Jenni Ajderian

(originally published by  EdinburghExchanges  -go here for bigger versions of pictures!) (also vlogged about at length at Etudiante X -go here for less static versions of pictures!)      Yes, we're in France. Yes, we're studying. Yes, we're really trying very hard to speak our foreign language.  But we've been doing that for A WHOLE MONTH now. It's time for a break.      Zadar is nothing short of breathtaking. A coastline pocked with tiny beaches and bathed in warm water lead from our hostel (the  Drunken Monkey - HIGHLY recommended) to the Old Town, which seems to have been built around its plentiful Roman ruins rather than making a tourist attraction of them. Monasteries and wells galore, a walled garden and the remains of the forum are all surrounded by normal high-street shops and low-price restaurants, as well as bountiful amounts of icecream vendors. On our second day it became apparent that for all sixteen of...

FREE     WOMEN     NEWBIES     UNEXPECTED     LOCALS      I've told you before about the merits of seeing free shows, and to that I wish to add with three of my favourites from this year's selection. It's worth knowing that the Free Fringe is split between two promoters, the directors of which apparently have beef with one another from a mysterious event that happened a few years ago (Laughing Horse hit on PBH's mum, or possibly vice versa), and as such there may be twice as many free shows to go to as you may expect. Programmes are organised by time, which is a godsend if you just have a couple of hours to spare and fancy a free giggle. Hurt and Anderson      Since we're vastly under-represented as a gender in the realms of comedy, I've been trying to head to female comedians' shows in particular this Fringe, but have still avoided them if they sound awful, or make a big deal about the whole not-having-a-peni...

FREE          STAND-UP          WOMEN          LOCAL          NEWBIES      If you're at the festival early in the month you may have to see someone's first gig. Don't be shy. Someone has to. The best place is the free Fringe circuit, where you can find some hidden gems and not have to pay a penny (and if it's really bad, walk out and don't worry about wasting the ticket price).      Ticking five of our boxes is the Edinburgh Revue's first show. Otherwise known as the Edinburgh University Comedy Society, the group provides an open discussion-based forum for comedic students to distract themselves from their studies, and has given us an hour of free afternoon entertainment on Grassmarket. The hour is comprised of four steadily improving comedians and a comper...

(originally published by The Student )      Dovecot’s grand hall is lined with over three hundred works, and the wide space tempts the eye not only across, but also down to the floor below. With a working tapestry studio just over the handrails, the usual whitewash hush of conventional galleries is chased away, and we’re left at ease to appreciate the work of over one hundred artists, from pen-and-ink to still-life to lively textile and oils. Each piece has been donated to the charity MacMillan Cancer Support for their ninth annual Edinburgh Art Sale, and proceeds will be split evenly between the organisation and the local artists themselves.      Since this is a sale and not an exhibition, we have a lot packed into a small space, providing a sharp test for the curators, who have pulled off the execution of the exhibition wonderfully. Whether placing oils of Princes Street as a Winter Wonderland (Kate Green) next to pastels of su...

Economics, like baking, is a tricky thing. I say this in full knowledge that my own economic understanding is comparable to making rice-crispie cakes.      The BBC headed up tonight's 6 o'clock news with a report on the rate of economic growth in the country and Head Chef and Chancellor George Osbourne's response to it. Over the last 12 months, our economic cake, if you will, has risen by only 0.7% (compare with Western Australia's puffing up of 4.3% in the same period), but Big Cook defends his handling of our new culinary foray, citing numerous causes for a slow rate of recovery.      The Royal Wedding meant people had an extra day to get pissed instead of working; public sector workers went on strike, leaving the ovens unattended, a fair few times; the Japanese earthquake slowed down (but, tellingly, did not stop) the rate of production of thousands of products sold in the UK. We're told the British Economic Cake is “more suscept...

(originally published by  The Student ) THE REMOVAL of students from one of Glasgow University's buildings has been called “disproportionate and heavy handed” by the university's Student Representative Council.      The protest, which disputed the University's plans to convert the building into offices, saw a group of around 15 students occupy the Hetherington Research club for seven weeks, until police forces removed them from the building. Following nearly two months of occupation, the protests on 22 nd March grew during the course of the day to over 150 students outside the building. Strathclyde Police increased their presence to include over 80 officers, 18 vehicles and a helicopter.      Tommy Gore, president of Glasgow's Student Representative Council (SRC), insisted that the protest should have been “an internal University matter” and should not have required a police presence on University property.    ...

(originally published by  The Student )      THE UNIVERSITY and College Union (UCU) elected a new Vice President and future President in a ballot held last week. History lecturer Simon Renton of University College London, currently a national negotiator for the Union, won with 61 per cent of the vote. Renton will take up his post as president in 2013, following the end of Alan Whitaker's presidency.      UCU represents over 120,000 academic staff across the UK, including lecturers, researchers and postgrads employed by Universities and adult education centres. In Scotland its focus is on equal pay and job security within Scottish institutions, and campaigns against tuition fees and 'casual contracts', which leave new employees vulnerable to being underpaid, overworked and treated as temporary members of staff.      Internal politics within the Union has seen a split between the Independent Broad Left, of which R...

(originally published by The Student )      Following forewarned slashes to the Art Council's budget, there have been whispers backstage of huge funding cuts to some of the UK's best and brightest cultural organisations. Here in Edinburgh we can see it already in the closure of the Roxy ArtHouse and the dwindling hopes of the Forest Café, so could it be curtains for Edinburgh's Art scene?      Well, not exactly. Though Arts Council England (ACE) 's budget has been tempered to the tune of a 30% reduction, Scottish equivalent Creative Scotland has secured its tickets into the middle of next year. This means that the 115 smaller arts organisations propped up by the government body will be protected- at least up until the election in May.      This possible passing-on of the country's purse means the future of Creative Scotland is not guaranteed. But considering that even in England, where some council's arts funds have be...

(originally published by  The Student )      If there's one thing that last Tuesday's Big Red Variety Show can tell us, it's just how much talent can be called upon at the University of Edinburgh at a moment's notice. Organised like a kind of mini Comic Relief show, the Variety Show was the brainchild of Edinburgh Societies' Charity Appeal (ESCA) member Tabby Gould, who had a lot of entertainers to pick from.      “I looked through the societies' guide for entertainment groups” she told me “the Fresh Air guys were doing the commentary at the Meadows Marathon, and I thought they were funny” and the rest, it seems, is history. The name of Comic Relief goes a long way towards getting support for an event, from both performers and audience members alike, and the hope of the event being filmed to have a clip featured on Friday night's show meant that societies were eager to get involved.      Drumming Soc started off t...

Jazz On The Park Hostel-      4 nights' stay with ISIC discount <$115      4 mornings' worth toast, eggs & coffee = free Attractions seen-      Statue of Liberty (from Staten Island Ferry) = free      Empire State Building (from the ground) = free      Time Square = free      Brooklyn Bridge = free      Band Leeroy Justice performing & filming video on Brooklyn Bridge = free      Central Park = free Museums-      MOMA = free (friday night)      Guggenheim = $1 (by donation saturday night)      the Metropolitan Museum of Art = $1 (by donation) Starbucks      Branches seen (so far) =  17    25      Money spent = $0 (see above, Jazz on the Park coffee) Food    ...