Author: King's Residences (Page 3 of 6)

Post contributed by CF Jacky

Hi everyone,

I live in Julian Markham House and I want to take you through the best places and my favorites around the area. First of all I want to say that I love JM because of its location, situated in a very dynamic area of London where you can travel anywhere with the bus, metro or train. But you don’t really need to travel for necessities like food or shopping, because Elephant and castle has it all!

There are many restaurants in Walworth road, which is the road the accommodation is situated in, and there are as many around elephant and castle including Sayer Street which is around 30 seconds from JM! My favorite restaurants are “chatkara” and “Lebanese grill” both within a 10 minutes walk distance.

For shopping there is an extensive choice of shops in Walworth road and many Sainsbury’s and Tesco like groceries where you can get great deals and food for the week

The area also has a lot of gyms each unique in its type so you can choose the one that fits your needs the most. I used to go to The Castle gym because it had a very good weights room and was only a few minutes walk from JM.

I would totally recommend choosing JM as your next residence 😊

Post contributed by Senior CF Grace

Hello and welcome to another Grace’s Good News. It may be a month since the last good news article, but England’s weather has decided to stay stuck in March. I’m currently writing this from my garden in a break from the rain.

1. For a second, it looked like it was coming home!!!

England fans were revelling in the men’s team making it to the Euros final for the first time since 1996. It’s worth noting the women’s team last made it in 2009… After the match, Mason Mount gave a young fan his t-shirt. She claims she won’t ‘wash or sell’ her t-shirt given to her by Mount himself – much like how I treat my ‘blanky’ (yes I’m 23 and still sleep with a blanky…).

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57774591)

2. Where’s Wally?

Turns out Wally is a walrus causing havoc in the Isles of Scilly. This may sound cute at first to have a resident walrus, but actually Wally is causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to his environment, so the residents aren’t too pleased with him. Poor Wally…

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-57688212.amp)

3. Innovation at it’s best!

Joe Bentley is a student at Loughborough university who has invented a life-saving stab wound device. To me it’s kind of like a tampon gun… But much more scientific obviously.

(https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2021/july/react-stab-wound-device-joe-bentley/)

4. Don’t let your lowest moment define you.

Sam Schmidt was paralysed from the shoulders down in a racing accident in 2000 and has made his debut in Goodwood festival as a quadriplegic.

(https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2021/july/react-stab-wound-device-joe-bentley/)

Hello, my name is Grace and I am the Senior Community Facilitator within the ResiLife team.

We talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder often and it is assumed that depression and low mood or other mental health issues hit hardest in the winter. It’s lesser known that seasonal affective disorder can also present with summer depression (see Wehr et al., 1987). This is not to say that summertime sadness is always as severe as a mental illness, but summertime can certainly be a difficult time for some. The added pressure to be ‘living your best life’ and the commonly held belief that summer is for fun and sun can worsen the experience for those individuals who may be suffering from their mental health. It also doesn’t help that English summers are rarely even summer weather…

With this in mind, I think it is important to take care of ourselves during the next few months and the ResiLife team are here to support you; whether you’re an incoming student coming into your first year as a postgraduate or undergraduate, or an existing student who’s (hopefully) busy celebrating the end of the university year. To stay in touch with us, join our team HERE and follow us on social media @kingsresilife.

Physical and mental self-care can be improved in various ways. Physical health is somewhat obvious: sun-cream (maybe not obvious in England this year but still a good habit to get into), water, eating (well, I’m talking 5-a-day and a lot of ice cream) and mindful movement to name a few. There are also BeActive classes will be running for the next few weeks and you can sign up to them HERE. Following this, ‘Move your Mind’ classes will be running throughout the summer and you can join them too by clicking HERE. These classes are designed to improve both your physical and mental wellbeing – two birds one stone. My suggestions to help with your mental health over summer would be to try meditation or mindfulness classes. To see some free meditations and try them out, you can see them on my profile @resilifegrace. Additionally, you could try a new podcast such as the ‘Practise makes progress’ podcast, run by Ellie McGrath – who we had as a guest speaker on our Tea Talks at Resilife, and you can also find an episode I did with her about the process of forgiving yourself. You can try meditating in your bedroom, outside, or on the beach if you can get there safely…

We wish you a lovely summer holidays and if you need anything please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We will be more than happy to help – even if all you want is a friendly chat. If you are new, please come along to our events in September – we can’t wait to meet you and welcome you into our community.

Post contributed by Senior CF Grace

Congratulations you officially made it through exam season in a pandemic! Exam season is rough enough under normal circumstances, so myself and the ResiLife team want to say a humongous well done and we are proud of you for making it through this year. As always, we will remain available for any help you need over the next coming months. Please get in touch by joining the ResiLife team HERE.

1. Successful vaccination program (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55274833)

• All people in the top priority groups have now been offered the COVID-19 vaccination.
• And now, people in their 20s are getting their vaccines which is excellent news. Keep an eye out for pop-up vaccination hubs where you can get yours on the same day for free! I myself am grateful to have had both vaccines due to my work in the NHS and am hugely pro-vaccination.
• Furthermore, the US and UK have now pledged a billion vaccines for the developing world so tentatively we can say things are looking safer for everyone.

2. Whale-y good news (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57450685)

• Lobster diver survived being eaten alive by a humpback whale, which is excellent news if you think about it… bit random though…
• Michael Packard survived 30 seconds in the stomach of the whale before the whale decided to spit him back out again, and he lived to tell the tale with nothing more than some bruises on his legs from the whale’s mouth!

3. What a good catch! (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/calico-lobster-virginia-restaurant-zoo-b1845001.html)

• Continuing the niche lobster theme… Rare calico lobsters were found in a restaurant in Virginia and were saved before anyone shoved them down their gobs.
• These rare and endangered lobsters were nearly dinner, but someone spotted the unique colourings, like freckles, and notified the owner.
• These lobsters were then sent safely to a safe exhibit and are now living happily in their care!

4. England just won their first Euro game against Croatia! (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/50940652)

• For any England fans amongst us, this is definitely good news. Bad news for other teams though sorry…
• Source (Freya Holdaway – my boss) says that this is the first time England have ever won an opening game in the Euros.

Post contributed by CF Rad

Hello readers! It is finally springtime and we can venture out in the open again. Picnics and the great outdoors are calling once again!

Did you know that the haiku, a Japanese short poem, was traditionally written on the theme of nature and its related imagery? So if you’re enjoying the season and feel like calling on your inner poet, a haiku might be a good way to start! Here is how you can write one in 3 easy steps:

1. The 5-7-5 structure

On the face of it, a haiku looks like a simple three-line poem. However, its structure is a bit more complicated than that- the lines follow strict syllabic rules. The first and third lines must consist of 5 syllables each, while the second line must have 7 syllables (a syllable is a single unit of sound). This makes a haiku consist of 17 syllables in total. For instance:

An old silent pond (5)

A frog jumps into the pond— (7)

Splash! Silence again. (5)

– “The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

2. Deciding on a theme

Traditionally, the purpose of a haiku was to describe the seasons and how they changed throughout the year. However, contemporary haikus are not always written about nature. Most haikus do continue to follow a fundamental rule, though- that a haiku must juxtapose two contrasting themes or images in its content. This can be done by using a “kireji“, or a cutting word, which can be helpful but is not necessary. In the haiku above, “Splash!” would be considered the kireji, as it juxtaposes the silence of the pond against the sound of the frog jumping in.

3. Identifying word/ kigo

While it is not necessary to write about nature while composing a haiku, most poets use “kigo” which is any word  or phrase that relates to nature, placing the haiku in a particular season. Using a kigo allows you to write about any theme you please, while also paying homage to the traditional structure of a haiku. Some of the most classic kigo are sakura (cherry blossoms) for spring; fuji (Wisteria) for summer; tsuki (moon) for fall; and samushi (cold) for winter.

Here is an example of kigo in a haiku not written about nature:

love between us is

speech and breath. loving you is

a long river running.

 –  Sonia Sanchez “Haiku [for you]”

Here, the poet uses the word “river” as a kigo, referencing nature in a poem about love.

And that makes you all set to write your first haiku! Feel free to share them with us on social media for a chance to get featured. Happy writing folks!

Post contributed by CF Amnah

Ingredients:

• 1 roll puff pastry
•  2-3 apples of your choice
•  3 tablespoons granulated sugar
•  3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 205C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cut puff pastry into two long strips
3. Peel apples, cut them in half through the core, and remove the core. Place the halved apples cut side down, and slice into very thin pieces.
4. Arrange apples on the pastry, overlapping each other slightly, leaving a bit of a border around the sides. For each tart, sprinkle half of the sugar and gently brush with half of the melted butter.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream if you like.

Post contributed by Senior CF Grace

Hello everyone! It’s me again, bringing you some slices of good news in an attempt to brighten up what has otherwise been a shambles of a year. Congratulations on getting through a year of the pandemic – you’re amazing! We at Resilife are here to support you. Join our team here.

1. A true icon!

(https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/la-verne-ford-wimberly-fashion-church-tulsa/)

Wimberley (pictured above) is a gorgeous 82-year-old lady, who is dressing up in her Sunday best for her church services. Wimberley hasn’t let Zoom stop her from being badass, and neither should you!

2. We are back and better than ever!

(https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/revellers-pack-soho-first-friday-20406761)

As of the 12^th April, Londoners have been able to celebrate outside with pals. Whether you like a drink at the pub, or a meal out, we can wrap up warm and enjoy time with our friends again. I don’t know about you but for me it has been lovely to see the world opening again.

3. 3-day weekend anyone?

Spain is the first European country to begin trialling a 4 day working week. Studies have shown that having a 4 day working week and a 3 day weekend improves employee wellbeing, productivity, and also reduces emissions. Sounds like a win win win win to me! Lets hope England catches on to this idea soon… If not I’m moving to spain, who’s with me?