My HSM debut (Clare Wade)

Hey guys!

My name is Clare and I have spent the past 4 years studying at Mac Uni.  I have lived on campus for my entire degree and really had the full experience of the Uni social life, which has involved a lot of heavy drinking.  Pub crawls, drinking games, punch breakfasts, goon bongs and uni bar, to cover just a few of the normal college happenings.  In my first year I spent more nights of the week drinking then I did without; and have attended more than one class in my pyjamas not feeling 100%.  When you live with 40 other students on a dormitory floor, all of whom drink, I never once reflected upon the influence alcohol had on my life. It was a cultural norm that was widely accepted amongst us.

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IS TAX THE ANSWER? (by Jason Rohloff)

A good friend of mine learnt how to make home brew in his late teens, he got very good at it very quickly and actually won a few awards from the local beer appreciation society.  Why did he make his own beer?  Because he enjoyed the creative process and it was a very economical way to drink (essential when you’re a student).  It made perfect sense, so why did no one else I knew make their own beer?  Why pay so much more for shop bought beer?

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The curtains are drawn… The Spotlight’s on me! (Chris Bryan)

Flying over Sydney, I farewelled Australia’s grey winter and prepared myself for my 3 week holiday in the city that never sleeps, Hong Kong. To say the least, I was both mentally and physically ready to drink myself under the table. Cutting a long story short, I did just that. The greater part of my life was spent in Hong Kong, and after a work-driven semester at

"The Vodka Package"

university, it was time to go back home to re-live my childhood, where clubbing at the age of 14 meant that you had were already behind some.

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Starting to Achieve (By Amy Jane)

Today was the first day I have slept in until 1pm since I started my HSM (HMS as I keep referring to it, bloody Navy Boats!) Sleeping until 1pm was a regular occurrence for me, missing Lectures and Tutes was also a regular occurrence.  In these three months I promised myself three things, have I started achieving or working at them yet? Yes I have. Am I kicking myself that I wasted half my day today? NO! because that was one well deserved sleep in.

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Creativity… Come out come out wherever you are (by Matt Onyett)

Two weeks ago today I woke up feeling a little under the weather. It was the second week back at uni and because I couldn’t get myself out of bed I managed to miss my second Sculpture class. I lay in bed most of the day feeling sorry for myself. I was on exchange in Paris for the previous two semesters and this is how I spent most of my days during that time. Yep, I managed to get myself into one of the most prestigious art schools in France and half the time I couldn’t even get myself out of bed and to class on time, if at all. Well, two weeks ago, I decided enough was enough. If I didn’t make a change, this semester would be exactly the same as the previous two. While I had the most amazing time, I couldn’t bear to go through another semester missing most classes, not working on anything until the night before it was due and then having to present work that I’m not the least bit proud of. The fact is that normally I am in one of two states, drinking/drunk or hung over. Neither is very conducive to being creative for me. And so, I want to see, if by removing alcohol, I can rediscover my creative side. This semester is my last at uni and at the end of November I have to present my work at the Grad Show. If that isn’t motivation enough then I don’t know what is. My goal: to stay off the booze until then, and produce something I am truly proud of and had a lot of fun creating.

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AND WE’RE UNDER WAY (by Peter Furst)

A friend who no longer drinks told me to make sure I started my stretch with a hangover, and boy did I honour his advice.

Monday was an awful day, though not one on which I had any desire to drink. The first test came on Tuesday. After a stressful day joining my friends at the university bar to watch them drink was frustrating… and unfortunately my number one method for dealing with frustration is drinking so I was caught in a no win situation. I guess I’m going to have to find another way to deal with it.

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Sober Splendour (Dave Hateley)

Splendour in the grass is a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

To the music lover it is an expensive musical utopia.

To the scenester, it is somewhere to be seen.

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THE MEMBERS LOUNGE (by Jason Rohloff)

My apologies if anyone is getting a sense of Deja Vu as I posted this on Sunday morning just before the site went down and lost it.  But for anyone who hasn’t read this one…

A couple of weekends ago I went to the SFS with a mate for the first round of the festival of football.  It was a beautiful but cold day in Sydney and we were treated to some great football, eight goals scored in the Sydney v Athens match followed up by a close match between Glasgow and Blackburn.

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Splendour – the first weekend in (Amy Jane)

For me Splendour was my first weekend of my HSM journey. It was a long winding journey of ups and downs, but now out at the other end I feel I am a stronger person. Having still little or no support from the friends I went with, the first day I questioned why I was doing HSM, and why I had started it right before Splendour. But when I reminded myself of what I wanted to achieve from my 3 months without alcohol and when I realised what I was really at Splendour in the Grass for I felt a great power fill me. I was there purely for the music. I was there to experience, beautiful sounds, unique lyrics and captivating performances. I was not there to make a fashion statement, I was not there to hang out at a campsite and drink warm cups of Goon and fruit juice. I was there to stand next a friend, a loved one or a stranger and let the music flood through me. I was there to dance to a great beat and to cry to heartbreaking lyrics and that is what I did.

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Conversations with a smokey port-a-loo mirror – (Chris Raine – Splendour Review)

The real value of festivals comes down to one thing. One possibility. The possibility of imagination. For just a weekend, people are free to become the person they spend most of their life hiding from. Free to express daemons and angels of their inner desires. Some people need drugs to achieve this ‘becoming’ and others (like myself) probably take them vicariously – for this I think society has conceited debt of gratitude for the substances we put to work.

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