WHERE TO GO FIRST: A FRESHER’S GUIDE TO SOUTHAMPTON

LIFESTYLE

WHERE TO GO FIRST: A FRESHER’S GUIDE TO SOUTHAMPTON

WORDS BY EMILY DENNIS IMAGE BY SAM ELSTON

o you’ve made it to Southampton - what a place. There is so much intrigue and curiosity written into the many bricks of this walled city, but it does beg a very obvious question - where should I go first?

Look no further.

Shopping

The main shops to stick on your map are the big Sainsburys in Portswood or the ALDI that is a bit further down the exact same road. Other supermarket choices are a bit further away from the campus, but there is an ASDA quite close to Mayflower Halls if you’re over in that direction. The city itself has two shopping centres: Marlands (which is like every typical dilapidated town centre) and Westquay, which is where you’ll find most of the popular shops as well as a large variety of eateries.

Food

Outside of Westquay, there are quite a lot of restaurants to finish off any day out, including everyone’s favourite pizzeria, L’Osteria. Other popular venues beyond Westquay are such places as 7Bone (burgers), Mango Thai (Thai food) and of course, Charcoal Grill (for when you’ve finished with your night out). McDonald’s has a high delivery charge, so students in Wessex Lane halls may want to consider walking over to the end of Burgess Road. If you’re into brunch, Bedford Place has a number of restaurants that fit the bill, from Revolution and XOXO to Turtle Bay if you want to journey a bit further.

Nightlife

This has been a very disappointing few years for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most prominent is the closing of Oceana (the most decent club in Southampton). It now has a takeover night over at Switch which otherwise predominately plays DnB. For the LGBT+ scene, there is The Edge which is a bit further towards the city, and there is always Jesters, known as ‘the worst nightclub in the UK’ but oh how it holds a very special place in many Southampton hearts. Along this same road is The Hobbit, for Lord of the Rings ‘themed’ drinkies and Manzil’s, a happy little curry house that loves to take care of drunk students at 3 am.

Entertainment

If you’re into live performance, Southampton is home to a whole host of venues. The MAST theatre is where you’ll find your dramatic theatre, the Mayflower is where you’ll find musicals, the O2 Guildhall is the place to find some popular music performances. That being said, there are also some more quaint music venues, including the Joiners, The 1865, and, quite exclusively, Stags on a Thursday night.

Wild Card

Somewhere that doesn’t really fit into any categories is Southampton Common, a huge park that is almost central to Southampton. This is where many societies choose to meet, where barbecues are held and where ducks have a swim. It’ll become a part of your university experience, which is quite nice, natural, and simple. If you want more adventures from your Wild Card, get yourself into a car and travel to the New Forest which has wild pigs, the ocean, and an inflatable watercourse.

*I hope this guide serves you well as a starting point to life in Southampton, but remember - this is your opportunity to experience life for yourself, so get out there and have yourself some fun!

SPORTS THE FIRST TIME I FELL IN LOVE WITH FOOTBALL

ove is a powerful word. In the sporting world, to love is to be passionate. To love is to stand strong with your team whether you win, lose or draw. Football is one of those sports where one side of the party is almost guaranteed to leave disappointed. Football is one of those sports that leave you biting your nails from kick-off to full-time. Yet amidst all the chaos and agony that the beautiful game brings, few can be left to doubt the impact that such a sport can provide from a young age. This is the story about the first time I truly fell in love with football.

Growing up in a country like England, where football culture is so striking, it seemed inevitable that I would get a taste of the sport from childhood. Instilled from as far back as I can remember, Liverpool was my team. My father raised me the right way, unlike my brother who became an Arsenal fan - sorry Gunners. At the age of 7, I decided it was time to join my local team. Being hit with several options, I became lost in the sea of teams: Bedgrove Dynamos, Aylesbury Town, or Aston Clinton Colts. I researched for days, checklists were designed, strengths and weaknesses considered as I attempted to determine the right team for me. After days of struggle, I realised that it didn’t matter what team was the right match for me. Rather, it was the club where I believed I would enjoy the most. I joined Aston Clinton Colts. I was finally part of a team.

Aston Clinton Colts’ new signing was ready to be unleashed. At 7 years old, puny yet speedy, it was time for my debut. After weeks of gruelling one-hour training sessions in the 2008 January cold snap, the time had come for my first outing on the football pitch. Playing away against Marlow Youth (the Celtic to our Rangers), my manager informed me that I would be subbed on to play the entirety of the second half. The wait for the first-team action infuriated me, awaking a raging beast inside of me who was ready to be set free. When the referee, a father of one of the opposition players, blew the whistle for halftime, my manager instructed me it was time. I laced up my boots, pumped like Rocky, as the second half kicked off.

In a gritty second half, we trailed 1-0 as I struggled to get involved, feeling fatigued which most likely came from eating breakfast too close before the game. A rookie mistake. With minutes remaining, morale was down until a glimmer of hope appeared. Our captain won a free kick on the halfway line, it was time for the good ol’ fashioned ‘hoof it up the pitch and pray’. The ball was lofted high as I scrapped with the defenders in the six-yard box. Suddenly the ball ricocheted off the defender as my teammate struck for goal. The ball miraculously presented itself to me, with a clear shot on goal - this was the moment of my dreams. Shoot and you go down in the history books of Aston Clinton Colts (ok, maybe not but you get the gist). I slotted home before being bundled by my teammates. Words simply cannot describe how I felt, the elation of not only scoring a debut goal but saving the team from defeat. Seconds later, the referee blew the final whistle as we celebrated.

Not only was this the first time I fell in love with football, this was the first time I felt part of a team.

WORDS BY MITUL MISTRY IMAGE BY SAYLI JADHAV

FROM PIRATES TO PASTIES: HOW THE FROM PIRATES TO PASTIES: HOW THE COAST OF KERNOW STOLE MY HEART COAST OF KERNOW STOLE MY HEART

was six when I first visited Cornwall. The promise of daily ice creams was enough to spark joy in my young heart, but little did I know that it would be the start of a long-term love affair with the most beautiful corner of the British Isles.

The journey was four hours, an unfathomable distance for my younger self. We trundled down the A30, our greenwindowed caravan in tow, as my parents tried to keep my sister and me occupied with ‘eye spy’ to get a break from the complaints coming from the backseats. I imagine we were just about ready to kill each other by the time we got there, but as we came over the brow of the hill, that first look at the glittering sea of Newquay’s Towan beach was enough to make it worth it.

The qualms of the car ride were soon left behind as once we were settled on the pitch that would be our home for the week, the entire holiday was effectively spent beach-hopping. First it was Perranporth: the one with a swimming pool in the rocks, then Fistral: waves so big they would have swallowed six-year-old me up, and finally Holywell Bay: the one with a river that led from the top of the beach into the sea. Each of them became construction sites for my dad’s infamous sand sculptures, the most notable being The Speed Boat, which was precisely engineered to cut through the strongest Cornish winds, and always included seats that just allowed room for our small bodies (the other children were always jealous.) When we weren’t digging viciously into the sand, we splashed our way through the bitterly cold Atlantic, covered head-totoe in neoprene in an attempt to lessen the numbing of our limbs. We carelessly flung ourselves at the waves with our bodyboards as we tried to land on top of one to carry us back to the shore. Being a young child I was never very successful, but just existing in the water, hair frizzy, tongue burning from the salt, I was having the time of my life. When my parents were able to encourage us away from the beaches, we ventured to the quaint town of St. Ives. Arriving on the train carrying us along the coast from St. Erth, I was greeted by an unforgettable scene of slanted buildings and cobbled streets. They were filled with tourists, but away from the high street there was a rabbit warren to explore. That particular visit did have a minor hiccup in the form of a battle with a seagull over an ice cream (I lost), but the yet-to-be-bettered pasty from S.H. Ferrel & Son did make up for it, and that event hasn’t deterred me yet (even if I do still cower slightly at the sight of a seagull.) That’s just one memory amongst a dozen others, and if we survived a bird attack together, there can be nothing that breaks us apart.

I doubt I realised I was falling in love at the time, but that holiday was the start of a lifetime of windswept walks, evenings on the harbour, and a yearning to be back in the grasp of my beloved Kernow.

WORDS BY HANNAH GRIFFITHS IMAGE BY SAYLI JADHAV IMAGES SOURCE: PIXABAY