Beth Carr, Author at The Orbital

27Jan

By Beth CarrNo Comments

News

Building work continues at St John’s

The second phase of building work at Egham’s parish church has begun, after completion of the foundations of the new building in late 2015. The building work is part of the church’s Building for the Future project and since early 2015 builders have been working on site to demolish the old church centre, readying the site for the building of a new centre to meet the needs of the church and community. Work was also required on the original Georgian church building to create the foundations of the new link between this and the complementary modern extension. The second phase of work began on 4th January after members of the congregation gathered on the footprint of the building to share prayers and hopes for the new facility after the Sunday services the previous day. The project has...

7Dec

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

RAG’s Cinderfella Reviewed

“I wish I could go but I just can’t face going out in the cold. I’m also not a great fan of pantomimes…” And within three hours of uttering those words I was out of the house, on my way to the SU to see Cinderfella, this year’s RAG Christmas Panto. As a self-confessed pantomime sceptic, I was slightly concerned about being sat in the aisle for something that heavily involves audience participation, but when we established that 'custard pie-ing' the audience was a pantomime tradition that only exists in Cornwall, I relaxed into the panto atmosphere. What is evident from the beginning is that this is an original production tailored to Royal Holloway, making it relatable to the audience. From Monkey’s to Medicine and the new Stumble Out, there are few places familiar to Holloway students t...

Savoy sets sail with the astounding ‘Anything Goes’

1Dec

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Savoy sets sail with the astounding ‘Anything Goes’

Beth Carr reviews the latest production from Savoy Opera Society. Photo from rehearsals, credit: Harriet Kennerley Jane Holloway Hall, as the old swimming pool, seems a fitting venue for the Savoy's Autumn term production of Anything Goes, following the SS American's voyage from America to Britain. As the oldest society on campus, Savoy Opera Society has been delivering fantastic shows for almost 50 years and this one was no exception. It was not an easy journey from bid to production but from the amount of smiling amongst the cast and crew, it is not hard to tell that they all love the show. One of the strengths of the show was its inclusivity. The production team and cast included members from all years and from departments such as History, Geography and English as well as the usu...

24Nov

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Di and Viv and Rose

Beth Carr reviews The Student Workshop's first production of the term. Upon reading the synopsis for Di and Viv and Rose, it became impossible to resist buying a ticket and heading to see it. Following three girls from the beginning of their friendship at university into adulthood and the changes it brings, the Student Workshop's rehearsal room production brought the story to life intimately. With only 35 seats at each performance, the audience is sucked into the drama and humour of the lives of the three characters, and it is hard to imagine the play being performed in any other way. Putting three unknown first years in the spotlight was a risk that paid off and each reflected the different personalities of the characters with ease. To the women watching, as well as I hope the men, ...

27Sep

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

Smile! You’re Being Tracked…

Last Thursday night saw the premiere of Channel 4’s gripping new series, Hunted, in which members of the public go on the run for 28 days and try to escape detection by the hunters. Aided by high-tech equipment used by the police and security services, they know a surprising amount about how far the fugitives have travelled and this has, as Channel 4 intended, flagged up to us how hard it is to disappear completely in today’s society. What I found incredibly fascinating was the idea that we create patterns. As students we probably have the most freedom of anyone in how we structure our days, but most people tend to have a natural body clock, influencing their sleeping and waking patterns. With the colossal rise of social media, our phones are usually the first and last things we reach f...

3 Questions RHUL students get asked – and how to answer them

23Sep

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

3 Questions RHUL students get asked – and how to answer them

You start university and suddenly you’re facing 20 questions from friends and family. As a smaller university Royal Holloway is not universally known so here are a few answers to some FAQs. 1. How’s life in London? Maybe it’s because of Holloway Prison or being part of the University of London, but almost everyone I talk to assumes I’m living in London. Take a deep breath to answer this and explain how you actually live 40 minutes away by train, and no, you’re nowhere near Holloway prison. Be prepared to say this again and again (sometimes with the same person!) 2. That’s a good insurance choice... This is a less common comment but people sometimes assume, because we are not Russell Group and have slightly lower entry requirements, higher achievers must have just settled for a place he...

7Jun

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

The Perils of the Perfect Dress

The summer is coming and this means the end of exams, the end of term, and, for many, the Summer Ball. As a fresher I have no idea what this is like but I do have ample experience of shopping for clothes, both formal and casual. And I can tell you that this is not an easy task, especially for women. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure men also have issues when shopping for clothes, particularly with gender stereotyping looking down on any man who actually enjoys shopping. But maybe it is this idea of shopping as a female pursuit that has made the experience for women so complex. Allow me to elaborate. Firstly, clothes shops predominantly cater for women so we have the entire store to explore. Nothing is grouped by type of clothing, only by style or collection. That top you saw in the window...

7Jun

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

In search of some much needed sleep

Sleep. It’s vital, especially for students. We seem to have two moods: ‘sleep is for the weak’ and ‘I want to sleep for a week’. With the frantic juggling of work and socialising, sleep tends to be neglected, especially around deadlines and exams. But then it can also be cruelly taken away by late night revellers, as many students in halls have found. One angry, sleep deprived resident said: "Due to living in Wedderburn sleep is often interrupted by fire alarms or drunk people singing ‘I dont want to miss a thing’ outside my window." This is not ideal for anyone, but especially inconvenient on nights before exams. It can be especially hard when you are free from work and others around you are not, but being considerate coming home from Monkey’s or the SU should be the norm. Another f...

6May

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

SU Elections: Candidates take note

I want to talk about election canvassing. More specifically, Student Union Election canvassing. This year has been my first experience of university elections and I'm so glad that the democratic system of this country has transferred to university. However, the ways in which the candidates tried to gain support leave much to be desired. They were invasive and, at times, slightly juvenile. For a start, I do not want to be stopped on my way to a lecture, sometimes running late, to be told to 'Vote Brian'. I'm not that receptive to the finer details of policy when I'm fresh out of an hour long lecture on Fascism in Modern Europe. And please, don't stand outside my halls with free tea - it's lovely but I'm caffeine-free so you're just in the way. And another thing. Please stop aiming you...

31Mar

By Beth CarrNo Comments

News

#votebecause

A disappointingly overcast morning last Friday turned into a beautiful sunny day, perfect for the next aspect in Royal Holloway’s #votebecause campaign. Kim Deasy, the Press and Communications Officer, explained that they hope that the campaign will encourage students to register and use their right to vote in the upcoming general election. Today’s task was to spell the word vote using staff and students with an aerial photo, a creative and visually exciting way to involve lots of people in the campaign and raise awareness. I spoke to two students involved in the photo. Jing said ‘As an exchange student, to be part of it, to get involved in politics and activities, to prompt democracy, is worthwhile and brilliant’. Hannah, a first year, emphasised the importance of this campaign: ‘Young pe...