written by George’s students for George’s students

The Dragon Presents....

THE UNOFFICIAL FRESHERS

GUIDE 2014

A word from the editors...

First, introductions. We are the new editors of The Dragon Magazine, Charlotte Lea and Roop Gill. Succeeding on from previous editor, Catherine Longworth, we intend to continue her inspired efforts in reviving what was once an indispensable plat-form from which students could voice their opinions. We as the editorial team, recognise the privileged positions that we have been granted and intend on reflecting the thoughts and perspec-tives of the student body as best we can. In order to do this, we aim to cultivate and form a dedicated committee and field a wide variety of talented, outspoken writers from all walks of universi-ty life. We decided to release this unorthodox issue in order to exhibit the foundation that we have built and intend to evolve as the year progresses. Our next objective is to launch The Dragon in an online format, which will allow us to rerelease archive piec-es alongside regular columns and articles. We eagerly anticipate what the coming year holds and look forward to your participa-tion in The Dragon’s resurgence. Roop & Charlie

04 06

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04 Types of fresher 06 What is circles?08 Clubs & Societies 12 Discos16 Charlotte’s Culinary creations

The Dragon is on the lookout for tech-savvy people to get involved in the design and graphical composition of the magazine and logo, as well as the launch of the website. As ever,

The Dragon is also constantly looking to expand its body of writers with fresh, forward-thinking students from every segment of the social spectrum. No previous experience is required and involvement can range from writing one article to having a regular column. Get involved!

Types Of Freshers

She begins the evening taking numerous selfies with her “best friend” of this occasion. As the night unfolds her Facebook uploads quickly decline, as does the quality of their content. Eventually, she can be spotted stumbling across the dance floor leaving a trail of eager up-per-years in her wake. One Malibu-and-coke too many and the exec team are left to scrape her off the floor and send her back to halls.

Ask this character to any SU event and you will be met with a conde-scending expression as he explains that he has already made plans to head to Shoreditch with mates from other Unis. In his spare time he can be found browsing the Hype-beast website whilst the Majestic Youtube Channel drips from his state-of-the-art sound system. Besides, he can’t wear his Yeezy’s to the SU can he?

- T H E L I N E U P -

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During Freshers you will encounter a wide variety of people and characters. Here are some of the people you will DEFINITELY meet...

Which one are You?

As you sit waiting for a lec-ture to begin, the flump of a heavy bag being dropped in the row behind alerts you of the fact that the sporty shite has arrived. Dressed for the gym, in trackies and a hoody emblazoned with the logo of their club with an esoteric nickname slapped across the back. If not spotted hurrying to their gym, the sporty shite can be found in the SU or Lahore imposing Circle Rules on what was supposed to be a pleasant evening with friends.

Ruddy faced, dripping in sweat and a pint in each hand. As the night progresses, speech de-teriorates and clothes and belongings are lost or removed. Can often be found, with a vomit-sized stain on their shirt, unsuc-cessfully attempting to seduce the Party Princess.

- T H E L I N E U P -

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Types Of Freshers

- T H E L I N E U P -

“The recluse” “anatomy fainter”

Heard but rarely seen. A door slamming, pots and pans clanging in the kitch-en, a shuffle of feet down the corridor. You look out into the hallway but they’re already gone. A slit of light under their door is the only way to confirm their exis-tence.

There’s always one... or two... or three...

Tweet or facebook us which type of fresher you & your friends are! TheDragonSGUL @SGULDragon

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Which of your new friends are party princesses or slobs? Some of us are a bit of each of these types...

can you spot them?

Spends more time on the 1st floor than in their own house. Their diet consists of M&S, ready meals, and a ludicrous amount of caffeinated bev-erages. Stacks of notes and flashcards litter their desk accompanied by an irresponsi-ble number of colouring pens. However, the chair is empty as they choose to wander the 1st floor, distracting everyone with loud conversations and shrill laughter.

- T H E L I N E U P -

“Library Loser”

Roop Gill & Charlotte Lea

“The Slob”

Wash your dishes you squalid, slovenly, unkempt, putrid, lacka-daisical nincompoop.

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Hello there, if you are reading this article then you are probably thinking one of two things. Either you are thinking “If they are seriously writing an article about what a circle is, then the students here are clearly not as smart as they look and I shall enjoy many years at the top, but without any intellectual stimulation” or more likely you’re thinking “ What the shit is circles?”For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of circles: the circles night happens every Wednesday, and it is when all sports teams descend on the bar to calmly and sensibly discuss the day’s games and gen-erally have a good chinwag. Essentially it is just a few quiet drinks at the bar with

your new teammates.First circle happens on the first Wednesday of the Freshers fortnight. If you are joining a sports club (which we congratulate you for doing so) or simply fancy a

relaxed evening with some of your fellow George’s students then it is imperative that you attend this event for two reasons. Firstly it’ll be one of the very few oppor-tunities to see your whole

Circles

O...?

sports club in one place; this also gives you the chance to meet the other players out-side of your team. Secondly, this night is generally regard-ed as the most enjoyable night of freshers and missing it is tantamount to madness.Important advice, do not pre-drink for this event, every year some sadly oblivious fresher turns up completely shit-faced and never really gets an opportunity to truly enjoy the evening with their new team, not to mention disturbing the relaxed atmosphere that cir-cles has always represented.The other important advice to take home is that you should ask your team before hand what time to arrive and don’t be late! You should also be aware that some teams go out for food or possibly to

another pub afterwards and it is best to join them; because of this we advise around £25 spending money for the night. Though you will almost cer-tainly not spend that much. And most importantly, re-member that even though you are sure to be nervous about meeting your new team, your captains and social secs are there to make sure you have a fun and memorable evening.This is a great night... don’t miss it.

Rob Birley

...do not pre-drink for this event, every year some sadly oblivious fresher turns up completely s***-faced and never really gets an opportunity to truly enjoy the evening...

“ ”

ISOCBeing one of the biggest societies in SGUL, the Islamic Society holds an array of events throughout the year for people of all backgrounds and religions. Charity Week, being one of the most popular of these events, helps fundraise for disadvantaged children around the world. As well as charity work, the well-known ISOC lectures, at the end of every sememster, have helped students cram for exams, while they regret not starting earlier, year upon year. Lesser known, but equally as important are the wrestling matches or the ‘Fight Club’ among members. I would explain more but that would go

RevueRevue is, in one word, mad. It’s a crazy series of events that lead up to putting on a show, but it’s absolutely the most fun I’ve had at George’s. Revue brings you out of your shell and opens you up to an amazing group of people that you might normally never have met or made friends with. The socials will leave you hung-over and exhausted. At times you’ll forget what weekends outside of the Monckton are like, and you’ll be sick of curry by the end, but the people you meet will stay with you throughout your time at George’s. Revue is the society where all your quirks, oddities and general misfittery combine to create an amazing show and lasting friendships.

Aimen Gmati - Member.

Fran Graham - Cast Member.

There are many clubs and societies advertised in the Official Fresher’s Guide. We at The Dragon asked Fresher members to give us an insight into their experiences with their cho-sen clubs and societies. Here are a few:

Mensfootball

Joining the AFC is a great way to make friends during freshers and throughout the year. You meet so many people you otherwise wouldn’t know, with football trials, matches and the drinks at circles keeping everyone enter-tained all year round. One of the major benefits of playing football at George’s is the fact that there are four teams, so whether you’ve played at elite level or never played for a team before there’s a place for you somewhere. One thing I found about playing football at George’s was that even as freshers we all had our say in how the teams were run and were treated as if we had been there for years. This made it much easier to fit in, and a number of freshers including myself were elected to the committee to run the club in the coming season. The last and perhaps biggest benefit of joining the AFC might have to be the social side of it all. The AFC has a fantastic team spirit, and there’s no better way to build that spirit than through events such as Legends vs Students, Weekly Circles, NAMS, and a glamorous end of year AFC dinner. All in all I would wholeheartedly recommend joining the AFC, it could well be the best decision of your life.

Matt Dawson - 3rd team Vice Captain.

Boatclub

The rowing team at St George’s is one of the largest societies consisting of 3 men’s and 3 women’s crews each with 8 rowers and a cox. The main type of rowing is ‘sweep’ rowing where each person has a single blade, but the club also provide the opportunity for its members to try their hand at sculling, where the rowers use two blades (most people end up going for a swim on their first attempt!). We row on the Thames and are based at the University of London boat club which is also home to many of the other London university teams so you can get to know other people. Throughout the year there are weekly socials and some dinners so everyone can chill out togeth-er and escape from revision! Rowing is a time consuming sport and you have to be committed to the early mornings on the river at weekends, even when its cold and rainy. There are a mixture of short and longer races against other universities throughout the year which makes all of the training worthwhile, especially when you win!

Evangeline Lister - Social Secretary.

womensfootball

St George’s ladies football team, the green army! We were robbed of the league championship, but are marching on to bigger and better things this season. Newly promoted, we are ready for the challenge of play-ing in the 1st division of the LUSL. We train twice a week working on both fitness and tactical play, and play games on a Sunday; meaning free Wednesday afternoons! Away from the football, we have an extensive social calendar, whether you enjoy drinking or not, everyone is welcome to join in with the friendliest team around. Players of all levels of ability and experience are more than welcome to attend both training and social events. We look forward to meeting you and helping you to make the most of your time at St George’s.

MusicalMusical is a great show to get involved in, whether you like singing, acting, playing in the band or build-ing the set. The rehearsals are, admittedly, exhausting. There will be times when you’re not sure why you signed up, but when the finished show comes together you’ll forget about any doubts you had. It’s a huge amount of fun and a great opportunity to unveil talents you never knew you had.

This is just a snippet of the cornucopia of clubs and societies available to you. Make the most of your time at George’s by trying out a few of the introductory sessions available to you.

Roop Gill & Charlotte Lea

Sophie Lenihan - Vice Captain

Fran Graham - Cast Member.

DISCOs

First of the year. Back2Skool puts on a display of hipster glasses with strategi-cally placed tape, three-dot-freckles on cheeks and ties dangling inappropriately from necks. A great opportunity to meet members of the University at a time when exams seem a far-away prospect and ev-erybody’s looking to have some fun.

A messy cauldron of bed sheets, good-val-ue Mexican spirits, and sweating students. Ensure your toga is properly fastened be-fore leaving halls, otherwise you may find yourself drunkenly plucking at the edges of a sheet, that is wrapped around your legs, in your underwear. Do not rely on safety pins as these will buckle and be lost within an hour. This is claimed by some to be the best disco of the year. So don’t miss it!

Back2Skool

Toga

snap shots

Photo courtesy of SGU

Lphotography societyPhoto courtesy of Annie Anthony

St. George’s offers up a plethora of discos that you can attend. Each event has its own unique atmosphere and character, and here at The Dragon we’ve attempted to provide a sample platter of our favourite discos and what to expect.

Which ones can you absolutely not miss?

snap shotsA new addition to this year’s Freshers’. Ev-ery September the recently-elected events team wrack their brains and attempt to produce a 3rd disco for the end of the fort-night. ‘End of the World’ is by no means an original idea and has been played in sever-al club settings with great success – what better way to make people party to the fullest than to tell them they’re all going to die in the next few hours? This theme defi-nitely has potential and could be a massive hit if executed correctly, otherwise it may be discarded on the pile of unsuccessful George’s discos alongside ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘End of Exams’.

Students at George’s see Halloween as an opportunity to dress up as sexy and revealing as they want without judgement. Halloween is one of the more heavily attended discos and attracts ex-students to help fire up one of the best discos of the year.

End of The World. . .

Hal loween

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DISCOs

Red-faced students in oversized woollen jumpers heat up a dance floor adorned with mistletoe. Santa is available for Christmas wishes in his grotto amongst other Christmas-related paraphernalia. A final hurrah before you and your newfound friends return home for the holiday. Don’t miss out on the tradition of attending the Revue’s Christmas Show in the Monckton before heading upstairs to kick-off the festivities.

These discos occur on the final night of St. George’s productions. This includes Fashion Show, Diwali Show, Musical, Tooting Show, Face Off and UH Revue. These discos are mostly attended by those involved in the preceding event and also by audience members who came to watch the show. Numbers vary but it is hard not to get caught up in the joy and camaraderie of the crew and cast of these shows.

Afterparties

Christmas

Photo courtesy of SGU

Lphotography societyPhoto courtesy of SG

ULphotography society

Make sure you learn the traditions of George’s and become a true Georgonian...

A sneak preview of the finest discos...

Don’t wear nice clothes or shoes to an event that promises to leave your hair dripping with suds and your teeth chatter-ing as you make your way back to halls. Stay warm by bringing a jacket or drinking alcohol. A safety hazard in the guise of a disco: watch out for people slipping in to you as your own feet struggle to find trac-tion. If you like bubble baths and looking at pretty lights this is the disco for you.

Newly graduated doctors flood the SU, as final years finish their gruelling 5-year de-gree. Looking to take advantage of their lowered-alcohol tolerance caused by an extended study-period, the bar is stocked as drunken 5th years ply their juniors with drinks. A popular night and the last disco before exams, an emotional atmosphere is produced as we say goodbye to old friends and wish them well in their future endeavours.

Not technically a disco, but definitely deserves a mention. A themed pub-crawl where families get together and initiate new freshers. Attendance is mandatory at an event with bonding, friendly inter-family competition, and mischief.

Wandsworth 8

Part V

UV Foam

Roop Gill

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Charlotte’s Culinary Creations

tuna

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sagne

Ingredients1 can of Tuna

1 Medium onion

1 Tbsp Capers

Tin of chopped Tomatoes

½ Tbsp of tomato puree

½ Tbsp of Parsley

250g of Fusili Pasta

1 Clove of garlic

Ingredients2 garlic cloves

1/2 Tbsp of Rosemary

2 tsp dried oregano

1 medium onion

200ml red wine

1 tin of tomatoes

1/2 tbsp of tomato puree

500g beef mince

400g Lasagne sheets

500ml milk

A classic that won’t break the bank...

Serves 4

Serves 2

As students we all get home from lectures and the thought of deciding what to eat for dinner can undeniably sometimes be a more difficult task than it should be; here are some cheap and quick eats...

DIRECTIONS1. Chop the onion into cubes and fry in olive oil until a light golden colour. 2. Finely chop the garlic and add. Fry till garlic is gold-en.3. Add the tomatoes and the pure - simmer for 15 min-utes until reduced by 1/3. Stir occasionally.4. Meanwhile, put the pasta onto boil, add a little oil in the water and stir so the pasta doesn’t stick together.5. Add the tuna and capers to the sauce and cook for 5 mins; add parsley 1 minute before the end.6.Add the pasta and stir and coat. Season to taste and enjoy :)

DIRECTIONS1. Chop the onion into cubes and fry in olive oil until a light golden colour. Finely chop the garlic and add. Fry till garlic is golden.2. Add beef mince, cook till brown then add red wine and reduce off the wine a little (reduced by about 2/3). Add rosemary and oregano.3. Add tomato and tomato puree and simmer on a low heat for an hour.4. Meanwhile for the roux sauce, melt butter in a pan on a medium/low heat and add flour, stir vigorously to prevent lumps until it’s a paste.5. Add milk gradually to prevent lumps forming, the sauce will thicken gradual-ly till about the consistency of custard.6. Grate the cheese and add half to the roux sauce.7. Now add some of the bolognaise mixture to a baking dish and layer with lasagne sheets followed by a layer of roux sauce, repeating until all the mixture is used and ensuring that the final top layer is roux sauce.8. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 180°C9. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Charlotte’s Culinary Creations

Teriya

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Parm

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Ingredients2 Salmon fillets

4-5 tbsp soy sauce

1 small chilli

2tbsp maple syrup

1 Garlic clove

A Chunk of stem ginger

2 sheets egg noodles

½ handful coriander

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 Lime

Ingredients150g of chestnut mushrooms

(if you have the cash swap for a

small handfull of wild ones)

2 heap tsp of parsley

4 slices Parma Ham

260g Ciabatta roll

1 garlic clove

200g cheese

-50g flour-20g butter

You can substitute the ham for a different meat or some nicely roasted vegetables

Serves 2

Serves 2

Can be a tad pricey, but a delicious dish nonetheless :)

fresh herbs always taste better than dried ones. pop by one of the tooting market stalls for some fresh ingredi-ents that are always a good bargain...

DIRECTIONS1. Finely chop the garlic,ginger and chilli and fry in a little olive oil over a medium heat.2. Add zest and juice of lime, add maple syrup and soy sauce and cook for 1 minute until sticky.3. Meanwhile slice the salmon fillets into two and fry for 2 minutes each side.4. Add Salmon to teriyaki sauce.5. Cook and drain noodles.6. Chop coriander and add alongside sesame oil and a squeeze of lime to coat the noodles.7. Place the noodles on the dish and pour the teriyaki sauce on top with the salmon.

DIRECTIONS1. Slice the ciabatta roll in half (crust on top and base on the bottom) Then split these two slices into two.2. Cut the garlic in half and rub this on the crumb on the bread to give flavour.3. Chop the garlic finely and start frying in a little olive oil, slice the mushrooms and add. Fry for 5 minutes.4. Now sprinkle the bread with olive oil and grill for 3 minutes.5. In the meantime add the parsley and season to taste.6. Take the ciabatta out of the oven and place the mushrooms on the bread.7. Tear each slice of ham in half to garnish the mushrooms.8. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Charlotte lea

Tips for those living at halls...

1. Try and leave the safe haven of your flat and venture on to other floors, other people do exist.

2. If one of your flatmates hasn’t done their washing up for literally a month don’t be afraid to ask them to do it. The smell will become unbearable. Tried and tested...

3. Remember you need a degree.

4. Sign up to lots of clubs and societies, this is a great platform to move into things you have not yet experienced and meet lots of different people doing so.

5. Don’t be the discombobulated nincompoop that’s sick in the lift on Toga and Tequila.

6. Prank as you would like to be pranked.7. Don’t pick who you want to live with in second year too quickly, thank me later.

8. DO NOT be afraid to ask one of your new flatmates how to cook something; there have been near fire hazards due to the incor-rect procedure of how to heat up a muffin, and yes - pasta does require water.

9. Use a condom. Charlotte lea

If you don’t watch game of thrones then you should start. Seriously...

Which game of thrones family are you?

START

Do you have a

george’s family?

incest is best?

is your family big and powerful?

orphan “knights watch”

We’re not calling you a bastard but if you haven’t got a family then one will surely

adopt you!

Honourable “stark”

It’s going to be an eventful few years for you. Avoid weddings, thrones

and Lannisters at all costs. You’ll be loved.... but that won’t save you...

Ruler “lannister”

We’re not calling you a bastard but if you haven’t got a family then one will surely

adopt you!

yes

yes

yes

no

no

no

underdog “targaryen”

Everyone loves an underdog story. I’m not saying your time at

George’s will be easy, but it’ll certainly be an adventure!

Rob Birley

Mo Amer Creations

Contact us TheDragonSGUL

@SGULDragon