|
Time's flying so get crackin!
For most of you this is probably an in-between phase of just arriving or just leaving, so in this newsletter we’ve got a few ideas of how you can either finish on a high note or kick-start your stay in the UK!
August and September’s BUNAC trips will give you a chance to not only be a culture vulture at the theatre but also enables you to hop, skip and jump across to Europe!
 On Monday 11th August we have organised a theatre trip to see the ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at The Globe Theatre. It replicates Shakespeare’s theatre, built in 1613 which consequently burnt down. Tickets are only £6 but that’s because we’ll be standing… it's what they used to do in Shakespeare’s day!
The bank holiday weekend in August, Saturday 23rd to Monday 25th is taken up with our trip to the vibrant and bustling city of Amsterdam! We’ll be hopping over the border to France and spending two nights in Amsterdam. We’ll of course go to an obligatory clog and cheese factory and take a trip to a pretty town just outside of Amsterdam. On the way home we’ll stop off in the picturesque city of Bruges. The trip costs £165 and includes all coach and ferry transport, two nights’ hostel accommodation with breakfast, city sightseeing tour and plenty of other time to do your own thing! There are other trip opportunities whilst we’re there which you will have to pay extra for.
Saturday 20th September is our annual day trip to see the famous university city of Oxford where some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed and the beautiful Blenheim Palace where Winston Churchill was born. The trip costs £32 and you get a full day out for your money!
Buzzers at the ready!
This newsletter's competition is a free day trip with the tour company International Friends! International Friends do the more traditional trips to places such as Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Stonehenge and many more! Log on to www.internationalfriends.co.uk to find a tour for you. To have a chance of winning a trip you need to send an email to us at wib@bunac.org.uk with ‘competition’ in the subject box and your contact details. It’s as simple as that! International Friends also offer Bunac members £5 off day trips and £10 off their weekend trips, so take advantage anyway if you don’t get lucky this time.
Read on for other events that wrap up the summer months…
Fiesta time!
Notting Hill Carnival - Sunday 24th August - Monday 25th August
 For two days what is usually the site for Portobello Road market, is transformed in to a colourful, music thumping carnival attracting hoards of people and the best thing about it is that’s its free!
The first Notting Hill Carnival was in 1964 in attempt to bring the community together and has been held every August Bank holiday since then. The carnival starts on the Sunday but this is more family orientated so the main carnival day is Monday, it starts around noon and will be quietening down at about 7pm.
Some other carnivals that you might want to check out are:
Sunday 3rd August - Carnaval del Pueblo, Europe’s largest free Latin American fiesta (From London City Hall to Burgess Park). www.carnavaldelpueblo.co.uk
Saturday 16 - Sunday 26th August - Shoreditch Festival, sports and arts focus with workshops and performers. www.shoreditchfestival.org.uk
Open house - Saturday 20th - Sunday 21st September - This is your chance to take a peek into some of London’s architectural gems. For one weekend, every year the doors are opened to various buildings around the capital and the creative teams behind the designs are on hand to share their ideas and expertise. Keep www.openhouse.org.uk in your website favourites as more details will be posted on here nearer the time.
Money, money, money...
No we’re not going to write a review on Mamma Mia (although it is brilliant!). We thought we would share some of the ways that the BUNAC staff saves money in the UK!
2 for 1 cinema tickets
Do you have an Orange mobile? Every Wednesday you can buy two cinema tickets for the price of one by texting FILM to 241 from your mobile. You’ll receive a text ticket back, show it at the ticket booth at the cinema and you’re good to go! For more information visit www.orange.co.uk/orangewednesdays.
Free food!
Wagamama is a chain of restaurants that are modelled on the ramen Bars of Japan and serve very yummy rice and noodle dishes. Register online at www.wagamama.com and become a member. Then log on every now and again and print yourself off a voucher. These vouchers vary from 2 for 1 main meals to free drinks so sign up now!
Giraffe is also a chain of restaurants that provide vouchers so you might want to look into this as well, log on to www.giraffe.net, sign up and enjoy the freebies!
Second hand books/clothes
Find that you’re spending an arm and a leg on books? Get yourself along to charity shops and you can pick up books for as little as 50 pence! Every city/town will have at least a few charity shops, they’re good for books and also general household items that you might need to set up home! If you’re in London, markets are a good place to head too. Camden has a few second hand bookshops where you can buy and sell. There is also a book stall underneath Waterloo Bridge outside the Royal National Theatre that have a variety of books at good prices.
Clothes and general funky outfits can be found at various vintage stores around the country, charity shops also sell clothes and every now and again you come across an absolute bargain! Rokit, www.rokit.co.uk are based in Covent Garden and Camden and they sell vintage clothes at reasonable prices. If you’re not into the vintage style then they’re good places to head for fancy dress ideas!
Haircuts
Desperate for a chop but reluctant to spend the cash? Well, instead of getting one of your friends to attack your hair with a pair of garden shears then why not take advantage of the salon training schools such as Toni & Guy (www.toniandguy.com) or Vidal Sassoon (www.sassoon.com). It might sound equally scary as your friend cutting your hair but all trainee stylists are supervised and you can get yourself a super cool and retro haircut for a bargain price!
Free TV audience tickets
The main television broadcaster in the UK is the BBC. To gather audiences for their television and radio recordings they offer free tickets for the general public to be in the audiences. That’s right, free to be on TV! You can see some really cool shows being filmed along with the celebrities that are in them! Log on to www.bbc.co.uk/tickets, www.applausestore.com or www.tvrecordings.com.
Student standby tickets
If you want to experience the culture and atmosphere of the opera, ballet or the theatre but at half the price of a normal ticket then read on!
The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden do a £10 student standby deal where unsold tickets are made available over the internet with a 24 hour minimum notice period! You need to register online at www.travelex.royaloperahouse.org/StudentIntro and you will receive email notifications when these discounts are available.
The Open Air Theatre also have tickets available on the actual night of performances so if you haven’t managed to get a ticket for a particular show, don’t despair, still go along and sometimes they have good seats at good prices! Log on to www.openairtheatre.org to see what performances they’ve got coming up. Remember to take your student ID (your ISIC card is acceptable).
Skype!
The London office now has Skype! We have three computers that have the Skype programme on, which enables BUNAC participants to speak to friends and family back home for FREE! Yes, that’s right it won’t cost you a penny! You just need to grab a headset from us with a deposit of £5, plug yourself in and get dialling!
Scottish News
Edinburgh Festival
August is festival month in Edinburgh and there is LOTS going on! Whether you like comedy, dance, jazz, books, or bizarre street theatre there is something for everyone. On Sunday 3rd August the Edinburgh Festivals Cavalcades make their way through town with 3000 performers on floats and in bands.
Also don’t miss Fringe Sunday (10th August) not only is it a great day out but it’s also your chance to sample some of the bizarreness of the Fringe and see some of the some acts and shows performing in the festival.
Many companies perform all or part of their show for free on The Meadows, so it is a great way to preview shows before buying a ticket!
For more information on what’s going on at each festival check out the websites below:
EDINBURGH JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL Friday 25th July – Sunday 3rd August
www.edinburghjazzfestival.co.uk
EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO Friday 1st – Saturday 23rd August
www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE Sunday 3rd – Monday 25th August
www.edfringe.com
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL Saturday 9th – Monday 25th August
www.edbookfest.co.uk
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Friday 8th – Sunday 31st August
www.eif.co.uk
EDINBURGH MELA Monday 25th – Sunday 31st August
www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk
On any day during the festival the pedestrianised area of the High Street around St. Giles Cathedral and the Fringe Office becomes the focal point for theatre companies to hand out flyers, perform scenes from their shows, and attempt to sell tickets. Many performances have 2 for 1 ticket offers in the first week of the Fringe.
Office Closures
The Edinburgh office will be closed from Monday 18th August – Monday 25th August. The mail drawers will be kept in the Haggis office during this time and all questions can be directed to the London office by calling 020 7251 3472. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
A few helpful reminders...
National Insurance Numbers
This is just a reminder that the UK number to call for booking National Insurance number appointments is 0845 6000 643. Make sure you have your full address including your postcode when you make the call, as they will use this information to work out which office you need to go to for your appointment.
Returning home?
Many BUNAC participants return home at the end of the summer, so if you are going home soon we hope you have enjoyed your time here in the UK. Below are a few things you should take care of before you leave the UK:
3rd Report Cards - Please send BUNAC your 3rd report card to let us know you have finished on the programme. This can be filled out online www.bunac.org/incoming.
Bank Acounts - If you are leaving the UK permanently you should close your bank account before you go home if possible. You should allow at least 4 working days to take care of this. Ask BUNAC for an information sheet about closing your bank account if you need more details.
Mail - Once you have returned home any mail that you receive at BUNAC will be returned to sender. Unfortunately we cannot forward mail overseas.
Don't forget your BUNAC-discounts!
Remember that as a BUNAC member you are entitled to exclusive BUNAC discounts with various different tour companies, as listed below. The discounts are only for BUNAC participants and you will be required to show BUNAC ID.
Contiki – 15% discount on all trips of 1 week or longer. To get the discount you must book directly through Contiki and not through an agent. www.contiki.co.uk.
Radical Travel – 15% discount on all trips including Haggis Scotland, Haggis Britain and Shamrocker tours. Trips must be booked directly with Radical Travel to get the discount. www.radicaltravel.com.
BUSABOUT – 10% discount on European bus passes with BUSABOUT, please contact BUNAC for a flyer available soon! Some restrictions apply. www.busabout.com.
International Friends - £5 off for day trips and £10 off for weekend trips. www.internationalfriends.co.uk.
For those of you that haven’t already joined us on Facebook, this is just a reminder that BUNAC has an official Work in Britain group. So if you are a CURRENT participant and want to keep up to date with all of our social events and stay in touch with other BUNAC participants around Britain, click on this link to join: www.bunac.org/facebook.
Remember that BUNAC staff are always happy to help you with any problems or questions. Call (020) 7251 3472 or (0131) 558 9313 if you are in Scotland. Incoming Programmes, BUNAC, 16 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0QH. wib@bunac.org.uk
|
