Gift Cards

Whether it be Christmas, birthdays, or any other celebration, gift cards are always labelled a terrible gift (usually along with socks).
I can, to a certain extent, see why. Yes, they seem unoriginal and perhaps like you barely know the person. Furthermore, they also tell you exactly how much that person has spent on you, either making you feel unappreciated or perhaps like they've given you a lot more than what you spent on them.
However, I personally feel like they are wonderful gifts! A friend of mine gave me a £10 Waterstones one for Christmas, saying that she didn't potentially want to get me the wrong book, and I'm okay with that. As long as you get someone a gift card for something they enjoy (it would have been stupid to get me one for a clothes shop for example), it means that you avoid any chance of buying something dreadful. As I read so much, it would have been really difficult to get me a book that I haven't already read, without risking it being something I wouldn't like. This way, I can pop along to Waterstones after Christmas and buy anything that takes my fancy - it also avoids the stress of buying presents for the giver!
Of course, family or a significant other should probably warrant a little more than a gift card, but for friends and colleagues, I do believe that gift cards are a fantastic idea and require a bit more thought than just slipping a £10 note inside their Christmas card.

All I need to do now is to decide which books to spend it on!

Cambridge

Back in July, I managed to convince my parents to take me up to the University of Cambridge for their open day. We left at the ridiculous time of 4:30 a.m. and didn't get home until past 2 a.m. the following morning in an attempt to visit as many colleges as possible.
Fast forward a few months and, after achieving brilliant AS results and getting predicted straight A*s for next year, I found myself applying to Cambridge. I had four colleges in mind: Magdalene, Sidney Sussex, Selwyn and King's. Eventually, I got down to just Magdalene and King's and finally sent my application off with King's being my chosen college.
Skipping a few more months, having already had two interviews at Plymouth and Cardiff, I was over the moon to receive an e-mail inviting me back up to Cambridge for two interviews!
This time, we decided we would stay the night before so that I wouldn't be insanely tired for my interviews. Luckily, we have family in a town just outside the city who allowed us to stay with them. It was great to catch up with them, and fun to stay there (plus they have a parrot which is hilarious!)
To get to Cambridge from their house, we took the guided bus. It was so strange! Basically, the bus follows set tracks, a bit like a tram or train, for part of the journey and then returns to a normal bus to get through the city centre. Even stranger was that it had normal road signs on the tracks and even traffic lights!

The guided bus

The first thing we did when we arrived in Cambridge was find our way to King's college (made easier by all the signs directing tourists to the famous chapel) where we found all the film crews busy filming in the chapel. Throughout the day, we did a little bit of shopping. My parents bought me an owl as a 'good luck' gift, I bought a Christmas bauble in John Lewis, which was a bit of a novelty as we don't have one near us. I also bought a King's college mug just in case I don't go back. The last things we bought were lots of Funko Pops, which were 3 for 2 in Heffers. I already have Ron Weasley and a Thor keyring so I picked up Harry in his quidditch uniform and Emma Swan and Captain Hook from Once Upon A Time.

My gifts from Cambridge (original photo here)

The interviews themselves were really enjoyable. Although nervous and a little apprehensive as to how difficult they would be, they were like miniature lessons where you work through things using your own knowledge. The questions were difficult, but with the prompting and by applying previous knowledge, they were fun to figure out and, even if I don't get a place, I will always remember how much I liked the interviews. I even got a chance to discuss my local bookshop with one of my interviewers as she had been there before!
It was a fantastic couple days away. Now all I have to do is keep my fingers crossed and wait to hear back from all my unis in the new year.

If anyone is interested in knowing a little more about the interviews, leave a comment and I'll let you know