#section: bite

[bathimpact-blog]

Best ways to cure a hangover

Written by: Sian Maria Morgan

10. If you have a ridiculously well-stocked fridge with ginger or coconut water then grab these bad boys and have them. If you’re HARDCORE, then eat that ginger whole. If you’re less cool and a bit of a sissy, then just grate a bit into your cup o’ tea and it’ll relieve your nausea. Coconut water on the other hand will basically do the same thing as water and help hydrate your now sucked-to-the-bone-dry brain - but! It has loads of electrolytes in it, which, are, well, good for you and stuff.

9. Is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S?! Make sure to eat at least 20 bananas the day after a big night out. This way you’ll stock up on the potassium and magnesium which can help reduce nausea, weakness and tiredness and can leave you feeling completely rejuvenated! 

8. If you are feeling really motivated and are not dying in bed from the pain of a hangover or are a complete freak then go for a run. Even though the ‘sweat it out’ theory is a myth, doing exercise can release endorphins and make you feel better, just make sure you have water so you don’t dehydrate yourself further.

7. Simply don’t get out of bed. Sleep more. Sleep forever. Just think of a hangover as a big bully, ignore it, and it’ll eventually get bored and leave you alone.  Trust me on this one, it’s basically scientific fact and not something I just thought of. But seriously, just sleep it out.

6. Do you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain? Good. Then, if you have had too many of those delicious piña coladas the night before, help cure that horrendous hangover by getting caught in the rain, which in the UK is quite easy to do. Or, simply take a shower. It’ll make you feel fresh and less queasy and will hopefully let you wash off any guilt from the shenanigans you got up to the night before.

5. If you’re a complete baby and can’t deal with your hang over and won’t stop whining then just take some pain killers. No one wants to hear your incessant bitching, you’re just annoying everyone. Just don’t take Tylenol because that can cause liver damage, although, you might have already caused that with your binge drinking.

4. Avoid ‘The Hair of the Dog’, this weird Norwegian saying basically involves drinking more alcohol the morning after, but although it might help numb out the pain of the hangover, in the long run you’ll be dealing with twice as much hangover-ness. Note: don’t eat dog hair. I imagine that won’t help with a hangover.

3. Do you like your eggs sunny-side up? Scrambled? Boiled? Poached? Either way, anyway you want it – that’s the way you need it. Eggs are almost the best cure for a hangover; eggs in their infinite-amazingness contain Cysteine which helps break down acetaldehyde, the yucky headache-causing chemical that’s left over when the liver breaks down ethanol. So eat up!

2. Let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about you and me. Just do it. Although, it has been proven that sex can’t actually get rid of a hangover, it’s a good way to pass the time and it makes you happy so, it must help in some way. Just careful with your motions, too much movement might just make you feel sicker. 

1. Finally, the best cure for a hangover: water. It is as simple as downing that sweet H20 before you go to sleep and you’ll find that your hangover will be greatly reduced the morning after. Let’s not forget that water, is, after all the elixir of life. So, drink up baby!

[bathimpact-blog]

A little party never killed nobody

Written by: Natasha Thompson

Bath student fashionistas were out in style on Monday 25th November, to celebrate all things student - drinking!

Hidden away from the common boozers of the city, a group of refined and stylish students drank the night away mastering the art of making the perfect cocktail. Already known for their array of tasty flavoured vodkas and delicious cocktails, Revolutions Bath’s expert mixologists imparted their cocktail mixing wisdom to those students who enjoy the finer things in life.

Who wants to be spotted downing £1 shots at Spoons when one can be spied basking in the ambiance of cocktail luxury?

After being greeted in the private upstairs bar with a strawberry daiquiri welcome drink, the Revolutions team stepped behind the counter teaching participants, to great acclaim, on how to mix like professionals in a unique 90 minute master class.

Recreating 5 drinks in total, ranging from the Classic Mojito to the Porn Star Martini, inhibitions were left at the door as guests were transported to the magical era of 1920s America.

Daisy would have been proud as the fashion on show would rival that of one of Gatsby’s infamous parties. Bite’s fashion reporters spotted Mulberry handbags, Alexander McQueen rings and art deco necklaces all channelling the ritzy theme of the evening demonstrating to society that fashion and alcohol can make an unlikely pair.

After 90 minutes of sumptuous drinking, devilish dancing and outfit ogling I think it’s safe to say - a little party never killed nobody!

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Academics getting Leary

An insight is also granted into Leary’s own personal use of psychedelics. The archives, containing over 300 boxes of letters and reports promise to open up the secret world of the scientist who famously coined the phrase “tune on, tune in, drop out”, urging people to explore their inner consciousness and remove the constraints of society. A series of photographs taken at Leary’s Cambridge home show an intimate group tripping session, scratching only the surface of the intense emotions experienced during the experience.

The files not only detail Leary’s life but also include other academics at the forefront of the 1960’s counterculture movement. In one letter addressed to Leary, poet Allan Ginsberg describes his experience with LSD "I lay down and drifted off into a reverie about the origin of the universe which involved the visualisation of a sort of octopus of darkness breaking through out of the primal void”. A series of letters also reveals an attempt by Leary to secure 100 grams of LSD from Albert Hoffman, the scientist who famously synthesised the chemical. These interactions highlight how those academics on the fringes of what is considered socially acceptable often had to band together against the growing stigma associated with their research.

Despite Leary’s repeated imprisonment during the 1960’s and 1970’s the archives are amazingly intact and are unique in how they capture the psychedelic movement. William Stingone, the New York Library curator described the archives as having “the power to allow all of us to continue to engage with Timothy Leary and his life and his thought”. Leary fought for the freedom of expression and for the love of life, a message that is still very much relevant today. 

[bathimpact-blog]

How to get lost in Bath

Image credit: Gemma Isherwood   full size

Written by: Gemma Isherwood

B The Circus What it says on the tin. A collection of beautiful houses in a circle. Nice to look at and close to the Crescent if you’re taking a walk up for some fun in the sun.

C Roman Baths Basically a large, green, Roman swimming pool. Mecca for any Latin fans and a great opportunity to trick someone into drinking a glass of warm, rock-flavoured water when you’re done with the tour.

D Jane Austen Museum Any literature fans out there mgiht like an afternoon wandering the exclusive exhibits in a beautiful house near the centre of town. Bonus old man outside dressed up in period costume if you choose the right day.

E Bath Abbey One of the most beautiful buildings and the site of your very own graduation in several years time. Christmas Carols happen here (at Christmas, as far as we’re aware) and there are tours if you’re in your history.

F Guildhall Markets Great place for cheap supplies, fancy dress, teapots, books, scarves... take a look and see for yourself. There are cute owl-shaped pillows too, but we don’t know if you’re into that.

G The Weir If you’ve seen Les Miserables, this is where Javert commits suicide. If you’re not familiar with the story, then, er, spoiler.

H Holburne Museum Arty, pretty installations of various things at various times of the year. They did a nice thing with lights once.

I Post Office Museum We don’t really know a lot about this but if you’re brave/boring enough to go then we’ll print a review in bite and give you a free puppy.

J Parade Gardens Sometimes you can get in free with your library card (we don’t know exactly what the rules are there) but this is also a great place for a hangover day, including deck chair hire, and cirently has a flowerbed shaped like characters from The Herbs. Google it.

K Victoria Park Full of homeless people at night, but there’s a skate park. So there’s that. Good for impromptu cricket and full of ice-cream eating peasants in summer.

L Great Pulteney Street It’s 1000 feet long and 100 feet wide. According to my Dad, and he’s normally right. Really nice to look at but horrible if you start to think about how much you really, really can’t afford one of those houses.

Here’s the list of the best eateries and... drinkeries(?) that Bath has to offer. Look out for student deals and remember, non-alcoholic alternatives are always available.

1 The Hobgoblin A bit alternative but they don’t bite and you can get a nice cheap pint. Very oldy-worldy pub style and everything’s made of wood.

2 Cosy Club The most delicious place you will ever go. The food is great and the decor makes you feel like you’re dining int he house of an overly-keen old stuff collector. We think the term is ‘vintage’.

3 Molloy’s They do pound-a-pint nights during the week. We’re sold. Non-alcoholic alternatives available at the bar.

4 Flan O’Brien’s An Irish pub. None of us really remembers anything that’s ever happened here, which is probably good thing. The signs for the toilets are in Gaelic, good luck.

5 Komedia They do comedy. And Motown. And Burlesque. Get down there.

6 Matty’s Cafe Only open until the early afternoon but it does two HUGE delicious kinds of breakfast and will deliver them to anywhere in Bath. Perfect for delicate mornings.

7 Lamb & Lion It’s like a less shit version of Wetherspoons.

8 The Raven Really good pies (like, really good pies) and the Uni do free lectures for the public. Search for ‘Science Cafe’.

9 Gong Fu A noodle bar. The Thai green curry and the salt and pepper squid are the most fantastic things you will ever put into your face.

10 Jika Jika Hands down the best coffee in Bath.

11 Tea House Emporium SO MANY KINDS OF TEA. Also no signal in the tea room downstairs so a great place to hide out if you’re avoiding someone you had an awkward encounter with.

12 Yen Sushi Better than the chain restaurant alternative down the street. They do these great little crunchy fish egg things.

13 Bertinet Relatively poncy place next to the station that does delicious croque champignons. Dress code is trackies and flip flops (Hollister only).

14 Real Italian Pizza/Ice Cream Company If you can’t work out what these people sell or why it’s good then you probably don’t deserve to go.

15 Po Na Na They hold some really good club nights and the drinks are always reasonable. A night here feels like raving in the Batcave.

[bathimpact-blog]

The curse of 'generic fantasy'

A story in a Fantasy world should be as uninhibited as the human imagination but  when we hear “fantasy” we can pretty much quote the plot: a young every-man is taken from his comfortable, if boring, life into a strange new world, be it terrestrially or socially, where there is a looming evil power which must be destroyed. The hero initially enjoys this dream world but slowly starts to realise that it is more of a nightmare, as he delves deeper. Eventually he discovers something which hitherto has remained unnoticed, he is the ‘Chosen One’ and the evil is defeated. The plot gains bonus points for a badass love interest that has to be saved at least once, an originally benevolent father figure that turns out to be evil and by having a magical pointy eared race that are definitely not called elves.

Go on, think about it. How many stories have you read that resemble this structure? Even if a novel intentionally subverts a point for a plot twist it is only a twist because we presume it will follow this ‘Generic Fantasy’ structure. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy novels but after reading so many any new ones are instantly compared to better favourites and so what might be a good story is spoilt as the seemingly kindly lord is labelled as sinister before he has even spoken. We tend to consider this ‘Generic Fantasy’ to be the only base of a Fantasy novel and so most of such fiction can now be divided into those that follow the formula and those that subvert it to appear “edgy” but, pitiably, are just the antithesis to the formula itself.

However, crushed at the bottom of the library by the Inheritance cycles and Dark Materials you can find the occasional gem. One of my favourite series is the “Echo Chronicles” by Svetlana Martynchik regarding Max, an unemployed layabout as he is transported to the magical city of Echo. The reason I cherish Max's exploits is that they are the refreshing sorbet in my narrative feast as they pay no heed to the formula. It astounded me that Max enters a world that has no looming evil as the magical world war, normally the main storyline, is finished before Max's arrival and I spent the first book fruitlessly awaiting its return. Also it took me two books to admit that Sir Juffin Hully, Max's “father figure”, brought him to Echo with no evil designs or ulterior motives but purely because he was bored. Time and time again the book gave me scenarios that I thought I recognised and instead of taking the one of the forked paths of standard plot or twist, headed off through the trees, looking back at me as if to say “What are you staring at? Keep up.”

And I wish I could find this more often: a fantasy world where a basic knowledge of Tolkien won’t spoil the story, but I fear that the Echo Chronicles are a dying breed. As shelves become saturated with more of the Generic Fantasy so they dictate the mental worlds of young, budding authors and I soon plot evolution may make nigh unexplored worlds like Echo extinct. So please, pick up a crushed gem and help save a species