, chameleons…you name it! This UK exotic animal centre even sells the reptiles too. That python could make a perfect house pet – or not!

Opening times; Mon-Sat: 9:30-6pm Sunday: 10:30-4pm

12-14 Deacon Road, Southampton, SO19 … Read the rest

Being a student comes with many opportunities, which can make it difficult to live life on a shoe-string. We’ve compiled some of our top tips to help you save money.

Budget during the first week of term

Making a budget early on will prevent you from blowing your entire savings in just a few weeks. It’s easy to get complacent especially when your student loan comes in so make sure you plan carefully!

If in doubt, download a free app! There are loads of budgeting apps but The Telegraph have helpfully compiled a list of a few good ones.… Read the rest

We asked postgraduate student Zoe M. Harris to write a post to give students some advice for new and current PhD students. She has done just that and some of her gems of knowledge may be useful to undergraduates as well! This is Zoe’s final post in a series of tips and advice covering the PhD and the job hunt and now: your life. 

After handing in my thesis and waiting to viva (this is an oral examination for those that don’t know!), I was applying for jobs and working as a research assistant writing papers from my PhD. I … Read the rest

We asked postgraduate student Zoe M. Harris to write a post to give students some advice for new and current PhD students. She has done just that and some of her gems of knowledge may be useful to undergraduates as well! Zoe’s advice will appear in a weekly series following on from last week’s post with tips on the PhD. Stay tuned for next week’s post with more general life tips.

After handing in my thesis and waiting to viva (this is an oral examination for those that don’t know!), I was applying for jobs and working as a research … Read the rest

It’s Christmas Eve, you’re watching Home Alone in your pyjamas and the last thing you want to do is to venture out into the cold to a tonne of flapping Christmas shoppers whose debates about what to get Grandad for Christmas is enough to break up the family…but, you too have lots of shopping to finish. Sure, you technically started in November when you ordered the This is England boxset for your brother, but a satsuma come Christmas morning won’t be enough to appease your Mum’s face when she realises you missed out the rest of the family.

That’s why … Read the rest

We asked postgraduate student Zoe M. Harris to write a post to give students some advice for new and current PhD students. She has done just that and some of her gems of knowledge may be useful to undergraduates as well! Zoe’s advice will appear in a weekly series starting with this post with tips on the PhD. Stay tuned for next week’s post about the job hunt.

After handing in my thesis and waiting to viva (this is an oral examination for those that don’t know!), I was applying for jobs and working as a research assistant writing papers … Read the rest

The festive season is creeping up and we know some of you might be eager to get started on those Christmas decorations. As a student though, we get that it’s hard to make your place look good on a budget so here are some great ideas for a fiver or less! We know it is early, but we thought you would want time to enjoy any decorations you have before term ends.

1) Paper Snowflakes: A classic way to decorate your windows, which costs you pretty much nothing. All you need is paper, scissors and a steady hand – be … Read the rest

Let’s start off with some stats to surprise you:

THE PROBLEM:

• 16% food we take home from a shop, we throw away.
• Equates to £15 each week (average household).
• 50% of total food wastage comes from our homes and 50% of our wastage is actually edible!

EFFECTS:

• Huge environmental damages – the process of landfill degrades the land, pollutes with toxic gases and uses up scarce resources.

BENEFITS:

• Waste reduction
• Save money
• Improved environmental conscience
• If we ate all the wasted edible food, the environmental impact would be the same as taking a quarter of all cars off the road!

Eating healthily on a budget at university: the struggle is real. Did you know that on average you’ll spend around a fifth of your entire budget on food every year? Here are a few tips to keep your shopping expenses down without resorting to a diet of noodles and rainwater.

1. Don’t Shop Hungry

Let’s get the most obvious tip out of the way first because it’s probably the most common mistake made: don’t shop hungry. Doing your groceries on an empty stomach can tack up to 17% onto your final bill, and a lot of that will be junk … Read the rest