Friday, 22 November 2024

Hidden talents ...

I love it when I discover hidden talents that our students have 😀  We already have a published poet in our midst, Emeka Onugha; and recently I came across another talented poet.  The words of the poem below really touched my heart and I asked for permission to share them with you. 


So much food for thought ...


Life’s Journey


Life is a journey, a winding road,

A place where joy and sorrow unfold.
          A roller coaster of highs and lows,
          With lessons learned as the journey flows.

                    Decisions made can heal or scar,
                    Some feel close, while others afar.


People you meet may bring you peace,
Or storms that never seem to cease.

          We wear kind masks, our truths concealed,
          Hiding the colors we rarely reveal.
                   Some bonds are fleeting, some will last,
                   While others are shadows of the past.


Each loss, each fall, is not the end,
But a chance to rise, to grow, to mend.
          For even the darkest nights must fade,
          And new dawns break where dreams are made.


In life, you'll find both friend and foe,
And from each one, a truth will grow.
          The truest hearts are few and rare,
          While false ones poison the very air.


Yet through it all, what matters most,
Is the strength you build, the dreams you host.
          To give your best, to hold on tight,
          Through every storm, through endless night.


Life teaches daily, until we're free,
Each moment shaping who we’ll be.
          It’s a journey vast, until we part,
          A sacred path for the human heart.


Ramanka  (Harsh)

Friday, 15 November 2024

Dinner with the Famous Five

I love food!!!  

          I love spicy food 😀😀😀  

                      And I love being invited out for spicy food!!!

Jon, Pauline and I had the most wonderful time with our 'Famous Five' friends on Wednesday evening.

Our evening began with a welcome drink of Badam Milk, a traditional Indian drink made with almonds, cardamoms, saffron, whole milk and sugar.  Super yummy!

Starters was Medu Vada (daal fritters) with mint chutney, along with Chicken 65, a popular South Indian Chicken appetizer made by deep frying marinated chicken with curry leaves and green chilies.  Oh my word, soooo tasty!!!  

I didn't get a photo of the chicken, as I was too busy eating and making satisfied 'Mmmmmm' sounds 😀  By now, we were all getting very full, but there was more to come!

Main course was yet another delight for the taste buds  ...  Dosa (a thin savoury crepe), mini idli (rice cakes) accompanied by Mutton Karikozhambu.  I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven 😃

After the three of us being served so beautifully, it was good to sit together over dessert.  The students had made us Paal Payasam, a sweet milk drink with vermicelli.  I had made raspberry, white chocolate cheesecake and a chocolate orange bomb.
NOW we were truly so full and it would soon be time to waddle back home.


Jon, Pauline and I would like to say a
HUGE THANKYOU
to Abi, Harinee, Desh, Gulakshitha & Jacob
for a truly fabulous evening 😃

Friday, 18 October 2024

TABLEtalk - Teamwork

The theme of Teamwork is always a good one with students.  They are often required to do group projects, and I would like a £1 for every student that has come to me with their 'group dynamic' frustrations 😀  Would go nicely in my retirement fund 😂😂😂

In addition to discussing the characteristics and qualities of a healthy team, we had a physical tower building exercise.

I really didn't know if this tower would
stand alone, but stand alone it did.
Harsh Hrithik, Vaishnavi and Laiba
were our runners up, with a tower
that was 106cms tall.

DOH!!!  Sadly, Emeka, Nidhi, Ushma,
Victor & Daniel's tower was not as
secure as they had hoped 😕


Melinka, Himanshu, Aradhana & Sush
changed tactics partway through construction
and built a free standing tower at 166cms. Well Done!!




They were all super happy with their
prize of pasta, sauce and cookies each 😀

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

World Mental Health Day

October 10th each year marks World Mental Health Day.  At the Medway Campus this provides us with an opportunity to speak with students (and staff) about taking care of their own mental wellbeing.

In line with that, the last week has been filled with a variety of events for me.

On Tuesday, Oct 8th, I partnered with my colleague, Kim Diaper, from the University of Kent. We spent two hours in the Oasis Lounge engaging in conversation, providing information, and giving out lollies and bookmarks.  However, the star of the show was most definitely Tommy, the PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog, who thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.


Wednesday, Oct 9th saw me with the University of Greenwich Wellbeing Team running a cafe drop-in for three hours.  We offered colouring, inspirational bookmarks, wellbeing advice and freebies; plus all the usually cafe essentials, such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate and snacks.  In the region of 60 students visited us.

It's always good to partner with our well-being teams 😀😀












Although they don't happen so often, I always thoroughly enjoy doing a Chaplaincy Pop-Up for CCCU, in the Rowan Williams building.  This is where you would have found me yesterday (Oct 15th).

Friday, 11 October 2024

TABLEtalk: Culture Shock!

We had a great mix of students and alumni at TABLEtalk last night, for our discussion on Culture Shock.  That mix included participants from India, Nigeria, China, Peru, Iran, Lithuania, Egypt, Jordan.  We spent quite a long time talking about the culture curve, with some open and honest comments about the nice stuff and the challenging / stressful stuff!

Click on the image for a full-screen view

Friday, 4 October 2024

Chaplaincy Chill 'n' Chat

Today was my first Chill 'n' Chat session of this new academic year.  It's always good to be present in the Drill Hall Library; letting students know who I am and why Chaplaincy exists.  Offering lollies and inspirational bookmarks, and providing some therapeutic colouring.

Today, I took along a jigsaw puzzle which several people helped with  ...  sadly it was missing one piece, BUT we had fun all the same.



TABLEtalk - Survive or Thrive

This week we were a little fewer in numbers, as some weren't feeling well and The Famous Five are on holiday!

We began our evening with a NASA survival exercise and I have to say this group did the very best of any group of students so far ...  well done!

Then our two groups of new students worked on brainstorming what they need in place, to not just survive this time but to THRIVE, both academically, and holistically as a person.

Here's a list of some of the things they came up with:

❤  Socialise  ❤  Manage your money and your time well  ❤  Find some good traditional food  ❤  Take care of your physical health, get good sleep & rest, and stay warm  ❤  Be adaptable  ❤  Work on your skills acquisition  ❤  Be active, play sports  ❤  Work on your resilience  ❤  Be flexible  ❤  Seek out academic support 

Whilst our returning students and alumni, were given the questions (a) what worked well for you, when you first arrived, and (b) if you could go back in time, what might you have done differently?
Part A  ❤  Network well, build a good friendship base  ❤  Try new things  ❤  Step out of your comfort zone  ❤  Use all the Library resources
Part B  ❤  Don't overthink things  ❤  Accept things as they are  ❤  Embrace what you have  ❤  Plan, plan, plan  ❤  Be wise about your relationships
Several phrases jumped out for me ...
Don't over think:  I have met many a student who has worked their way into a downhill spiral by overthinking and catastrophising certain situations.
Remember your WHY:  Remember why you chose this path and all that you have achieved to get to this place.  Standing firm in your 'why' will help you the weather the storms.
Don't give up:  Well, that is what it is  ...  persevere, keep going

MacMillan Coffee Morning

A VERY BIG THANKYOU to my colleague, Lynne, from the University of Kent who organised yesterday's lovely fundraising coffee morning, in aid of the excellent work carried out by MacMillan Cancer Care (something I have been on the receiving end of).

Thank you to all those who helped provide scrumptious cakes.  To my dear friend, Pauline, my very favourite washer-upper ðŸ˜€  Most especially, THANK YOU, to all who came along, not just to eat but to donate.  

A total of £257 was raised 😀😀😀