Socials

Coffee and Cake Club:

Coffee and Cake club is held every fortnight on a Thursday - an opportunity to have delicious homemade cake, fresh coffee and a chance to have a short break from the lab! Occasionally, these events coincide with our charitable ventures, students and staff give donations for tasty cake providing local and national charities with much needed cash.

 

Winchester Fireworks:

Every November, to coincide with Guy Fawkes’ Night, there is a torch-lit procession through the medieval centre of Winchester followed by a fantastic firework display on the outskirts of the town. As one of the first socials of the academic year, it is the perfect opportunity to socialise and meet new people whilst enjoying this British tradition!

 

Arctic BBQ:

The Arctic BBQ is a much anticipated annual tradition, reminding us of warmer times! This is held early in the academic year; huddling around a barbeque for warmth is a wonderful way to meet the new students and staff! Last year the Arctic BBQ was also an occasion to unveil the resulting moustaches from ‘Movember’, our month of moustache growing to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer research charities.

 

Charity Events:

We hold various events to raise money for numerous charities throughout the year. For example, we held a special coffee and cake club which took donations towards Children in Need, and we are holding a cake decorating competition to raise money for Comic Relief. We also ask our male students and staff to stop shaving their moustaches for the month of November (Movember) to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer charities. In 2010, we raised more than £900 with our various charitable events.

 

Formal:

This year we will be holding a formal dinner and dance for all staff and students. It will be a good opportunity to celebrate the successes of the Optical Society, along with some fine dining and a bit of dancing!

 

Winchester Pub Crawl:

We return to the historic town of Winchester in February to work our way through the many amazing and historic pubs the town has to offer. This is a classic test of endurance and determination, and a much anticipated event on our social calendar.

 

Pub Quiz:

The pub quiz is the perfect chance for students to prove they are (or are not!) smarter than their supervisors. With prizes on offer, the pub quiz always proves to be a barrel of fun. We invite participants from other schools within the faculty, to increase competition for the prizes (and to prove our dominance over other competitors!).

 

International Food Day:

Having a diverse multicultural community in the ORC allows us to run this traditional event a few times a year. We invite all our members to make some culturally traditional cuisine from their home. The food and drink is served in a buffet style, giving everyone the opportunity to taste something delicious from all over the world.