I'm hitching back to Hull tomorrow, possible stopping in Leeds if I end up that way. Had a good week at home, got an 2800 word essay mostly done already, and it's due in in 2 weeks. Never been that keen before... Lots to do on tuesday and wednesday before the student radio conference on thursday. Meeting with John Till from Hull City Imaeg on wednesday to find out about his plans to regenerate the city. Looking forward to coming back to Hull, I've started saying coming back home now instead of to University. Coming home has been a nice break, even read some of a book, John Harvey Jones, Making it happen. started me thinking about joining the navy perhaps...

A relaxing week back at home, but I've still managed to get a fair bit done work-wise and seen everyone I wanted to see. I'll be headnig back to Hull on Monday I think, hitching again I expect as no-one has offered me a lift there. Then a few days sorting jam and hullfire stuff out and then I'm off to the Student Radio Conference in Leicester at DeMonfort University. Looking forward to that, thurs-sat. start back at Uni monday morning 8.30 with the breakfast show.

I'm now back in watford, after a tiring week of advertising hunting for JamRadio, hopefully got a few new ones for after easter. Need to produce them before we go back on air on the 8th April. It was hard work, I think I went to more than 60 businesses in total. Don't know why I havn't written in ages, just been busy all week. Researching more articles for Hullfire, here they are:

The Deep
I went to an open day last week and I’ve got some pictures from the Deep, the new aquarium that opened in Hull on Saturday. Laura Wallace has a show on Jam and is also a guide there, so I have a picture of her and an ex-student called Ellie.

Hull’s Image
I’ve been speaking to George Pye the marketing director of the University, and have an interview with john Till from Hull city Vision, the group who have the task branding the city into something cool. It’s going to be a general article about where Hull is going.

Where to take your parents when they visit you at university.
A review of the best attractions Hull has to offer, for when you get stuck with your parents here and nothing to do.

Drugs at the Lawns.
Numerous people are being thrown out of the lawns for smoking cannabis. This process is like a witch hunt. Once the warden of the block notifies the university, students are “interrogated” about what they get upto: “there are two things I can spot in a person, one is a lyre and the other is someone who takes drugs” is what one student was told at his disciplinary hearing before he had said a word. The way the University is enforcing their “strict anti-drugs policy” appears inconsistent between halls, flawed and unproductive. Cannabis is smoked in every block in the lawns, without exception, so why are only some people made an example of? I am investigating how many people have been asked to leave recently and whether throwing people out has any benefit. Two thirds of young people have smoked Cannabis in the UK and it is due to be downgraded to class C (same as steroids) in May of this year. Is the University planning on reviewing its drugs policy and practices as a result of this?

The following may not be done for the next issue, but they are work in progress.

Guide to the Union.
Something I suggested to Mike Duwona and Sam Cunnington. A simple guide to how the different areas of the union work. What the different committees are and what Union Council is. What rights students have within the union, and how they can get involved.

Crime and Police in Hull
I hope to interview some police in Hull when I get back, to get a general picture of the state of crime in Hull.

Deprivation
There are some areas in Hull where there are rows and rows of boarded up houses (opposite the football ground is one example) I’d like to go there, photograph them, and write an article on how they have come about, and what’s happening to the areas. Speak to town council and the city planners.

John Prescott
What’s it like being second in command to the Prime Minister?!

Next issue should be ready when we go back to Uni after easter. I finally managed to get up at 6am, on thursday morning, and I spent the morning at Cosa Nostra, the Italian bakers down newland avenue. Giovani was showing me how to make bread and pizzas. I'ev got some good photo's, and one's of the deep too. Will have to wait till I'm back in Hull and have free internet before I publish them. I'm spending my time at home editing all the video I've collected recently, to free up some tapes. then writing up my hullfire articles, and catching up with friends. It's good to be home, I can't relax in Hull, always doing stuff. Meeting up with Karen, Rach, Lewis, Ted, Jon, Ian, Chris and Mike for drinks tonight at the compasses I hope. Lots more people to see over the week. Back in hull easter onday or tuesday.

Saw a band aclled 10 men at the adelphi on friday night, friend Chris who I lived with at lawns last year was playing. really good, well worth seeing if you get teh chance, sounded a lot like the beatles. an acoustic set as their drummer was not there, but sounded good to me. They were supporting the Raywell's who I'd not seen before either, they rocked the place too.

Hulltrains were cancelled all weekend, and I only found out on friday. Not to be beaten, I got a lift to Leeds M1/M62 on Saturday morning with Cat and her dad, and hitchhiked the rest. Thanks to fill for my "london" sign. left at 12 and after a van with a great brummy called Paul, and then a long political discussion with a woman from Saudi Arabia, I was dropped off in Watford by 5pm. About the same time the train would have taken, and £25 cheaper... Havn't hitched in the UK before, but well worth it. Will become a regular thing now I'm sure. Bye for now. John

Good evening all, essay's handed in, and the 3 week holiday has begun... what a harsh life us students have. Friday night was Athletic Union Presentation night at university, I was asked to go along as Clare Frisby from BBC Look North was there as a guest speaker. When she was studying at Hull in 1989 ish, she helped raise over 10,000 pounds for Jam, our student radio, so she was interedted in meeting people involved with the station now. Very nice woman, offered to give us some training as well, much needed in my opinion. The BBC are building a new cente here in Hull as well, so lots going on.

I stayed for the speeches, but as soon as the prizes started going out, I made tracks. Shame though, as a fight between the football and Rugby broke out in front of the vice-chancellor of the university... The Police later came into Twisted, the night at the union, and took away the guys involved for statements... That's what happens when you start drinking at 5pm.

Went party hunting on friday night after the AU thing with joey, managed to get to 4 parties before collapsing at 4am. Didn't manage to make it to Tom Parkers though, but happy birthday. Missed a talk entitled "chaos in the cell" on saturday morning at uni, which was a shame, but had a big fry-up with me kim and lewis at grafton street on saturday morning. the sun was shining, thought the summer had arrived. Rest of the weekend was good too, souiree round Grafton on saturday night, lots of fun and games, in more ways than one...

Jam is now off air for 3 weeks. I'll be working on getting some new advertisers for after easter. Also working on lots of stuff for Hullfire, our student newspaper. Hoping to interview the police on crime in Hull, Hull City Image, on their re-branding of the city, and someone from the Deep, the new Submarium (Aquarium) in Hull. Tomorrow morning I'm getting up at 6am, to go and learn how to make bread at Cosa Nostra, a really cool Italian bakery on Newland Avenue. Taking the camera down, so I should have loads of cool photo's with any luck. And I will put them on the site. I'll do it tomorrow. (yeah yeah..) A busy week ahead, cleaning up jam and writing lots of stuff, reading lots too, a bit of coursework and then home for a week in Watford. bye for now.

Hello. I failed, no photos up over the weekend, sorry, but 3 weeks easter holidays starting on friday so I promise to get it sorted... An essay in for tomorrow on e-business, and another in for FRiday on windows NT memory managment.... fun fun fun.... Young Scientist of the year was really good, fireworks n' all. then saturday morning was a lecture by a guy from leeds uni, genetics, who co-incidently also taught Carmen, somone I went to school with. Lecture on DNA and genetic engineering, very interesting and something I know little about. It's science week this week, so loads of stuff going on. Went to a forensics lecture at uni yesterday evening as well, with Someone from Humberside Police doing a talk on extracting DNA from semen. Lots of DNA this week... which started me thinking. They already have 2m of the UK's DNA in the national database, and are now taking DNA swabs from all recordable crimes, (including speeding!) So this figure is set to double to 4m in a couple of years. DNA can be traced from anything your body touches, blood, semen, hair, spit ... well, what if someone put DNA testers in the sewers. IT just carried on logging new DNA it finds and putting it into a database. Any DNA that it comes accross a second time it could then log it's location. With this in mind, would it not be possible to track everyone's location through where their DNA is found in the sewers? Someone on the way back from the bcs quiz suggested that you'd pick up lots of Rat DNA too, can you spot rat DNA and human dna?

Monday was Mint at the welly, good night, but 9.15 in the morning will always hamper my enjoyment. Mint at the Union tomorrow night, Neil Bentley from Galaxy radio coming down. but... essay in for friday... hope to do most of it tomorrow. Monday breafast show went well, getting better everyweek. Doing Friday show with Joey this week, if the essays done that is... and mint isn't too mad. Today was BCS british computer society quiz in Leeds, what a laugh, 4 of us from the department at HUll went up in a minibus. finger on the buzzer type fun, against 5 other universities, we were beaten by Bradford by one question in the final. £20 book vouchers though, can't be bad, £40 to brafford though... Slight advantage to any team who had been previous years, as the questions do have a habit of repeating themselves apparently.... :-) we had some of those people on our team.... and still lost... Like leeds, very trendy. Still have a crossbow there that I bought in Cambodia once, that's a long story

Got to apply for courses in Singapore by Friday. I've applied for a scholarship there for 6 months, starting in July, not sure what to choose to study yet, I'd like a break from computers.... It's a paid scholarship, 6.500 Euros (£3,500) for 6 months, so I really hope I get it. Plan is to take a year out and then come back to HUll to do my third year. then ... who knows....3 weeks holiday to think about. planning on hitchhiking around scandanavia for a week, home for a week, hullfire and Jam for a week. and fit some coursework in somewhere in between. bye for now...

The end of the week has finally arrived, and it's been a busy one. Monday breakfast went well. The first one Kim and I have done. Doing it again on Monday, 8.30 - 11am. Hoping to get Jam on the internet soon, but we are still in debt at the moment, hopefully next year. The 4 and a half hours sleep on sunday night didn't start the week very well, and I've had a cold all week, missed mint in the end. But a few more early nights and I should be ok. Thanks to Mary for the Blackcurrant lemsip. A contradiction in terms pointed out by my house mate luke, but it helped all the same.

Still, been doing lots during the week. Thanks to Mathew Buckett for doing the on-line voting page at http://vote.bumph.org (sorry I'll sort out live links to referred pages over the weekend, and put some pictures up I promise). It was designed for Hull University students to vote on which bands they want at the Union, but it was used this week to poll Computer science students at hull on the condition of the university building. Our present building isn't good. The poll "the cs building is pleasant working environment compared to other areas of the university" 97% of the 41 students who voted agreeing, may dissapear from the page soon, as the university arn't too happy with the page as it "looks too official" Well done Mathew... I just came up with the questions. Anyhow, there is news of a new lab on the horizons, so it may have speeded up some decision making with any luck.

Elsewhere, University elections took place this week. I stood as an NUS conference candidate and I was one of the 7 candidates elected with 607 votes, total votes 1200. approx. So I'll be going to Blackpool in April for 3 days, more to follow. Should be good.

My article on the NUS rally against tuition fees in London, made the front page of Hullfire, our student rag, and an article on Husso (student community action) made it to page 3. Articles and pictures to follow this weekend.

Interviewed the new marketing director of the university to see about his plans to re-brand the university, very interesting. Hullfire article to follow.

More Jam Radio politics going on this week, as I was re-elected as secretary/treasurer of the station, I couldn't stop myself having a rant about not being listened to before when I said not to spend any more money. We're still in £600 debt (£400 of which to myself, when our account was frozen for spending too much.) See www.hullstudent.com -> media -> Jam -> minutes, for all the juicey details. The station is due for a re-fit over the easter holidays, there are then elections for all positions on jam in week 7.

Liz from the Athletic Union spoke to me about covering their trophy presentation on monday, Clare Frisby from Look North, regional TV, will be there... more to come I'm sure...

Young scientist of the year awards tonight at Uni, 6.30pm, will go if I can find some food in the house. Then a genetics lecture tomorrow morning at 10.30. It's also Future Methods tonight, at the Room, Grooverider playing, should be good, but not in keeping with my "I'm ill, early nights" routine... Bye for now.

Monday morning, I got up an hour early at 6.30 instead of 7, starting morning breakfast show on jam1575mw, Hull University Student radio.

Hello, I've been trying to build the site myself so that I could update the diary regularly, but as you can see it's been taking too long, so I've gone with blogger.com for ease of use. Maybe over Easter holidays I'll have time to do it properly. Sorry the picture gallary isn't up yet, I'll put some new photo's up in the week. Tomorrow night is Mint at the Welly club, beverley road Hull. It's the 3rd one since we moved there from the Students Union. Free entry before 11pm.