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University of Cambridge Freshers Megathread 2016

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Original post by vincrows
Check if your college still allows it before you build up a mountain of pennies......


mountain of pennies?
Original post by EricPiphany
mountain of pennies?


Do you know what pennying is?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_(university)

But it's getting more and more difficult to play it, apparently, as many colleges started banning it. Some sneaky students still do it when they think waiting staff are not watching, but waiting staff are getting better at spotting it, too. :wink:

http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0009544-pennying-declared-illegal.html


......you know what I'm going to say........


:tongue:
Original post by vincrows
Do you know what pennying is?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_(university)

But it's getting more and more difficult to play it, apparently, as many colleges started banning it. Some sneaky students still do it when they think waiting staff are not watching, but waiting staff are getting better at spotting it, too. :wink:

http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0009544-pennying-declared-illegal.html


Yeah I looked up the pennying thing, I was just wondering why you would need a mountain. It should've been obvious to me lol
Original post by EricPiphany
Yeah I looked up the pennying thing, I was just wondering why you would need a mountain. It should've been obvious to me lol


What you need is one invisible penny..... :wink:
Original post by Medic_12345
Do you know if Homerton charges?


I think my son paid £50 for the year at Homerton, last year.
Original post by EnglishMuon
so u have proper cooking facilities then?

I think so, maybe. We get an oven
Original post by vincrows
My daughter took one medium sized frying pan, two saucepans (one small, one medium/large=big enough to cook pasta in) and basic utensils, like ladle, spatula, etc, a cheap set of chopping boards (small & large), a colander. And lots of plastic kitchen clips, which is very useful for lots of things.
She didn't cook very much in the first year but did more in second/third year. Bought a second-hand wok from someone graduating in the second year which expanded the range of meals she could cook. And bought a large lid for it so that she could cook large amount of food like casserole to share with friends.
Also She got a toasted sandwich/panini maker for Christmas in the second year which saved her a lot of money from buying panini for lunch from her college's cafe.
Her Japanese friend came with a rice cooker.
But you'll need to register electric cooking equipments with the college/porter and get a sticker to show its properly approved to use if you're bringing any.


Thanks, that's very useful! Like your posts always are :yep:

I've begun shopping for the kitchen with a vegetable peeler, still have a long way to go!
I love paninis, might see if I can find a make myself :teehee:
Original post by Serine Soul
I think so, maybe. We get an oven


Thanks, that's very useful! Like your posts always are :yep:

I've begun shopping for the kitchen with a vegetable peeler, still have a long way to go!
I love paninis, might see if I can find a make myself :teehee:


Ah, forgot to mention a veg peeler! :biggrin:

We just went to IKEA and bought almost everything there. At this time of year, there're lots of teenagers and their parents buying tons of stuff for university, and they always have special 'set' for freshers at bargain price. (Though we chose each thing individually, but they're all very cheap. It's IKEA :smile:)
Any IKEA near from you? If not, big DIY store like Himebase, etc have good basic range, too.

Also, what she found very useful were small storage boxes to keep inside the wardrobe tidy, to sort socks,underwears, accessories, etc. And an under-bed drawer was VERY useful too.
They all came from IKEA. :tongue:
(edited 7 years ago)
Not a commercial endorsement - I have no link besides shopping there but Wilko are handy for student essentials and there's one in Cambridge now. Good if you want to travel light.
Original post by Serine Soul
I think so, maybe. We get an oven


Thanks, that's very useful! Like your posts always are :yep:

I've begun shopping for the kitchen with a vegetable peeler, still have a long way to go!
I love paninis, might see if I can find a make myself :teehee:


I bought a bowl for cereal.



Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by vincrows
Do you know what pennying is?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_(university)

But it's getting more and more difficult to play it, apparently, as many colleges started banning it. Some sneaky students still do it when they think waiting staff are not watching, but waiting staff are getting better at spotting it, too. :wink:

http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0009544-pennying-declared-illegal.html


Can confirm, pennying is still going strong at Caius.
Original post by physicsmaths
I bought a bowl for cereal.



Posted from TSR Mobile


That's a start.
Don't forget to buy a spoon. :tongue:

And thick permanent felt tip pen. Must.
Write your name on a bottle of milk, etc. In a fridge to declare they belong to you.
Original post by Protoxylic
Can confirm, pennying is still going strong at Caius.


Good for you!
Keep the tradition going!! :biggrin:
Original post by physicsmaths
I bought a bowl for cereal.


Excellent! It's amazing how long you can survive for on weetabix, sugar and milk. Packet of chocolate biscuits for pudding and cream crackers for high tea and you're all set.

Once you've got into the swing of it, you can have sugar puffs on Sundays.
Original post by jneill
Nautically, port is on the left and starboard on the right. So you pass port to the left (clockwise).

Brandy, on the other hand, should be drunk using your right hand, and putting your left hand in a salute.

And bring pennies. Lots of pennies.

I have so many pennies that are waiting for a trip to a coinstar machine....

Anyone wanna buy some? 100 for £1 (no copper please)
Original post by vincrows
Ah, forgot to mention a veg peeler! :biggrin:

We just went to IKEA and bought almost everything there. At this time of year, there're lots of teenagers and their parents buying tons of stuff for university, and they always have special 'set' for freshers at bargain price. (Though we chose each thing individually, but they're all very cheap. It's IKEA :smile:)
Any IKEA near from you? If not, big DIY store like Himebase, etc have good basic range, too.

Also, what she found very useful were small storage boxes to keep inside the wardrobe tidy, to sort socks,underwears, accessories, etc. And an under-bed drawer was VERY useful too.
They all came from IKEA. :tongue:

Yeah we have an IKEA a short drive away! I'll try to go in the next couple of weeks, it's very handy.
Original post by physicsmaths
I bought a bowl for cereal.
Posted from TSR Mobile

If you're lucky, the rim might be sharp enough to peel veg with
Original post by vincrows
Good for you!
Keep the tradition going!! :biggrin:


Oh don't worry, the freshers WILL know about pennying.

The NatScis at Caius, we invite our supervisors for a 'supervisors' formal every term, my Physics supervisor brought down wine from the fellow's cabinet (which was some 1998 red, apparently the last bottle of its kind) and then proceeded to penny everybody with it. So the fellows seem to be quite keen on it too, legend says Hawking had his soup pennied at some point. We've also migrated to pennying port which turned out to be interesting as the night progressed.

Have you heard of the engineer's penny, or is that just a Caius thing?
Original post by Serine Soul
I have so many pennies that are waiting for a trip to a coinstar machine....

Anyone wanna buy some? 100 for £1 (no copper please)

Yeah we have an IKEA a short drive away! I'll try to go in the next couple of weeks, it's very handy.

If you're lucky, the rim might be sharp enough to peel veg with


Great!
Her tablewares came from there too.
And a toiletry bag, high-vis jacket for cycling, a collapsible laundry basket, etc.
And get some during racks for laundry. It saves a lot of money from paying for tumble drier.
Original post by Protoxylic
Oh don't worry, the freshers WILL know about pennying.

The NatScis at Caius, we invite our supervisors for a 'supervisors' formal every term, my Physics supervisor brought down wine from the fellow's cabinet (which was some 1998 red, apparently the last bottle of its kind) and then proceeded to penny everybody with it. So the fellows seem to be quite keen on it too, legend says Hawking had his soup pennied at some point. We've also migrated to pennying port which turned out to be interesting as the night progressed.

Have you heard of the engineer's penny, or is that just a Caius thing?


It was getting very difficult pennying without being caught and stopped at my daughter's college towards the end of her days there. It was mainly at boat club's and other sports clubs formals pennying was most active.
Heard similar stories at other colleges.
Original post by vincrows
It was getting very difficult pennying without being caught and stopped at my daughter's college towards the end of her days there. It was mainly at boat club's and other sports clubs formals pennying was most active.
Heard similar stories at other colleges.


Oh right that's a shame. Some of our servers even played along, some giving pennies to them and asking to penny somebody further down the table, it's all a bit of fun really.

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