Cartwright Festival

Saturday 24th May saw the third annual intercollegiate halls summer garden party. This year's theme as a 60s/70s/80s rock festival called Cartwright.

As the last two years, the party was held in Cartwright Gardens and we had 1,000 free tickets to give away to students resident in any of the eight intercollegiate halls.

After three months of planning, the weather was the only variable that could spoil this event. And the forecast in the week leading up to the festival was really grim. We were worried we might have to move parts of the festival indoors and cancel the rest. And indeed, it did rain in the morning, while we were setting up, and again for about 20 minutes at the beginning of the party at 3pm. But by 3:30, we were enjoying bright sunshine and it was warm enough (for some people!) to wear a t-shirt and shorts.

Those attending the festival had lots of food, drink, and entertainment to enjoy. This year's food was superb - with a choice of one of three "street food pots" plus one of three "handheld snack" options. And everyone could have two drinks - alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

Everybody got a free bottle of bubbles and an exclusive CARTWRIGHT wrist band as they entered the Gardens.

To keep festival-goers entertained, we had bouncy castle boxing, a bucking bronco, a really amazing fire-eating acrobat, stilt walkers, a street magician, a balloon artist, face painting, crazy golf, hula hoops, and tug of war.

Three student photographers captured the festival on camera and we have some wonderful photographs. All our photos are available to view and download at https://www.flickr.com/photos/uoljubileeparty.

Everyone who has given us feedback about the Cartwright Festival has told us how much they enjoyed the event and loved the food. So despite a wet beginning to the day, we're pleased that we hit our objective of giving our students a day to unwind and relax after or inbetween their term-three exams, and a great event to remember us by after they leave in just a few weeks.

Now, the organising committee is looking forward to next year's summer intercollegiate halls event already!

ABC party last night

Last night's ABC - "anything but clothes" - party was great. Thank you to the outgoing members of the Residents' Club Committee for their hard work in organising the event (and blowing up all those balloons!). I know Beth Hughes, David Haughan, Charlie Axelsson, and Imi Jerome helped a lot with setting up on the day, as well - so thank you all. Will Kay did a really good job as our DJ and got people on the dancefloor earlier than I've ever seen at a Connaught party before!

Thank you also to everyone who attended: this party had a super atmosphere, very friendly, and there were no serious problems all night - that's down to all of you. 

I hope you all enjoyed the party. Look out for our next events coming in October / November.

October update

Dear resident

It's been a busy few weeks in Hall and there are a few more things coming up in the next week or so. I thought it might be useful for you to have an update on everything in one place.


1. Residents' Club elections - 08/10/13 

At dinner time on Tuesday 8th October, you will be able to elect five new representatives to the Residents' Club Committee. The people you choose will organise many of the social events in Hall this year, run the bar, and spend up to £6500 of your money - so listen to what they have to say and what they are going to do for you. At the time of writing, only two residents have put themselves forward for the election. If fewer than five people stand, there will be no election and those who have nominated themselves will be appointed automatically. More of you must have ideas for how we can make this year amazing for everyone: stand for election and share your ideas; if you get enough votes, you will be able to put them into practice! Visit election.connaught-hall.org.uk for more information about the Club and the election, and to nominate yourself. My "letter to candidates" tells you exactly what's involved, and what you can expect from us in return. Or speak to me, a Senior Member, or one of the outgoing members from last year's Committee. The deadline for nominations is midday on Saturday 5 October: it's an automatic system that will close at exactly midday. 


2. "Anything but clothes" party - 04/10/13 

Friday night is our freshers' ABC party in the bar, 8pm till 2am (bar serves alcohol until 1am). You are invited to be creative with your outfit and wear absolutely anything - except clothes. Maybe some photos of previous ABC parties at Connaught will provide you with inspiration: flickr.com/photos/connaughthall/tags/anythingbutclothes. 

As you can see, it's totally fine if you want to come to the party in actual clothes: we'd rather have you there in clothes than not there in not-clothes! 

As with all our late parties, you may sign in a maximum of two guests for the duration of the event (8 till 2). 

Please try and keep the party confined to the bar and Bell room so that residents who don't want to attend the party are not disturbed. I regret that we strictly cannot allow any "after-parties" in bedrooms or corridors after 2am, and we must keep noise outside the front of the Hall to a minimum so our hotel & residential neighbours don't complain and stop us from having more parties in future. 


3. Fire drill - 04/10/13 

Weather permitting, a fire drill will be held on Friday evening.

When you hear the fire alarm: 

Evacuate the building immediately.
Close all doors and windows behind you.
Leave by the shortest route.
Do not use the lift.
Assemble on the pavement outside Passfield Hall on Endsleigh Place.

Follow the green exit signs to find your nearest escape route. Hall staff will help you. Remember it is possible that there may be a real fire alarm on the day, so for your own safety never ignore the alarm because you assume it is a drill. Your Licence Agreement obliges you to participate in fire drills. If the total evacuation time is too long, more fire drills will be held over the next few weeks – so don’t let everyone else down! 


4. Have you taken some good photos of our freshers' events? 

We love our photos at Connaught. If you have any shots you're proud of from any of our welcome events (afternoon teas, grand bar opening, welcome dinner, speed meeting, or of course from tomorrow's party), I'd be really delighted if you sent me some that I can upload at photos.connaught-hall.org.uk or at instagram.com/connaughthall. Email me one or two pictures at warden@connaught-hall.org.uk, send me a link to your photos on your own Flickr, or ask me about lending you a memory stick if you have lots to share. 


5. Join the Facilities Committee and/or Multicultural Students' Forum (McSF) 

I posted a message about how to join these committees a few days ago: democracy-feedback-and-student. 

Both committees meet three or four times a year for about an hour. If you haven't been on a committee before, it will be good experience of how meetings work. And whatever your level of previous committee experience, your input to making Connaught Hall better for everybody will be greatly valued. Please follow the instructions in my previous post and join up as soon as possible if you're interested. 


6. Room swaps

I have been asked frequently about room swaps in the last few weeks. If you are thinking about asking for a room change, please take note of the following advice from our Residents' Handbook:

Requests for room swaps are dealt with exclusively by the Reservations Office based at ULU, and will only be considered after the middle of October when everyone has moved in: email info.halls@london.ac.uk. 

We regret that the staff at Connaught Hall cannot approve requests for room swaps.

The Reservations Team are the best people to answer all your questions on this subject, including things like "are there currently any empty rooms?" or "is there anyone who hasn't moved in when they should?". I regret that the Senior Members and I do not routinely have access to the information that would allow us to give you an accurate answer to these questions.


7. Access [H]all Areas 

This private, invitation-only online social network for the intercollegiate halls of residence was new this year. It already has almost 800 members so it's a good platform for sharing ideas for sports meet-ups, outings, and clubs, especially where there may be benefits in the numbers gained from getting more than one hall involved. 

If you're not already a member, sign up with this link: uol-halls.ning.com/?xgi=3KprrvqzHofzOa - and remember to join the Connaught Hall group on the site!

Do remember to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, as well: tweets.connaught-hall.org.uk and facebook.connaught-hall.org.uk.


8. Last reminder to check the Residents' Handbook! 

Our Residents' Handbook can be found at handbook.connaught-hall.org.uk.

It is long, so we don't expect you to read every page in detail. We do very much expect you to read the sections on noise and fire safety, and strongly advise you to have an idea of the contents pages, so you can dip into those bits that interest you now, and know what information is available for you to refer back to later in the year if you're not sure about anything.

So, one last time: please take a look at our Handbook!

Letter to all residents

Many of you by now have finished your exams and coursework, and have another week or so to enjoy in London without any academic commitments. Congratulations for getting through to this side of your exams on completing this year of university: you certainly deserve to celebrate. But please do remember that many others in Hall are still taking examinations - some colleges are only just starting their main exam periods. Students at those colleges deserve peace and quiet to study and rest, every bit as much as those with earlier exams did.

We have all come this far and made so many friends this year: please let's finish on a high and not sour things by being inconsiderate. Those with exams don't want to finish the year with exams on no sleep; and those who are celebrating don't want to come home to a disciplinary.

So remember to be especially quiet between 11pm and 7am - make a special effort to keep the volume down when you arrive back from a night out - and be helpful any time of day or night if your neighbour asks you to be quieter.
HALL PHOTO
After two weeks of disastrous weather leading us to twice cancel the annual Hall photo, I very much hope we shall be able finally to get a picture of us all together outside the front of the Hall around 5.30pm on Thursday 6 June. Join the event on Facebook to keep up to date with any more announcements about the photo: http://www.facebook.com/events/166346023532000.
AWARDS & PARTY
Also coming up in the next week or so are the Connaught Hall awards in the bar from 8pm on Monday 3 June (http://www.facebook.com/events/563159060394776) and our year-end summer party, in the bar till late, on Friday 7 June (http://www.facebook.com/events/131478407054520).
Many of you are due to move out on Saturday 8 June. I have to tell you that Friday night's party does not in any way excuse you from the requirement to vacate your room by 10am on Saturday. Those who stay after 10am run the risk of being charged extra from their deposits. The University uses Connaught Hall in the summer for bed & breakfast bookings, and we do have some guests arriving on Saturday.
YEARBOOK
Finally, a reminder about the yearbook being produced by your Residents' Club Committee: Suggested items for your profile in the yearbook include: your photo; name; course & university; birthdate; hometown / country; contact details (email address, phone number etc); anything you would like to say about Connaught; any other comments. Please feel free to add more items to the list and be creative with your submission! In order for the book to be published before 8 June, please submit your entries by 5 June to yearbook@connaught-hall.org.uk.
GOOD LUCK!
Good luck to those of you who are still taking examinations, and I wish a safe journey home and a relaxing summer to everyone.

Grand opening of the bar, 25 September

I hope everyone had a great time at last night's grand bar opening here at Connaught Hall. There was a very friendly, warm atmosphere and a extremely good turn-out of residents, which I think augers well for the coming year.

Tom Stewart, our Bar Manager, has worked exceptionally hard over the last few days preparing and cleaning the bar for its opening night. He has had no shortage of willing residents to help him every day. I think everyone will agree they have done an excellent job. Thank you, Tom and all!

If you were there last night, you will have noticed one or two small problems arising with second-year students who don't actually live in the Hall this year, including the breaking of the glass panel in the bar door. I will work with the Residents' Club Committee to deal with those issues before our main welcome party on Saturday 8th October. But for now, I hope everyone has wholly good memories of the night and maybe some lasting friendships already - let's all start as we mean to go on.

The bar is open every night in term 1 and this year will be running drinks promotions to match the best prices you will find in this area. Our bar is an important social hub for the Hall and I urge every resident - drinker or no - to make the most of it.

Afternoon tea 2011

It has been a busy week at Connaught Hall, with over 200 residents arriving since last Saturday.

On the two Sundays, 18th and 25th September, the Senior Members and I hosted afternoon tea - http://www.flickr.com/photos/connaughthall/6184826736/ - with a whole load of delicious cakes and biscuits. I hope these events serve to ease anxieties about moving in, not meeting anyone, and the inevitable "parent separation" at the end of the day (I'm sure this is more for your parents' benefit, though!).

It's also a very enjoyable opportunity for me to get to meet everyone as they move in and help out with any small problems they might have come up against. This year, our afternoon teas were especially busy - we really struggled to keep up the tea & coffee supplies yesterday. I am really pelased that so many people came to take advantage of this. I have met so many very pleasant students this week which makes me look forward to a great year again!

I am sorry about the dinner queue last night. This was much longer than usual, maybe because there was a large influx at the beginning going straight down from afternoon tea. Rest assured it will not be a recurrent problem beyond the early freshers period - but of course this isn't something you want to experience on your first day here. I hope the wine I was able to serve to those who had queued the longest went some way to help.

The final afternoon tea event this year will be on Sunday 2nd October. All current residents are welcome - especially if I haven't met you yet, please come and say hello!

Valentine's party

Last night was a great party. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and quite a few got into the spirit of the Rubik's cube theme - well done Zac for the idea!

The next late party at Connaught Hall is on Saturday 12 March and will be a talent show organised by the Residents' Club Committee. Get practising for your act now....

Temporary Event Notice for Christmas masquerade ball Friday 10th December

There will be some restrictions on guests, music policy, sound levels, and alcohol during our Christmas masquerade ball on Friday. The following letter that I wrote to the Licensing Authority when applying for Friday's temporary event notice explains the changes that you will see.

Addressing difficulties arising at our temporary event on 9 October 2010

At our last temporary event at Connaught Hall, a welcome party on 9-10 October 2010, five non-resident, signed-in guests were responsible for minor assaults on two of our residents. The guests were removed from the premises with no difficulty, but then gathered outside the Hall on Tavistock Square and refused to disperse and go home. I called the police as I was concerned these guests posed a threat of causing disorder.

In the 13 years I have been at Connaught Hall, there have been no previous similar incidents. We have held at least five temporary events every academic year since The Licensing Act 2003 came into effect and several late parties per year under the old magistrates system.

The guests who caused problems have been permanently banned from Connaught Hall; where appropriate, their colleges or student unions have been informed. The residents who signed in those guests have been subject to internal disciplinary proceedings.

I am confident that we can make our parties safer whilst remaining every bit as enjoyable for the majority who I know had a great time and weren't involved in any trouble at all.

From now on, residents may only sign in two guests each during a temporary event. A special sign-in book and more personnel at reception will help monitor this. Residents will be required to show Hall ID when entering the building and guests will be issued with wrist bands.

There will be some changes to the music policy - moving away from any drum & bass towards more disco / pop / uplifting dance music and a clear 30-minute wind-down period with slower music at the end of the event.

Our Christmas party will follow on from a formal Christmas dinner; both events will have a smart dress code with optional (but encouraged) black tie.

Licensed hours will be shorter than at recent Connaught Hall events and there will be a champagne & (long) cocktails theme. We will not run any reduced price drinks promotions.

I hope these measures will prevent any difficulties arising at this or future temporary events at Connaught Hall.

Party 9 October 2010

If you attended our welcome party last night you will be aware that we unfortunately had three scuffles break out and a number of residents were injured. Some non-resident guests were involved in every case. The non-residents were all escorted off the premises last night.

If you know who they are, please check your photographs from last night for clear face pictures of any non-residents who were involved in last night’s problems. I should be very grateful if you would send any such photos to me so that reception can be instructed not to allow access to the hall for those people again.

If you were one of the residents involved, please make an appointment to see me this week so we can find out exactly what happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.

If you signed in any of the guests whom I had to escort out of the building, I should like to see you too.

I will be available in my office tonight (Sunday) between 17.00 and 18.00, and on Friday 15th between 20.15 and 21.15 (after the election & count). Or you can make an appointment to see me most evenings this week.

I know most of you had an enjoyable and trouble-free night and I am sorry that a handful of disruptive elements spoiled the end of the party – and, given that the police were eventually involved, damaged our prospects for being able to hold future late parties.

We have never had anyone injured in this way at any of our parties at least since the Licensing Act 2003 and the current procedure for organising late parties came into force. Last night's problems must prompt us to review how we manage parties, how late the bar stays open, and security arrangements. I will write to you all in more detail about the events of last night and our response in the next week or so, after I have spoken with those involved.

Residents' Survey - social events

Responses to Residents' Survey 6: social events

Continuing my series of blog posts to repond to residents' comments in the February 2010 intercollegiate halls residents' survey. A summary of responses to the multiple choice questions on the survey can be seen here: Residents' Survey results. And you can filter this blog so just the survey-related posts show by clicking on "survey" in the list of labels on the right hand side.

There was only very weak agreement with the statement "Social events are varied enough to appeal to everyone", in contrast to all the other questions about social and community life, which all scored very highly at Connaught Hall. Relevant comments included:

More non-alcohol based things, please.

Social side of Connaught is good although a regular weekly event, e.g. quiz night would be good.

A bigger variety of events i.e. museums, events in London, exhibitions, mini festivals, not even paid for but just organised by entertainment would be a good idea.

Too many 'party' events, maybe some variety, like movie nights?

Too many parties. All of them noisy, appealing to a certain segment of people.

The Residents' Club Committee considered these comments at their most recent meeting and plan to organise some more regular, non-alcohol based events in the next few weeks. Subscribe to this blog and look out for posters and minutes of committee meetings on the noticeboards in Hall for details.

Parties at Connaught Hall

I need your help to ensure that the Resident's Club can continue to organise parties in the bar whilst taking care to safeguard the wellbeing and security of residents, and protect the Hall from damage and unnecessary mess.

The last two parties have left rather more mess and caused more disruption in the rest of the Hall than I would expect. The next party will be on 12 February (for Valentine's Day). The bar will close at 1.30 instead of 2.00, and I should like everyone to bear in mind:

• Parties are held in the bar only; residents in the rest of the building who do not wish to attend the party should be able to study or sleep if they want to.
• Only alcoholic drinks purchased at the bar may be consumed in the bar, Bell room, and garden.
• All guests must be met at reception and signed in by a resident. Residents may be held responsible for their guests' behaviour.
• The party ends at closing time (usually 2.00). Those who want to continue partying after that need to go out to another venue. Student rooms, the common rooms, and the steps outside the front of the building may not be used for after-parties. The Hall should be as quiet as any other night by 2.20.

I have published new guidance for bar staff and DJs for the Valentine's party:

• The Licensing Act 2003 - a guide for bar staff
• Instructions for bar staff at late parties
• Instructions for DJs at late parties
  

I will review how parties are organised, the hours at which they are allowed, and how frequently parties may be held, after the Valentines' party. Please help keep mess and noise to a minimum so that I do not have to place restrictions on future parties.