Anu's Wedding

For those of you who remember Anu, from Sri Lanka, here are some photos from his recent marriage the beautiful Sandia.

TABLEtalk re-starts

TABLEtalk got off to a great start last night with 28 students from China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Black History Month

October marks

Black History Month is an annual observance to remember important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.  

Here are some of my own favourite BHM films ...

Guess who's coming to Dinner (1975)  ...  Two families are thrown into turmoil when a white woman marries a black man.


The Colour Purple (1985)  ...  A black Southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over four decades.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)  ...  Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence and future prospects.

The Power of One (1992)  ...  An English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope in a time of war.

Amistad  (1997)  ...                                In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.

Amazing Grace (2006)  ...  The idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavouring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.


Belle (2013)  ...  The mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.


12 Years a Slave (2013)  ...  In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northrup, a free balck man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.



The Butler (2013)  ...  As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family and American society.

Hidden Figures (2016)  ...  The true story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the American space programme.

Leeds Castle

Arjun gets in to the
spirit of the day.

I was really pleased to be part of this international student trip to Leeds Castle.  Six coaches came from the Cambridge campus; from Medway we were a select group of 12 (a very Biblical number).

The weather wasn't so great :-(  In the UK we say "It's nice weather for ducks."  But even in the rain Leeds Castle is beautiful.

I didn't realise Coots had such funny feet

Here's my British weather tip for the day:
umbrellas fall apart very easily, so invest in a warm woolie hat!

I cannot describe how grateful I was for the help of those in the
centre to get me out of the maze.  I spent almost 25 minutes in
there but it stopped being fun after the first 5!!!!!!
I was genuinely feeling claustrophobic and panicked :-(

Took the easy route back to the exit :-)

Finally, as we were heading home, the sun came out.

Everyone had a great day :-)

A thought for the week ...

Bargain Corner

This year for the first time we opened our Bargain Corner for all of registration weekend and throughout Freshers' week; from Saturday, Sept 15th until Friday, Sept 21st 11am-3pm.

This would not have been possible ...  firstly without the donations of so many people: local church members, university staff and students.

This was my car when I travelled home from visiting family
a few weeks ago. Thank you everyone at Tewkesbury
Baptist Church who donated sooooo much great stuff!!!

It would also NOT have been possible without a small army of volunteers who have manned our sales whilst I've run all over campus and the dockyard being part of Kent, Greenwich and Christ Church welcome talks.

So, a VERY BIG THANK YOU goes to Pesila, Aiste, Kailey, Kishan, Frank, Awad, Maha, Areti, Sourabh, Elodie, Maimuna, Btset, John, and Amira.

All money raised goes towards subsidising future student socials and activities.

Over a ten day period we raised ...

wait for it ...