Passtimes (English Version)

Imperial College Public Awareness and Social Service Society

asstimes

ICPASS - Who Are We? Established in 2008, the Imperial College Public Awareness and Social Service Society (also known as ICPASS) is a society run by a group of dedicated Hong Kong students who are passionate about public issues and community service. Having a vision to seek changes through small and seemingly insignificant acts, we wish to raise the public engagement of Imperial students by means of regular discussions, debates, seminars and voluntary work.

Believing in the need of a novel approach to learning, our society aims at achieving this through holding a wide array of events. That is, with the promotion of PUBLIC AWARENESS which strengthens our attitudes and values, supported by SOCIAL SERVICE which gives us the necessary interpersonal skills, we hope to inspire students to think critically, independently, and be confident to speak out.

Our society has previously held many other fundraising events and campaigns for various charities. In our most recent fundraising campaign for the relief work in Japan, ICPASS managed to raise ÂŁ528.31 in one day.

For more information about our society, please visit our official website: http://union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icpass/.

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Exhibition and Forum about Political System Elderly Visit in HK

Parliament Trip Charity Sales & Concert Cambridge Quiz

PASSTIMES 1st Issue APASS Debating Forum - Championship

New Committee Panel Election “Save the Rising Sun” fundraiser for Japan earthquake

Sept 2010

Nov 2010

Jan 2011

Mar 2011

July 2010

OUR MOVE

Tram Party Network

June 2010

Oct 2010

Project Enlightenment

Freshers’ Fair Recruitment and Interview of Project Committee Members Elderly visit in HK

Dec 2010

Interview with Audrey Eu (with Warwick) Interview with Yip Wing Sze

Feb 2011

Annual LSE HKPASS Debating Forum

Apr 2011

Joint PASSTIMES with Warwick

PASS CHARITY CONCERT 26TH NOVEMBER, 2011

ICPASS presents: 2010 Annual Charity Concert "Dulce et Utile" “The PASS Annual Charity Concert returns to Imperial and this year, it aims to bring a different message across to its audience.”

The phrase “Dulce et Utile” was first used to by Roman poet Horace to describe literature. He believed that literature should be “sweet” and “useful”. Today, the Imperial College PASS society decided to interpret the phrase in a different manner, putting together a performance that was both entertaining and educational for its audience.

"Dulce et Utile" raised more than £600 for Age Concern UK this year, a charitable foundation which aims to improve the welfare and lives of the elderly.

University students from all around London showcased their

remarkable talents.

These duet. The Imperial belly dancing featured a wide range of diverse society filled the theatre with performances that got the crowd vibrant colours as they danced on their feet. elegantly on stage. Karen Ng and Bryan Lok on the other hand Imperial PASS had the privilege captured the audience with their of invited the acapella group the s t u n n i n g d u e t , b r i n g i n g a “Mockingbirds” to perform at the different mood to the theatre. concert as well as the two rock Finally, David Ng from University bands “Magnum” from Kingʼs College London thrilled a spell College London and “Andy and b o u n d a u d i e n c e w i t h h i s Friends” from University College. beatboxing as the room echoed T h e a c a p e l l a g r o u p with the tunes of Black Eyed “Mockingbirds” amazed the Peas, Justin Timberlake and audience with their soothing Crazy Frog. harmonies while the rock bands brought the house down, revving At the end of the concert, the the crowd up with more chants representative of Age Concern than a Nadal tennis match.

UK also gave a short speech regarding the charity. In short, it F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e c o n c e r t was a very successful concert featured performances from our and hopefully next year, Imperial very own Imperial students. Andy PASS will continue to bring us Lai and Jason Choi wooed the good music through good will. crowd by their violin and piano

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PARLIAMENT TRIP On the 5th of November, the members of Imperial College PASS, Warwick HKPASS and the Cardiff PASS societies made a trip to the Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster. Many students from all three universities made their way to participate in this event, as guided tours of the interior of the palace are extremely rare.

The tour guide brought us through various famous halls and chambers of the Houses of Parliament in a tour that lasted 75 minutes. Once the thorough security procedures were completed, the tour began in the expansive Westminster Hall, which is a large mediaeval structure built in 1099 as a place for feasts and entertainment. The visually impressive architectural support of the roof owes itself to the use of hammer beams, creating an intricate network of large wooden beams. It should be the noted that this is the only room in the Houses of Parliament in which photographs are allowed to be taken.

5th November, 2010

Houses or Government Ministers instead of ordinary university students. What I personally found to be the most intriguing object in the room was the decorated ceremonial mace in the centre of the chamber, which represents the authority of the chambers and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We felt reluctant to leave these chambers as there was so much more to be learned about the chambers and its history.

Aside from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, other attractions that were of interest included the portraits of the Royal Family and artwork depicting scenes from the Battle of Trafalgar Square, Battle of Waterloo and other significant historical events of the United Kingdom. The Queen's Robing Room contained particularly interesting Arthurian artwork, which took Scottish artist William Dyce over 15 years to complete.

This emphasized the sheer amount of effort put into building and decorating the Houses of Parliament.

Probably the most famous rooms we were guided through were the House of Commons and the House of Lords. These are the chambers in which democratically-elected Members of Parliament (MPs始) as well as Members of the Lords meet to debate, revise and initiate laws as well as scrutinize the activities of the government. It was a breathtaking experience to walk around the very rooms in which the laws that govern the United Kingdom are discussed and passed. With hanging microphones in front of our faces and luxurious soft leather chairs behind us, for a moment we felt like important Members of the

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Another room of interest was the Prince始s Chamber, which was adjacent to the House of Lords.

The theme of this chamber was Tudor history, as the artwork on its walls comprised of 28 oil paintings of past members of the Tudor dynasty. I found the most interesting and entertaining piece of history to do with this chamber was the story of Henry VIII. Not only did he have six marriages, he executed two of his wives, changed religious ceremonies, suppressed ceremonies and basically ruled England with absolute power for nearly 40 years. It was interesting facts like this that kept us hooked onto every word said by the tour guide for the entirety of the tour.

Overall, the trip was a fruitful experience for all the students, as the guide provided extremely insightful information on the history of past monarchs and the legislative system in the United Kingdom. In addition, we were able to appreciate the truly spectacular interior of the House of Commons. the only way to experience the Houses of Parliament is to visit the place in person!

TECHNOLOGY

A REDDITOR Need a break? Check out REDDIT! Reddit could be seen as an aggregator of what is new and interesting in the vast world of the internet. Users can submit links which can be “up voted” or “down voted” by all other users. Through this voting system, links with high number of up votes and interesting links float to the top of the list. Links are regularly refreshed so there are always new interesting links to see.

Reddit is composed of hundreds of smaller sub-communities which focus on certain topics ranging from science to bacon.

By subscribing to individual Reddits a user can create a front page which contains links which will interest them.

In addition to being a social news, aggregator Reddit also has a very strong and active community. Often seen as the balancing force to the infamous internet hate machine known as 4Chan, the Reddit community prefers acts of charity and

support over harassment and mischief. For example news of a girl dying from Huntingtonʼs disease being harassed by her neighbours generated a wave of sympathy and anger among the internet community. As opposed delivering revenge upon those responsible, the Reddit community arranged and funded a charity at a local toy store giving the girl a shopping spree while donating excess toys to a children hospital. Reddit has been involved so much more: donating over $185k to the Haiti relief effort, responsible for the idea behind the satirical Colbert/ Steward march in D.C, donating over $140k to donorschoose.org who provide teaching materials to classes in need, Redditors helping each other during times of difficulty with emergency donations or just moral support. the list increases by the day. It is amazing what the Reddit community can achieve; there was a brief period in time when

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their slogan was “where dreams come true”.

Reddit is perhaps best summed up by its (regular) slogan: “The voice of the internet -- news before it happens”. Think of it as the tour guide of the internet, showing you what is new and awesome. A word of warning though; Reddit and procrastination form a deadly combination when it is time to work!

The

GUIDE to Choosing

DIGITAL CAMERAS Charles Poon Imperial College London

Despite it being a tool of photography, the digital camera has become a fashion accessory nowadays. Manufacturers constantly upgrade digital cameras yearly – some even change the packaging and claim that it's a new camera! The demand for digital cameras, especially DSLRs, is growing rapidly nowadays. This article is going to provide you with advice when choosing a digital camera. :)

TYPES of Digital Cameras

Left to Right: Canon S95, Nikon P7000, Panasonic DMC-LX5

DC : generally a small and portable digital camera, often with a non-exchangeable lens.

It's relatively cheaper than DSLRs as much of the cost of production goes to the image sensor. The advantages of owning a DC are its portability, user friendliness and cheap price.

Leica M9 Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex): generally a "bigger" camera. Reflex refers to the mirror in the camera, so what is seen from the view finder is exactly what you get. Therefore the advantages of DSLR are better image quality and more control over the picture taken.

(Most importantly, DSLR can easily generate pictures with a blurred background!)

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Hasselblad H4D-40

Seitz 6X17 Digital

There are of course some nontypical digital cameras that I have not mentioned yet, like digital RF (the most famous is Leica M9!), medium and large formats (Hasselblad) and digital backs (Seitz).

DC Canon S95

iPhone 4

Canon G12

Beginner DSLRs are rather portable, and contain user-friendly functions. “Point and shoot� is possible, as is built in flash light.

However, since they are built in poorer quality and exposure variables like ISO and shutter speed are more limited, they are cheaper than other DSLRs. The body typically costs $4500-9000. Canon EOS 550D($5500), 60D($7500), and Nikon D90($7600) are recommended.

usually costs around $2500$4000. A good example is Canon Powershot S95 ($2950).

Full Auto DC decides everything for you, and there's usually no option provided for user to modify. Canon IXUS 120IS ($2100), or your camera phone are good examples. Full Auto DCs usually cost less than $3000.

Prosumer DC has full manual control of everything, and is typically equipped with external flash hotshoe, so that external flashes can be used. Their image sensor are also of better quality. For example, these cameras allow higher ISO values. It typically costs $4000-7000. Canon G12 ($3800)and Ricoh GXR cameras are recommended.

Normal DC has a better lens and allows user to have more control over the picture. It

DSLR

There are also 3 kinds of DSLR in the market, divided into beginner, advanced, and professional level.

There are 3 kinds of DC in the market, they are Full Auto DC, normal DC and Prosumer DC.

buttons. They are typically larger in size (with vertical grip) and have no full auto mode. Canon EOS-1D Mark IV($34000) and Nikon D3S ($34800) are recommended. They typically cost $16000-50000.

Also, when choosing DSLR, there are a few factors to compare: high ISO noise performance, resolution, highest burst speed, availability in video recording, sensor size, dynamic range. Last but not least, you must also consider whether the lens range is usable if you decide to upgrade your camera in the future.

Advaced DSLRs are kind of larger but they are still portable. Their built in functions are similar to the professional camera. Canon EOS 7D($11300), 5D Mark II($17000), Nikon D700($10000) are recommended. The body typically costs $10000-$18000.

Professional DSLRs are the best, from building material to control

Us Left to Right: Canon EOS 550D, 7D, 5D Mark II, 1D Mark IV

Note that prices are from www.price.com.hk and are for reference only.

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5 Tips to check the DSLR when buying 1. Camera: Dead pixels?

3. Lenses: autofocus correct?

Dead pixels mean pixels (of monitor or image sensor) that show a weird colour even in the lowest ISO, and they can never change back to normal pixels. To check for dead pixels in the monitor and image sensor, take a few overexposed images and zoom in and look for any weird pixels.

It is always annoying if all the images you take are not sharp. That might be because your lens' preset autofocus is moved. Point your camera and lens (with tripod on) to the middle point of the focus test chart (see below) and turn the largest aperture on. If the middle of the "clear range" is not at 0mm, it means your lens' autofocus system is not accurate. Although some of the advanced and professional cameras can adjust this through the camera body, it's always better to have a correct lens.

2. Lenses: everything clear?

Dust inside lenses is almost impossible to get rid of. So it is essential to check whether the lens is free of oil and dust.

Open both ends of the lens and put under a strong light (e.g. iPhone in brightest mode), and see if it is absolutely clear inside the lens. Even a small dot is not acceptable.

seful Websites

4. Lenses: aperture all works?

Try to press the "Depth of Field Preview" button all the way when you change the aperture value, and see if the aperture looks weird, especially at the largest aperture. You may find largest and second largest aperture look nearly the same – in that case, it's a bad copy lens!

5. Cameras: dust in the viewfinder?

Dusts in the viewfinder and around the mirror are generally hard to clear, so it's be the best to make sure it's dust free when you buy it!

Just to add a final tip – if you find your camera is not working at all, even when it is fully charged, place it in a very dry area (e.g. near heater) for a few days and it may magically work again!

http://www.dpreview.com (most updated news and archives) http://www.price.com.hk (only trust the second/third lowest price) http://www.ygdragon.net/ (not very updated price list) http://www.dchome.net (most popular forum) http://www.dcfever.com (most popular website) http://focustestchart.com/focus21.pdf (focus test chart) Google!

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Us

LIFESTYLE|FILM

Harry Potter 7: A Grand Finale “A sensational masterpiece.”

Sixteen months after the release of “The Half Blood Prince”, the long-awaited episode of the Harry Potter fi l m s e r i e s w a s fi n a l l y released. To many, this was worth the delay - a m a g n i fi c e n t 1 4 6 - m i n u t e movie, packed with handgripping moments, intense actions and breathtaking scenery. The young magician, Harry Potter, pledged to undertake the quest of destroying Lord Voldemortʼs secret to immortality – the Horcruxes.

“Hallows: Part 1” was a big step-up from its previous productions.

The performance was remarkable, effects were impressive; and best of all, no drastic changes were made to J.K. Rowling's novel. An excellent interpretation by the Director, David Yates, led the audience into a world of fear and desolation, creating an atmosphere that gripped the audience to their seats. The film did not only depict minute details from the book, but it also explored the feelings amongst the trio: Frustration,

jealousy and uncertainty. It was a pity though, that the people who have not yet read the book might find the film hard to comprehend due the complex plot and the numerous number of characters involved.

The new film captured the feeling of exactly what the latter Harry Potter episodes should have been all along: g r i t t y, e m o t i o n a l , a n d pragmatic. It was a big contrast to “HP1: Philosopherʼs Stone”, which portrayed a magical and harmonious environment.

While the magical element remained, HP7 was an utter transformation from “childhood fantasy” to maturity as many of the beloved characters, such as Dumbledore and Dobby, were murdered in the later novels.

U n d o u b t e d l y, i t w a s a sensible decision to split the book into two parts. The film was set in an ideal pace – neglecting unrelated portions yet including emotional scenes and little embellishments, e.g. Dobbyʼs 9

return & the depiction of the story of “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. The movie also ended with a nail-biting s c e n e w h e r e Vo l d e m o r t seized the unbeatable Elder Wand from the tomb of Albus Dumbledore, leaving the audience with a hanging thought. However, this may not be good news for many Harry Potter fans, as there will be a further 12-month wait before the release of “Deathly Hallows: Part 2”.

Compliments should also be give to the three leading actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Ruper Grint and Emma Watson, for their excellent acting. Not to mention R Fiennes, A Rickman, H Bonham Carter, B Nighy, T Felton and a long list more...

We can conclude that “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” was a remarkable success – arguably one of the best films in 2010. As the Harry Potter film series comes to an end, this production is certainly a grand finale: Finishing with a resounding bang.

By Karissa Chan

LIFESTYLE|WINE The quality of the wine does not really depend on the price. Many surveys, as well as a recent TV series, have been investigating the relationship between the quality of wine and their prices. It is shown that the taste of the wine does not have strong correlation with their prices.

Therefore pick the one YOU like the most, no matter it is either worth £3.99 or £399.99!

Wine Tasting for Dummies (and Students)

By Sam Chan

I suppose most of you have had wine before – either at the dining table or while enjoying a night out. Alcohol itself is a main part of university life, isnʼt it?

However, wine tasting is a completely different story than just downing drinks with a couple of mates and having a good time. The aim of wine tasting is to see how wines from different origins, grapes and vintage etc. compare with each other and which vineyard produces the best wine to your own personal taste.

Unlike beer and cocktails, wine is usually served at room temperature. Red wines are often ʻairedʼ first, which means opening the bottle of wine first and leaving it in air, allows air to get into the wine and the wineʼs aroma to waft free. By observing the glass of wine, much information can be

known about it. Younger wines are normally clearer and see through while older wines are cloudier and have more residues. Also, different grapes produce wine with different colour as well.

The wine in the glass is swilled to bring out its natural aroma, which true wine connoisseurs can deduce the quality of the wine from. Also, swilling doesnʼt mean shaking the glass with all your strength, but just a tiny wrist circular movement will be fine (chemist should excel at this skill as it is pretty similar to shaking the conical flask).

wine you taste you will be pretty drunk even before the last wine is tasted).

When talking about the wine you have just tasted – for red wine something like ʻrichʼ or ʻfruityʼ will do; for white wine it is normally described as ʻlightʼ but not ʻfruityʼ. Sometimes the wine carries some taste of the wooden crates it is carried in as well.

Apart from the bottles and glasses, the table will probably hold some crackers or cheese. This is not for you to munch on if you are really hungry after some wine tasting – they are used between tasting different wines to clear the taste of the wine out of your mouth. Just a little at the time will do!

A small sip or two of the wine is taken. Then close your mouth and let the wine roll around your tongue for a few seconds and then SPITTING it out. It is important that you spit it out as the aim of wine Enjoy the wine! tasting is to taste wine, not to get drunk (if you drink every 10

Peru & Bolivia

Stephanie Y.T. Chan

My adventure begins in the balmy air of Puerto Maldonado, set within the depths of the Peruvian Amazon. Crunching on sweet delicious sunshine yellow banana chips, I gazed out from our motorised canoe as it cruised down a stretch of the Tambopata River, spotting glimpses of the glittering wings of hummingbirds and listening as chirruping macaws echoed beside my ear. Contrary to what I had been told, the Amazon proved to be less hostile than I had imagined. I had conjured fearful images of large pink salivating fly traps, hissing forked-tongue boa constrictors and snapping sharp toothed alligators. Needless to say, my imagination was overactive as the only danger I encountered was the attack of hordes of vicious red bullet ants as they crawled up my leg. These aggressive red ants are a force to be reckoned with in the jungle, as big as bullets, they frequently crawl up the legs of travellers.

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One thing I learned in the Amazon?

Never mindlessly brush your fingers across tree trunks when trekking through the jungle. There is plant life that have generated extreme defense mechanisms, from thorns to needles to venoms, not exactly the best souvenir for home.

Wildlife within the Amazonian depths revealed vivid colours, bright flashes of red and blue feathers of the swooping macaws, the glitter of lime green scales from slithering grass snakes and a flutter of orange and turquoise from the wings of butterflies. Other than spotting wildlife, I got the chance to fish for piranhas using raw beef as bait hooked onto the end of a wooden stick. Using rope pulleys, I climbed to a platform on the top of a 100-metre Brazilian nut tree.

The climb was worth the breathtaking views and exhilarating adrenaline rush.

Kayaking and swimming through the fresh cool water in the Tambopata River was a good refreshment before learning about the medicinal uses of Amazonian herbs and plants directly from the shaman.

Wooden lodges were our accommodation. Kerosene lamps, hammocks and mosquito nets set against the golden wood made a picturesque sight. Candlelit pathways lined the bridges between rooms, setting a hushed warm glow after sundown. The night passed under the star lit sky, with a creamy banana cocktail in hand, sashaying to the vibrant steps of the Peruvian salsa, then finally falling asleep to the serenading yowls of the howler monkeys and the flittering chirrups of the crickets.

The journey continued as we travelled to t h e a n c i e n t S a c r e d Va l l e y o f Ollantaytambo, the starting point of the strenuous trek leading through the Inca trail to the final destination of the legendary Machu Picchu. On the way, we were fortunate enough to interact with a wonderful group of Peruvian children. We visited their school, their houses and learnt about their lifestyles.

Bright colours of red, orange, yellow, blue and green twinkled from their traditional blouses and skirts. The afternoon was spent along the soundtrack of rhythmic drums and a playful catchy flute, the joyous hearty laughter echoed within the village as we attempted to breach the language barrier and the tireless pounding of our feet as they enthusiastically taught us their traditional dance.

As we approached the sacred valley, glimpses of a glittering ice blue river could be seen flowing through the valley.

This was the Urubamba River, believed by the ancient Inca tribes to be a continuation of the sun as it flows from the West to the East, a physical representation of the Milky Way within the glimmering waters.

The next challenge at hand was a looming 42km trek set deep within the Andean mountains, traversing an extensive path of climbs and crawls, once a part of a pilgrimage route that 15th century Inca emperors navigated through to reach the holy site of Machu Picchu. The horrors of altitude sickness burned in my mind as the worries of

trekking at an altitude of 3000-4000m above sea level began to set in. Yet, once the trek started, the beauty of our surroundings caused all fears to die down. The glittering Urubamba River whispered alongside as we trekked through the valley surrounding it. Pink, yellow and white flowers dotted the rich expanse of green on all sides while feathery white clouds floated above us in a sky of deep blue. The warm encouragement of our porters is what gave me the motivation to keep walking onwards. These impressive strong men carried a total of twenty five kilograms on their packs per person, all the while climbing up and down precarious rocks in record time to get our campsites ready for us, and yet, the smile on their faces never diminished. Arriving into the campsites at the end of the day was exhilarating. Nothing makes you feel more like a star athlete than arriving in the campsite at the end of each day as we were welcomed by a hearty round of applause from our wonderful porters for making the journey. Nights were spent in tents under star lit skies, stretching out sore muscles and laughing at the pure satisfaction of surviving yet another day.

Reaching Dead Woman始s Pass was exhilarating. The name comes from the likeness the silhouette of the mountain resembling a lying woman. It was a large climb up immensely uneven and chunky rocks to a mountain pass 4200m above sea level, thus unsurprising if it was in fact named for the mass deaths of women who attempted to climb through it. On the top of the pass, blasts of fierce icy winds battered against my cheeks, and my bag straps burned into my shoulders as they threatened to give out, yet standing there on top and looking down at the valley before me was a liberating experience. Back in Hong Kong, I never walk anywhere, so to have singlehandedly climbed up to a height at which clouds hovered below generated a sense of achievement that I had never experienced before.

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Along the way, we trekked past many amazing Inca sites, places that held mysteries and tales of the distant past. The most impressive of which was Wi帽ay Wayna, the remains of an expansive agricultural and astronomical site at which a population of the Inca civilisation lived in for many years. The extensive thought processes of those before us are evident in the structures and agricultural drainage systems they constructed. It was amazing to see firsthand how they lived.

streams of icy winds, hail and rain battered at us. We始ve had hard going the past few days but that only added to the immense sense of achievement we felt in the end. For the past 3 days, I had been imagining that final step to the Sun Gate, where the city of Machu Picchu was within sight. Yet nothing compared to the actual accomplishment of finally arriving within reach of what we have been walking towards.

We were finally there. At that moment, waves of triumph and happiness washed over me, I felt liberated, confidence that from now on, anything could be achieved. No longer shall self doubt bother me, the confidence I needed, will be recalled from this moment when I reached Machu Picchu.

Waking up at three in the morning on the last day, we set out beneath the dawning sky and headed towards Machu Picchu, arriving at the Sun Gate as the first rays of sunlight gave Mach Picchu a golden glow. Our journey of trekking through steep rocky climbs, slithering down slimy cold caves and persevered as strea

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ICPASS - Our Proposed Plan for 2011-2012 August 2011

- Passtimes (AUG edition) - Reception Day for freshers 2011

September 2011

- Debating forum(APASS) - Charity concert raising funds for ORBIS - Fresher始s fair

October 2011

- Krispy Krime Sale - Parliament/ High court trip

November 2011

- Display board for Makomborero (UK charity) - Christmas Dinner

December 2011

- Passtimes (Dec edition) - High Table Dinner (APASS)

January 2012 February 2012

- Career Talk - Chinese New Year dinner

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